Well hello to anyone still reading this. :) I suspect this shall be my last post since tonight is my last night in Viet Nam; I leave tomorrow evening for the 24 hour trek home. I just wanted to catch you all up on some of the most recent misadventures I've had in the Mekong Delta region.
So yesterday we had a bicycle trip arranged around the small island we were staying on called An Binh Island. We, a group of 15 American students who've all been riding bikes since forever, were thinking "Oh, a bike ride, this shall be pleasant and scenic, how easygoing, and la la la." Not so much. We had never ridden bikes in Viet Nam before. First of all, my bike had no gears, shotty breaks, bent wheel covers, and several other things that made it just busted enough to throw me off, but not broken enough to warrant legitimate repairs. So we all jump on like a bunch of confident fools, standing up, going fast as we can, swerving around each other, thinking this will be a lovely ride. Well, as soon as we went up the first bridge and around the first corner, we knew better.
After he nearly caused a 5 person pile-up over the bridge, I decided that my friend Saad was not the person to follow while mounted on a bicycle. I tried to speed up to the front, but my friends are all haphazardly passing me, not minding the fact that motorbikes are zooming at us in the opposite direction, honking like mad, so then my friends almost run me off the road each time this happened. Yikes, I thought, I've gotta get to the front so all these fools in my group don't kill me. So I make a break for the front, and there are only 2 people ahead of me, my tall, lanky friend David and the tour guide au jour, Han. Now Han, bless his little heart, does not understand how to lead a pack of bicyclists. He proceeded to slow down before every incline such that David and I would nearly collide into this back and hear many angry shouts from the fiesty crowd behind us who would also nearly crash via domino effect. David's just shouting in English, "Christ man, GO!" and our guide is not going any faster, and mind you this "path" we were on was anything but a bicycle trail. More like the Oregon Trail. We almost had to ford a couple rivers, and definitely encountered some perilous terrain along our journey.
The trail consisted mostly of bricks and stones jutting out of the uneven ground, muddy pot holes from the motorbike traffic, and rickety bridges that were under contstruction, as well as sharp turns, overgrowth slapping you in the face and tree branches you had to duck under, with the occasional cactus or two to avoid. To make a long story short, I managed to get to the halfway point practically unscathed. I grasped at the nearest water bottle and guzzled the thing, only realizing when I had dismounted how sweaty and dirty I was. At this point I also became aware the pain in my ass, and no I'm not referring to my annoying group members, I mean literally, my bum hurt so bad from that dag nab seat I had to walk funny. Great, this was only the halfway point. Oh biking in Viet Nam.
I must say though, for that first part of the trek, at least the wind was blowing on your face as you rode along, so it was like being cooled off as you were exercising so hard. And that's why you don't realize how tired you are until you stop. We all sat down for a drink, not thinking we were going to be able to get back up; it had already been an hour's ride. After a short rest, we remounted our bikes, the seats of which had been baking in the hot sun during our pause. Grrrrr. I make way for the front again, knowing to avoid some of my less than coordinated counterparts, and this time my friend Jenna comes with me. As she, David and I are humming along, trying not to hit a rock and fly off into the sludge or into a crowd of people laughing at us, our guide says we're too far ahead of the rest of the group and we should wait. VETO! we're all thinking, they'll be fine! let's go fast! I wanna go FAST!! So we push on, forcing poor Han to leave his sheep else we mutinus 3 usurp him. As we're riding we start to sing, anything from The Beatles, Wheezer, The Sound of Music, whatever, and we're also jutting side to side, narrowly missing dogs and small children, screaming out "MOTO!" to warn each other of oncoming motorized doom, and still having the same problem of nearly ramming into Han's a$$ everytime he slows down to go over a bridge. David is doing this antsy bicycle dance around Han, crying out that he has to go to the bathroom and we really need to go faster, nearly falling and shouting, causing Jenna and I to do the same, and we're laughing so hard our sides hurt because we're all surely about to crash and fall into a river or something, when finally David breaks free and peddles ahead. Jenna and I follow, and things are going great! FREEDOM and SPEED. Mmmmmm. The wind is rushing through our hair, life is good, this is great!...until we miss a turn, have to turn around, and subsequently end up in the back of the line for the remainder of the ride. Booooo.
