Colleen's Travels

Wednesday's tour began with a drive out of town to see the Cao Dai temple service at noon. It is a relatively new religion, founded in the 1920s--a combination of Buddhism, Confusianism, Christianity, and Taoism.

Quite an impressive prayer service with incense, traditional Vietnamese music, and members of the community in long robes, mostly white, but some red, yellow, and blue.

We had lunch along the way and I spoke to a young woman in our group who is from Indonesia. She works in community relations for an Australian gold mining company operating in her country. She lives on the job site and works for four weeks straight, then gets two weeks off, so she travels quite a bit with good deals on AirAsia.

Our final stop was for a visit of the tunnels at Cu Chi. Apparently, they were originally started during the war against the French in the first half of the 20th century, but were in full use during the "American War." There is a 20-minute film to watch that had the most propaganda I heard while I was here, talking about how the the US tried to put its "poisonous foot" of agression into the peaceful, gentle region.

Our guide, a 60-something man, had fought on the side of the South Vietnamese, so he didn't bring the same rhetoric to the discussion. He had been an English teacher most of his career. Quite the comic, he enjoys showing off all the crazy expressions he's learned from a book of Australian slang that an appreciative tourist sent him a while ago.

The most haunting part of the exhibit out in the jungle was the display of various traps the Viet Cong used. Some had been developed from traps that had originally been used to catch animals (e.g., tigers). All camouflaged in the ground, when a soldier stepped on one, he'd either slip into a bed of metal spikes, be pierced by sharpened bamboo spears, etc., etc. Some were designed to tear apart a leg; others to provide multiple wounds to the chest. Yikes!

For those interested, bullets were available for purchase to try target practice with an AK-47 or other weapons. Finally it was into the tunnels themselves. Presumably, the tunnels we crawled into were new display tunnels built larger for our tourist-size bodies. Although they seemed plenty small, and at 5'1" even I had to bend way down to get through the crawl space, we were told this tunnel was TWICE AS BIG as the tunnels that the Viet Cong used.

The trip is over. Now fly home late tonight from Saigon to Seoul, Chicago and then Minneapolis.

Although we left our hotels at 7am, by the time we got to the floating markets a lot of the activity was already over. We did see people selling fruits, vegetables, etc., but it was more a wholesale operation than a little local market.

Another boat ride took us to visit a family-run rice noodle factory in the woods today. They grind rice into a powder, add tapioca and water, making a creamy syrup-like substance. They pour a thin amount of the mixture onto a cloth, steaming it for just a few seconds into a rice paper about 15" in diameter. They quickly remove the rounds to a wicker rack where they dry for four hours. Later they are run through a machine that cuts them into rice noodles.

Speaking of food, the restaurant where I had lunch had snake and rat (fried or grilled) on the menu. I went for the chicken.

It's been very humid, but no rain while I've been in the Mekong region. Lots of people wear masks while riding their motorcycles, apparently more because of pollution than H1N1.

The guide last night said people blame corruption for many of the delays in infrastructure. They feel they are 100 years behind Thailand. Although that's a bit of an exaggeration, we saw one big bridge that was supposed to be under construction, but no one at all was working on it today. The structure itself seemed to be coming along, but there were all sorts of rusting metal debris up on top. The stuff didn't really look like components of a bridge, but of course I'm not an engineer!

I was chatting with an Italian woman on the tour. She'd heard on Minneapolis. "Isn't that where the singer Prince is from?" she asked.

In the computer room at the hotel, young guys from Germany were cautioning me about "imperialist invader" comments I might hear tomorrow at the tunnels at Cu Chi. So far on the trip, though, the Vietnamese have been totally friendly.

We started out Monday with about 30 tourists on a big bus, not only foreigners but several Vietnamese travelers as well. Two of the young people from the UK are staying on a year in Ho Chi Minh City to teach English as a Second Language to the locals. Another young British woman has been travelling throughout SE Asia since she finished her "uni" studies in the spring.

As the day went on, we were on the bus to get from Saigon to the Mekong, then a ferry to travel the river, and then little row boats to navigate the smaller channels. Lots of barges with soil on them...the guide said they dredge the river and then sell that soil to other nearby countries to use as a foundation for highways, etc.

Off the little boats to visit a family-run business making candy from the native coconuts, then back on the boats to go a little further into the woods to find a restaurant serving us local fish for lunch along with noodles. Another little boat ride and we were at a stop for tea, sliced fruit, and some musicians playing traditional Vietnamese music. Back on the boats, the ferry, and then the bus. The folks who only signed up for a 1-day tour left us to head back to Saigon, and the rest of us caught another bus and a 2-hour drive further into the Delta. Then it was wait about 30 minutes to get on a ferry to cross over to Can Tho for the night. While you wait at the ferry terminal, the typical cluster of street vendors are busy peddling everything from fruit and sandals to key chains and local lottery tickets.

