Hoi an, the most lovely place

The hotel we were staying at in Hoi an, despite difficulties in communicating, picked us up at the bus station which was nice.  As soon as we got in the car, the guy was trying to get us to book tours with him and I was turned off immediately but gave him the benefit of the doubt, especially since the girl at the front desk was an absolute gem and she wore one of those beautiful traditional Vietnamese outfits....So cute.  While waiting for our room, we booked some flights we had to take care of.  The staff found out because we needed to get our passports back from them for the electronic booking, and they got mad!  They seriously were annoyed we didnt book our flights home with them!  When Marj turned her back at one point to look at something, the guy started to make faces at her like a 5 year old.  At that point, I was just pissed and he lost all cred in my book.  I sternly told him it was our business, none of his and that was enough.  Then I looked at Marjie and said even more sternly, "this guy is pissing me off".  He didn't bother us at all after that (I must say that everybody else who worked there, other than him, were an absolute pleasure and very helpful), but it was a welcome to the first of many attitudes we'd get in Hoi an, only when it came to exchange of money. 

We walked to the Old Quarter in the afternoon, small little streets with shops, coffee stops and restaurants.  All of the buildings were the same color of mustard yellow with vines and colorful flowers up the side....very aesthetically pleasing.  We learned that it was a full moon, a big deal here, and there would be a lantern festival.  Basically, the Old Quarter shuts off all the lights in the streets and shops while everything is lit by lanterns.  After our afternoon walk through the beautiful streets, we couldn't wait to come back that evening.

Later that night on our walk to the Old Quarter, each home, shop, store, etc had a little table in front with candles, incense, flowers, snack foods and the like to pay homage and pray for good things for family and loved ones.  It reminded me of these little Buddha station set-ups that every Thai home had: a Buddha statue, flowers, incense, candles, drinks and other snacks to pay respects to Buddha and offerings to the dead.  Some would wai this station every night and some only on special occasions.  Nonetheless, it was similar to what the Vietnamese were doing for the Lantern Festival, main difference being that the Vietnamese were doing it on the sidewalk whereas Thai's do it in their home or at the temple.  They were also burning things like clothes, fake money and cigarettes.  We weren't sure why, but we've learned that at funerals fake money is thrown on the walk to the burial ground (they bury, not burn, unlike the Thai's) and at memorial services they burn significant necessities like clothes and fake money for the dead in the after-life.  So, I assume they were burning stuff for those who have already passed.  

The Old quarter was beautiful as we suspected.  We strolled around just taking it all in.  A little girl approached us asking to buy these pretty boxes with candles inside that are sent off in the river that runs through Hoi an, for good wishes for loved ones. Again this was similar to a Thai Festival called Loy Kratong.  Only difference is in Thailand, we'd make the beautiful "boxes"  out of banana leaves and flowers, some were quite fancy, to hold the candle and then send off in the river.  All for good luck, happiness and such for loved ones.  

Walking around worked up an appetite and we stopped for dinner.  I had seen this local Hoi an dish called Cao Lau.  Vietnam is big on noodle dishes and this was a variation: noodles, veggies and pork (they used tofu instead for me....there is tofu everywhere here, its quite vegetarian friendly.  I give credit to the vegetarian monks).  Usually, the noodles are in a soup broth but this was in a light sauce, both sweet and savory and egg noodles were used instead of the typical rice or glass noodles, which was right up my alley.  It was so delicious, and looked so delish that the couple next to me asked what I was eating as I had just shoveled a chopstick full of noodles in my mouth.  I turned around to answer, noodles slapping me in the face, sucking them up real quick.  It wasn't my most attractive moment and the couple chuckled a bit as I said, "can you tell I'm enjoying this?!"  Have I informed you yet of my abnormal eating habits, abnormal to American standards that is? I rarely used utensils in Thailand as we ate with our hands and if I ever did use a utensil, it was spoon - we NEVER used forks.  Since being in Vietnam, I've adopted chopsticks, maybe a spoon, but what I love most is the shoveling of food into the mouth that goes on, because that is how I eat. It's as though I fear someone is going to take it away from me....so just shovel it as quick as I can, and I fit right in.  So, not only do I now need a biker, I need a biker who can openly accept my sub-standard American eating habits.  It'd be really cool if he ate like me, but that's not a requirement.  He just has to accept, that's all I need.  Not too much to ask, right?