I can't explain some peoples' need for speed sometimes, but it was painful to inch along behind those slowpokes in the back, watching them actually tip over and fall off whereas we only had close-calls along the way. So when we make it back to the starting point, and look around at each others' sweaty, hot messes, I realize I've made it out okay. The cactus that attacked me magically didn't leave a mark, and the one time I did start to fall, I was able to jump of the bike just in time and run along beside it, allowing my fear to manifest itself in verbal obscenities rather than bodily injury. At least I didn't come back bloody, or broken, or not come back at all. One of my group members' bikes had legitmately fallen apart on the trail, luckily only a few yards away, but we didn't know that at first, so we sent out a search party. The search party was Han on his motorbike, and when I saw him getting on, I didn't realize he was looking for the lost kid, I just thought he was going for a joy ride. So what do I do? I ask to come along. And precious Han says okay, and goes to get me a helmet, unneccessarily holding up the search for the kid that's lost for pete's sake, he could have said no! But I happily accepted the helmet and enjoyed the heck out of that motorbike ride, zooming faster than any bike could peddle, feeling like a speeding bullet racing down the streets, and not feeling any need to hold on to Han, but letting myself enjoy the exhileration and carefree-ness of the ride.
My comrades were not so lucky. Han got a call saying our lost friend arrived, so we turned around and realized I had just accidentally delayed the search...so I felt slightly bad, but not really because I had reeeeeeally wanted to ride a motorbike in Viet Nam and I finally got to. So Kelly's knee is bleeding, Lucy threw up in the orchird and launched herself into a cactus somehow which left awful scrapes on her arm, Jenna's fingers are full of cactus prickers and most peoples' hands are shaking from the iron-clad grip they had on the handlebars, Dan's bike fell apart and Saad led 4 other people to God knows where and got them lost before our guide Truc had gone and redirected them, all while I was happily riding on the moto. Sheesh. Needless to say, the hammoks at the restaurant we went to next were all occupied by the wounded, and we rested up to go along with the remainder of the days' activities, with a few new battle scars to show off. And That was the bike ride. :)
Tonight I'll enjoy a final dinner with the group, then the rest of the night will probably be spent in a blissful haze of wine, Vietnamese, and wonderful views of Saigon from atop a hotel patio. This trip has been a blast, and I hope you've enjoyed reading about it. Ciao all :)
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Whew
It's been a crazy whirlwind of activity over the past week or so, ergo I shall sum it all up in a massive list, not necessarily in chronological order. I've: been to a catfish farm on a floating house, boated down a small river through an old, secret North Vietnamese Communist army base, seen more temples and markets than I can even enumerate, gotten caught in several terrential downpours, climbed up a mountain, sang songs and drank rice-wine vodka with Vietnamese University students, visited a remote bird sanctuary, chatted with a Bhuddist monk, seen a Vietnamese Mosque, bought handmade gifts from the Cham people at their village, and took in a traditional dance performance at the ancient Cham ruins. It's been quite a week (or so).
I wish I could keep up this blog better to describe each of these things in the detail they deserve, but honestly there's just no way to squeeze in enough computer time without missing a minute of once-in-a-lifetime experience-ness. Mind you there are dull moments now and then, riding the bus 3 hours to a new destination, idle time between activites, etc., but when I look back and realize all the stuff we've been doing, it seems like so much. I've barely been able to process it all in my head, let alone write about it in this blog. So for those of you still reading, thanks for hangin' in there, I hope my stories are still exciting to read about. :)
I think one of my favorite things we've done so far was going through the old military base in the Mekong Region. We split up so there were 3 people precariously fitted into a tiny boat with a small Vietnamese woman paddling from up front. This was definitely not an average touristy activity, there were no other Westerners around, no other people around at all, just jungle. Even our boats were spread out enough that you really couldn't see anyone else from the group, creating an eerie sense of being alone. Aside for the soft sploshing noise of the paddle going in and out of the murky water and various humming sounds of insects, it was absolute quiet. I felt it necessary to talk in hushed voices, almost a whisper, as if we might get ourselves caught if we were too loud. As we paddled through the extremely narrow stream, the jungle enveloped us, even creating a canopy of leaves from the tree branches so that only a few beams of sunlight passed through the foliage to reach us. We ducked under fallen tree branches and leaned around sharp turns, amazed that we didn't tip over. Every 50 yards or so we would see an area labeled as part of the old military base, hidden into the jungle scenery and probably impossible to see from anywhere but our humble canoes on that stream. To really paint a picture of what it must have felt like for a soldier entering that place, the motors of boats on the nearby river sounded just like helicopters chopping through the sky. I freaked myself out pretty well imagining all of this but just 35 years ago...
