Thursday, December 17, 2009

Phuc Quoc to Saigon War Exibit

DAY 54

    We had breakfast on the beach this morning and then around 10.30am we got a cab to the airport. Our flight was at noon and took around an hour to get to Saigon.



    Went straight to the war museum and checked it out. The planes, helicopters and tanks that all sat outside were interesting to see but upon entering the building the mood took a sudden shift.



     The search and destroy tactics used by the US army was seriously brutal and pictures showed horrible and inhumane acts as well as deep pain inflicted upon the people of Vietnam. Posters used to get the soldiers to be ruthless said things like bomb the cong and aggressiveness and fire power will win the war. There were tons of quotes from Vietnamese people that said things like US tactics showed complete disregard for proper ways of war and no mercy shown even for civilians. The whole place was a lot to take in and as I continued through the museum I felt sick to my stomach.
    Pictures of torture and brutal bloodied bodies with American soldiers smiling over corpses was just disturbing. It was just like a horror story and I could not help but feel ashamed being American and from a place that did such unthinkable destruction to other human beings. Learning about the toxic chemicals like agent orange and what it did to the land as well as the people was just heart wrenching. The Vietnamese people were poisoned like pests would be with pesticides and left to wither and suffer as the toxic chemicals slowly dissipated but not before taking thousands of lives. It was hard to imagine that the beautiful landscape we had been traveling in the past month was desecrated and just plain demolished to a point to where no vegetation could grow. Huge craters from bombs dropped by the US were used to collect water and  roadsides were lined with unexploded bombs like pillars with no where to go. Land mines killed farmers long after the war as they tried to cultivate food in their fields. We walked in silence and awe as we passed the terrorizing pictures and stories on the walls.
     I tried to take my time and read all the picture quotes in the beginning to learn, but the seriousness and pure terror of the content made me not want to know much more. By the last room I had stopped reading the quotes and moved quickly around glancing at the pictures but totally overwhelmed, disgusted, sad, ashamed and sorry for all of the hardship endured and still affecting the people of this country. To this day there are still agent orange caused birth defects and babies born disabled and disfigured. There are living mine victims with no arms and legs with scared faces who sit outside of the museum trying to sell you things as you leave. It was a very intense experience and so real now that I had seen it in front of me. Near the end of the tour as I tried to take this all in I couldn't really focus on the images in front of me even though I was trying  in hopes of learning and changing my perspective but I was truly overtaken by emotion and was way done by the end. Chris and I both looked at each other not really saying anything, dazed and both just headed straight for the exit.





    This was quite a sobering experience seeing this exhibit. The images where as brutal as you can get with half torn bodies being carried by American Soldiers with a smile like it was a hunting sport. Before we went inside I had met a man he who had both of his arms blown off by a unexploded landmine while playing as a child. The long term effects of this war and its tactics are staggering. What really got me the most was seeing the images of innocent children affected by agent orange. Their faces literally  melting off their head with crippled limbs, born blind and unable to even eat on their own for the rest of their lives.They even had real deformed fetus' in Jars. I had to choke back tears and after a while I just had to stop looking at them. We also visited the torture prisons and that is just a whole different thing I don't want to get into. People are fucked.


    
     We got motor bikes back to the tour office where we had left our big bags zipping through insane traffic.



     When we got there Prasanna who we met in Lao was on a computer and we greeted him happy to see a friendly face. We all did some computer stuff for a bit and then went to get some food. We got Pho soup for a dollar which was really good and then just hung out talking about our adventures and difference in our trips. Around 7pm we said goodbye and got a cab to the airport for our flight to Phuket. In the airport we spent the last of our dong on snacks and around 9pm we boarded the plane to Phuket.



      I read the lonely planet to get a better idea of where we would stay and what to see on Phuket. It was a quick flight and we arrived ahead of schedule. As we exited the airport from baggage claim we met a couple from California and they told us they were going to Kamala Beach and it was a really cool place where they had actually lived for a while teaching English so we decided to go there first. We also met some Spanish people and I was really happy to practice my Spanish with them. We all needed a cab and it was ridiculously expensive so we grouped up to get a better deal.
     They were bargaining like crazy and ended up taking an hour to get out of the airport and only saved 1 buck between us all. We got 2 cabs for the 6 of us and headed to Kamala Beach. It was a 30 min cab ride and around 1 in the morning when we got there so we were not sure if we were going to find a room but luckily we did. We all threw our stuff in the room and headed out to look for food but at this hour only 711 was open so we all got food there if you can call it that and roamed the streets for a bit chatting in Spanish which was really fun for me. We walked to the beach sat for a while talking and then tiredly headed off to bed.

