Good Morning Vietnam

Several months ago Ruth found out that there was an upcoming course for teachers of IGCSE Coordinated Science planned for the weekend after Easter.  We waited patiently for Cambridge to announce the location and open registration, and in late February it finally happened.  Our principal approved four of us to head to Ho Chi Minh City for the training--we were so excited!  Unfortunately Windy had to stay back in Seoul to prepare for her final weeks in Korea before she returns to the Philippines to give birth.  That meant Stephanie, Ruth, and I would have to go as a trio.  We've been talking about this trip for months and it was almost shocking how quickly our departure date approached!  Before we knew it, April 21st had arrived and shortly after school ended we grabbed our suitcases and made our way to the airport.  


Since arriving in Korea I have only visited one other Asian country (Japan) and I knew that Vietnam would probably be much different.  I had read that travelers have to be cautious about drinking the water and careful to avoid foods that could be contaminated--oh the stress.  I was also well aware that Vietnam is still a developing nation, which meant a definite change in scenery.  I'll try almost anything once, so I attempted to enter this new experience with an open mind.  The ride from the airport at 11:30pm on Thursday night was nothing short of eye-opening....and slightly terrifying.  We quickly discovered that the "rules of the road" which most drivers in the US, Europe, and Korea are accustomed to are merely a suggestion.  Oh my!  Thankfully we made it to the hotel, albeit with slightly elevated blood pressure and a faster than normal heart-beat.  Seeing as it was two hours later in Korea, we all fell into bed and drifted off to sleep.


The next morning I awoke with the sun streaming in the window of my hotel room and proceeded to get up and ready.  We had booked a city tour prior to arriving in Ho Chi Minh and the city was out there waiting to be explored.  After a quick breakfast, we joined several other tourists and a very nice guide for a day full of sightseeing.  Our hotel was located in Chinatown (Cholon), so it was logical that our first stop was in this vicinity too.  We all piled out of the van at Bihn Tay market, a wholesale market where you can purchase practically anything your heart desires.  Before we could enter the marketplace we had one very important obstacle to overcome--we had to cross the street.  You are probably thinking that this sounds like a fairly easy task, but not in this city!  You truly take a leap of faith once you step off of the sidewalk into the roadway.  There are literally hundreds of thousands of people commuting on motorbikes at any given time and very few traffic signals, so you have to look for a clearing and go for it.  Since we had a local to guide us across we managed to accomplish this task fairly easily, but later we were forced to do this on our own--yikes!  


There are a couple of rules to follow when crossing the street:  1) Once you start walking, you must continue--under no condition should you STOP anywhere in the roadway as this is certain to lead to your imminent death; 2) You must not look at the oncoming traffic as you walk--this will just cause you to have a heart attack in the middle of the street and thus you will end up stopping (see rule 1); 3) You should take care to walk at a constant pace throughout your journey therefore allowing the approaching traffic to gage your location at any given time and skillfully avoid hitting you--this means you should not panic and start to run when you see traffic approaching.  Rules 2 and 3 proved to be problematic for me as I found it nearly impossible not to size up the approaching vehicles AND my fight or flight response automatically kicked in when the traffic got too close for comfort.


Okay, back to the market.  Our guide gave us about  an hour to browse and shop and we made the most of every minute!  All three of us purchased fabric to have dresses or trousers made during our stay and we picked out a fun and frilly dress for Windy.  Here's what it looked like from the inside and out...

The main entrance to Bihn Tay market.

At the frilly dress shop!

There were fabrics galore to choose from!

By midmorning the temperature had risen steadily and we found ourselves dripping with sweat in the 90 degree and humid conditions.  But, there was much more to see so we pressed onward.  Our next stop was at a Chinese temple where Buddhist worshippers were coming to leave offerings and burn incense in hopes of achieving prosperity and good luck.  This particular temple was dedicated to a saint who saved people lost at sea (I think).

The front entrance to the temple.

See what I mean about people lost at sea?!

Festive lanterns!

Burning incense.

Cool curly incense hanging from the ceiling.

The altar.

Us girls posing out front!

Between each stop on our tour we had the luxury of being driven in a large van.  Here's a glimpse of the traffic that is typical to Ho Chi Minh as seen from the van window...

Going, going, always going!

The next stop on our tour was probably the most sobering part of the entire trip.  We visited the War Remnants Museum to see the Vietnam War from the perspective of the Vietnamese people along with contributions from countries all over the world.  Before entering the museum, our guide gave us a short briefing about what we would see and asked us to try and see the events depicted from the opposing sides.  Having visited the War Memorial Museum in Seoul, I thought I was somewhat prepared for what I might see.  What we witnessed was nothing short of heart wrenching and despicable all at the same time.  It was one of the few times in my life where I was appalled to be an American and I wondered how any human could treat another human in such terrible ways.  In the end, what was it that we were really fighting for?  Freedom?  Not really.  The end of Communism?  Obviously we were unsuccessful.  I guess that raises the question, why was the United States involved to begin with?  I don't claim to be a history scholar, so there is much I do now know about this conflict--I think it might be time to do a bit of research and find out.  Is what I learned in school really the truth about what happened here?  So many questions waiting to be answered.