The one other activity I wanted to write about was our trek up the Sam Mountain in another small town in the Mekong Delta region. Having packed only a small bag for this 5 day portion of the trip, I had not anticipated needing any mountain climbing gear since our lovely professor likes to keep us on our toes with the itinerary until we're doing it. So when it was announced that we'd be hiking up this thing, I had to mentally prepare myself to do it in flip flops. The Mountain itself is just shy of 1000 feet high, and steps have been carved all the way up to the top right out of the rocky sides, so at least we had a clear path. The base of the thing blends right into town, one minute we're going through a back alley and the next we're already 2 stories up the Mountain. And so our trek began.
I am telling you, I cannot possibly impart how sweaty we all were. There were beads coming off my elbows people, this was serious perspiration. And that was only about 1/4 of the way up. The steps were higher than normal steps, and carrying a backpack made me have to push my leg muscles until I was sure they would quit. I was panting and gasping for air, feeling my heart beat so hard and fast, and guzzling my massive water bottle at every rest point whenever I caught my breath. The temperature was only in the 80's (only, HA) so at least we weren't burning alive like most days when it's in the 90's, but it was still no picnic climbing in that heat. Every time we would rest I didn't know how I was gonna keep climbing, but I really, really wanted to get to the top, so I forced my legs to move! I got up to the front of the pack with the hardy girls (the super-manly athletic boys were all in the back, mind you.--> and when I say super-manly and athletic, I really just mean I'm irritated at the amount of misogyny I encounter on a daily basis here, and everywhere so I'm being facetious) because I don't like to be lagging because any wimps can't take it. This reminded me of climbing the Alpujarras in the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range in Granada last year, except that that was in January and the mountains were snow-covered, but I still ran to the front of the group because it's always more fun up there with the goof-offs and risk takers.
So there I was, maybe 3 people deep out of 18, and our guide decides to take a breather. "Go on if you want" he says between pants, and so we do, without him. We go on just a short ways (and by this I mean probably 3 stories) and think we've reached the top! There's an AMAZING view of hills and rivers and houses and fog and landscape forever, and we realize we're looking at Cambodia from this Vietnamese mountaintop. We throw down our stuff, recover from almost asphyxiating, then we take victory pictures, posing as strongmen atop the giant mountain, feeling capable and excited and kind of like death at the same time. Then we realize part of our group is not with us...what's that? This isn't quite the top? Just a few more bazillions of steps? Cripes, well we've made it this far, let's keep climbing.
So we push our tired muscles and we suck in as much oxygen as each breath will permit and force ourselves upward towards the peak. Then FINALLY, we see our comrades, just reaching the top, and as we come upon them from around a corner comes an even better view of the town below and everything there is to see for a miles in any direction. I walked over to a solitary spot on a rock by the edge, and felt a sigh of relief; "This is it," I thought. That feeling when you've just done something really difficult, like running a long distance, and even though you dreaded the idea of tackling it, and it hurt so bad doing it, and you thought it wasn't gonna be worth it, at last...you're on top of the world. That after-feeling is one of the best I've experienced, and even if the mountain holds no particular significance to you, you still feel as though you've just accomplished something incredible. And as I'm feeling this massively cheesy bliss, it starts to drizzle, then rain, and we all smile and invite the rain onto our tired, sweat-drenched bodies and thank God or Bhuddah or Allah or whoever it is you thank for the perfection of that moment. Sigh...