So we end up chatting with this great English couple, with Indian heritage but grew up in Kenya, such interesting lives.  The girls dad owns an orphanage in India so we exchanged info, as that could be a potential something in my future.  After they left, Marj and I were giggling about something, tears rolling down our faces when 2 guys sat in the same seats of the English couple.  Aly was American, jack of all trades, and Marco a Swiss who was traveling before going on to grad school.  I ended up going out with them to a bar called "good and cheap bar", once again, the bar cutting right to the chase, and had a great time swapping home country stories, traveling stories and our experiences in Vietnam....while drinking good and cheap Larue and Saigon beers.  It was a good night.

The next two days Marj and I rented bikes and just biked in and out of town (I went back for the Cao Lau for breakfast one day, that's how good it was).  Outside of town we biked through various local villages, biked to the beach to relax and just observed the regular way of life.  I love food shopping so when we came into the fruit and veggie market, I had to stop.  This is where we got the attitude that I was referring to earlier. If you asked a price and then said "no thank you" or told a salesperson who was on your ass to buy something that you were "just looking", you got a roll of the eyes, nasty noises thrown your way or verbal angst as well.  You don't need to know the language to know when someone says something nasty about you.  Regardless, I found some lovely ladies to buy my carrots and cucumbers from.  My favorite part about this market was the garbage man.  A the end of the day, he walked around pulling a wheelbarrow while everybody threw their trash bags in.  I've seen garbage trucks everywhere here but the streets are so narrow and the truck can't fit, so garbage gets picked up in the market via wheelbarrow...super impressive.  Both days were lovely, relaxing and enjoyable. 

Our last night, before going out, I bought some food at the local minimart for the next day, a travel day.  The people who owned it had been pleasant every time I went I there and I always said hello and thank you in Vietnamese. I guess they figured they could teach me a few more words because the husband began to teach me the words on my yogurt box.  The whole family comes around the counter to help, I take out my note pad where I write all the new words I learn, and we had a little Vietnamese lesson.  They were really cute and patient with my awful pronunciation, but it was a really nice moment for me.  We have met many Vietnamese people who speak English very well because they are in the tourist business, but it's been hard to communicate with locals. It's very different from Philippines where we had in depth conversations with locals, and more like Thailand where no locals speak English. This moment with the minimart family was a way to share something, exchange kindness and laughs without a need of fluent language.  It was really nice.  Hoi an has been my favorite town/city so far in Vietnam.  Easy riders will remain my most memorable experience, and Hoi an is my favorite place.

To save some money and to experience the local bus, which is always interesting, I found out how we could use public transport to get to the next place.  The lady at the town information center kept putting me off because she said that the local bus was too inconvenient for me, that I must take the tourist bus.  After some back and forth saying that's ok, I finally said, "Let's just say, for a minute, that I want things to be inconvenient, how can I get to the local bus stop?"  She was not pleased with me and although she reluctantly answered all of my questions with an attitude I'd say exuded poor customer service, she did give me the info I wanted.  I was really excited about figuring it all out and the next morning we were off.  

The first bus was about one hour, which included the typical million stops to pick up randoms on the street.  There was another white guy on the bus who had been dropped off by a Vietnamese friend of his and he told us she said it should cost us 20,000 dong ($1) per person. Every foreigner knows that almost everybody we encounter in a money exchange is trying to rip us off, so we thanked him for the info so we could be properly prepared to haggle.  Low and behold, the bus attendant said it was 30,000 dong.  We told him we called earlier (which is humorous in itself because nobody calls the local bus stop for prices in these parts) and were told it was 20,000.  He laughed and said, "ok, ok, 25,000 dong because of your bags".  We said "that's crazy, we are only paying 20,000".  I handed him 40,000 for 2 people and he walked away without saying another word.  When the perso trying to rip you off knows they are wrong, they typically give in quickly, especially when you hand them money - it's as though the handing over of money is the last word.  Despite the constant scams and haggling in Vietnam, there are apparently serious fines against anybody who gets caught scamming foreigners, so the haggling usually doesn't last long.

