GOOD MORNING VIETNAM!

Cheesy title.....yah I know.

Last month Mike had an opportunity to go to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) for work. One day of meetings and then he got to stay for the next 4 days. So Mike flew out to Ho Chi Minh City and I joined him the following day. So began our 5-day exploration and first trip to Vietnam.

As mentioned above, Mike flew to Ho Chi Minh a day earlier than me. In retrospect, this was probably a good thing. Without going into too much detail…

Mike had an evening engagement at a “gentleman’s “ karaoke club. For more information ask Mike.

I flew in Thursday morning, found a taxi and met Mike and one of his co-workers, Shelim, at the hotel. From there we made our way out to the Cu Chi tunnels.

The Cu Chi tunnels are an immense network of underground tunnels located just outside of Ho Chi Minh City, and were used by the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War for combat and supply routes. For the most part the tunnels are very impressive and a worth while visit.

However, proper attire is recommended.

Not having done any research, I showed up at the tunnels in a skirt, tank top, and flip-flops. Ready for a leisurely stroll through the jungle-like landscape.

So upon first entering and having to crawl through tunnels made for 5 foot nothing little Vietnamese soldiers – I was not prepared.

The entrances to the tunnels were literally less than a foot across by a half a foot wide and we were told to get in. At this point my reaction fell along the lines of “you’ve got to be kidding me”.

Side Note: No wonder the Americans lost the war, you had all these little Vietnamese crawling around underground and willing to live down in these tunnels for months on end. The Americans were hooped from day one.

Never the less, we were here for an experience. So down the tunnel we went, all of us barely fitting

Within 30 seconds of crawling on my hands and knees in the pitch black claustrophobia began to set in, and literally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel was a god send. When I crawled out Mike made the casual comment about how a bat flew by his head, to which our tour guide replied “Wouldn’t worry about the bats so much. They are mostly harmless. It’s the snakes that get down there that cause us most of the problems.”

The rest of the tour was for the most part done above ground. I do have to admit I did find the tour was a little lopsided in its portrayal of the war -obviously the ministry of information had briefed our guide a – but still a pretty cool day.

Friday was Mike’s conference day and I went to Vietnamese cooking school followed by 4 hours at the spa all for around the price of $90 USD – I know life is rough.

Saturday we rented bikes and did a 40 km bike tour of the Mekong Delta – although since it was a day trip we didn’t make it into the heart of the Delta (where the floating markets are) - good to save some things for our next visit I guess.

The Mekong Delta is an area that encompasses a large portion of southeastern Vietnam (39,000 km) and lies west of Ho Chi Minh. It is know for its rice fields that produce half of Vietnam’s rice output, and apparently produces more rice than Japan and Korea put together. This is also where the Mekong River empties into the South China Sea through various tributaries.

Riding bikes is a pretty sweet way to see Vietnam’s countryside (although I’m not sure I would recommend it in the city). The countryside was extremely peaceful and full of rice patties, wandering livestock, people working the fields and kids who often would run along side our bikes yelling “allo” and giggling.

We loaded our bikes onto one of the many long tail boats and high tailed it across to one of the more remote islands located in the delta where we were feed a fantastic lunch of fresh seafood and local fish. After lunch our bike tour took us around the island On single track motor bike trails. Before heading back to Ho Chi Min.

The evening was spent at a fantastic restaurant (Quan An Ngon) – a note about the food in Vietnam it is by far the best of any we have had so far, although Bali is up there – Vietnam may have surpassed. The dishes are simple but the quality of herbs, meat and seafood cannot be beat – from the hawker stands to the local restaurants everything is was so fresh and the flavor profiles were unbelievable. When visiting Vietnam don’t think – just eat!

Sunday was spent in the market buying suitcases and a few other souvenir items. In the end, Ho Chi Min with a population of over 9 million was a fascinating city, full of hustle and bustle night and day. It left you wondering how this place can operate with so many people crammed into it – but it does. Would I live there - probably not. A week spent in Ho Chi Min was, in the end, just about right.

The effects of the Vietnam war are still seen through out the city, and by no means forgotten by the locals. At times both Mike and I were feeling a little sheepish (and we are not even American) it was amazing to see how warm and hospitable the people were towards foreigners and the culinary experience is one that we are finding ourselves constantly trying to re-create.