It wasn't difficult to see that we were visitors in a Communist land.

Some vintage anti-war propaganda.

A reproduction of a prison from the war.

Old military aircraft from the war.

The blades on this helicopter were HUGE!

Before stopping for lunch, we headed into the city center to see Notre Dame and the Central Post Office.  Since Vietnam was colonized by the French prior to the war, you see European influences scattered throughout the city.

Notre Dame in the center of Ho Chi Minh. 

The Central Post Office--where both locals and foreigners go to conduct business.

For lunch we feasted on pho, a traditional noodle soup, at the famous chain Pho 2000 (Bill Clinton also tried the tasty dish at this same restaurant during his visit to Ho Chi Minh City a decade ago).  The other girls tried out the beef variety and I opted for vegetarian.  Add a plateful of spring rolls and we were some very happy campers!

Beef pho and fried spring rolls!

Stephanie is a pro at using chopsticks!

My vegetarian pho--I passed on the fried tofu and bean curds, but the noodles and broth were yummy.

We wrapped up lunch and moved on to our last historic stop of the day--the Reunification Palace.  This government building was constructed before the war when both France and America tried to put a government in place.  Obviously, neither stuck, but the palace somehow survived and served as the living quarters for the president and his family as well as a command center.  Before the end of the war the palace was bombed but remained standing.  The treaty that reunited North and South Vietnam was signed here.  We wove our way through multiple floors, and the basement, exploring a variety of rooms in the palace used for everything from movie watching to meetings with foreign dignitaries.  Here are a few of my favorite photos from our tour:

The front view of the Reunification Palace.

One of the dining rooms.

Strategic maps of the country.

I just loved this line of colorful phones in one of the war rooms.

More maps and phones!

I think this must have been the president's desk.  There was a secret door in this room that led him through a passageway to the basement.

Inside looking out.

This carpet was brought to the palace by one of the past leaders.   Up close it's quite interesting.

A close up of one of the dragons--notice the 5 claws for good luck.

A beautiful sitting room.  The lacquer painting on the far wall was stunning!

A courtyard garden all the way up on the fifth floor.

A family pet perhaps??

The view from the rooftop.

The private cinema room!

The personal helipad on the rooftop.  Notice the red circles (see below for explanation).

It is difficult to read, but essentially the circles mark the place where two bombs were dropped on the palace.

Stephanie is a gourmet chef in the making and was very excited to see this gigantic, and somewhat ancient (notice the hand crank), version of a KitchenAid!

Before our guide and driver returned us to our hotel at the end of the tour we all agreed that we wanted to make one final stop.  Hidden on a back street is a factory where traditional Vietnamese lacquerware is handmade.  The reason this particular factory is special is because it is owned by the government and employs people with physical or mental handicaps resulting from Agent Orange, a horrible chemical weapon, used during the Vietnam war.  We had seen photographs of people who had been exposed to Agent Orange directly during the war at the museum earlier in the day and it is startling how the effects are still lingering because of this chemical's ability to alter DNA.  When you visit Ho Chi Minh it is nearly impossible to pass more than a few hours without seeing someone with a very visible handicap.  Does that mean that all of these people have been affected by the chemical weapon?  Probably not, but when you start to count the number of people you see with disfigured bodies, missing limbs, and other visible ailments I think it's not a stretch to start to connect the dots.  I imagine this is something like the after effects of a nuclear bomb--the offspring of those exposed to the radiation can be drastically impacted too.  

It was incredible to see such master artisans at work and we were able to watch firsthand as beautiful pieces of lacquerware were produced.  One woman demonstrated how duck egg shells are used to create a mosaic like inlay in a variety of cream colors.  At the next table a man was cutting precise shapes of mother-of-pearl that would be inlayed into a plate while a group of women painted traditional scenes over some of the inlayed pieces.  The final steps included applying the lacquer and buffing the piece (with car polish no less) to a shine.  It was intricate work with incredible results.  Inside an adjoining building I found a beautiful piece to bring home which showcased both techniques I had seen outside.

These are the ladies that do the egg shell inlays.

This lady is working on the background painting of another piece.

By the time we arrived back at our hotel in Chinatown we were all exhausted from the heat and a full day of activities which meant we were all quite happy to order room service and spend the rest of the evening relaxing in our adjoining rooms.  It was early to bed because we had another busy day planned on Saturday!