We got off at the Danang bus station, 3rd largest city in the country, and went off in search of the 2nd bus we had to take to get us to the final location of Hue.  We were instantly attacked by people trying to get us on their bus, pulling us, saying "cheap price" and showing me a 100,000 dong bill (to show me the cost) when I knew it should only cost 50,0000, yelling (in Vietnamese this is simple talking but sounds and feels like yelling to me) and basically overwhelming the crap out of us (this is a common experience exiting any bus in SE Asia....at least the places Ive been to).  Did I mention I had gone out the night before and was on like 2 hours of sleep? Yeah, so this was slightly less than fun.  We go to the ticket booth and it takes about 5 hours to communicate " 2 people to Hue" even with charades and the whole bit.  It's like they are all in cahoots to confuse us.  Finally someone says it 50,000 which I had read was a legit price.  Then the lady says an extra 60,000 for our bags (bags go under the bus along with the Vietnamese people's bags, boxes, rice bags, etc) and I knew this was complete bullshit.  I gave her one of my looks and just kept saying "no" like a broken record and finally they took our bags and we got man handled onto the bus.  Then we realized we never got a ticket and I had internal anxiety for a hot second that they were going to say we didn't pay, but that feeling passed eventually, and that never happened.  Just goes to show how your mind and body prepare for the crap that's most likely in the near future around here...it's exhausting!  

We finally get out of the bus station, which took a while because nothing happens quickly here.  Then we sit on the bus in the middle of the street for 30 minutes waiting for late comers, then take another 15 minutes going down the block at a speed so slow that could make someone go crazy, all while the bus driver held his hand on the horn to let everybody know the bus was coming.  Most bus drivers I've encountered in SE Asia do this, just drive with their hand on the horn. Just one more thing that could drive someone to crazy-town.  I also got "yelled" at because I wasn't sitting where the bus driver wanted me to sit so I had to schlep around to his satisfaction.  Marj and I ended up hysterical laughing from the sheer ridiculousness of all that was going on.  We arrived 3 hours later, having lost a few pounds in sweat (no a/c), saved a whopping $1.50, all for the experience of riding the local bus.  And I do not regret it.  This was so much better than the "convenient" (i.e. boring) tourist bus.  We had made it to Hue.

Nha Trang

After sadly parting ways with our guys, we settled in and ventured out for a walk along the beach.  Marj saw this Louisiana restaurant, named La Louisiana, on the map and wanted to go check it out, her being from Louisiana and all.  We got there and well, it was everything except Louisiana.  You could get Vietnamese food, English food, burgers/fries, Chinese food, shakes, some seafood stuff and the whole nine, the only thing it was missing was some Cajun style food.  What I imagine Louisiana to look like does not include classy, fancy pants rich folk eating on fine china and I had a hometown gal with me to confirm, so we moved on to bigger and better.  That being a little canteen style whole in the wall serving vegetarian Vietnamese for less than $1 a plate....yes, that's more my style.  We met this really great couple from San Francisco; the man had lived in Vietnam until he was 10 and had been in the states since (he was 45 years old), but still spoke Vietnamese fluently and so it was particularly great to hear about their experience here.  He had a few great opportunities to bust out his language skills when people were planning out some scams and shit, priceless! 

