That's Just...Vietnam

It took about ten (10) minutes from leaving the airport to realize that I was going to start a list in Vietnam's blog that can be summarized as "that's just...Vietnam":

1) Men and women getting haircuts/shaves on sidewalks of busy roads
2) Speaking of sidewalks, there are no such things. They're called motorbike parking and riding areas
3) Motorbikes will shoot out of longer walk and alleyways without looking left or right
4) Drivers do not hesitate to swerve into oncoming traffic to get around a slower vehicle
5) Get into an accident in a highway middle lane? Make traffic go around you and only use one (1) deflector thirty (30) feet away as warning
6) Honking and flashing your brights is merely telling someone "I'm right here!"
7) Crosswalks can be anywhere, including the middle of a round-a-bout
8) The more aggressive you play real-life Frogger the better your chances of not getting run over
9) Drug dealers walking and riding right up to you asking you if you'd like to buy "X" drug
10) The easiest "drugs" to find, however, are helium balloons which are sold everywhere
11) Getting the Westerner double/triple-take by numerous people over the course of a day
12) Beers can be found for as little 3,000 Vietnamese Dong, or ~$0.15USD if you wander away from the main city streets a little
13) Sleeping on motorbikes is comfortable
14) Being offered to rent a random motorbike at least five (5) times per day
15) Deciphering if locals are actually fighting or just talking incredibly loud is quite difficult
16) Roadside viewpoints are accessed merely by pulling as far right into your lane as possible and expecting others to get around you
17) Getting harassed by a tourist-area vendor just for answering, "Hello. Where you from?"
18) Roaming vendors getting visibly upset when haggling over pricing 4x an item's value, especially if they trying telling you its their first sale of the day/night and selling to you will bring them luck
19) The louder an eater chews the better the meal
20) Those traditional Vietnamese rice cone hats are EVERYWHERE in the countryside, but also a few in the big cities

Dragon Bridge in Da Nang

Surprisingly, I wasn’t accosted coming out of the airport in Hanoi, but the craziness started shortly after with number 5 above. About five (5) minutes after that I saw the remnants of a motorbike accident followed quickly after by a raging fire right along a busy road’s sidewalk. Off to a hot start! Hanoi was just as hectic as I had been warned, but if you laugh about the chaos maneuvering around the city is actually enjoyable and quite the challenge. I took it upon my own legs to get me around the city both days I had which covered the following sites: Hanoi Citadel, Ba Dinh Square, Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, Presidential Palace, Hoa Lo Prison (Hanoi Hilton), Ngoc Son Temple, Hoan Kiem Lake, Hanoi Night Market, Opera House, National History Museum, Bun Cha Huong Lien. All of the museums in town are the equivalent of $1.50 USD so I hit as many as I could before I just couldn’t take it anymore. By the third one I realized they’re showing the same material in various forms so I called it quits and just walked around the grounds of Ho Chi Minh Museum and Mausoleum. Ho Chi Minh is a legend for bringing Vietnam through wars and into the Democratic Republic that it is. They renamed Saigon as Ho Chi Minh City if it says anything. Every day, busload after busload of adults and kids are taken through his mausoleum and monuments.

Hoa Lo Prison, aka: The "Hanoi Hilton"

Typical Crowded Street in Hanoi

Hoan Kiem Lake

Go Light on the Street Food Hot Sauce

Vietnam War Poster

Changing of the Guard Outside Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum

They also like portraying stories of the country’s history with facts that show their troops and people as superior however they can. Example: when discussing how many B-52 bombers their troops shot down one case was presented as the American pilot had 4,300 flight hours while the Vietnamese pilot had only 300. Humble brag, but not necessary for a wartime museum. All in all I didn’t mind Hanoi as the food was quite good – more of the same combo of noodles, pork/chicken, soup, veggies – and the streets and air are much dirtier than Bangkok, but it wasn’t unbearable. The fact that my hostel served free beer from 6:00pm until the keg was finished also upped its rating slightly.

