Ho Chi Minh City: Hold on Tight

No amount of preparation can accurately prepare the first-time Asian traveler for Ho Chi Minh City. Fierce urban sprawl couple with thousands of mopeds; sagging cobwebs of power lines; and neon lights help to give this city its nickname, the "New York of SE Asia." It truly is a city that never sleeps. Storefronts are open 'round the clock, regardless of the weekend; sidewalks are full of off-duty taxi drivers and vendors; and rush hour spans from 6am to midnight. The energy here is thick -- crossing the street is an adventure in itself, an experience that should be ranked with bungee jumping or motocross racing -- and exhausting. Rest, quiet, and personal space are quite literally the only two commodities that can't been purchased in the city that sells everything.

I arrived at the Ton Son Nhat Int'l Airport - the very same airport where my dad was stationed during the War -after 30 hours of traveling (Boston-San Francisco-Hong Kong-HCMC). I quickly identified my driver, arranged by my hotel, amidst the sea of Vietnamese who wait outside the terminal doors to greet friends and family (the startling part here is that they all sit quietly. I felt very much like a disappointing circus act when I walked out in front of their silent stares!). The first aspect anyone is sure to notice about HCMC is that traffic laws are merely suggestions. The horn is the common form of communication, used liberally, and can mean anything from "I'm behind you, watch out" to "I'm going to start driving on the sidewalk now, watch out." Mopeds outnumber cars 15:1 and are the fastest but maybe not safest means of transportation (13,000 Vietnamese die each year from traffic accidents. I am impressed that they are nearly all sure to wear helmets).

My little room is on the sixth floor of the "Phoenix 74 Hotel" (I love that name - it suggests adventure...and maybe fire too) and has a single bed, A/C, a fridge, and the toilet is in the shower stall. The staff is friendly and provide complimentary breakfast (eggs, bananas, and baguettes). Here is where I met Julius, a 24 year old Dutch student living in HCMC for four months to do an internship with an animal feed development company. After sharing a few words he offered to have dinner together and to go on a day trip the next day. With an "I am terribly jet lagged but you seem nice enough" smile I agreed. Shortly after, while checking email in the lobby, a small, cataracted old man offered to take me on a tour of the city with stops at all the tourist destinations. He caught me a bit off guard with his forward offer and without asking any questions I said sure. I hopped on the back of his moped and we merged into traffic.

I haven't experienced anything like riding a moped in HCMC, although its very similar to the "Zipper" ride at an average, county fair: rickety, too fast, thrilling, and all-the while leading you to seriosuly doubt its (and your) safety. Loc was fast, though, and in six hours he brought me to the Reunification Palce (the last home/office of the President before the Viet Cong stormed its gates), a couple temples, the Chinese market (a near sensory-overload experience), the War Remnants museum, the Ho Chi Minh City (the best art museum a communist country can muster), and the post office (an ornate, French building in the heart of the city). His price: 200,000 Dong ($12).

Saturday evening, Julius and I booked tickets for a day trip through the Sinh Cafe (one of the many travel agencies in the area I'm staying -- backpacker's central). For $10 we reserved seats on an A/C bus that'd take us three hours north-east to see the Cao Dai Holy See, the main temple of the Cao Dai religion. The Holy See is a tacky, overly-colored temple, the drag queen equivalent of the Notre Dame. The religion, founded in the 1920s, combines Daoism, Confucianism, Taoism, and a bit of Christianity. Shakespeare, Julius Caesar and also maybe Meryl Streep are considered revered as is vegetarianism, pacifism, and, as I understand it, being "nice". I watched the daily religious procession from the second floor balcony. It wasn't much to see though, a lot of chanting, bowing, and tapping of the third eye.

After, we visited the Cu Chi tunnels, an extensive network of Viet Cong tunnels used during the war to avoid and trap American soldiers. The welcome video was pure propaganda ("...the crazy devils from Washington came to destroy the peaceful people of Vietnam..."). The site was too touristy and rather forgettable, however, I did develop a stronger respect for the American troops who fought over here. The experience must have been miserable.

This morning I met the man who organized my entry visa (the cousin of a Prin alum). I found his English was better through email than it is in person, and after telling him briefly about my hopes to visit Cambodia eventually I found myself booking a bus ticket! I leave for Phnom Penh tomorrow at 6:30am where I'll spend the night and then travel on to Siem Riep to see Angor Wat and the other temple complexes there. He has a colleague in Cambodia who will escort me from PNP to SRP (or at least that's how I understand the plans). I'm quite happy to be leaving HCMC. There is constant noise here, the smog is thick, and the energy is frantic, much like a cataclysmic caffeine overdose. I'm looking forward to seeing some open roads and breathing some fresh air.

Today, I met Jocelyn Tran, a friend of a family friend. She arranged to have her company's Land Rover pick me up and bring me to her office. She greeted me at the office's lobby and we and four of her office colleagues zipped out too lunch. She brought us to a nice (meaning clean, no plastic furniture, and shirtless men sitting to attend to you) Vietnamese restaurant where she ordered lunch for the table: large egg omelettes filled with shrimp, bamboo shoots, chic peas, and beans which we rolled into a wrap with lettuce, Vietnames dill and mint leaves and dipped in fish sauce - delicious. Also, small, fried shrimp and scallop cakes that we dipped in chili-fish sauce - also very tasy. I had coconut juice to wash it down. The large, filling meal (for 6ppl), including tip, cost $15! I enjoyed meeting Jocelyn and her friends, all were very friendly, talkative, and full of advice on traveling in SE Asia. I find it interesting how up-to-date many of the Vietnamese are on the presidential campaign and the looming American financial crisis.

They dropped me off at a very large market - apparently THE marketplace in HCMC - and encouraged me to try my hand at bargaining. The marketplace, (maybe three football fields wide and two long) is overflowing with goods. From handbags to jewelry to live seafood and butchers to spices and trinkets and reams of fabric, it can been found and bargained for. I paid too much for pair of fake Ray Ban sunglasses (350,000 D, or $21 - though I did get the price down from 450,000 D. I think my biggest mistake was wearing my SLR camera around my neck, a neon sign shouting "I have money!"). I also bought a pair of Adidas-brand athletic shorts and did a better job of haggling (lot's of disapproving "hmmms" and "No, I don't really like them," coupled with walking away and coming back when the price fell.) A tiny, aggressive woman told me 80,000 D, I said 50,000, she said "Nooooo," and we met at 65,000. She called me "very tricky" at the end but I think she came out with the better deal. There is some satisfaction you feel in knowing you worked for a good price, however, I think there's something to say about slapping a price tag on an item and calling it final.

Enough for now. I've posted a handful of pictures but the Internet is quite slow and makes the uploading process long. Now, off to prepare to for my trip to Cambodia!