Asia for the first time

I have been in SE Asia now for almost four weeks. It seems a lifetime ago that I left Santa Fe. When I arrived in Vietnam, it was midnight and all I wanted to do was get through the visa process and get to my hotel. Fortunately for me, I was the only one in line at that hour and all went smoothly. I did have my authorization letter from Language Arts so there were no problems. The entrance reminded me alittle bit of the Mexican process. Twoguys who actually processed the visas and about four runners who just passed everything along and then back to the front desk. I now have a very fancy visa stuck in my passport.

I had expected everything to go smoothly and it did; my school contact was waiting outside with my name waving in the air. Hien was there with a friend and they hustled me off to a taxi and within 15 minutes I was at my hotel. At 1:30 a.m. Heine was showing me a map of the city and directions to walk to the school the next day. I was barely awake and just wanted a shower and some sleep. I hardly noticed much on the drive from the airport but Hiene and her friend were giggling a lot and I found out later that because they knew my age they were expecting someone quite a bit different. Since I was carrying a backpack and a small carry on backpack, they thought I was amazingly strong.

My room was neat, clean, two beds, hot water and TV. But my first impression of Vietnam was to come the next morning when I left the hotel. Vietnamese seem to live outdoors: sidewalks are crowded with outdoor restaurants where lots of street cooking offers the hungry just about everything from noodles to crab to rice and lots of pho or soup stands. Most startlingly were the motor bikes that zipped everywhere, in and out, side to side, forward and back totally unmindful of pedestrians. I have decided that Vietnam drivers have a motto: whoever is the biggest, honks the loudest and stares straight decided gets there first and wins. After several hesitant starts across the streets, I just learned just to plow forward, walk slowly and play dodgem with the oncoming traffic. There are a few areas where there are actually lights with countdown seconds for the pedestrian but even then one cannot be assured that motor bikes will keep still for even those seconds. There is always a quick turn to be sneaked in. There are laws but who cares.

I did not manage to find the school that first day. I was on the right street and in the area and asked several people where #47 was and believe it or not, each one had a different opinion. Finally one motorbike driver told me to hop on: a passerby spoke English, read my map and told him of my plight. I was hesitant both because it seemed like a scarey proposition and because I did not yet have any dong (money) and had only twenties in US. So I told her and she told him I did not have any money: no problem, the ride is frree, he motioned. That was an incredible gesture - nobody gives free rides in Vietnam. I think half the population makes some kind of living driving taxi bikes and bicycle chairs. Anyhow, I got on and we drove round and round the ame few blocks for at least a half an hour. Even he who could ask directions in Vietnamese could not find the right building. It was kind of amazing to be behind this skinny young man and holding on - I was afraid I would crush him. However, I discovered that they are not gdriving as fast as it seems when you are trying to avoid them. After all this frustration on his part and mine, I finally indicated in sigh language that I would just try to walk some more and find it. I felt really bad that he was using his petrol for me but I was not going to give him a $20.00 bill; I am on a tight budget, naturally.

That first day I sure spent a lot of time walking but I find it is always fun to walk around a new city. I had been told there was not much to see in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMH) and discovered that was the truth. I stopped and had lunch somewhere, noodles, I am sure and iced tea. Yes you can get cold tea - usually green and often some tasty local herbal tea. As I walked around I discovered quite a few lovely parks between my hotel and the school so found lots of places to sit for awhile in the shade. When I finally got back to my hotel, I called Hien and she had forgotten to tell me that the school's building was, in fact, down an alley. But it was a good day and one stop for tea was in a gem shop where three of the young waittresses crowded around my table to speak in English and ask as many questions as they could. The young women were all dressed in native Vietnamese dresses with pants and long, silk embroidered overdresses. They were quite beautiful. I found that striking up a conversation happened whenever I stopped and somene had the opportunity to talk with me. They always asked my age.

Several of my fun days involved talking with students in this particular park near the university. They would approach and ask if I spoke English and the proceed to talk. It was sometimes difficult to understand but often they would have questions about an English sound or format. Generally we would talk for about an hour. After all, I had no real agenda; my time in HCMH was pretty free as this was my prelude before beginning school in Cambodia.

I made an effort to see what there was to see in HCMC: a pagoda with lots of jade, the Art Museum, the Market, the high end tourist area, the Opera house, the Post Office, the People's Cultural Center and really just get a feel for the City. The latter was an incredible rectangle of a low, white, modern building filled with rooms used for official purposes: lots of red and gold. Overall I did not get a real sense of culture surrounding me and when I checked with others, they felt the same way. Not sure why this is but the Vietnam has been occupied for so long by so many; it all felt rather bland to me, but not unexciting. Lots of noise, vendors, and motion. Like any third world city, there was lots of trash and when the street kitchens and restaurants in the highly populous or lower rent districts had served all day and into the evening, the smell of garbage permeated many streets. Remember I was not in the truly low rent district, but certainly not in the high.

The staff at my small hotel were friendly, very servicing, and kept watch over me. After spending a couple of days alone, however, one of my classmates and his family showed up. I could not believe this couple. They brought their three children and one on the way to Vietnam. They planned on staying for at least a year after he finished the TESOL course and wanted to be in Vietnam as they had a three year old Vietnamese daughter whom they had adopted. Being from Texas they were certainly outgoing and friendly and it turns out Brent (my classmate) was truly a comic relief blessing in our future classes. I found out later they were deeply Christian and were planning on doing some missionary work in Vietnam. Kind of a scarey thing to do there, as it is indeed a Communist country and Christianity is not someting the government wants spread around as it is so associated with "western." I was to travel and live with a whole family for the first two weeks in Cambodia.