So those were my two most rocking experiences of the last week. Now we have just 4 days left in Viet Nam and still so much to do. I may not get to a computer again before we leave, so thanks to all who've been reading! For now, see you later :)
I wish I could keep up this blog better to describe each of these things in the detail they deserve, but honestly there's just no way to squeeze in enough computer time without missing a minute of once-in-a-lifetime experience-ness. Mind you there are dull moments now and then, riding the bus 3 hours to a new destination, idle time between activites, etc., but when I look back and realize all the stuff we've been doing, it seems like so much. I've barely been able to process it all in my head, let alone write about it in this blog. So for those of you still reading, thanks for hangin' in there, I hope my stories are still exciting to read about. :)
I think one of my favorite things we've done so far was going through the old military base in the Mekong Region. We split up so there were 3 people precariously fitted into a tiny boat with a small Vietnamese woman paddling from up front. This was definitely not an average touristy activity, there were no other Westerners around, no other people around at all, just jungle. Even our boats were spread out enough that you really couldn't see anyone else from the group, creating an eerie sense of being alone. Aside for the soft sploshing noise of the paddle going in and out of the murky water and various humming sounds of insects, it was absolute quiet. I felt it necessary to talk in hushed voices, almost a whisper, as if we might get ourselves caught if we were too loud. As we paddled through the extremely narrow stream, the jungle enveloped us, even creating a canopy of leaves from the tree branches so that only a few beams of sunlight passed through the foliage to reach us. We ducked under fallen tree branches and leaned around sharp turns, amazed that we didn't tip over. Every 50 yards or so we would see an area labeled as part of the old military base, hidden into the jungle scenery and probably impossible to see from anywhere but our humble canoes on that stream. To really paint a picture of what it must have felt like for a soldier entering that place, the motors of boats on the nearby river sounded just like helicopters chopping through the sky. I freaked myself out pretty well imagining all of this but just 35 years ago...
The one other activity I wanted to write about was our trek up the Sam Mountain in another small town in the Mekong Delta region. Having packed only a small bag for this 5 day portion of the trip, I had not anticipated needing any mountain climbing gear since our lovely professor likes to keep us on our toes with the itinerary until we're doing it. So when it was announced that we'd be hiking up this thing, I had to mentally prepare myself to do it in flip flops. The Mountain itself is just shy of 1000 feet high, and steps have been carved all the way up to the top right out of the rocky sides, so at least we had a clear path. The base of the thing blends right into town, one minute we're going through a back alley and the next we're already 2 stories up the Mountain. And so our trek began.
I am telling you, I cannot possibly impart how sweaty we all were. There were beads coming off my elbows people, this was serious perspiration. And that was only about 1/4 of the way up. The steps were higher than normal steps, and carrying a backpack made me have to push my leg muscles until I was sure they would quit. I was panting and gasping for air, feeling my heart beat so hard and fast, and guzzling my massive water bottle at every rest point whenever I caught my breath. The temperature was only in the 80's (only, HA) so at least we weren't burning alive like most days when it's in the 90's, but it was still no picnic climbing in that heat. Every time we would rest I didn't know how I was gonna keep climbing, but I really, really wanted to get to the top, so I forced my legs to move! I got up to the front of the pack with the hardy girls (the super-manly athletic boys were all in the back, mind you.--> and when I say super-manly and athletic, I really just mean I'm irritated at the amount of misogyny I encounter on a daily basis here, and everywhere so I'm being facetious) because I don't like to be lagging because any wimps can't take it. This reminded me of climbing the Alpujarras in the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range in Granada last year, except that that was in January and the mountains were snow-covered, but I still ran to the front of the group because it's always more fun up there with the goof-offs and risk takers.
So there I was, maybe 3 people deep out of 18, and our guide decides to take a breather. "Go on if you want" he says between pants, and so we do, without him. We go on just a short ways (and by this I mean probably 3 stories) and think we've reached the top! There's an AMAZING view of hills and rivers and houses and fog and landscape forever, and we realize we're looking at Cambodia from this Vietnamese mountaintop. We throw down our stuff, recover from almost asphyxiating, then we take victory pictures, posing as strongmen atop the giant mountain, feeling capable and excited and kind of like death at the same time. Then we realize part of our group is not with us...what's that? This isn't quite the top? Just a few more bazillions of steps? Cripes, well we've made it this far, let's keep climbing.