I can now check “take an overnight train in SE Asia” off my list as I survived the 13-hour journey from Hanoi down to Hue. If Hue sounds familiar it was home to one of the longest and most deadly battles in the Vietnam War, and also one of the US’ largest Air Force bases during the war. Hue was also the capital for nearly 145 years. Thankfully though, Hue is a scaled-down Hanoi with a much more relaxed atmosphere and green areas all throughout and surrounding the town thanks to the Perfume River which divides old and new Hue. Don’t get me wrong, crossing a street in Hue is still quite dangerous, but it’s only the case for a few major streets. I took the rest of the day after arriving by train, and the following full day, to walk the river, scooter out to some of Tombs of the Emperors and Thien Mu Pagoda, and visit the Imperial Citadel, one of Vietnam’s seven (7) UNESCO Heritage sites. The Imperial Citadel was a walled fortress and palace for the Nguyen Dynasty of Vietnam during Hue’s capital run. Some of the details that remain, as well as some that have been restored, after the Vietnam War are incredible. The hours of work that went into the architecture of the complex had to be astounding.

Outside the Imperial Citadel in Hue

Inside the Imperial Citadel

Thien Mu Pagoda

Scootering Around the Mean Streets of Vietnam to the Tombs

Tombs of the Emperors

The tombs were interesting to see, but same as with the temples, once you've seen a few they all start to blend together. I was more concentrated on surviving my first scooter experience on the mean streets of Vietnam.

Since I was basically in the heart of the former Vietnam War area I signed up for a DMZ tour which turned out to be great - just not the part of destroying their country, forcing them to live underground for six (6) years, and then still losing. We came across veterans from both sides that were visiting things they remembered and were told by the American group that a lot of retired military visit every year with some staying for a full month. Being able to see bomb craters, the underground tunnels where whole villages lived, and the Khe Sahn Combat Base definitely brought perspective to the day and a new appreciation for the lesser-known details of wartime.

Rockpile Hill

C-130, Helicopter, Old Bombs, Bunkers, and Propanganda at the Khe Sahn Combat Base

At the Vinh Moc Tunnels on the DMZ Tour

I was fortunate enough to meet a great couple while on the DMZ Tour in Hue who happened to invite me to share a private taxi with them through the scenic Hai Van Pass that runs between Hue and Da Nang/Hoi An. Of course I couldn't turn this down so we took in the scenic views (and smells) of the route which provided great views of Da Nang from several hundred meters up. They continued on towards Hoi An after dropping me in Da Nang, but I would be lucky enough to have dinner with them when I finally arrived in Hoi An! But first, Da Nang decided to test my drinking abilities with a few 3:00 AM nights...Koreans know how to party. Da Nang will be a huge destination in about five (5) years. There is high-rise construction all along the cities' 10km-long waterfront and there are a few attractions that visitors can check out while in town as well, such as the Lady Buddha and pagodas, views from Monkey Mountain, and Marble Mountain's caves and viewpoints. I explored all of the above with a friend from the hostel by scooter and didn't crash again. Think I'm getting the hang of it!

Views from the Hai Van Pass between Hue and Da Nang

Dragon Bridge in Da Nang

Vietnamese "Golden Gate Bridge"

Lady Buddha

Views over Da Nang from Ban Co Peak

The Rest of the Marble Mountains from the Main Mountain

A short 45-minute local bus ride took me farther South to Hoi An where I spent the next three (3) nights. Unfortunately, these days felt more like being on a touristy Mexican vacation as Hoi An is a huge tourist spot for families and couples, not just backpackers as most of my travels have taken me to, All of the streets are line with tailors, restaurants, souvenir shops, shoe stores, leather bag stores, and everything else tourists want to buy. The main attraction is heading to reputable tailors for suits, shirts, dresses, coats, and anything else you'd want for about one-third of the price you'd pay back home. They'll even ship it right to your door back home! Of course I had to get a few things made since I've never even owned a suit. Besides that, I enjoyed the nighttime scenery of lanterns, the night market, and wish candles that people buy and float into the river that runs through town. Through the hostel I joined a quick bicycle tour that took us out into the Hoi An countryside, a spring roll class, and happy hours that included free beer, watered-down rum and cokes, and carbonated shots (which I'm assuming were vodka Sprites.

