Journey to Mui Ne

A good portion of our first day in Saigon we spent in a “travel agency” figuring out where we wanted to go on the coast and how we would get there. Word on the street was Vietnam boasted some nice beaches and really affordable accommodations, so we aimed to make it happen somehow. All of these backpacker travel agencies cater to the independent traveler and arrange your reservations and transportation. We’d done some research on our own, but ended up relying heavily on their advice and trusted it would all work out. And it did – better than we could have expected. For just $5/person we rode a bus to Mui Ne and scored a 3 star beachfront resort for $48/night, breakfast included.

One of my favorite “travelisms”: Hurry up and wait. We rushed to the travel agency at 7:30 a.m. in a cab; then hung around on the side of the street for almost an hour until we boarded the bus. The bus slugged along for about 5 ½ hours (the travel agent told us 4 -4 ½ hours) through the outskirts of the city, villages, and rural countryside. It was a stuffy and l-o-n-g ride but what an amazing way to see the landscape.

Parts of the journey reminded me of rural India. We also saw several schools and kids in school  uniforms similar to schools we observed in Ghana and India. I counted 14 Christian churches, signified by tall crosses and statues of the resurrection Jesus. Christianity is dominant in the south and Buddhism in the north.

William commented on the “cotton candy clouds” when he took a break from his Nintendo DS and peered out the window.

We saw masses of these squat, hunter-green, ropey bushes; I thought they were aloe vera plants. Ellen, our friend and travel buddy, set us straight: dragon fruit! A prolific crop in the area, I tried dragon fruit at breakfast the next morning. Aren’t they gorgeous? Tastes a bit like kiwi, but with a grainier texture. You don’t eat the fuschia pink rind.

At last, the bus dropped us off at the Dynasty Resort, and instantly we glided into bliss. The idyllic hotel framed the beach with traditional Vietnamese architecture and a lovely courtyard garden. Slim-Jim coconut trees swayed in the breeze. The three connected pools floated just steps from the South China Sea.

Our room was a bit cozy for the four of us, but the amenities more than made up for it: balcony, mini fridge, TV, all kinds of toiletries (including toothbrushes and toothpaste!). The kids, especially William, logged hours watching retro cartoons like Scooby Doo, Flintstones, and Looney Tunes!

We continued our quest to run in each country. Ellen and I loped down the beach just at the right time to see rustic fishing boats coming in from the morning’s catch. It was fascinating to see fishermen tottering in these basket-shaped vessels that hardly seemed sea worthy.

We took a dip in the sea to cool off from our jog and take advantage of the calm waters. Mui Ne combined the best of Busua beach (Ghana) and Flic en Flac (Mauritius) and how glorious it was to enjoy a languid couple of days.

Mui Ne occupies a tranquil strip of coastline and finds its identity as a seasonal fishing village and quiet getaway with a handful of charming resorts and casual outdoor restaurants.

We spent our time swimming and relaxing.  Thoughts of renting bikes or taking a taxi out to the sand dunes faded away some time after breakfast and before lunch as we lounged by the pool.

Vivian, Ellen and I went for a walk in the morning looking for “town” – which there was none- and then back along the beach. To prevent erosion, the shore sported these criss-cross stones and that were interesting to look at but hard to walk on.

By about 4:00 in the afternoon the waves consumed the entire beach and lapped up to the heavy stone steps at the Dynasty. About that time us girls walked across the street for $5.00 pedicures (Vivian’s first!) Spa treatments are famously cheap across Vietnam. (We heard a couple of, ahem, interesting stories back on the ship about others’ experiences!) It was good timing for Vivian and William to spend some time apart, as sibling love only goes so far when you’re together 24/7.

You know you’re on vacation when your day revolves around meals. We ate really well (and so economically) the entire time, beginning with the unbelievable buffet breakfast at Dynasty. You could even get made-to-order omelets. The last time we ate a free breakfast at a hotel was at the Comfort Suites in North Carolina the day we boarded the ship. I think we ate stale pastries and drank Folgers coffee. Check out this spread!

We ventured down the street both nights for dinner. My barbecued seafood was so fresh it was either caught that morning or may have been swimming live in the tank out on the sidewalk. I didn’t look too closely!

William wore his Oregon Ducks T shirt and a guy at the next table struck up a conversation with us. He grew up in Monmouth, graduated from U of O, and is now teaching at an international school in Ho Chi Minh City. Small world! Here’s a pic of froggy friend I met in the restroom at the restaurant on our first night.

Most of the guests at the Dynasty were Russian and a few Vietnamese. On our 2^nd (and last) evening, we lolled in the smallest and warmest pool at twilight.  Silvery stars cut through the sapphire sky like diamonds, as I reveled in one of those I Can’t Believe I’m Here moments. A couple of 20-something Americans joined us in the pool. They’d just passed their bar exams and had been traveling around Thailand and Vietnam for a month. Listening to their tales accentuated that simmering hunch that I’ll return to Southeast Asia someday for an extended period of time.

