We flew in to Saigon and viewed first hand the clutter and chaos of this huge sprawling city! Jam packed, every size and type of building you could imagine without a space anywhere to be seen... ontop of that - traffic traffic traffic... motorbikes and mopeds everywhere speeding through intersections making our attempts as pedestrians harrowing to say the least!
We did manage the War Remnants Museum but what a horrifying war. I've never come so close to puking, but after reading the descriptions of the torture used on prisoners I nearly did and walked away with tears in my eyes. Besides learning how cruel humans can be to other humans we also learned a lot about agent orange and the effects it had on the children of those who'd been exposed. Awful awful awful.
We also took a bus ride outside the city to view one of the hardest hit areas and explore the Chu Chi Tunnels where the Vietnamese people buried themselves undergroud in an extensive network and maze of tunnels barely large enough to fit their small asian frames. Craig and I tried a few tunnels and came up hot, sweaty and claustrophobic. We spent the remaining 2 weeks of our time in Vietnam reading a book called the 10,000 Day War to gain a better perspective on all sides. Conclusion - complicated, disasterous and dangerously similar to the wars the USA is now fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.
There were, of course, lighter moments to our time in Vietnam. We spent a few night in Mui Ne and pedal biked our way 20 some km's north to the Gold Sand Dunes where we rented crazy carpets from a little boy who took us out for a hilarious & very hot adventure in the sand dunes. Definitely not as fun as snow as far as speed is concerned but good for memories.
Onto Nha Trang - we arrived by bus in a major downpour and it didn't take long before both of us were soaked attempting to find a guesthouse but it was warm and the streets were flooded and it's all part of the adventure right! We had planned to go diving here but the water was as brown as I've ever seen.
Instead we decided to see Vietnam on motorbike! We left Nha Trang for a 5 day adventure away from the tourist traps to take a real close look at how the countryside vietnamese live. 2 bikes, 1 guide - 1st 2 days we took turns sitting behind our guide on his bike and rotated driving the other and for the last 2 days Craig & I doubled it together - talk about another level of trust!
Highlights from the trip include:
laughing at all the hilarious things vietnamese can fit on the back of their motorbikes
riding a waterbuffalo
seeing the beautiful blue sky and puffy white clouds every day!
playing with kids at an orphanage one morning
trekking to some absolutely stunning waterfalls
holding a massive python
returning the wild waving and hellos from all the kids on the side of the road
seeing all the villiage children wandering around & playing right next to and even on the main highway where huge buses and semi's are thundering by - many of the kids without clothes on
We ended in Hoi-An near the middle of Vietnam and after getting many more tailored clothes than we ever could've imagined for ridiculously low prices... we took a night bus (they actually have beds in them - not comfortable for a 6ft or even 5'9 frame, but beds all the same) down to Nha Trang for a day of diving and then another night bus to Saigon and onto Chau Doc where we'd catch a bus to head across the border to Cambodia but not before we stopped at a little fishing villiage... on the water... the families live on the water and their farms are under their houses!
All in all, Vietnam was a very amazing & educational experience. What a very beautiful country with very friendly beautiful people!
Yup. Vietnam is one of our favorite place too, with really really friendly people. We were also amazed at the ways they can use their bikes. Glad you liked it. But it's unfair, it seems like you have been to nicer places like the waterfall and the sand dunes. Where are all these places? I've only been to HCM, Danang, Dalat, and Nha Trang.
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