The Search For A Proper Dirty Martini

     Today we pretty much did nothing but chill on the beach get a massage and eat seafood. At the end of the massage without asking they did a thing called threading where the lady uses a string and twists it pulling out the hairs on my neck,. it was so painful. Around sunset we had to move our chairs because the resturaunt was setting up tables on the beach for dinner. So we returned to the room took showers and went on a seach for a dirty martini.

     Ever since we went to the Martini Bar back in Vientiane, Laos I have been spoiled by their goodness. Asia is not exactly the place to get classy drinks but this place is Laos really set the bar to high and everything since has dwindled in comparison. Since this island is pretty ritzy I figured we had a good chance of finding a good one at one of the fancy resorts so we took off down the beach on a mission.

     We stopped in at all the resorts and bars on the beach looking at the menus laughing at everything and trying to explain dirty martini to the Vietnamese bartenders who had no clue as to what we were talking about. It was pretty hilarious, us in board shorts and no shirt walking up to the big money resorts where couples fine dinning sat and we asked for dirty martinis acting high class with no class at all.. Finally about 15 minutes walking down the beach we came to the Spice Garden another big resort, where a canadina guy named Kieth mannaged the bar and resturaunt, we did we finally get a martini from him..
    We talked for a while and he told us there was no olives on the island and our search was just never gonna lead us to a dirty martini. Instead he told us he could make a mint chocolate martini that he said was really good so we took his word for it and got one as well as the Pork Cordon Blue which was a deep fried pork wrapped around ham with motzerella cheese in the middle which was awsome.



   We hung out for a while drank our martinis and talked about life and our trip. It was a great conversation and Chris and I felt really connected in our hopes and dreams for future events to come as well as our plans for work and living upon our return homme. Afterwards we headed back to Eden and played pool for a while checked out a bonfire on the beach and went to bed.

Phu Quoc Island

Day 52

     Time to go to the island! Got up early to get our boat at 730am. We boarded the SuperDong 2 and had a 2 hour ride to the island.



    The fresh air rushes past as we cruz to the island. We pass small green islands all around as well as tons of fishing boats. I feel a very positive energy as the sun hits my back and think about my trip so far as well as what is to come and smile. The farther we go the cleaner the water looks and its color turns from a brown green to a deep blue. We met some other backpackers on the boat and all share a shuttle bus to get a hotel. Get a bungalow right on the beach and put our feet into the white sand and feel completely content and relaxed.



     Its about time to get rid of this Mohawk but I have no clippers so I decide to do it with scissors. I then walked the beach and just sat in the sun. I talked with the locals who ran our hotel restaurant joking and practicing the few Vietnamese word I knew. The sun began to set and the sky became a brilliant blue with orange and white clouds and the sun cats its long shimmering image across the water sparkling on its surface touching the beach at my feet. The waves wash up and away creating an amazing shine in the sand and becoming more intense as the sun begins to join with the horizon. Reds Oranges and yellows meet with the deep blue of the water and light blue along the shore creating a picture perfect moment.


Mae Cong Delta Day 2 Moving South

 Day 51

    We had to get up at 6:45 am today in order to make it down the river to meet up with the rest of the tour. Saw a floating market, a rice noodle factory and then took a cruz up and down the river taking in the sights. Its really amazing how many boats are on this river and how much work is done on the water. Hundreds of people transport goods, work, live and fish along the muddy banks of the river. We pass all size boats with whole families living and working aboard. The river banks are lined with bamboo shacks that run right up to the water with their foundation, some under water already. The typical Vietnamesse bamboo hats are everywhere and small women row these rikidy boats loaded high with all kinds of fruit and produce. Some smile and wave while others are to concerned with their work to even notice us.