I scrawled the following in my notebook on our bus ride back to Saigon: Impressions of Vietnam. Warm, tropical heat – but not oppressive. Energetic, but not bewildering. People- polite and friendly, but don’t invade your personal space. Different, exotic, but not overwhelming. Want to explore more, do more!

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War Remnants and Water Puppets

We tackled Saigon on foot again on day 2 with the only the help of our map and the shuttle bus to the city center. Our first goal: find the Golden Dragon Theater and buy tickets to the Vietnamese water puppet show for that evening. We zigzagged through the sprawling Tao Dan Park and somehow found the theater on the opposite corner. Mind you, we didn’t have an address. It’s been empowering to figure out (through all these ports) if we stumble around long enough, we usually find what we’re looking for!

Our next stop: the War Remnants Museum. Miraculously, it was about a five minute walk from the theater. We spent the next 6 hours in a convenient little corner of the city for the museum, park, theater, and dinner. Easy!

The War Remnants Museum commenced on September 4, 1975. All the themes clearly exhibit an anti-war sentiment and anti-American involvement, which is understandable considering that the museum opened right after reunification. There are probably a range of views among my readers about the Vietnam War, so I want to issue a disclaimer right away. I simply wish to report to you what I saw at this museum and how the exhibits affected me. In no way do I want to offend anyone, especially those who were involved with the war.

The main floor of the museum showcased “historical truths” – North Vietnamese propaganda and statements from other countries taking a stand on the war. Upstairs the requiem exhibits, including a collection of war documentary photographs taken by 134 journalists from 11 nationalities, displayed disturbing depictions of the war.

 The most distressing exhibit for me to view was grisly photographs of the effects of dioxin, aka Agent Orange. A stark silence hung over the hall and I saw more than one observer wiping away tears. According to this exhibit, the U.S. Air Force sprayed 72 million liters of toxic chemicals (44 million liters of dioxin) over Vietnam from 1961-1971. Many of the photos illustrated individuals with grave, unfathomable deformities. Dioxin’s effects can be transmitted to many generations through damaged DNA of exposed people. For example, there was a photo of a 25 year old woman, who was exposed to dioxin at age 12, holding her 10 month old son. The baby was born with half an arm and a severe acne-like rash. It didn’t occur to me until I processed this later that the high number of crippled beggars we saw in Ho Chi Minh City could have suffered from the dioxin exposure. Their physical disabilities were unlike any I’ve ever witnessed in my life.

The “DOVE” Children’s Room provided a place for Vivian and William to play, instead of viewing these exhibits, and for that I was grateful.

We returned to the park for a snack break and “time out” from touring. (Early on in the voyage we gathered the importance of play time everyday with the kids when in port! The confines of the ship drive us all nuts, but it’s especially hard on children. It’s been a blast comparing and contrasting parks in each country!) Tao Dan Park hummed with activity on this Sunday afternoon. Huge deciduous trees cooled the sandy playground while loads of kids swarmed over the modern play equipment.

We saw people playing badminton, more than one group kicking around lengthy (Vietnamese?) hacky-sacks, and dancers waving click-clackers.

Soon it was time to walk over to the Golden Dragon Theater for the 5:00 water puppet show. The puppets were actually marionettes. (The last time I saw marionettes perform was 19 years ago in Salzburg, Austria. Any of my readers remember that show?) How shall I describe this phenomenon? It’s unlike any performance I’ve ever seen. Unfortunately, none of my photographs turned out. A little bit mysterious, a little bit campy, and very touristy (the brochure reads “Not watching Vietnamese Water Puppet Show means not visiting Vietnam yet!”), it’s a show that we won’t forget. William was a little intimidated by the dark auditorium, but once the show started he got caught up in the magic. The stage was filled with about 3 feet of murky water. Throughout each scene, marionettes of people, fish, and dragons splashed, cavorted, and danced in the “pool.” Even though we ended up in the back row, we still had a great view, and we couldn’t detect the strings of the marionettes. Six musicians lined the sides of the stage and they played their instruments and vocalized for the puppets. The entire performance was executed in Vietnamese, but the story line was simple enough to follow. At the end about 10 puppeteers came out to take a bow in the waist-deep water!

We wandered the streets long enough to get hungry but not too long to get cranky before we found a beautiful restaurant that I regret not getting a photo of. I inhaled my pho (topped with bites of pork and a giant prawn in the shell) and fresh mango juice. The kids loved their chicken kebabs but picked at their sugar-coated fries. Jason played it safe with fried rice and a beer.

In Vietnam it got dark between 6 and 6:30, as soon as the sun set. There’s no twilight to speak of. This was the first time we’d been out at night since Cape Town, so we felt like party animals at about 8:00, meandering back to the posh Rex Hotel to catch the shuttle. 