Marj was headed off to bed and I decided to stroll around the city and grab a beer.  As much as I like going out with others, I really enjoying going out by myself sometimes because you often meet really cool people.  Bar one, I met the Australian Manager who was nice but a little too arrogant for my taste and so we had chatted a bit and then I carried on.  Passed a bunch of bars that were packed with big groups and weren't appealing for me, as a party of one, and then I approached a bar with a guy out front giving out free shots.  Well, cheers to you, thanks guy.  Then he hands me a ticket for a free vodka drink and tells me to go have a good time.  Well, don't mind if I do....a girl on a budget can't turn down a free drink.  The adorable Vietnamese-all-man staff seat me and say "all alone?" to which I reply with a " yep" and a little chuckle for the kind reminder.  I sit down and I was one of those annoying people on their iPad the whole time, debating on getting a drink I had to pay for.  I have to admit, I kind of gave into the staff peer pressure and bought another one for fear of seeming like a mooch.  As I put my iPad down, 3 guys sit down next to me and we instantly were besties.  They began by teasing me about America and when I didn't get offended and joined in the joking instead, they said that I was good to go....gee, glad i passed your test!  Don't worry, we teased plenty about Sweden as well and just had a good time talking and dancing the night away.  They had told me they were in a band and their ages ranged from mid to late 20's - we had a number of conversations revolving around their band and I got all into it, trying to convince them to make me their manager.  Later, when they walked me home, they told me they had been joking with me the whole time - they were not in a band and their ages ranged from 20 - 21.  Why is it so hard to find people my age AND how do I keep running into these guys who bust my chops like this? (Remember the boys in the Philippines who told us their friend was running for governor as he smoked his joint?!)   I figured, eh, just semantics...either way I got met some cool people and got my night of dancing in!

The next day, I overslept by like, a lot of hours.  So we spent the afternoon strolling around on bikes, I went for a nice evening run along the beach, and Marj and I got some Indian food for dinner.  On the walk home we passed a few of these little restaurants that had tons of men hanging out watching a soccer game.  I have yet to speak of these cute little plastic tables and chairs that most of the traditional Vietnamese places have as their seating option.  When you have coffee or a meal, you are sitting on something similar to an American kids "house" set up.  I'm obsessed with it and find it so charming.  At these places, it's usually men sitting around drinking coffee, beers and smoking cigarettes.  Marj and I have no idea when anybody works because these places are packed all day and night, typically with men.  Either way, I had been wanting to sit and hang with the guys at a mini table since I arrived.  We thought it was cute having stumbled upon a scene similar to men watching football at a bar in America, but different at the same time.  Marj went next door to watch tennis with this cute old guy and as they cheered away, I sat my hiney down on a mini chair not knowing if I'd ever have this chance again.  I didn't order a beer but just sat, watched the game and chatted with this young guy who spoke English pretty well.  We left shortly after and I felt very satisfied.

The next day we walked to a well-known pagoda/temple in the city.  Because vegetarianism is the way of life for the monks, there was a veggie restaurant associated with the pagoda, that I can't lie, was the big draw for me.  The pagoda was quite nice and the lotus salad I got after didn't disappoint either.  We finally were coming across more bakeries and so I picked up a few baked goods to sample the local cuisine and in memory of my times with Erin in the Philippines.  We hung out and relaxed on the beach until our over night sleeper bus came to pick us up at our hotel.  The bus companies usually have an option of sitting or sleeping, which consists of actual beds.  The sitting is cheaper so that's what we chose leaving Saigon, but we didn't have an option leaving Nha Trang, which was cool because we'd been curious about it.  It was a much better night sleep and we woke up the next morning in Hoi an, refreshed and ready. 

Easy ridin....cool and wild

As if my "List of requirements for the man I end up with" isn't long enough, I now have to add another requirement.  He must either own or at least be able to safely ride a motorcycle.  Watch out Mom and Dad, I'm bringin home a biker!!  Seriously though, why don't more Americans invest in this phenomenal mode of transportation more often?  Where is this coming from, you ask?  Well, I should have you know that I spent 3 days touring the Central Highlands by motorcycle and it was purely magical!!!!  Not only did I feel like the coolest thing since sliced whole wheat bread, but it was an amazing way to scope out a new place.  (I should note that riding in the Philippines also had something to do with this).  The company I used was called, get this, Easy Riders.  Does it get any cuter than that?  They came highly recommended by other PCVs who said they were safe guides who really know Vietnam and get you into the mountains, with the locals and away from the city.  It was all that and then a million things more.  It was by far the most memorable experience in Vietnam.  I know I still have almost 3 weeks left in Vietnam, so maybe that's a bold statement, but this will be hard to beat.  Largely because of Peter and Son, the best guys ever.  