 

     Unlike Central America on our last trip where I would see lots of people sitting around during the day and drinking doing nothing, here everyone seems dedicated to a task and works day in day out. Some do sit around but only waiting to sell their products to others passing by. They sit quiet but come alive and try to sell you whatever they can as you pass by. Toothless old ladies and scroungy old men work on small tasks like selling bread or fruit but often sit aside as the rest of the family works, quietly observing as time passes by. Work is a constant state of life for people here and the hustle and bustle of the streets fills you with an inner respect for what they must do to live and support their families. Often you can see the stress of life apparent in their old wrinkled faces as they see more and more tourists pass them by with big cameras and fancy watches when most of their life they have had nothing but the cloths on their backs. The contrast from our crazy lives to their simple yet chaotic exsistence which they must endure day to day, really makes me feel blessed to have options and the ability to travel and learn from my expierences.



     We get back and take a buss to Rach Gai where I got to see one of the coolest markets I have seen yet. It lines the river and boats are parked next to the market with loads of produce being unloaded and sold in a very small area. Everyone is happy and says hello as I pass. I went back to the hotel, took a nap and then Chris and I walked around for a bit and looking for food. As we were on our way back to the hotel we met a group of people hanging out on the street and sat down with them drinking and eating with them which was really cool. From their excitement i don't think many tourist come to this city. This was our first real Vietnam experience and made us both really happy to be here and meet these people.




     As we were walking back to our hotel after checking out the city a group of about 10 local's waved to us and held up a glass of beer motioning us over to them. We turned around and were greated very enthusiasticly as they stood up and offered us their chairs. Sat down and kind of felt like a amusment park attraction but they were extremely nice. No one really spoke any English but we were still able to communicate through body launguage which was very cool. They had big silver canisters of a home made beer which they basicly force fed to us and when the beer ran out we offered to buy them more but they refused to take our money. We insisted and gave one about $3 and zooms off on his motor bike.
    He returned about 10 minutes later with 4 more canisters of beer and a huge bag full of food. They unloaded a box of spicy crab claws and chicken numblets to us and we all dug in laughing, taking pictures of eachother and trading hats. Spent a good two hours with them before we said our goodbyes and headed off to bed. Amazing experience im glad we got to have!


Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Mae Cong Delta

Day 50

     We were up early again for our bus at 8 am to go on the Mae Cong Delta River Cruz. Just took our small backpacks and left our big ones in the office because we were gonna be on and off the river and boats and then the island and did not want to lug our big bags around with us. It was a 3 hour ride to our first boat and I slipped on my ipod and drifted off letting my mind daydream as we left the city. When we arrived we got on a small boat with tiny blue wooden benches, not to comfortable and took off across the river. The water was a murky brown with lots of debris and river plants floating around in it as well as blue and black smoke filling the air from all of the boats that were going up and down the river around us.



Our first stop was to see the honey bees and sample their honey tea as well as getting to hold a huge Python.



     Back on the boat to another small dock where we sat and ate fresh fruit while a woman sang local songs to us. Off to another small island and had lunch. Chris and I were pretty tired and laid down in hammocks after lunch dozing off and waking up realizing our boat was probably waiting for us so we headed back to the dock where they were waiting. Went to another spot on the river to a small muddy channel where 4 per boat were taken down a very small channel by locals surrounded by river palms.


Our guide for the trip was a hilarious and very small kick boxer and he made jokes with us the whole time saying he could kick our ass if we got out of line really adding to the experience on the boat. Locals were waist deep in the water along the shores picking crabs and coconuts off the bottom of the river. This area is so much different then the rest of Vietnam and the people here depend soley on the Mae Cong River which runs from China all the way to Southern Vietnam where it meets the ocean.



    Connected with the bigger boat to the coconut candy shop where they demonstrated how they made it and gave us a sample. All of these stops today were meant to sell to the tourists stuff and felt kinda lame but it was cool to see areas of the river we never would have been able to see on our own. We then got back to the harbor and met up with another bus that was going to Can Tho for our next night where we would be staying with a local family on the river. It had been a really long day and after 2 and a half hours on a bus we arrived in the city and had to get on another boat out to the Bungalows on the river. It took us another hour and a half to get to the bungalows in pitch black darkness on a small boat which was really tiring after our long day and when we arrived we were totally beat. We had dinner which was really good, making our own spring rolls with fresh fish they had taken from their pond right in the back of their house. After we went to bed and tried to get some sleep but that was not easy. We were right on the river and these boats that sounded like semi trucks went past every 5 minutes as well as a road right on the other side of our bungalows with motor bikes so sleep was not easy.

