Chillin' in the beach town of Mui Ne

December 13, 2010

You’ll be shocked at how short this entry is, but I wanted to write one. I took an early bus to Mui Ne, a beach town, about 5 hours up the coast from Saigon. The weather is overcast most days, but the temperature is nice and the water feels good.

I wandered the beach and rode a bike along the main strip and had two interactions with locals that were in stark contrast. Walking along the fishing area I took a picture of this man in his round boat coming to shore (I’d never seen a round boat before!). Then he walked away from the beach, later I realized to get friends help him carry the boat up on the beach more. As I snapped a photo of his boat I felt a tap on my shoulder and looked that direction and saw no one. He had moved to the other side having a fun joke on me. I spotted him and his playful smile. He spoke no English and my Vietnamese is limited to hello and thank you, but he got a kick out of me saying even those. Later I was bicycling and saw a sign for a nice hotel having a discount on rooms. I figured it still would be out of my price range, but I thought I’d check because where I am is a bit far from the center of things. I ask the man about prices for his basic rooms and he offers to show me one, but doesn’t tell me the price. I ask again to know the price first and he yells repeatedly, “FUCK YOU! GET OUT OF HERE!” Are you as shocked as I am? So I turned to leave and just wondering if he was playing a terrible prank I turned back around and got another earful of “GET OUT!” Not sure what that was about, but not what I expected.

My room is fine and actually has hot water and air conditioning all for $8. I found another guesthouse room for the same price closer to the center, but with a fan and only cold water. I can deal with both of those, but not sure if I’ll bother with the trouble of moving for just tomorrow night. I plan on getting a motorbike tomorrow anyway – to see some sand dunes – so I can get around easily. It was nice bicycling today and it’s easy here because the terrain is flat. I lounged at a beachside café and drank a fruit shake. It’s a nice break after the whirl of Saigon.

For my last day in Saigon I slept in and then went to their art museum. It was small, but had some contemporary pieces I enjoyed. Then I went back to the main indoor market and found myself a hat. I snapped a few pictures and you can see how tightly packed the place is. You can find anything at the market it seems and you can also eat there. Another tourist said he say a woman in her stall crying and realized it was because her high stack of clothes had just fallen over. I didn’t see any of those disasters, but did see stalls selling cloth so clothes could be custom tailored.

I saw another two minor accidents – I’m averaging 2 a day in Saigon. Some intersections are quite scary to cross, especially the massive rotaries with no lights. I just hold my breath until heaving a sigh of relief on the other side. I reconsidered my plan to kiss the ground. At one spot in front of the market a tourist police officer escorted me across the street. That was a relief. This is the same area I saw an accident later.

I posted a picture of a group of people in the park. This is what happens when I tourist sits down in a public place. You can see a few tourists have been swarmed by Saigoners/Saigonians (what do you call people who live in Saigon?). I had wanted to sit and read my book, but knew I really couldn’t. Most I’m sure just want to practice English, but I’ve heard enough scam stories that I’d rather not put myself in the situation. One young Japanese tourist got scammed out of $100 USD!

In the evening I happily retrieved my headlamp! I bought drinks for the people working in the hotel/travel agency and people watched. Then for a little culinary variety – and it was cheap - I had a gyro, which was pretty good. It was a little street stall with squatty tables and chairs to sit on. Speaking of food, I’m going to go search some out….

The Beat of Saigon (or should I say Ho Chi Minh City)

December 7, 2010

The traffic is a bit hairy in Saigon, but it isn’t as bad as I’d imagined. There are street lights, crosswalks and pedestrian lights at times. The lights don’t always seem to stop the drivers, but at least it slows it. Motor bikes far outnumber cars and you’ll sometimes find them on the sidewalk! Unlike Indonesia though, the bikes tend to stay in a pack and dominate a lane. In Indonesia, especially Bali, the bikes were always weaving in and out, which made it chaotic. Not to say it isn’t chaotic here. I’ve already seen/heard two accidents! The most recent one was just outside the window where I was having tea. It was a small accident where two bikes collided, but I think one had been at a standstill. The bread from the basket on one bike went flying all over the sidewalk. Some pedestrians helped pick up the bread and I assume it was sold and served as usual – yuck! The other driver had a bruised elbow, but everyone (including him) was laughing and having a jolly time. I’ve included a picture of the man hanging out on his motor bike after the accident.

