Sorry- I had to…
Alright, I’m a tad late on this entry; the ports are getting so close to each other! We got to Vietnam early, but we had to make our way through the Mekong Delta- which is crazy! Ships and boats literally feet away from us, all around- and A LOT of curves and corners to turn. The Delta was the best 3 hours of scenery, and definitely worth being up for. I took 947 photos before we even got into port (I told you, I have a problem). The ship was cleared around 11 or so, and Kelsey (a friend who I would not push into traffic), and I went to tour the city. Here is something I should mention… Ho Chi Minh City is the motorbike capitol of the world (I’m not making this up), and in our pre-ports we literally got several instructions on how to cross the street. There are few crosswalks/ signals in Ho Chi Minh- and we were told to find a local, or just look, and walk- even with traffic coming, you just walk- and they will avoid you. So Kelsey, Forest (one of my favorite Life Long Learners), and I gave it a go. There were literally hundreds of motorbikes headed directly towards us, and we just hopped off the side walk- and began to walk. The trick is, look forward (which is hard to do when you’re about to get hit with a stampede of motorbikes), don’t run, and keep your pace; If you do all of this 99% of the time- the motorbikes will go right around you.
And sure as shit, they do. Remember when your parents said “Don’t walk into oncoming traffic” ? Well, throw that rule out the window when you’re in Ho Chi Minh. (Although people- let’s use common sense, a car is still a car, and a bus…a bus- those vehicles I WOULD wait for, motorbikes…no). You won’t see too many cars though. Sheer craziness. Right now in Vietnam it is wedding season- in fact Kelsey and I saw two on the first day! The brides were gorgeous! The Post Office was like Grand Central Station- and even has a small market inside! We bought postcards off the street- and when we went up to look at them, the “shop keeper” pulled up plastic stools, ordered us to sit, and then fanned us! What service! Vietnamese people are incredibly nice. We saw Notre Dame Cathedral (which is picture worthy- and not the Notre Dame you're most likely thinking of...), and then we laughed and giggled like little school children when we each took out 1,000,000 dong and took pictures. How many people can say they held 1,000,000 dollars in their hands- that was theirs?!?!? (It just wasn’t US dollars :p)
Oh- one digression- the motorbikes…drive ANYWHERE and EVERYWHERE. So don’t think you’re safe on the sidewalk- they drive there like it’s a road. If it looks flat enough- they’ll drive on it. We (the shipboard community) were all told to try this fuzzy red fruit. It almost looks like a giant raspberry, and you break it open, and eat the placenta. It was good- I recommend trying it. Kelsey and I headed off to the markets- which are indeed, crazy! I now have a Northface jacket/fleece (that’s real), and 2 North Face backpacks (which are fake- but who cares), and lots of other good treats. Not to mention a BUNCH of DVD’s. Here are some tips on DVD buying in Vietnam:
Make sure it’s not blu-ray (unless you have a blu-ray player)
Make sure that it’s in spoken English (they usually have DVD players and a TV so they can prove it works)
Check out the quality and sound of it
And don’t pay more than a dollar per disc (which was 20,000 dong when I was there) Crew could usually get them to 50 cents per disc, I only got them to 75.
Some people also said that their computers got viruses- mine didn’t- but again, if you make them check the DVD, it surely won’t have a virus, otherwise they’d be damaging their DVD player…
The next day I did a service project to a disabled children's home. ” Dumb isn’t necessarily meant in the same context of what it often is in the US. This school was in the middle of nowhere! We got to the school’s street, and walked through a small portion of a village to get there. Upon entering the schoolyard, we got directed in to see the principal of the school- where he told us a little bit about it. It is comprised with mostly deaf/ partially deaf kids, and kids with Down syndrome. It is a government run school- so the kids do not have to pay to go there- and all the kids had families (they weren’t orphans),however; it was likely that their families were poor. The teachers and principal did not tell the kids we were coming, so it was a huge surprise for them. I immediately got attached to them. They had ages from 2 to 18 and would school people up to the equivalent of a high school degree. I got to go into the toddler room- they were too adorable! They had cubbies with their names on them, and their own little “table tray” desk to do work on. We got there right in time for recess, which was such a great experience. A bunch of us had brought toys and fun thi8ngs for the kids with us. We played with chalk (most of the older kids wrote to us in English- which was very good mind you, and asked us how we were, where we lived, and so on). These kids were amazing, and so full of life. Once recess was over, we got to have a small lunch and talk to the principal once again. There was artwork all over the room we were sitting in, which was gorgeous, and done by all the children at the school. We were allowed to obtain pictures by making any domination donation we felt. I bought 4 :] we got a little more time to play and communicate with the kids- and then we set off back to the ship. This was one of my favorite service projects, and I left with a lot of new friends. I think it meant just as much to see them, as they felt it was to see me.
