Vietnam

The first part of my travels began in Vietnam. Before leaving Korea I met up with friends for coffee and unexpectedly ran into my Korean friend, who bought me coffee packets and bananas for my long travels. I then went and slept for a bit.

My bus left around 4 am to Incheon. I arrived and could check in immediately. I had to fly to Guangzho, China and from China to Ho Chi Minh. This airport in China is MUCH better than that stupid airport in Shanghai (I will forever hate Shanghai). I arrived to Ho Chi Minh sometime in the early evening, walked out of the airport, saw my friend and the other girl traveling with us and was immediately happy to be sweating.

When I left Gwangju it was snowing and then I arrived to Vietnam and it was so hot. Love! We took a taxi, but since I just arrived and was exhausted I wasn't prepared to make decisions. Our driver definitely ripped us off. We paid WAY too much for the short taxi ride (and then he asked for a tip...damn you!) We found our hotel immediately. It was a really nice place. I booked a room with 3 beds, the picture showed 3 beds and my paper said the same. They gave me a room with a double bed and a single bed and then said thats what I booked. I had proof, they didn't care. Whatever.

I spent 8 days in Ho Chi Minh, turns out that's far too many days in one city. I should have explored more. Halong Bay or Hoi An...anything.

My first meal in VIetnam was beef pho. It was delicious. Really delicious. The food was spectacular all week long. From carmelized pork, curries, fried rice, to the Vietnamese coffee and smoothies. I was happy.

On the top of my agenda was to have some clothes made. I had a really nice coat made that I've been wearing everyday. Finally a dress coat that fits perfect! I had two dresses and a pair of pants made. I wore the dress in Thailand. It's a little big, so I'll have to have it altered. But they are cute and I'm happy.

The big challenge in Vietnam was crossing the street. It was terrifying each time. I was so scared that I would be run over by a motorbike and be stuck in a hospital. Within a few days I got to be really good at judging when to cross, but when I was too nervous usually some friendly policemen would come over, stop traffic and walk me across the road. I felt like a little kid, but hey I was SAFE and that's what matters.

I explored much of the city and found it to be really beautiful. But again, I could have spent less time there.

I did two day trips. The first one was to the Mekong Delta. It seems this is a popular day trip for many people. The Mekong being a famous waterway and all. I found the tour to be way too touristy and rather, boring. It really didn't wow me much and I could have skipped it altogether.

The other day trip was to a temple and the Cu Chi Tunnels. Before I signed up for the other trip, my friend and I asked for suggestions on the best one. For whatever reason we just decided to do the full day tour without getting opinions. Terrible idea. It was at least a 4 hour bus ride to this temple and it was... mediocre at best. I've seen so many temples, some boring, some okay and others spectacular. After the temple in Taiwan, nothing will compare.

So anyway, we wandered this temple for like 30 minutes, yeah, 4 hour ride for 30 minutes there. We watched monks praying and then left. Then we went for food. The food was delicious, spring rolls and beef fried noodles. YUM!

After that we had another 2 hour ride to the Cu Chi Tunnels. This area was the site for VietCong guerillas as hiding spots, there are elaborate underground tunnels and tons of booby traps. They show videos describing the area and the war. It boasts about VietCong troops that killed the most Americans, calling them heroes. You can read more about the tunnels here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cu_Chi_tunnels

Anyway, we walked around the paths through the woods and were shown different (and terrifying) booby traps or hiding spots. There was a spot with a sign that said "B52 bomb crater" It was interesting.

Finally we arrived to the actual tunnels. They told us we were allowed to crawl through them. There were at least 6 exit spots. I was first in line behind the guard who had a flashlight. We went down one set of stairs. You could still stand, then we went down another set. By the next set we were bent over. The guard stops, shines the light on the steps and tells me to go. I started going along, and realize I need to crouch down even more. My bag was rubbing on the top of the tunnel... I began to get really nervous and scared. The tunnel was getting smaller in places. You could only see darkness, but were able to easily find your way along. My heart was beating really fast and all I wanted to do was turn around and get out.. but that was impossible. There was no way I was going to maneuver to turn around in such a small place. Eventually, I saw light and went out as quick as possible. Fresh air... woah. I'm not cut out for that. Scary.

Other people on the tour kept going, my friend crawled to the 2nd to last exit spot. She said it got even smaller as it went along. Other people who went to the end said they were crawling on their hands and knees and had to squeeze through in some parts. I'm happy I was first in line, being behind other people or sandwiched in would have terrified me even more. But being first in line was just as scary.

Vietnam is a beautiful country and I hope to go back sometime to explore more of it. Not to mention eat more food. :)