So we push our tired muscles and we suck in as much oxygen as each breath will permit and force ourselves upward towards the peak. Then FINALLY, we see our comrades, just reaching the top, and as we come upon them from around a corner comes an even better view of the town below and everything there is to see for a miles in any direction. I walked over to a solitary spot on a rock by the edge, and felt a sigh of relief; "This is it," I thought. That feeling when you've just done something really difficult, like running a long distance, and even though you dreaded the idea of tackling it, and it hurt so bad doing it, and you thought it wasn't gonna be worth it, at last...you're on top of the world. That after-feeling is one of the best I've experienced, and even if the mountain holds no particular significance to you, you still feel as though you've just accomplished something incredible. And as I'm feeling this massively cheesy bliss, it starts to drizzle, then rain, and we all smile and invite the rain onto our tired, sweat-drenched bodies and thank God or Bhuddah or Allah or whoever it is you thank for the perfection of that moment. Sigh...
So those were my two most rocking experiences of the last week. Now we have just 4 days left in Viet Nam and still so much to do. I may not get to a computer again before we leave, so thanks to all who've been reading! For now, see you later :)
Monday, June 9, 2008
Thoughts so far...
I've been here for 3 weeks already, though it doesn't seem like it's been that long at all. I'm writing from Saigon, we just got here this morning by train. So I've now officially seen a little bit of every region of Viet Nam, the urban North, the rural Central areas and now the watery delta and famous city of the South. It's good to get a feel for each different region's lifestyle and traditions since they're very different from one another. For example, our last day in Hoi An we went to some ancient ruins of the Cham people, an ethnic minority group in Viet Nam, and at the site they performed a traditional dance to music played on Cham instruments. Then today we went to the War Remnants Museum and saw photography documenting all the horror of the war, from photographers of all different nationalities. So the mixture there is between ancient and everchanging cultural traditions and modern changes that have transformed the country...I try to understand how that all molds together to form Viet Nam as it is today, and it's challenging.
Hue and Hoi An, the last two cities we went to, were much more touristy than rural Dong Ha. It was great to buy souveniers there and stay in nicer hotels, but I didnt' like being surrounded by tons of other Westerners all the time, being very aware that I was a tourist there, not a travelor. When we go to the Mekong Delta for the next 5 days, we'll definitely be travelors, much more hard core, sleeping on the floor with mosquito nets, boating through murky waters to a waterfall, trying not to contract exotic illnesses, etc. No more fluffy pillows and minibars, no, no. This is serious traveling, what I came for. :) Let's put those immunizations to the test! Ha, just kidding...
Well seeing as how I haven't slept much during the last 48 hours, I'm off to rest. Hope all is well at home :)
Hue and Hoi An, the last two cities we went to, were much more touristy than rural Dong Ha. It was great to buy souveniers there and stay in nicer hotels, but I didnt' like being surrounded by tons of other Westerners all the time, being very aware that I was a tourist there, not a travelor. When we go to the Mekong Delta for the next 5 days, we'll definitely be travelors, much more hard core, sleeping on the floor with mosquito nets, boating through murky waters to a waterfall, trying not to contract exotic illnesses, etc. No more fluffy pillows and minibars, no, no. This is serious traveling, what I came for. :) Let's put those immunizations to the test! Ha, just kidding...
Well seeing as how I haven't slept much during the last 48 hours, I'm off to rest. Hope all is well at home :)
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Silliness aside for a moment
So I've been writing a lot about the more amusing happenings on my trip so far, but I thought I'd take a minute to acknowledge the more serious aspects of my journey as well. Perhaps this idea was sparked by the museum I went to yesterday that used to be a US military base. This museum is basically a propaganda tool of the Vietnamese Communist government, and it was really emotional to walk through and see the way American soldiers were portrayed. I mean say what you will about the US government and the decisions regarding foreign policy, but our soldiers were just kids, barely older than me, doing what they had to whether they believed in the cause or not. Needless to say, it was pretty painful to look at scraps of captured planes, guns and tanks and pictures of captured American soldiers. Being here has definitely instilled in me a greater sense of appreciation for American veterans and current soldiers. I just think about what that must have been like to have your friends, your brothers, maybe your dad and your uncles all shipped out to war, and just about 1 out of every 10 would never make it back. That's some tough stuff that generation had to deal with, and I think I'm only now really beginning to understand it.