Some Vietnam observations… The power lines are ridiculous, and I don’t even know how Ho Chi Minh is still there, and not burnt down. There are power lines all over the place- 3 feet deep! The rice hats are awesome, and as much as I liked them- I did not buy one because it is an awkward thing to store, and when would I possibly wear it? I don’t wear hats! But it’s not just a huge tourist-like thing; locals legitimately still wear them. They serve a purpose (keeping shade for the rice workers/ people in general). The Chinese influence here is very prevalent (with pagodas and temples and what not).
I spent the rest of the day shopping around and sight-seeing, and spent that evening in my new silk robe, which was luxurious.
BAM- Day 3! I thought it would be intelligent to do something historical in Vietnam, so I took a trip to the Cu Chi Tunnels (and a temple). We’ll talk about the temple first. It was incredibly colorful, and had the most intricate details and statues. We went for the 12:00pm mass, and there were so many religions under this one roof. They had Buddhist (who wore yellow robes), Taoist who were blue, all women wore white regardless of religion, and then Hinduism? Who were red. I forgot, but I know Catholics were allowed to go to this temple as well. Shoes were to be taken off, and I absolutely loved walking around in my socks! Alright so off to the tunnels!!! We went into the woods with our guide and under a mess of leaves- was the covering for an underground tunnel. Each platoon was “assigned” a hole- and only they would know the coordinates of where it was. There were about 5-6 men for each tunnel, and even if you were in the Vietnamese army, you were only able to go to your assigned tunnel drop spot- so if you couldn’t find it, or get to it fast enough, you were pretty much dead. They had some of the craziest door traps with spikes underneath. There was a lot to take in, and it was surreal to be there where our family members once fought.
Now would be a good time to bring up the man holes. The one we were shown was purposely made bigger for tourists- and let me tell you something, there was no way in HECK my hips were even fitting in that. What I am about to write sounds snotty- but it’s definitely true; Girls with no figure had no issue getting in the whole, and some could even turn around, a lot of boys couldn’t do it, and if they could- they often could not get their shoulders through. Having being built like a woman, I was reassured that my hips would not make it through- on the bright side, it boosted my confidence that I will easily be able to give birth, and that I have a more than desirable butt- so that made me feel better about my hips :p
Alright- so the entire time we were in the woods, we heard all of this noise and commotion,. And I seriously thought we were getting attacked. We walked a little further and to my surprise, there was a shooting range! Oh but not just any shooting range, this one was for real guns, heavy artillery! :] Now, the mature part of me felt weird shooting artillery in a place where many Americans and Vietnamese were killed in what they call “The American War”. But the immature side of me, definitely wanted to shoot a gun.
So off to the range I went! I mean how many times will I have the chance to shoot an AK47? Oh yes, that’s right folks, Samantha Zerio, cocked and loaded, then shot a round with an AK47 (scary- isn’t it?), and I loved it, which scares me! Anyways- I think I’ll take up hunting or shooting ranges when I get home. Mary Ellis and I were the only girls that did it, and we felt empowered because of that (not because we were shooting them, but because we were the only women who wanted to).
That was just a neat little side note. We were off to the tunnels! We saw a crater that was from a “B52 bombing”, and when I asked the tour guide if it was really a B52 bombing he said it was NOT. He explained that it was made from a bomb, but not a B52. He said B52’s had more of a rippled affect, and would not create just a crater- good to know. We then reached the tunnels; here is my advice right off the bat- DO NOT go in the tunnels if you hate the dark, or are claustrophobic, DO get up close to the front near the guide. The tunnel takes about 5 minutes to get through, and is really neat. It boggles my mind that people LIVED in these for months. The section of the tunnels we went through is about half the length of a football field, and there are exits on the way if you can’t do it. I was able to fit in the tunnels with plenty of room to spare, but some of the guys said it was a tight squeeze for them towards the end. If you can- go all the way, it’s worth it, I think.
And so ended our day at the tunnels. We set back to the ship, passing the rice patties and hard workers, small villages and what not. Overall it was a good, historical, saddening, yet fun day. I went out at night with a friend Jennifer, and we were waiting for our shuttle back to the ship, and it wasn’t coming- so we opted to take motorbikes, again here’s some advice since I was the biggest advocate against riding these:
DO NOT go on a motorbike alone, at night, and/or drunk. That’s just stupid, these people are literally people who will offer you a ride back to the ship for the equivalent of a dollar because they need money(keep in mind you’re in a foreign country, you probably do not know where they’re going, especially at night). Anyways, there were two older gentlemen on bikes who asked Jennifer and me in a non-demanding manner if we needed rides, we negotiated a price, and I requested that they didn’t split up while driving us back. They agreed, and it was a blast! Definitely ride the motorbikes, just be safe, have a friend, and know your surroundings! And for heaven’s sake- so many people on our voyage got burnt by the exhaust- its common sense people, you’re on a motor vehicle- avoid the exhaust! If you get burned that’s your own stupid fault.