I spent a couple of days in the Mekong Delta. Taking a bus with hotels and breakfast was $30 for three days and two nights. Lunch and dinners were not included. Amazing. Of course, the hotels were pretty basic, but totally liveable. I was joined by several women who were sisters and in-laws from Singapore, a few young couples from Malaysia and a couple of young women from England and, finally of course, a couple of Australians. I met Australians everywhere as travel to and from SE Asia is pretty reasonable for them. The Singapore women were completely taken aback that I was travelling alone, but I assured them that I had friends back at the hotel and was meeting more people later in my trip. They did not all speak English, but the older sister did and we had some interesting conversations. Again, my age became a question and they were interested because one of the sisters travelling with the group was 65 and had bad legs. I feel so fortunate for my health. The English young women had been travelling for six months beginning in South America. They were quite adventurous.

The Mekong is a big river for sure and I would not want to fall into it. To get there the bus took about 5 hours and we made stops along the way. Our guides spoke pretty good English. We took lots of boats from one place to another; had a lovely tour through the canals and jungle of the delta; lunch in a local outdoor restaurant which consisted of mystery meat, rice, and vegetable with some really incredible spring rolls. Earlier we had stopped at another place where local folks entertained us with music and folk songs while we were served with an incredible array of tropical fruits. There are some whose name I still don't know but all were delicious. And, of course, lots of tea. We also visited a floating market - an area where farmers come down the river with their produce to sell in a wholesale market as they drift and make their way around the market area. Each boat sticks their wares on a stick so you make your way to that particular - our group wanted the watermelons and pineapples. The latter were all carved so we could eat them there like an ice cream. The center root portion was used like an ice ceam stick. As we travelled from boat to land, there were of course the souveiner shops which included lots of silks and the usual paraphernalia, etc. but also lots of crocodile wallets, purses, belts, etc. Crocodiles are raised for the their skins. In fact we saw a crocodile raising area in Cambodia later on.

Another side trip that I took was to Cu Chi, one of the sites in what is now a National Park and open to tourists and is a viewing place for a sampling of the miles and miles of tunnels built by the Viet Cong. They used them for travel. living and hiding during bombing attacks. And they were a good way to travel to a destination cited for attack on outside forces. Various tiger traps (used for men during the was, but orignally they were animal traps) and booby traps were displayed throughout the area. There was even a small area where women and men were still making the "guerilla sandals" from used tires. They were for sale. Our guide was an American Vietnamese who had served with the U.S. Navy and stayed after the Independence. Naturally, he was treated as a traitor and spent four years in prison - a standard time for those who had helped Amercians spend being "re-educated" in the new ways. He did tell us that the Park was run by Viet Cong who were still around.

All this whetted my interest to read about the history of Vietnam. Of course, I lived through the war but still wanted to get caught up in my memory of it. First I read Robert McNamara's book. It is hard to believe how really stupid and avoiding of questions the staffs of Kennedy and Johnson seemed to be. It is hard now to believe that they had no idea there were major issues of nationalism involved in the non pro French or American forces in Vietnam. What a waste of time, money and lives. I read another called "A long History of Vietnam" which traces not only earlier times but also the many times Vietnam was occupied by one foreign or another. Without going into all that, suffice it to say that this book, although pretty socialist/communist in its view seems to pretty much follow the pattern of the war and the efforts that confounded Americans for so many years. The friendliness and interest of Vietnamese in America pretty much surprised me as I had no idea what to expect even though I knew the country has been open to tourists for quite a few years. I never did get up to Hanoi in the north, but Iam told that China Beach which was a rest and recreation for American GIs is fast becoming an expensive resort area with lots of condos and high end resorts. In many spots travellers cannot get to the beaches unless they go through the hotels and I am not sure if they have to be staying in them or not.
Other than those two trips, I spent my days walking in HCMC; stopping in some of the fancy malls to cool off; buying goods in the supermarket that I could eat in my hotel. Yes peanut butter and water crackers. For the most part, however, if one sticks to buying local products, the prices will be much lower. Anything Western is expensive. It has been quite an experience and I have been really enjoying meetng the Vietnamese people. They have all been incredibly friendly; it amazes me that they are so open to Americans and everyone else, but I am sure if one is aiming to cause trouble they will be taken care of pretty quickly. (an outsider that is). Those more experienced say that an eye is kept on a lot of foreigners. I am delighted to be having this opportunity. I am in Cambodia now and so far I can say there is nothing like Southeast Asia.

Before leaving Vietnam, I had the most incredible massage, pedicure and manicure for just under $10.00. I felt so spoiled and renewed. The place was almost next door to my hotel and I was glad I stumbled upon it as it was in the direction that I usually did not take.
I might be getting used to the heat; not sure. I do take a lot of showers and have to wash my clothes every night. Well, I don't "have to;"but it seems the right thing to do.

By the way, I think the Vietnamese are very beautiful people - the young women are just lovely and so.......tiny.

Oh another thing, just call me Madame. All over the City, I heard: "Madame, you want motor bike?" "Madame, you want bicycle;" "Madame, where you go, I take you;" "Madame, how you?," "Madame, you want something;" "Madame, where you from?" "Madame, you want buy something? "Madame, you want me help you?"So just call me
MADAM.