Marj was linked with Son, a 38 year old whose bike had "born to be wild" on it, he called Marj mommy darling, she called him my darling son, he totally did everything to take care of her, and they were pretty much in love from the get go.  I was linked with Peter, a 5 foot tall scrumcious thing that had the kindest eyes, warmest smile, smoked like a chimney, told dirty jokes and laughed at everything.  He was jolly like my grandpa, and for those of you who were lucky enough to know gramps can imagine how lucky I felt to be on the back of the bike with Peter.  We would all scream out one of the following every time we peeled away: "cool and wild", "yeehaw" or my personal favorite "wwwoooohhhhoooo"!

I really wanted to get video of these 2 bad ass guys laughing because they have the best laughs ever....they would throw their heads back in unison and laugh from the gut, real loud and hearty, holding nothing back - it was infectious.....they were infectious!  Both guys were from the Southern regions and were married with kids.  Both had family that fought on the American side of the war (Peter's dad died fighting with us) and both have paid their dues for it.  Similarly to Phuong, they and their families have been denied opportunities of government assistance, education and jobs because of their non-communist affiliations.  Despite all of that crap, they are so happy as Easy Riders, love their job, have the best sense of humor, have pride in their country and dig life.  

It was a Holiday weekend, things were booked and so we didn't actually spend any time in the little french city of Dalat.  Our bus arrived at the station at 5:30am and we peeled away with the easy riders on our bikes at 8:30 am.  Just driving through it, I could tell it would have been nice to spend a day there, but it didn't work out that way. Yet, our guys took us to one temple in the city.  It was quite beautiful and the big draw was a statue dedicated to this women who is very important within the Vietnamese sect of Buddhism (they practice a different sect from Thailand) who, back in the day, decided killing animals was a bad thing and became a vegetarian, encouraging monks to do the same.  So, the monks in Vietnam are actual vegetarians, whereas in Thailand, they are supposed to be veggies but are not.  

Anywho, there was a tour of Vietnamese at the temple. They were lovely and curious about us and began talking to us through Peter, who translated. They were war veterans who either fought for the communist viet cong or lost their son or husband who fought for the communist viet cong.  The Vietnamese government paid for this group to go on a little trip, which is a common treat they give veterans and family.  They also said the government gives them $55 every month.  Peter and his family receive no assistance and are never taken on trips.  I guess in a way this is understandable, but regardless of who Peters family supported in the war, it was 40 years ago and his family is still Vietnamese, endured hardship and work just as hard as anybody else.  One war veteran shook my hand when Peter told him we were touring Vietnam.  As he shook my hand, he thanked me and welcomed me to his country.  I felt overwhelmed with gratitude for his appreciation but felt kind of weird too.  I mean, did he know or care that I was American?  Most likely, it's more of a significant detail for me than for him.  I don't know for this one guy, but I've asked every Vietnamese person I talk to if there are hard feelings or resentment towards Americans.  I tell them I can handle and understand any answer so to please be honest.  They have all said maybe there is some negative feelings or lack of trust in foreigners, but overall most feel that it was a long time ago and they have moved on. I've even heard that they know it was the American government who took those actions while the American people didn't want any of it. Either way, many people have asked where we are from and my answer is well received with smiles, high-fives and handshakes. 

Dalat is known for flowers so we stopped to smell them (lol) and met a lady and her son, originally from the north who moved to central Vietnam after the war, and now export flowers.  It's a good source of income for the people.  We learned about Vietnam's large production of silk and that Vietnam is now the number one producer of coffee and rice!  Coffee fields were everywhere and also make those who grow it quite rich.  We stopped at this farm that grows weasel coffee.  Weasels eat the coffee beans off the tree, but rather than spraying chemicals to ward them off or seeing it as a lost cause, the Vietnamese wait for the weasel to poop out the coffee bean and then use that.  They waste nothing!!!  It's become so popular that they now house the weasels to purposely get the pooped out bean.  I had a cup and it was really tasty. I wanted to buy the beans to bring home, but it's super expensive.  Sorry guys, I'm bringing home poop-free coffee that is more reasonably priced!! 