I started my day by heading to the Mariamman Hindu Temple – well actually the adventures began before I left the dorm. I had a fitful sleep because the dorm room has open windows and this neighborhood (the backpackers’ district) is very noisy. I wouldn’t stay awake long, but I feel like I woke every couple of hours. The bed was comfortable though. :) My roommates were already gone when I woke so I did my morning routine. The toilet wouldn’t flush – had the same problem last night – and later the staff looked at it, but they also told me how to fix it. I had guessed what the problem was before – the chain – but I’m not too keen on putting my hand in hostel toilet tanks! The water also cut off while I was showering. I had just put my conditioner on. So I had to resort to the bucket and pitcher. The water came on a bit later so I think that something went haywire because one of my roommates had left the water switch on. Yes, for some reason we have to turn a switch on and off when we use the water. Once ready I headed down the 6 fights of stairs to make my way to the museum. Now these are annoyances, but I am only paying $5/night and I get free internet so I think I can stick it out. :)

I grabbed breakfast from a street vendor and it was essentially a sandwich with various kinds of meat and vegetables. Sorry I forgot to take a picture!

The Hindu temple was built in that late 19^th century and was interesting to see. The décor and rituals was eye catching. Then off to the nearby Reunification Palace…

Entering the Reunification Palace was like a time warp because the décor hasn’t been altered since it was taken by the North Vietnamese in April 1975. It was built from 1962-1966, which you could probably guess from the pictures. It was the South Vietnamese President’s palace before April 1975 and is sometimes used for meetings of the current government. Apparently, the New Zealand ambassador was just welcomed there. The palace was bombed twice and they have the points marked with the red circles and have included a shell fragment. Supposedly, the bombing happened by a SV pilot who was secretly helping the north. I’m not sure why the décor of the palace has been left – did the new government not have the money to “improve” it? Did they want to preserve the history of their enemy?

I not only had one guide, but two for this palace. I had the official guide and then a local student who attached himself to me. He was very nice and wanted to practice his English. He said he is a university student and plans to be a guide. He also offered his services free of charge to show me around HCMC saying that was part of his deal with the government. Now this could all very well be true, but I have also read about scams from seemingly friendly folks so I decided to manage on my own. My New Yorker side also puts up walls when strangers come up to me in public like that. After the tour I joined one of the women from the tour for lunch – well we happened to go to the same place. She said she thought he was my private guide! If he was genuine I feel badly, but I also didn’t want to get scammed into paying him.

My new Portuguese friend and I headed to the War Remnants Museum next. I had heard that it is biased and it surely is. It is a museum solely dedicated to bashing the US during the war. Now, the US government and some soldiers deserve criticism, but the complete omission of any North Vietnamese or Viet Cong action makes the exhibit clearly propaganda. From the exhibit it would seem that the communist side fired no weapons and harmed no one. The only military weapons on display were American and the recent injuries sustained from mines still hidden are only caused by American mines. Apparently, the communists didn’t use mines or none of theirs are still in the field. Their treatment of POWs wasn’t included either. I wonder if I’ll have trouble posting this blog in Vietnam… The atrocities the US committed were well covered in photos and text, but none showed the other side’s horrors or killings that are an inevitable result of war. The war was so complex from the US perspective, but that wasn’t communicated. The Cold War motivations for the US entering the war, even if you don’t believe they were valid, were not addressed.

Next I wandered to Notre Dame Cathedral (guess who built that between 1877-1883!). This area had a lot of high end stores and is not what you would expect in a communist country. HCMC has loosened it reins on communism more than other parts of Vietnam apparently. I also visited the Saigon Central Mosque, which was built in 1935.

Given all the walking and the stairs in my hostel, I am making a good dent on “the cookie effect.”

Tomorrow I’m visiting the CuChi Tunnels and another temple. Then hopefully the Mekong Delta for 3 days. Off to shower before bed. I hope none of my roommates are there. Oh, and I can’t figure out how to turn on the lights in the toilet and shower rooms. Might be difficult to shower with a headlamp… umh.