Chu Chi Tunnels

Day 49

    We got up early today at 7:30 am and went to a tour company to go and visit the Chu Chi Tunnels from the Vietnam War. It was a 90 min bus ride to get there and I put my ipod in and dosed off along the way. It was a very interesting experience learning about the Viet Cong and hearing about how the tunnels were constructed with many levels they had dug by hand as deep as 10 meters to avoid bombing and attacks by the Americans and French. They even had underground kitchens and special vents that reached the surface for air and the smoke from cooking. We walked around and checked out some tunnel entrances as well as some huge craters created by the bombs dropped during the war.

    Near the beginning of the war area to the tunnels there was a extremely small hole in the ground which was camouflaged with leaves that lead into the tunnel systems. I am pretty skinny and was one of the only people who could barely fit inside scraping my sides as I slid in. When I lowered the cover it was almost pitch dark with a hole about a foot and half high going into the blackness. This really gave me a sense of what it was like inside and I cant even begin to imagine what the Viet Cong went through fighting and living in these conditions, really blew my mind. They built these entrances this small so that the American soldiers being big people would not be able to fit inside. The Americans defence against this was sending attack dogs into the holes. The tunnels were lined with brutal booby traps that could be activated after the Vietnamese soldier had passed over it killing or badly injuring the dogs or anyone else unlucky enough to enter their lair.



    Our guides English was not great and it was a task just to try to understand what he was saying but I think we got a good history lesson. Went to a shooting range and got to shoot a automatic M60 rifle which can shoot up to 600 rounds a minute. It was extremely loud and powerful, almost ear drum shattering but exciting for the both of us. This is glorification of the violence of war and is arguably wrong because it is letting us take a part in shooting off ammo which killed thousands but at the same time a one of a kind experience.






    After that we were shown how they make rice paper and rice wine. Next we went to a section of tunnels that were big enough us westerners to crawl through and we actually went about 300 feet on our hands and knees underground. At one point the tunnel was so tight I had to just barely sqeeze though on my back in order to make it out the other side.



    As we finished the tour and were walking back to the bus there was a restaurant that had a bottle of whiskey with a Cobra in it and I did a shot which was really strong feeling the burn for 15 to 20 mins afterward.



     After the 90 min ride back to Saigon we got some food and sat down in the tour company and booked a Mai Khong delta cruz and a trip to Phu Quoc Island before our Vietnam Visa expired. It was a long day and we were totally exhausted and returned to our hotel. The dude  who we had shared our room with turned out to be a extremely loud snorer and sleep talker, speaking in some alien launguage which had us cracking up as well as not sleeping due to the noise.  We packed our things for the next day and watched tv trying to fall asleep.

On The Road Again And On To Saigon

Day 48

    I got up pretty late packed my bag and went to the ATM to get money. We said goodbye to our friends we had made over the week and got on our bus around 2pm.


 
    We left Mui Ne passing beautiful scenery and soon outside the bus window dirty streets and millions of motor bikes started to take over.



     We arrived in Saigon and got a room at hotel 96 with a guy from Brooklyn that we had met on the bus. Walked the streets for a while taking in the city. We met some guy's sitting on the street in small chairs where you could get a liter of beer for 11,000 dong which is around 50 cents per liter. So we hung out there for a while and chatted with the group, a few Germans, an Aussie, a guy from Holland, an English dude and a Cali boy who was from San Francisco. As we sat there Rachel the Canadian girl who we met in Lao walked by and then the English guys from Pai and then a Irish girl we had met in Mui Ne. Saigon is definitely a place all travelers end up in and obviously we have all been on somewhat the same path meeting up in lots of difference place. It was cool to share our stories and find out what places people had been and what they liked the most. I stayed out until around 3am roaming Saigons merchant infested streets and then had to call it a night.