Our group today included some more Australians, five Singaporeans, an Irishman living in Germany, a Dane, and me. We started out at the War Remnants Museum, with many, many photographs from the French and American wars. A special exhibit honored war photographers, many of whom (e.g., Robert Capa) died in battle. There was even a camera with a bullet hole in it on display.

We then went to Chinatown for a visit to a Taoist pagoda. As fast as people lit incense sticks and placed them on the shrines, caretakers came by to clear out the sticks, making room for the next worshipers coming through with yet more incense sticks. We were told "pagodas" have a statue of Buddha inside whereas "temples" might commemorate other holy people or cultural icons.

We had a a little time at a market where I bought some lotus seeds. I had a lotus seed drink back in Hanoi, and now bought some seeds at the market so I can try cooking with them at home. (The US Dept of Agriculture had told me before I left that it's OK to bring back dried seeds.)

After lunch it was off to the Reunification Palace, the new name for the former residence of the President of South Vietnam until 1975. Nice gardens with a bride and groom showing up to have their picture taken on the grounds.

Today's tour ended by visiting some buildings from the French era: the Old Central Post Office and Notre Dame Cathedral. In Hanoi the guide said 80% of the country is Buddhist, but down here the guide said the country is 50% Buddhist, 25% Catholic, and the remainder other religions. It would seem the 80% Buddhist figure is more likely.

One more thing...while I was waiting in the lobby this morning for my tour bus to show up, a worker at the hotel had what must have been an electronic fly swatter! Apparently battery operated, it looks sort of like a tennis racket and it zaps the bugs! Do we have these at home? I'd never seen such a thing. No messy mark on the window from swatting the critter, just a crackling noise!

The flight from Hanoi to Saigon was on time and uneventful. The Vietnam Airlines plane, a wide-bodied Boeing 777, was full. As arranged ahead of time, a driver was waiting for me at the airport to take me through the maze of motorcycle-filled streets to the hotel.

In Hanoi they said there were 6 million people and 3 million motorcycles--even more down here! The roads are a free-for-all: bicylces, motorcycles, taxis, trucks, street vendors....and pedestrians...all trying to make their way through the craziness. Not many stop lights. Just proceed at your own risk!

After checking in at the hotel, I walked over to a little park across the street. In no time at all I was approached by two groups of university students just wanting to practice their English for a few minutes. It was Saturday around 1pm and they were just coming back from classes.

I asked if they were on their way home for lunch, but they said they just wanted to hang around the park and talk to tourists. They all are convinced good jobs demand fluency in Engish.

After waiting three days for a typhoon to pass, finally tour companies were running trips out to Halong Bay, "the descending dragon" of Vietnamese mythology. According to local legend, a dragon flapped his tail around in the bay, and thus created 1,969 little islands in the area.

Our boat had about 20 tourists: several Austrialians, a Swede now living in Australia, some Spaniards, a few people from the UK, a young lady from Switzerland, and a handful of Americans, including a couple from Miami who were on their honeymoon. The husband is originally from Vietnam, having come to the US when he was just two, and his bride is a native of Peru. Over dinner everyone had stories to share of their travels thus far, some having already been to Cambodia, Laos or southern Vietnam.

It's a mix of old world meets new world. The three-hour drive through the Vietnamese countryside to our boat gave us a glimpse of everything from water buffalo and rice fields to Canon and Panasonic factories. Young women in little boats rowed up to the bigger boats, trying to earn a living selling snacks to tourists, all while talking on their cell phones!

Although it was quite hazy, and therefore difficult to photograph the bay, the scenery was spectacular. The water was calm, and even at night it did not get chilly. With four meals in 24 hours, we somehow found time to get off the boat to explore a huge cave on one of the islands.

I got up at 5:30am, hoping for a nice sunrise to photograph, but the clouds just brought a rather gray sky at daybreak. Still, a pleasant, quiet, time up on the top deck of the boat while most everyone else was still asleep.

Typhoons are still over Halong Bay so my efforts to go out there are delayed for another day.

I headed over to the Military Museum this morning to visit the "sculpture garden" outside. It is a collage of wreckage from downed fighters and bombers in Vietnam's wars with the French and the Americans. Big chunks of gnarled remnants. Also on display is the missile launcher that took down two B-52s. Every few minutes folks show up to have their pictures taken standing in front of the monument: some Americans of a certain age, others young Vietnamese.

Next I headed back to the Temple of Literature that I visited quickly Monday. I tried to get some more pictures in between rain showers and bought some watercolors at a little shop there. The rain is in between a mist and a drizzle. Locally it is called mua bui, which means "rain dust."