Bridge of Lights in Hoi An

Vietnamese Countryside outside Hoi An

Colorful Shop-Filled Streets of Hoi An

Instead of take a twenty-four (24) hour bus ride down to Ho Chi Minh City, f.k.a Saigon, I opted for a short flight from Da Nang. Within fifteen (15) minutes of being on the local bus towards my hostel I could tell HCMC was way worse than Hanoi traffic/chaos-wise.

In order to maneuver around HCMC you essentially have to just not give a **** about crossing streets and walking down sidewalks otherwise it'll never happen. The best analogy I can give is if you've ever seen an ant farm and the constant stream of ants, 6-10 wide going both directions with hardly any gaps between them. It's appalling and, at the same time, incredible that it still functions without incident. I'm just thrilled I'm getting away from the city unharmed. Have to take an Uber motorbike a few km's? Hop on and just close your eyes until the driver tells you you've arrived! Which is what I did when I met up with a friend I met in Da Nang that works in HCMC. Later that night our group went to a Saigon Heat (Vietnamese Professional Basketball) game in a gym no bigger than a U.S. high school's. The atmosphere was actually awesome, but the basketball was as can be expected in Vietnam. The previous night I only had to walk to a craft brewery to meet a buddy I had come across in Singapore that lives in HCMC currently. This was stressful enough, but the beers were delicious and I learned Vietnam is just in the beginning of their craft beer revolution so if you want in to a developing market, find your way over to Vietnam!

Saigon Heat Basketball

After a day of figuring out where to go after SE Asia (hello continent #6 and completely different scenery!) the Mekong Delta called my name. The tour involved about eight (8) hours of transport between bus, riverboat, and rowboat and included floating markets, traditional Vietnamese music, and watching how popped rice corn, tapioca candies, and tapioca rice noodles are made. One of the most stunning facts from the tour was that the Delta provides a home for twenty-two (22) million Vietnamese and is comprised of nine (9) main branches that eventually make up the Mekong River. Being the life-source that it is explains why Vietnamese think of nine (9) as a very lucky number. Seasonal flooding is welcomed every year and provides life to countryside fields and croplands surrounding the Delta and its many branches.

Our Transport through the Mekong Delta

Since I made the stupid mistake of traveling right past the caves of Phong Nha instead of exploring that after my Aunt sent me a video of the biggest cave in the world, I took a short flight up from HCMC to go caving! It was set in my mind that this 2D/1N excursion was going to all be inside the world's largest cave of Son Doong - only discovered ~28 years ago, then lost, and rediscovered ~10 years ago by a wandering farmer. Even though we never technically stepped foot inside Son Doong I'm calling it good enough as we were in a caves directly connected to Son Doong by rivers and rock channels. These caves - Nuoc Nut and Hang Va - had some ginormous openings mixed with jagged rock, flowing rivers, and narrow channels that required getting down and almost Army-crawling on all fours. It was quite the rush navigating through these areas in pitch dark with only head lamps and flashlights to guide us. At one point we all shut off all our lights and just sat in the darkness admiring the nothingness around us. It was so peaceful that I probably could've fallen asleep sitting up if given the chance. One of the best reasons for being on the trip was that I got professional-quality pictures without doing any of the work as iPhones and GoPros suck in those conditions, but several peoples on the tour had great cameras and have shared their pictures with the group! I had to be a "model" in a few shots, but that's a small price to pay for some of these awesome shots.

Phong Nha Caving

Turns out that the few days on Phu Quoc Island in the South of Vietnam were exactly what the doctor ordered. I met some good people from Germany and Australia (of course) and formed a scooter gang that explored the island’s markets, waterfalls, pagodas, viewpoints, and beaches. Unfortunately, unless a resort backs up right to the shoreline the locals do not take care of their beach leaving lines and piles of garbage everywhere. It’s a real shame because some of the beaches could really be enjoyable, more secluded places. I digress. The food, company, and sights were a great break from the normal chaos of Vietnam’s larger cities and I’m definitely glad I spent the few days that I did down there…especially since it’s right back into the touristic madness that is another UNESCO World Heritage site up next!

Phu Quoc Island Explorations