Yesterday we left Vietnam after 10 days and definitely felt like it was NOT enough time. As such, we really want to go back! Maybe often?
We didn’t have a lot of time to explore in Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City). It is big and modern and different from Hoi An and Hanoi in many ways. Street food was still everywhere and the scooters and motorbikes still tried to run us over everywhere we went!
Our first tour guide was 23 years old! KayZ was a wealth of info and spoke excellent English. We travelled in a van with 4 others, a couple from Munich and a mother and son from Chiba in Japan. Our first stop was the Bing Trang Temple. We learned the difference between original Buddhism from India and Buddhism that was adapted by the Chinese. This was a Chinese temple and we knew this because their were many Buddhas. Original Buddhism would have only one Buddha.
Our destination was the Mekong Delta and we drove for just over an hour. I should mention that speed limits in Southeast Asia are basically the same as Japan.
We jumped in a boat and headed to see four beautiful islands, known as Dragon, Unicorn, Phoenix, and Tortoise. It was an incredible experience and easy to imagine what life was like 50 years ago in the delta, known as a dangerous place. People living there had many children because many would not live into adulthood, dying from Dengue Fever or other horrible diseases.
We took a hand-rowed sampan through Thoi Son Canal and visited a family workshop and honey-bee farm, and tasted some honey tea and coconut candies.
We had a great lunch which included sticky rice (server cut up for us later) and Elephant fish. It was an amazing experience.
Our second day of touring took us 2 hours out of Saigon to the Cu Chi Tunnels. Similar to the other bus trip we took, seats were “Vietnam” size and not the most comfortable. Most participants were much younger that us. We met a lovely Filipino couple from Calgary and a young guy from Toronto who was living and working in Banff. We also met a cool woman from Germany called Anne. Sadly we were not the first on the bus for the drive home and many young “couples” chose to spread out and take single seats… grrrrrr - not cool. I get solo travellers? But come on!!
We were SO lucky to have a guide who actually fought in the Vietnam War in the South Vietnamese Army with the Americans. Tuan was a wealth of info and pretty rough around the edges - for the most part participants “got” him - but not everyone! Although gruff at times, and somewhat repetitive, I thought he was magnificent!
The video at the beginning of the tour was pure propaganda! Completely siding with the Vietcong and villanizing the evil Americans. Again - this is why I felt so lucky to have Tuan as our guide. He was very neutral and spoke with admiration of how incredibly clever and industrious the Vietcong were to enable their survival. The tunnel system was CRAZY!! I can totally imagine how terrifying it was for American soldiers - never knowing where a guerilla fighter would pop up out of the ground! So resilient - they basically had nothing but were able to survive. We saw the traps, the tunnel system, how they diverted water during flood seasons.
Because Tuan served for the South Vietnam government, he was imprisoned after the war for 8 years by the communist government. His stories were incredible and it was a privilege to receive his perspective. I was and am no fan of the war but as he said, the American boys were just there to help people.
Interestingly, the day before, our young tour guide told us everyone loved the communist leader Ho Chi Minh and he also said that the South Vietnam government was corrupt. True? Or has he been brainwashed by the communist government.
When Tuan got out of prison, he moved to the US for 12 years. He has 4 children who still live there. He said he came home because he loves his country, and because it was too cold and too quiet in America. According to him, Vietnam is busy and loud because when it’s quiet, it is too painful and people remember the war. Wow. He even let us feel the shrapnel that is still inside him. I HATED the bus ride - LOL - but am so grateful for the experience.
In Saigon (I have now decided I will call it this as most of the locals do), we hung out on some crazy party streets near our hotel. We didn’t really have time to explore the city or hit the market but we had a great time.
I had no idea how much I would love Vietnam, but I really did. The food, the weather, the spas and the vibe. It was hard to say goodbye but I believe we will be back.
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