Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Taking Care of Business, Saigon



Back in Saigon, we decided that we had a few things to take care of before we left for Indonesia. I needed a new pair of glasses (I lost my pair in Ha Long Bay), I wanted to get my teeth cleaned and Alex wanted to buy some paintings.

We found an optometrist who completed an exam, frames and lenses for $12US...I'll take it! The dentist came recommended to us by our hotel clerk. I was a little weary of it at first, but decided to go in for a look. It was in a very modern clean office building. When you arrive at the entrance, you must take off your shoes. They provide slippers for everyone, a nice beginning. I saw the dentist who informed me that I had no cavities and that a simple cleaning would be a piece of cake. He wanted to know all about Obama and American politics. On the third floor, I awaited the nurse to get me. There was classical music on the overhead speakers, normal, I thought. She proceed to clean my teeth and did an excellent job. No pain and very clean instruments. I paid 140,000 Dong which is the equivalent of $8.75!! I could stay here forever!

The streets are lined with art shops. The artists specialize in reproductions (surprise, surprise!) Alex spotted a nice version on Van Gogh's Sunflowers, Iris Garden, Irises and Starry Night. He couldn't resist at $25 each for a quality replica with thick strokes of oil paints.He also had them create a painting of Picasso's Portrait of Sylvette (cubist version). Our house is going to be overflowing with great art if it ever arrives. (We shipped by sea) It'll be a nice surprise when it arrives on our doorstep in three months!














At the airport, we had to pay a little money under the table to the immigration officer on our way out of the country. He was convinced that we enjoyed Vietnam because we had overstayed our Visa by almost a week. Luckily, money talks. Only 1 Million Dong and we were on our way to Indonesia.

After arriving in Indonesia, we bribed a second immigration officer in the same day to hurry along the process for our Visa. More about that later...

Monday, June 23, 2008

Mekong Delta by boat

Not quite what we expected, but interesting none the less. We took a motor boat from Saigon up the delta. Alex and I were able to get the best seat of the house, on the bow of the boat, with the wind blowing through our hair. We saw fishing boats loaded to capacity, fresh fruit boats on their way to market, and kids swimming in the river, waving hello as we passed.

Later on during the first day we stopped at several small islands, and the guide made sure that we stopped at every guide-sanctioned tourist shop along the way. We saw how coconut candy was made, took an unauthentic canoe trip through a fruit farm, and sampled honey tea at yet another tourist shop. There were plenty of opportunities to buy expensive novelties. Not what we were looking for, but maybe we've become travel snobs!

We made it to Can Tho where we stayed the night. Alex and I decided it was time for a beer so we found a street vendor with lots of locals. The girl poured our beer and refilled and replaced ice cubes as they melted. We felt much better. We then came across a Bun restaurant where the staff politely showed us how to roll fresh spring rolls. We were the spectacle and no one spoke English. The food was excellent and cheap.

On day two we went to the largest floating market on the delta- the Cai Rang. It was incredible. It stretches for 3 kilometers and hundreds of boats trade and sell fresh goods daily. Sellers tie their goods to a tall pole so that buyers can see from a distance what they are selling. The floating market here was fantastic and we got to see an up close view of daily life on the delta. We were really impressed with this and you could tell it's purpose was genuine and was not for tourism. We sampled a pineapple and it's polite to throw your left overs back on the seller's boat, that way they know we thought it was tasty.

Families live on the boats, when they are done selling for the day, they head back to the fields to collect more. Children live on the boats and have no formal education. Small children just two years old hold up fruit and drinks to sell to us as we pass by.

We also visited rice paper and rice noodle factories. We learned how the noodles were made, paper thin. The factory was filthy, trash everywhere, the floor covered in it. The noodles are laid out on bamboo boards to dry in the sun. Lemongrass is planted around to keep the snakes away (who would have thought that snakes don't like lemon grass!)