We couldn’t stay out too late, since we planned to hop on a bus early the next morning for a half-day trek to Mui Ne. On our way we stopped to watch some guys racing their remote-control cars. This was a serious race, complete with an illuminated track. I don’t need to tell you who was most enamored by this. Gotta love free entertainment!

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Good Morning, Vietnam!

The MV Explorer chugged up the Saigon River for a couple of hours to reach Ho Chi Minh City in Southern Vietnam. We spied a few interesting fishing boats, but it wasn’t as picturesque as the Amazon River sail.

A welcome committee awaited our ship at the berth in Ho Chi Minh City, as well as lots of parents who’d arranged to visit the college students for a SAS sponsored trip.

 Saigon was renamed Ho Chi Minh City after reunification, but the residents still refer to it as Saigon. This was the first time I’d been to a communist city since East Berlin in 1988, and this bustling, colorful city didn’t match my stereotype of communism. In our pre-port lecture on the ship, we learned how the government opposes religious activities and Internet activity is monitored in the Internet cafes. For example, you can’t organize protests online. We were also warned not to take photos of government buildings, bridges, the military or police, and any protesters. As I look back through my photos, I think I violated that law since I snapped pics of the city hall and reunification palace. Oops!

It was easy to hop on the free shuttle bus that ferried us from the port to the Rex Hotel in the middle of downtown. Saigon’s buildings are an energetic blend of the past and present. Aside from the architecture, the vrooming motorcycles and scooters grab center stage. Some 4 ½ million motorbikes zip around the city all day and evening. Like in India, motorbikes are the mini van of choice in Saigon. No kidding, I saw a motorbike with two adults book-ending four kids! They do wear helmets, and oftentimes, surgical masks to block the pollution, which didn’t seem bad at all after Chennai.

Once the shuttle dropped us off, we explored Saigon on foot everyday. It’s a pedestrian-friendly city with wide sidewalks (sometimes too wide – occasionally motorbikes cruised down the sidewalk!) and the provided maps were easy to read. Warm and humid weather was tempered with a cloud cover and occasional sprinkles, which made the heat more bearable.

Navigating the streets with the velocity of the motorbikes proved a bit tricky; there are few traffic lights and even fewer walk signals. On the advice of our interport lecturer (who’s lived in Vietnam for 15 years), we followed his tips to cross safely: look both ways, nab an opening, stick together, and walk slowly, but don’t stop! It’s like the parting of the Red Sea, as the motorbike drivers instinctively understand how to maneuver and dodge around pedestrians! We’d been warned that Saigon would be similar to the traffic in Chennai, but I didn’t think it was nearly as crazy.

Hey, which way to the grade school carnival?? This photo shows a motorbike transporting dozens of plastic bags filled with goldfish!

Saigon boasted its own version of a rickshaw: the man-powered pedicab. We didn’t ride on any, as they only carry one person at a time. After we got back on the ship we learned of two different people who had their backpacks ripped off them while riding a pedicab!

When it comes to money matters, we have to adjust to each new country’s currency. Let’s just say my mental math has improved with all these conversions! However, in Vietnam, about 21,000 dong (pronounced dom) equals $1 USD! We felt like millionaires toting around all those big bills.  I never did quite get the hang of converting the dong (too many zeros!!) Lucky for me, Jason’s good at being in charge of the cash.

Vietnam is a budget shopper’s paradise! We let ourselves get swallowed up in Ben Thanh, an enormous indoor market selling all kinds of food, clothing, shoes, purses, jewelry, crafts, luggage, and art. I noticed that Vietnamese entrepreneurs (not just in the market, but everywhere we went) immediately “shadow” you the instant you start casually looking, but they don’t say anything until you initiate by asking a question. Most everyone speaks a little English, but not too clearly. The bargaining aspect can be exciting, but exhausting if you’re not on top of your game.

Vivian and I accompanied Ellen, who was searching for a mother-of-the-bride dress, to a dress shop, as Saigon is known as the place to buy a custom-made dress at a reasonable price. You can bring your own fabric or buy theirs, and present a photo of a dress from a magazine. The tailor takes your measurements, and voila! 48 hours you’ve got your dress. At least it’s supposed to work that way in theory. When Ellen picked up her dress, it was two sizes too big, so it had to be altered on the spot. I just bought a dress off the rack and the seamstress adjusted it in one place, free of charge.

As for the Vietnamese food, Ngon Cua! (It’s delicious.) Generous bowls of steaming Pho (pronounced Fa), noodle soup with your choice of chicken, meat, or seafood and often vegetables, is one of their signature dishes.

I loved the Café Sua Da, the Vietnamese iced coffee. Strong black coffee blended with sweetened condensed milk and poured over a tall glass of crushed ice slurps down like coffee ice cream! There were no Pizza Huts or KFC’s, but the kids fared well enough with chicken kebabs, rice, or fries. Although one restaurant served the French fries coated in sugar – that was a first!

Coming up next post: the War Remnants Museum and the water puppet show!

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