I'm sure by now you've all thought that I fell off the face of the planet! But don't worry, I'm back! And I've got plenty to blog about. In the past few months I've been busy not only with work, but visiting lots of new places. To kick it off, I'm going to start with my most recent vacation to Vietnam.
Again this year I saved up most of my vacation days to take one big trip in the summer. Last year I made it to Thailand and Cambodia. This time, I finally made it to Vietnam. It's somewhere I've heard so much about and now I can finally cross it off of my bucket list.
This trip was a little messier than in the past. Because of some complications I basically planned this trip the week I went. I booked my flight less than 2 weeks prior and that was the most I had planned. I jotted down a few ideas of places that might be fun and figured I'd just wing it. I had planned on going alone because my travel partner had to back out. I was indifferent about it, but it wouldn't stop me from missing out on my vacation I'd been looking forward to all year. Luckily for me, I got some good news the week before and a friend from work was able to come. We set a rough itinerary which basically consisted of where we'd go and nothing more. The list began in Ho Chi Minh City. From HCMC to Da Lat. And to end on a good note, Nha Trang. Unfortunately we didn't have enough time to do the north as well.
First up, Ho Chi Minh City!
First up, Ho Chi Minh City!
I flew into Ho Chi Minh City early on a Friday afternoon completely sleepless. I've fallen into a routine of not sleeping the night before a flight because I always end up packing just hours before I go. It's a bad habit I should probably work on. I went a day earlier than my friend so I figured for the first day I would just explore and relax. Possibly catch up on some sleep at some point. I love how vacations are supposed to relax you, but in reality I sleep way less. Getting my VISA and a taxi to the airport was easy enough. The driver dropped me off in front of a shady alley and just pointed. I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into, but I figured I needed to find the guesthouse I book the night before and he was my best shot at finding it. He seemed like he knew the area. Fortunately he was right and I found my place, Siagon Youth Hostel. The people working at the counter were really friendly. They gave me a key for a room on the 5th floor. It was a hike. Between my heavy bag, a narrow staircase, and humidity a lot higher than I was used to, I was ready to find an air conditioner and a shower. Nope. Not happening. I open the door to a girl already checked in and not happy to see me. Turned out there was a misunderstanding. (I'm still not sure who was right.) But after watching her argue with the front desk, I just asked them to give me another room so I could settle in. So I ventured back up to get my back and returned to my new room on the first floor. I took a much needed nap and decided for the first night I didn't want to do too much since my friend wouldn't be there until the next night. So I strolled around the streets for somewhere good to eat. I found a place quite close that was in a prime spot to check things out. It turned out to have not only good food, but some good people. The waitress, a girl named Loan, was so friendly and helpful. She taught me some useful phrases like hello and thank you for my trip. In return the teacher side of me came out to teach her as well. It turned out to be an eventful meal. I spent the rest of my night with some people I met later at the restaurant at the Hard Rock Cafe Ho Chi Minh City for some burgers and drinks. It was a low key, but good first night. Although when I went back to my guesthouse, I was surprised/shocked to find the doors gated and locked. My reaction? Panic and bang on the doors. Luckily one of the guys that worked there was passed out on the couch on the other side. I was even able to get a good nights sleep because the others in my room didn't come back until the following morning.
The next afternoon Cat came. I browsed around the streets and found a good pho place recommended to me for a quick bite. Once Cat and I settled into our new room, the one on the 5th floor, we thought about going to the Cuci Tunnels, but didn't have time. My suggestion? There's a tattoo shop down the street. I was half joking, but we decided to check it out anyways. We spent the majority of the night getting tattoos. Who would've thought I'd actually get one. Bob Tattoo was a good place to go. We love our new tattoos! Since we took most of our time here, we spent the night roaming around the city and the markets. We were staying close to the Ben Than Market so that's where we ended up. It was fun to walk around, but we got there towards the end so there wasn't as much to see as I expected. But I was able to get a few things I forgot to bring so it proved useful for me.
