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Vietnam: Life long memories and friends.SAIGON:
February 15, 2000-February 16, 2000
THEY CALL IT HO CHI MINH CITY, I CALL IT SAIGON. February 16, 2000 Yesterday was a whirlwind day. To sum it up: We woke up in Siem Reap, Cambodia, jumped into the back of a pick-up truck for an hour long ride to a dock, where we would catch a speed boat and travel for 5 hours to Phnom Penh, Cambodia where we visited the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (once a grade school, it was transformed into a prison by the Khmer Rouge for political prisoners of all ages). We then jumped on a plane and flew to Saigon (we thought that we had to fly because our Vietnam visa had Ho Chi Minh City as our point of entry), where we would meet up again with Mrs. Janzen and her family (remember Mrs. Janzen grew up here in Saigon, Vietnam). Now called Ho Chi Minh City, many, including myself, still like to refer to it by its original name, Saigon. Our taxi ride from the Saigon airport to the hotel was crazy. Our poor driver was darting in and out of traffic, which consisted mostly of motorbikes coming from all directions. He, however, did not seem to be phased. After arriving to our hotel, we showered and called Mrs. Janzen's sister's home. There was noise everywhere, but Mrs. Janzen was able to communicate the fact that they would come by the hotel in 15 minutes to pick us up. Much to our surprise, Mrs. Janzen arrived with three of the young men from the family, each riding their own motorbike. Rich and I were supposed to ride with two of these young men. I had just witnessed these crazy motorbikes an hour earlier, and I was about to jump on one of these suicide machines myself. Well, when in Rome.....plus, I did not want to be rude. So, I jumped on and kept a strong grip around my driver's waist. We wizzed through the streets of Saigon. It was such a thrill! I waived to Rich every once in a while, looked at the neon scenery and, maybe once or twice, I looked ahead at the oncoming traffic. My driver did a great job, and we soon arrived to the family home. It was almost too soon, as I really enjoyed our ride. When we entered the small working class home off a back alley in the heart of Saigon, we were greeted as if we were close family. Before we could even say hello, they were clearing space at the small dinner table and moving from their chairs so that there was room for us. They then filled our plates with several Vietnamese specialties, including exotic tropical fruits and rice paper filled with greens, pineapple, pork, fish, and who knows what else. The beer was also flowing. The men would raise their glasses and shout, "DZO" (sounds like "YO")! This was followed by "50%" or "100%", meaning you had to consume the half or the whole of your beer. We had arrived to hours after Bo and Heidi, and it was obvious that Bo had been involved in several rounds of YO. It did not take us long to catch up. After dinner, everyone gathered and introduced themselves. Close to a dozen family members live in the small home. They all share one bedroom. Some sleep on beds, some sleep on the floor. This is life as they know it. They are a very happy and close family. We were overwhelmed by their hospitality and generosity. We look forward to the next 10 days!! February 23, 2000 We are now in Hanoi, Vietnam, the final destination of our fast track sweep through Vietnam in our trusty blue van. We encountered a few breakdowns, a flying window, all night marathons performed by our invincible driver, as well as fabulous views, fun stops and great times. The friendships that were formed during this tour will last a lifetime. Rich and I will definitely return to see our new Vietnamese family. The Cast: MRS. JANZEN: the
ringleader of the tour. She made up the schedule and helped to prepare the
van. She was also the only passenger that spoke both Vietnamese and
English. She was left with the arduous task of making sure that everyone