From there we went back to Can Tho and had free time. Our guide said to be ready at the hotel at 2 pm. We didn't hear from him until 4. Everyone was upset and the guide was extremely unpopular. At one point Alex decided that he was no longer going to unhappy with him, and readjusted his expectations very low so that anything that happened would be above his expectations. We were not happy that our last few days in Vietnam we were stuck on a bad tour but we tried to enjoy ourselves none the less. Later that night, on the fifth floor of the hotel, we were considered "illegals" (because of our Visa situation) and were forced to sleep on a mattress on the floor in the maid's room. This was my second breakdown, not happy. Alex continued to be happy due to his new set of expectations and proclamation to no longer be unhappy with the tour. Wah!

Day three we trekked up to the top of Sam Mountain to a very old Ba Chua Xu Buddhist temple on the Cambodian-Vietnam border. What a view! It was very peaceful and the Buddhist shrines and incense calmed us.

Then we took a canoe ride to a floating village. They were having a festival and canoe races as we arrived. We stopped at a fish farm where you could throw in a handful of rice hull pellets. You'd better step back because the fish jumped straight out of the water and soaked everything nearby.

Next we visited an indigenous tribe who practiced Islam. The children spoke five languages: Vietnamese, Cambodian, Islam, their local language and English. There were little kids running around bottomless, and young girls with scarves over their hair. Supposedly they are able to get good paying jobs because they are multilingual.

From there we jumped on a large motor boat and headed back down the delta to Saigon. We had plenty of room to spread out, relax and take in the natural scenery. The third day was at least a nice ending to a difficult tour.

Saigon, Ho Chi Mihn City- A city of 3 million motorbikes

We did the unthinkable-rented a motorbike in Saigon! Where we crazy? By this point, Alex had become a true professional, and I'd become an equally good photographer and map reader, gripping on to him tightly. There are 7 million people in this crazy metropolis and half of them own a motorbike. We took on the challenge and blended right in.

We were on the edge of our month long allotted stay in Vietnam so we needed to go to the Immigration Office to get a Visa extension. We were told to go to the airport, and they would be able to stamp our passports, easy. We fought traffic and one way streets and eventually made it to the office only to find the immigration officer with his bare feet up on the desk, smoking. He told us he could not help us here, that we needed to visit the headquarters. So we headed back to the motorbike parking and scanned the hundreds of bikes until we found ours.

From there we managed our way to the immigration office (we found out it was right nest to our hotel)and was closed for lunch. We had worked up quite an appetite ourselves so we found a nice small restaurant right around the corner that served our favorite dish "Bun Thit Nuong." After our stomachs were satisfied we braved the traffic once more but realized that we were completely turned around. The street numbers went in one direction to the left and the same direction to the right. What was the logic? With Alex's keen sense of direction, we found the office about an hour later.

We waited, and waited, there was no apparent line, people pushed and shoved to get to the front. Alex was at least a head taller than everyone so he managed his way up to the front. Eventually they called our names. We went into a small office where the officer said that it would take 8 days to complete the paperwork. We had air tickets out in 5 days. We would have to risk not getting the visa extension.

We found a nice place to get a coke above a major intersection where we laughed at the organized chaos below us.



Diving in Nha Trang, Vietnam


We got our diving certification in Nha Trang! We did a three day course, first day in the pool and the other two in the clear water of the sea. The forth day we were able to do a fun dive where we saw a pair of Lion Fish, giant clams, Angler Fish, Scorpion Fish, Clown Fish, Stone Fish, Angel, Trumpet Fish, Sea Robin, beautiful coral and schools of smaller brightly colored fish of all kinds. We were very pleased with the instructor, Tri who was Vietnamese. He had worked there for several years and even had a dive spot named in his honor.




We spent most of our time here completing the course but did manage to rent a motorbike for an afternoon to explore the interesting scenery. We cruised around the narrow back alleyways of the city and the huge food market where you can find anything from fresh fruits and vegetables to live fish, eels, frogs, cut up meat sitting out unrefrigerated...



Alex got the best haircut ever for only $1.00. The woman took great precision, using a straight razor to clear up the edges. We also had excellent Indian food several nights! One evening after a big rain, all of the electricity went off in the restaurant so the waiter immediately switched on the generator and candles. I guess it happens pretty often! No one even blinked and the meal was much more romantic in the candlelight and rain.

We really enjoyed our time here and would love to visit again someday.