The following morning we took a tour of the Mekong Delta. The first part of the tour went through the floating market, even though we aren't allowed to buy anything at the market. It's only for locals. It reminded me a lot of the floating village in Cambodia. After that, we docked for a short while. We watched as they made several tasty treats, including these coconut candies that were delicious. They were so fresh and still warm when we got to sample them. We also watched them make things like rice popcorn, rice wine, and rice sheets. They use a lot of rice here! We strolled on down the path to have a tea party, small/play-looking tea cups and all. It was a kind of honey tea that came with a ton of small treats to eat with it. Once finished with the tea, we got back on the boat for a long ride. We spent around 40 minutes going down the river until we came to a more shallow and narrow part. Here, we got out of our tour boat and into a smaller canoe type boat. They weren't the most sturdy things. At one point, a guy in our boat tried to steer. He stood up to switch places with our driver and I actually thought we might tip over. Luckily, that wasn't the case. We got off in the middle of what looked like the jungle for lunch time. We were basically in the middle of no where. Lunch was good, but not what I expected. The trip sounded like there'd be more of an adventure through some orchards, but that wasn't the case. They brought out some fresh jack fruit at the end of the meal and that was the orchard, I guess. After lunch, I biked down the street of what I guess you could call a town. There were only a few houses here and there. Oh, and who could forget the kids that yelled every time you went by. That was the end of the trip. We backtracked to the main part of the river and made our way back to our tour bus. By the time we got back it was pretty late and our last night there.
To top off Ho Chi Minh City we grabbed some dinner and some street food back at the Ben Than Market again. Considering we had an early flight, nothing too crazy. All in all, Ho Chi Minh City was fun, but my least favorite out of all three places in Vietnam.
The next afternoon Cat came. I browsed around the streets and found a good pho place recommended to me for a quick bite. Once Cat and I settled into our new room, the one on the 5th floor, we thought about going to the Cuci Tunnels, but didn't have time. My suggestion? There's a tattoo shop down the street. I was half joking, but we decided to check it out anyways. We spent the majority of the night getting tattoos. Who would've thought I'd actually get one. Bob Tattoo was a good place to go. We love our new tattoos! Since we took most of our time here, we spent the night roaming around the city and the markets. We were staying close to the Ben Than Market so that's where we ended up. It was fun to walk around, but we got there towards the end so there wasn't as much to see as I expected. But I was able to get a few things I forgot to bring so it proved useful for me.
The following morning we took a tour of the Mekong Delta. The first part of the tour went through the floating market, even though we aren't allowed to buy anything at the market. It's only for locals. It reminded me a lot of the floating village in Cambodia. After that, we docked for a short while. We watched as they made several tasty treats, including these coconut candies that were delicious. They were so fresh and still warm when we got to sample them. We also watched them make things like rice popcorn, rice wine, and rice sheets. They use a lot of rice here! We strolled on down the path to have a tea party, small/play-looking tea cups and all. It was a kind of honey tea that came with a ton of small treats to eat with it. Once finished with the tea, we got back on the boat for a long ride. We spent around 40 minutes going down the river until we came to a more shallow and narrow part. Here, we got out of our tour boat and into a smaller canoe type boat. They weren't the most sturdy things. At one point, a guy in our boat tried to steer. He stood up to switch places with our driver and I actually thought we might tip over. Luckily, that wasn't the case. We got off in the middle of what looked like the jungle for lunch time. We were basically in the middle of no where. Lunch was good, but not what I expected. The trip sounded like there'd be more of an adventure through some orchards, but that wasn't the case. They brought out some fresh jack fruit at the end of the meal and that was the orchard, I guess. After lunch, I biked down the street of what I guess you could call a town. There were only a few houses here and there. Oh, and who could forget the kids that yelled every time you went by. That was the end of the trip. We backtracked to the main part of the river and made our way back to our tour bus. By the time we got back it was pretty late and our last night there.
To top off Ho Chi Minh City we grabbed some dinner and some street food back at the Ben Than Market again. Considering we had an early flight, nothing too crazy. All in all, Ho Chi Minh City was fun, but my least favorite out of all three places in Vietnam.
Stay tuned for Da Lat and Nha Trang. It only gets better!...
Peace & Love,
Elissa Rae
Elissa Rae
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