was happy. She did a fabulous job. Now that you know the cast, here is a brief review of the trip: After a day of exploring Vietnam and another wonderful and eventful dinner with Mrs. Janzen's family, we left the next morning for the Mekong Delta located roughly 5 hours south of Saigon. Eleven of us piled into the blue van, which had been souped-up for our arrival, and we headed south. Be, our driver began what he would soon learn to be the longest and most difficult trip of his career. Upon arrival to Can Tho, the launching point for the Delta, we relaxed and had a wonderfully authentic Vietnamese dinner. The next morning we set out on the Delta on a local boat which was filled with locals, fruit, live roosters and us. We sat on top of the boat and enjoyed spectacular views of life on the Mekong Delta. The residences of the small wooden homes that sat along the river ran out to greet the tourists on the local boat. Mrs. Janzen told us that it is a rare sight for these people, as most tourists do not ride these local boats which travel down these narrow canals dropping off and picking up passengers and produce. I was sad when the ride was over and we had to return to land. However, we walked off the dock into a colorful market filled with flowers, baby ducklings, fish, fruits and rice hats. I have wanted a rice hat for so long, as they have such an elegant, oriental flare. Heidi had also been talking about purchasing her very own rice hat. Hoa happily purchased a hat for Heidi, and I just had to purchase one too, with the help of Mrs. Janzen. Hey, for $.50, it was a bargain. The hats turned out to be a wise purchase, as it saved us from several days of major UV rays. I gave my hat the name, "beautiful hat". We returned to Saigon later that day, with a stop at a peaceful restaurant/resort where we ate another Vietnamese meal and relaxed on hammocks. Our stop in Saigon was brief, allowing for a shower and a quick internet check. At midnight, Rich, Bo, Heidi and I got back into the van to join Mrs. Janzen, Hieu, Trung and Be in our journey through Vietnam. Be drove through the night, and I slept very well. I woke up to see the sun rise over what would be our first stop, a beach on the South China Sea. The beach started out fine, but soon became overridden by hundreds of local families piling in for a beautiful sunny Saturday at the beach. So we got back into the van and headed north to Nha Trang. The drive was filled with beautiful scenery. We reached our destination late in the afternoon. We were very excited to see the cute town, the beach, and the beautiful blue water. We found an excellent hotel. It was clean and relatively inexpensive, mostly because it had just opened 9 days before. Our room overlooked the South China Sea (which is also part of the Pacific Ocean). This particular evening hosted a beautiful full moon which we watched rise over the sea. The next day was to be spent on a boat in the beautiful blue sea. The $7 fare included transportation to the dock, an all day boat ride, a large lunch, great swimming, a floating bar (with very cheap Vietnamese wine), a large dessert consisting of endless amounts of exotic Vietnamese fruits, and a beautiful, cloudless sky. We had a great time jumping from the top of the boat into the warm, clear, blue waters. After a day in the sun, we showered up and ate a delicious dinner of Bun Ba (noodles, beef, greens and fish sauce) and Nem Nuong (make your own rice paper roll-ups with greens, pork, fish, etc.). It was nice to stay in Nha Trang for two nights, but we had to leave the next morning and head north to Hoi An. We had an absolutely breathtaking ride that day, passing spectacular, emerald green rice fields, sugar cane fields, terraces, mountains, the blue China Sea and white sandy beaches, shrimp farms, lakes, salt fields, palm trees, and forests. We also had the window incident which Rich describes in a rather humorous manner in his travelogue. After another full day of travel, we finally arrived in Hoi An. Our hotel was absolutely charming, with teak wood walls and rafted ceilings along with a canopy bed. The following day we explored the equally as charming French colonial town of Hoi An. I would definitely like to return to this town and just hang out for a month or two. But, we had to leave and head on up to Hanoi, which brings us to today. Hanoi is the capital city of Vietnam. It is quieter than Saigon, but still very congested with motorbike traffic. It is less affluent as Saigon, as Communism has seemingly slowed the progress of modernization. This seems to have positives and negatives for this city. We have applied for our Indian visas today, and will have to wait approximately one week for it to arrive. So, we will be making Hanoi our home. I just wish the weather was a little better. It is definitely winter here. It is amazing how the weather changed so dramatically from Hoi An to Hanoi. Still, I look forward to exploring this interesting and historic city.
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