I also learned that there is a lot of pepper and coco grown and exported here (I now feel obligated to eat some chocolate here.....it's my duty as a tourist).  The farms we saw were privately owned but taxed by the government, naturally.  Marj and I are still trying to figure out the independent business concept in a Communist society-we are somewhat ignorant on the economics here, but slowly piecing some of it together the more we read and discuss with locals. The guys took us to places that make traditional drums, silk and bricks.  We took a walk through a local minority village, said hello to everybody and took some pics with some of the many, very excited, children.

We hiked to various waterfalls.  Marj was uncertain about some parts of this one hike as it was steep and slippery but Son, who led all the hikes, was so supportive and encouraging because he sincerely wanted both of us to experience it all.  Marj cried when she reached the first waterfall.  This was on our first day and if I didn't love Son when I first met him ( which I did) I would have certainly fallen in love with after this.  

The guys took us to the best places for delicious, cheap, street food.  I had Vietnam's "dish" called, Pho, which is a noodle dish.  It usually has tons of meat in it so mine was just noodles....maybe that's why I didn't fall in love with it.  But don't fret, our boys took us to a vegetarian canteen one night and I sampled everything.  I can't tell you what I ate but I can tell you it tasted good.  The last day the boys took us to this house that makes rice crackers.  Let me tell ya, Asians will figure out a way to make anything delicious out of rice.  It was so simple: cooked rice to a broth, mix in sesame seeds, dry it, grill some and keep some wet, throw on some scallions, make a sandwich and dip it in soy sauce with chili.  Variations of rice are impossible to avoid....and the thing is it tastes so good.  When we went to pay our half, the boys said it was on them, that we were more than easy riders, we were friends.  Gotta love this shit

One morning, I went for a run through the mountains and felt overwhelmed with happiness.  I feel so blessed and fortunate to be traveling right now.  Maybe for some it's no big deal, but this is not something I thought I'd ever have the chance to do and so I feel very grateful for it.  Later this same day as we stopped to watch the farmers in the rice fields (unlike Thailand, they still use buffalo to plow the fields.....Philippines was the same same) Peter told me we were going on a boat ride.  We get to the boat, just for us, take a few minutes to get the bikes positioned properly, Son tips the kid who pushes us off, the guys make a big deal about the "boat ride", Marj and I get excited and settle into the "best spot" when we realize we've arrived.  We literally took a 2 second "boat ride" that was like crossing the street.  Marj and I were hysterically laughing and the boys couldn't figure out why!!! It was so cute.  Once we arrived, however, we arrived to butterfly land.  They were everywhere and it was like that for an entire days trip on the bike...about 200 km.  While driving, a bunch flew straight into my helmet and one flew into Peters shirt.  It was a sea of butterflies for the day....really cool.

The tour led us to a beach town, Nha Trang, where we end our trip.  We decided to stay at least one night so we could relax and not have to rush around to get to the next place.  We had lunch and the boys drove us around to find the cheapest hotel.  We had to mentally prepare for the good-bye, which we were not looking forward to.  We just had 3 amazing days because of these 2 guys and we were sad to be leaving them.  It was seriously an emotional good-bye but of course, they cracked a joke before peeling away, leaving their wonderful laughter in our ears.  It was the best way for them to leave, cool and wild, just as they are.

Miss. Saigon, I am

From now on please call me Miss. Saigon, because that's how much I love this city.  It's interesting to see the influence that Europe and America has had on these Asian countries.  It's as though you are in Asia and them bam, there's a baguette in my face or a beautifully designed french colonial building.  Some may think it takes away from the Asian-ness, but I'll tell ya, there's nothing not Asian about Saigon.  I had at least 3 snot rockets blown in front of me walking on the street today....that's when you know you are in Asia.  Or NYC's Chinatown! Yeah, there are big buildings and business, but  I'll never complain about baguettes in my face. What's also interesting to me is how different Thailand, with no history of colonization, is so different from its SE Asian counterparts.  It could be because I know Thailand more intimately than I know the others, but even on the surface, Thailand remains different to me.