Alright, so the 4th day I decided to try and jump on another service project. It was a deaf school and zoo visit, and since I had a lot of fun at my other one, I decided to do this one too. We get to the school, and the children were so well-behaved, we played a bunch of fun games, and they put on shows and plays for us, and then we got to color. Then it was time to go to the zoo with the kids- it sounds like fun, right? The kids automatically attached to us, and those were the kids we were responsible for. My kid- Truong Mai Tan Thi (Truong) was pretty calm and cool, and we decorated ourselves with stickers (I looked amazing! :p ) So we get off the bus and find out that it is just us SASer’s watching the kids, the teachers went off away from us, and we then found out we were going to be there 4 hours. Let’s put this all together… we have limited ways of communicating with these kids because not only are they deaf…the words they speak are Vietnamese, and their sign language is different than ours!
My friend Cristina and I decided to stick together with our kids. Well… as soon as we got off that bus, my kid bolted, and so the fun began, I felt like I was running a marathon chasing after him. Before I start my story of this day in depth, let me express to you all that I NEVER want to reproduce…ever! Ahem…
So Truong heads towards the elephants; He sat for a little, and I tried giving him lunch but he absolutely refused to eat anything, so I gave it away. Now would be a good time to tell you what our tour guide said about people trying to sell you things to feed to the animals…he said “Don’t buy things from them- they don’t even work at the zoo”. Well that’s completely fine, I didn’t need to buy bamboo to the feed the elephant, why? You ask… because my kid STOLE bamboo from a woman trying to sell them, and ran back to feed the elephant. The woman starting running over and yelling at me in Vietnamese, so I then had to take the bamboo piece OUT of the elephant’s trunk, and give it back to her- then, my kid dashes off again! So Cristina and I start chasing him, and he finally stops to admire a tree. Yes, a tree, you’ll be hearing a lot about trees in this story. So we start walking towards monkey’s when I hear Cristina say “Uh Sam…” I turn around, to see my kid, whipping it out, and peeing on the sidewalk. Well what the heck am I supposed to do? I shielded him, and then signaled to him that he couldn’t pee in the middle of the zoo. He attempted to hold my hand, right after peeing, and I insisted that I hold his arm (and thank goodness for Cristina’s hand sanitizer). I now STRONGLY encourage parents who put their kids on leashes, I get it now. I used to think it was horrendous and degrading, but I have seen the light, and I wish my kid had come with a leash. Big surprise- he starts running again- so off I went to chase him. He went into EVERY restricted area of the zoo he could find, stopped at every tree and plant, and either climbed it, peed on it, swung off of it, or took pieces of it. He had no interest in any of the animals, and was only fascinated with foliage, the bus, and peeing. So while all the other SASer’s got to see animals and take photos of their kids with the animals, I got to take pictures of my kid running, stealing, climbing, and with numerous plants and trees. I’m pretty sure he also broke a few things in the zoo. He also gave a branch to a random man at the zoo?!?!?!? What on earth did I do as a kid to deserve my little terror?
He kept going back to the bus thinking we were leaving, and at this point, I was ready to. I learned that when kids run away from you- they usually come back. So I sat on a bench, and let him run around to every tree nearby, and he’d run back and show me the leaf he got, then go off again. We did this for about 2 hours. Finally people and their kids started congregating back near the bus, and we were all wiped. It was hilarious because all of us SASer’s were sitting on benches just letting our kids run wild, hoping that they wouldn’t disappear too far. Our trip leader Steve (who is emotionally scarred from this trip), came back, and started counted us- he was definitely ready to leave. We were eventually all accounted for, and we hopped on the bus back to drop the kids off at their school.
What did I learn from this?
People should not reproduce.
You cannot yell at a deaf Vietnamese kid…they can’t hear or understand you.
You can apparently pee anywhere in public. (This is true in a lot of the countries we’ve been to). He actually tried to pee on a crocodile- yes a crocodile, but instead he dumped water on it. And he continuously littered throughout the park. What a little terror I had.
And I could probably show you every single tree and plant in all of Vietnam due to Truong. The day was hilarious, but absolutely tiring. And I was happy that I had planned out a spa day for my last day.
If there is something I have realized, it’s that I like to spend at least 1 day wandering these countries on my own. So I set out that night to get some last minute shopping done. I never get bothered when I am alone, especially at night, and you’d think that it would be the opposite.
So- my Spa day. I won’t get into great detail, but I am almost positive I had sex with a woman. I received a deep tissue massage which was incredible. It was the White Lotus Spa- very clean, and quint. It was a fantastic end to my amazing time in Vietnam.
An interesting fact- Most people in the North wear the “surgical face masks” not only because of Agent Orange (which is now in my system- I’m sure), but because the Northern part of Vietnam is predominantly light-skinned (which is true in most countries). If you are lighter, it means you are of higher social class. Think of farmers, they’re often more tan because they work out in the sun all day- this is considered a low/ working class lifestyle. Southern and Northern Vietnamese people still have a lot of issues between them, and social class is one of them. So in turn- they wear masks to keep their light skin, and high status prevalent.
Vietnam was phenomenal and I highly recommend it to everyone. Definitely a great experience. Pretty soon I’ll be in Hong Kong!!! :] China= Ricccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccce <3
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