Currently listening to: “Karma Police” by Radiohead
I have made it safely to Vietnam. After a 9 hour flight from Sydney Monday morning, I arrived in the late afternoon to cloudy skies and chaos. I had heard the traffic in Saigon was intense, but I honestly believe that is an understatement. At any given time when driving in a cab or walking across the street, you are surrounded by scooters and motorcycles. Crossing the street as a pedestrian is a crazy game of frogged and everyone utilizes their horn as though it were just a friendly hello.
Crater from a B52
View of the shooting range behind an AK 47
I chose to lay low my first night and have an early night, as I had booked a tour of the Cu Chi Tunnels for my first full day in Vietnam. The Cu Chi Tunnels are a vast network of connecting tunnels that were part of the Viet Cong’s base during the Tét Offensive. It was interesting to tour it and hear it from the Vietnamese perspective of the war. We watched a “documentary” video while at the tunnels that talked about the 3 major Cu Chi war heroes, all given medals for killing “many Americans”. The ingenuity of the people of the region was unbelievable. The locals built booby traps using bamboo and would take tires from the destroyed American vehicles to make shoes, which they would then wear backwards so as to lead the enemy in the wrong direction. The tunnels them self were tiny and definitely claustrophobia-inducing. I climbed into an entrance and jumped right back out. There was no way I could have gone the 5-10 meters underground without hyperventilating.
We returned to our hostel late in the day yesterday and were able to get a bowl of pho for a very late lunch. The ingredients were so simple and so fresh that I didn’t care that it was over 80• and I was having soup. It was just delicious.
Last night we had a bánh mi at an awesome place around the corner from my hostel. It’s rated the top bánh mi in Saigon and the amount of locals pulling up on their scooters and stopping by in a can was a sight to see. A few of us then wandered the in the POURING rain to the backpackers area of the district to find a cheap bar for drinks. The rain continued and rather than lightening up, it continued to rain harder and harder. Eventually, we decided to call an uber back to the hostel. Oh yes, in an effort to rule the world, uber is available in Vietnam. Guess what guys… My Uuber cost $0.75.
Today it’s rained off and on already. I plan on having an emotional afternoon at the War Remnants Museum and then I’ll cheer myself back up at the big market.
Strange Trails 