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Date: July, 2004
Location: Vietnam
On the bus ride to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon),
I met a New Zealander, and in Saigon, I met a Liberian (West Africa), both of whom I traveled with
for a couple of days. The first thing one notices when arriving in Saigon are the
ridiculous number of motorbikes and lack of street lights that people actually obey.
I learned quickly that the only way one can cross a normal street is to SLOWLY walk across
it and let the motorbikes dodge YOU.
That night, a few of us went to a Vietnamn disco, where we were the
ONLY Westerners. Those there seemed to love us though, as they cheered
and formed a circle around us as soon as we went on the dance floor!
The highlights of Saigon had to have been the War Museum and Cu Chi
Tunnels. The War Museum is definitely HIGHLY biased but nonetheless
enlightening as to the extent of American atrocities during the Vietnam
War. Pictures include victims of napalm and Agent Orange, as well as
American soldiers torturing and mutilating Vietnamese soldiers and
civilians. Again, I do not believe in any sort government conspiracy to
keep Americans ignorant, but I have never seen these pictures in any
textbook or museum in the States.
The Cu Chi Tunnels were equally as interesting, and we were lucky
enough to have a Vietnamese guide who was a Vietnam War veteran. One
portion of the tunnels we went through was two levels below the ground
and took at least 10 minutes crawling on all fours in PITCH black. An
English girl behind me was on the verge of panicking, so when a bat flew
by us, I assured her it was a butterfly!
After exiting what seemed like the bowels of the earth, we saw some
WICKED booby traps and had an opportunity to shoot any variety of guns.
I chose the M-60 because it was the largest one, and I was astounded at
how powerful it was. For me, it was a very brief glimpse into how
horrific war must be and how appreciative I am for the soldiers they did
fight and are fighting.
On the way back to Saigon, our tour guide invited me to have dinner with
him and his family. It turns out that he fought for the Americans during
the Vietnam War and spent three years in a "reeducation camp" shortly
after they pulled out.
After arriving back in Saigon, I hopped on the back of his motorbike,
and several scary moments later, we somehow arrived safely at his family's
home, which was down a series of VERY narrow alleyways. Although he was
the only one I could speak with, his family treated me like a king, and I
cherished the unique opportunity to see a true Vietnamese household. In
half the size of an average American home, 13 family members resided in a
series of small rooms "divided" by paper thin walls. Nonetheless, I
honestly do not think I have seen a happier family in the States,
reaffirming my belief that people and experiences are far more important
than material possessions.
The next day, Paul and I headed to the city of Dalat.
Although the mountainous scenery was gorgeous and the cool weather VERY
welcome, it was the epitome of cheesy (i.e., Vietnamese photographers
dressed up as cowboys with horses in tow), so we left the following day
for the beach of Na Trang.
Wow!!! Much like the island of Koh Tao
in Southern Thailand, I found
a temporary home there after meeting an AMAZING group of backpackers from
several different countries. For SIX consecutive days of packing my
bags, I was convinced to "stay one more day" for a total of nine days.
We spent most of the days lounging on, quite possibly, the most gorgeous
beach I have ever seen, eating delicious soup with local children, taking
naps and eating dinner at, believe it or not, a very good TexMex
restaurant. We then spent the hours of 8:30 to 11:30 pm at one bar and
the rest of the night dancing at an open-air club at the foot of the
beach.
A few of us also spent one day on the Four Island Cruise. For six
dollars each, we spent a full day snorkeling, eating like kings, enjoying
the floating bar and singing karaoke with Vietnamese tourists!
From Na Trang, I headed to the town Hoi
An with a 52 year old professor from San Francisco, where we met up
with three gorgeous, fun Irish girls I had met in Na Trang. Hoi An is a
Mecca for a lot of people, as one can have unbelievably inexpensive,
custom-tailored clothing made to order from a simple picture or even a
description. The Irish girls went crazy, but I just had two shirts, two
pair of shorts and one pair of pants made (for a grand total of just over
25 dollars!). We then headed to the city of Hue, where the girls
continued on 30 HOUR bus journey to Vientiane and where I stopped for one
day of seeing its impressive tombs and pagodas. The next night I hopped
on a night bus to the capital of Vietnam, Hanoi.
My plan from here is to take a two day boat journey around Halong Bay,
known for its 3000-plus limestone islands rising from the sea, before
taking a night train into the mountains of Northwest Vietnam, where I
plan on doing a five day trek through tribal villages supposedly as
untouched as one can find in the world today. My tentative plan from
there is to cross into China at the
nearby border and work my way up the
middle of the country to Beijing before
heading down the east coast to Hong
Kong. I have heard traveling in China
is really difficult, as very few people speak English and reading Chinese
characters is virtually impossible, so it should make for an interesting journey!
Until next time...
- Greg
For the next leg of Greg's around the world trip, click here...
Or if you want to see what he was up to before Vietnam, click here...
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