This evening I went to a water puppet show. A local folk art dating back to the 11th century, it features wooden puppets that are lacquered for decoration and to protect them from the water. The puppet show is accompanied by eight musicians playing traditional Vietnamese music. The performance is about an an hour and is comprised of about 15 little skits portraying traditional rural life complete with fire-blowing dragons (i.e., with sparklers), a phoenix dance, fishing, planting rice, a lion dance, etc. The wooden puppets are mounted on bamboo rods below the water's surface, and they are operated by eight puppeteers standing behind a bamboo screen. Somehow all the antics of the puppets are controlled by strings under the water.

When I was at the Temple of Literature earlier today, they had a few "retired puppets" for sale. Faded and a little worn compared to the bright, shiny, new reproductions, they had a certain charm, so I bought one.

With storms headed for Halong Bay, travel agencies were busy this morning re-routing tourists to Hoa Lu and Tam Coc. I was on a bus with people from Scotland, Germany, Australia, Sweden, Hong Kong, etc. A few Americans were out and about, but Europeans and Aussies seem to make up most of the traveling public. I thought I'd see some Japanese tourists, especially with all of the Honda and Yamaha motorcycles on the streets, but a guide said they don't usually come this time of year.

Our first stop this morning was Hoa Lu, an early capital of the country about 2 hours outside Hanoi. It is now the site of some ancient Buddhist temples. Afterward we had a 2-hour boat ride on the river at Tam Coc. The name means "three caves" and indeed you ride through three caves along the way. The area is marked by large limestone formations along the river, similar to but not quite as spectacular as those along the Li River in Guilin, China. It was quite hazy, so not a great day for photography.

I was in a boat with a fellow-tourist from Sweden. When I said I was from Minneapolis, she said her husband had gone to chiropractic school there. Then she and an Australian had to reminisce about the movie "Fargo." All over the planet now, people now know of Minnesota because of that crazy movie!!

A young Vietnamese woman was on the tour as well. She is from the south and was up this way to see a region she hadn't been to before. She was texting her boyfriend as we drove out to Hoa Lu and Tam Coc. Vietnam might be a developing country, but certain 21st century devices are apparently required everywhere! Watch out for the motorcyclists talking on their cell phones!

Rumors are that Halong Bay trips may be canceled the rest of the week because of a typhoon. Apparently a tourist boat sank out there in recent months, so caution is the word when storms head this way.

Planes ran on time and I landed in Hanoi at 10pm October 11. Quickly the driver from the hotel found me and took me into town...about a 45-minute ride. Although dark, I saw lots of industrial parks, including a large Panasonic plant, along the way.

Lots of choices for breakfast at the hotel Monday morning. I chose the Chicken Pho, a rice noodle soup. A plate of sliced fresh fruit and green tea came, too. I had arranged for a guide through Hanoi's Kids, a group of local university students who'll give you a free tour of the city in exchange for your picking up the cost of any cab rides and lunch. My guide, Quynh, a second-year international business student, took me to parts of the Old Quarter and French Quarter.

It sounded as though the family, rather than the government, pays for a child's education, even for elementary school. Quynh told me English is the most popular foreign language to learn, then Chinese and Japanese. She didn't feel that the English they got in school was sufficient, though, and said many students either hire private tutors or do volunteer work (like she does giving tours to foreign tourists) to gain better fluency in the language.

Most automobiles you see are taxis. The locals get around on motorcycles and they are everywhere! Even the sidewalks are used as parking lots for the ever-growing number of them! If you are a pedestrian, you are out on the streets with thousands of motorcyclists coming at you from all directions.

A highlight was at the Temple of Literature, which dates back to the 11th century. In one of the gardens big stone turtles, each with a large stone slab mounted on its back, is carved with the names of scholars who earned doctorate degrees at the institution centuries ago. Some of the stone tablets were destroyed when the French colonized the country, but many remain. The turtle is a special sacred animal in Vietnamese mythology, along with the dragon, the phoenix, and the lion.

By chance we happened upon a free musical concert of traditional Vietnamese music in one of the buildings. There were a couple of versions of the dan trung, a bamboo xylophone. It's not horizontal, though. Instead, the pieces of bamboo are arranged vertically with the smaller pieces near the top. There was also a dan bau, which is a single-stringed instrument, played with a wooden pick. Like anywhere, the musicians were happy for you to leave a tip and/or buy their CDs.

Quynh and I had lunch at a large outdoor restaurant, and for dessert, I had cooked lotus seeds, served in a crushed ice drink. Dinner included pumpkin and ginger soup. I could see the cashier typing away on a little window in the computer...she eventually told me she was chatting online with her friends who were in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Tomorrow was supposed to be my overnight to Halong Bay, but the hotel just told me trips are canceled due to storms in the area. Maybe better luck later in the week.