So amidst all the fun and misadventure, I'm also encountering some very emotionally charged situations and deeper moments of learning and enlightenment. Everything about being in Viet Nam makes me so excited to take the history class I've signed up for in the Fall: "Politics and Culture of the Sixties". I think this trip will be such a complimentary experience for learning about my parents' generation. I kind of wish I could transport myself back to that time period; I'm so fascinated by it. Maybe people will say that about this time period someday. So I suppose I'll just work on enjoying it until time travel is perfected.
I also wanted to note here that we've been able to talk to many Vietnamese people in this smaller town of Dong Ha, and it's been great to interact with them. The young girls love our pale skin and "fair hair" and they always ask us to sing. Mostly we sing Disney songs since they seem to be the only ones that everyone in the group knows. I can't tell you how many times I've belted out "A Whole New World" from Aladdin in the last week. They're all so eager to practice their English too, so that gives us some purpose since our Vietnamese is pretty much a lost cause. Most people we talk to are so nice and kind; one woman at the center we were volunteering at invited us back to her hometown for coffee! We bussed out there and crammed all 18 of us into her humble but beautiful home, and met her mother, father and fiance. Then she took us down to an outdoor cafe next to a lake to relax and chat. It was lit up like the streets around Christmas time and the little strands of lightbulbs mimicked the stars in the pitch black sky. We drank espresso with sweetened condensed milk over ice and she cut up fresh, juicy watermelon for us to eat. Fruit is such a delicacy over here, and it's the perfect refresher for this heat. Her town is very poor and she told me how hard her parents worked to send she and her siblings to school and the university, yet she was eager to bring us over and spare 3 watermelons to feed us. Vietnamese hospitality is unmatched anywhere.
I'm half-way through my trip already, and that seems a little unreal. Only 2 weeks left and then I'll be coming home to celebrate the 4th of July and my 21st birthday. I've got plenty to distract me in the meantime though, we're still going to 4 more destinations and seeing even more new and exciting things in this country. Until the next adventure then....Ciao :)
So amidst all the fun and misadventure, I'm also encountering some very emotionally charged situations and deeper moments of learning and enlightenment. Everything about being in Viet Nam makes me so excited to take the history class I've signed up for in the Fall: "Politics and Culture of the Sixties". I think this trip will be such a complimentary experience for learning about my parents' generation. I kind of wish I could transport myself back to that time period; I'm so fascinated by it. Maybe people will say that about this time period someday. So I suppose I'll just work on enjoying it until time travel is perfected.
I also wanted to note here that we've been able to talk to many Vietnamese people in this smaller town of Dong Ha, and it's been great to interact with them. The young girls love our pale skin and "fair hair" and they always ask us to sing. Mostly we sing Disney songs since they seem to be the only ones that everyone in the group knows. I can't tell you how many times I've belted out "A Whole New World" from Aladdin in the last week. They're all so eager to practice their English too, so that gives us some purpose since our Vietnamese is pretty much a lost cause. Most people we talk to are so nice and kind; one woman at the center we were volunteering at invited us back to her hometown for coffee! We bussed out there and crammed all 18 of us into her humble but beautiful home, and met her mother, father and fiance. Then she took us down to an outdoor cafe next to a lake to relax and chat. It was lit up like the streets around Christmas time and the little strands of lightbulbs mimicked the stars in the pitch black sky. We drank espresso with sweetened condensed milk over ice and she cut up fresh, juicy watermelon for us to eat. Fruit is such a delicacy over here, and it's the perfect refresher for this heat. Her town is very poor and she told me how hard her parents worked to send she and her siblings to school and the university, yet she was eager to bring us over and spare 3 watermelons to feed us. Vietnamese hospitality is unmatched anywhere.
I'm half-way through my trip already, and that seems a little unreal. Only 2 weeks left and then I'll be coming home to celebrate the 4th of July and my 21st birthday. I've got plenty to distract me in the meantime though, we're still going to 4 more destinations and seeing even more new and exciting things in this country. Until the next adventure then....Ciao :)
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