Good Morning Vietnam!

A few days prior to our departure from Cambodia to Vietnam, we heard nothing but complaints about our new destination from fellow backpackers. Jo & I decided it might be best to hide our Americanisms by talking softer and by trying to dress a bit more conservative (Cambodia was nothing but sunshine every day and so we had to bare our shoulders!). We also wanted to claim ourselves as Canadians, only this worked for maybe a day until we met another Canadian.

Chau Doc, a small town just 100 km beyond the Vietnamese border was our first stop. Chau Doc is the home of the SAM mountain consisting of 100,000,000 steps to the top and drink vendors with hammocks every 20 feet. We ate breakfast everyday next door to our guesthouse where we enjoyed a fresh cup of coffee which wiped the enamel right off of our teeth! It was so strong, both Jo and I were convinced that the coffee was laced because it made me dizzy! We also order a bowl of Pho, the national food. Pho is a bowl of noodle soup with slivers of meat, fish balls, broth, bean sprouts, mint leaves and whatever else they have to make it a nourishing breakfast (see the picture below). Our soup was fixed for us in a separate kitchen and was personally delivered by a little Vietnamese man on his moto.

During our first night in Vietnam we were taught how to eat spring rolls. Yes, the cook saw how I was eating and decided to teach me the real way to eat a spring roll. She marched right up to my plate and wrapped the fried roll in a web of sticky rice with a piece of lettuce, pineapple, mint dipped into sweet & sour chili sauce. We were in love.

My most memorable moments of HCMC:

• My most favorable moment in Ho Chi Mon City would have to be when Jo & I joined an aerobics class of over 100 women in the park. While women are not supposed to expose their shoulders, they are however permitted to practice humping the air while being watched by a wall of men!


• Shopping in Vietnam was a difficult task for me. I, nearly 6 ft, am much taller and wider than even the Vietnamese men! Non the less we found a thrift shop where we proceeded to buy vintage dresses from Korea!

Favorite moments in Hoi An:

• Walking to the China Beach. It was too cold for swimming but the beach was empty to our liking and beautiful.


• Having a Tailor design and create a silk jacket & top for under $50.


• Swimming in our freezing pool although it was 50 degrees just because we wanted to use the luxury of having a pool.

Favorite moments of Hanoi:

• Meeting the Australian boys! ah ! Joanne and I were having our 2nd dinner as our midnight snack (after the booze we consumed or tried to as we had many failed attempts at finding a good place to party) and low and behold we found 2 beautiful australian men sitting besides us who wanted to go have a drink with us (dirty, unkept us!). Great night, yes, a great night indeed.
  

Tourism ruins any country. Vietnam has had time to toughen its skin and it has. Even Jo's great bargaining skills did not smooth over well. Vietnam loves to explain Vietnamese war in their fashion and are not afraid to share their thoughts. Joanne and I kept are nationality to ourselves. Like any country, there are bad seeds anywhere. Visiting this country was better than any history book could have been. Although, I could have done without the stares and gesturing that I was humongous!