Day 2, Marj and I prepared ourselves for the War Remnants Museum.  It was very hard to see and learn about the details of the Vietnam war and time period all over the world, and it was extremely difficult to know the role Americans played in it.  As much responsibility as I take for it on behalf of our country, I can't help but recognize the museum's propaganda and the feeling that the museum was certainly established by the northern Vietnam government that went out of their way to point fingers, and take no blame for any of the trauma the war caused.  I was really interested to see what the museum would offer regarding post-war, since now I knew the story of Phuong and so many other families after 1975, but interestingly enough, nothing was mentioned about post war. It was yet another day heavy on the emotions yet I'm grateful for the opportunity to learn about this time period, the tragedy of it all and how the American government handled it.  What was most fascinating was how the American people reacted.....you gotta love a people who believe in a cause and take action on behalf of it.  It was obvious that the people of America didn't want to be in the War and drastic measures (such as burning oneself alive) were taken to express that.  You gotta love a country that allows you to be vocal and say what you want without fear of prison or death for it.  Our government made a lot of mistakes and continues to do so, but at least we have that.

After the museum, Marj and i were emotionally exhausted, but we had agreed to meet with this English Professor that I met via couchsurfing.  Couchsurfing is great not only for hosts, but also to meet locals who want to give you a taste of their country.  This professor teaches english and asked us to come speak with his students for a couple of hours to help them practice their english and to share our cultures.  As tired as we were, Marj and I were really looking forward to this.  We met the teacher, Thang, for coffee first and he was very sweet and grateful that we were so willing to do this.  Yet we knew we'd get so much out of this as well, so I guess it wasn't as selfless of an act as he thought!  Throughout the week, he invited us to his families home for dinner and invited us on his family vacation to the Mekong Delta for the weekend, just because he wanted to share it all with us.  Marj and I don't know how we have gotten so lucky with these amazing people, but day 2 once again proved to us how lovely people are.  

Anyway, the evening with these students was unforgettable.  They were hungry for information, were excited to speak English which they did pretty well, and were eager to learn about America.  It was a fabulous experience and so happy we had a chance to do this.  Afterwards, Thang and one of the students took us out for a vegetarian feast.  He literally ordered everything on the menu so I could taste as much Vietnamese food as possible and it was amazing, with a capital A.  I can't lie, one of the coolest parts of the evening was the motorbike ride.  There is something special about being in the middle of all the traffic, people and craziness, and at night...it was really cool.  Rather than going back to Phuongs for the night, Thang paid for a motel in the heart of the city to make things easier for us, as another thank you for meeting his students.  An absolute doll.  We sadly had to decline his other offers as it just didn't fit into our time-frame.

The next day, on our very long walk to Chinatown, the most delicious baguette sandwich stand was screaming my name. The baguettes were enormous and included 2 fried eggs, tons of veggies, spicy chili's and get this, CHEESE!!!  She had Laughing Cow cheese and hooked me up with 2 of those bad boys....it was unbelievable.  Since, it remains the most delicious baguette sandwich in Vietnam.  I guess I have to eat one everywhere I go just to put it to the test.

Our walk to Chinatown was long - we literally got there and then got on a bus to go back to main city.  Despite the un-eventfulness of it all, we had a very memorable moment this day.  We were about to cross a particularly scary street and this older Vietnamese lady approaches us and signals via eyes and face language that she'll help us cross...she grabs our hand and patiently walks us across the street.  We graciously thank her, only to see her walk back across the street.  As it turned out she didn't have to cross at all, she only did it to help us and  never looked back. 

The next day was Phung's birthday and Marjie made him a nice little birthday sign.  We also got him some ice cream because in his short story, he spoke of this ice cream stand he passed every day on the walk to feed his father in the camp but could never afford.  Because of this, Marj was set on getting him ice cream and he loved it.  We really have become friends with him, which is the most special part of Saigon for me.

We spent our last night waiting for our night bus just hanging out in a cafe eating and drank a nightcap beer.  We had our first rude confrontation with the bus company.  I realized once we got there that the ticket they provided us was daytime, but we had requested nighttime.  I approached the lady to fix the problem and she bugged out and immediately blamed me for it, and that chick got loud.  After giving her a little "ummm, I don't think so toots", she got us on the correct bus-good eggs and bad ones everywhere.  We didn't care because were off to Dalat, the Central Highlands of Vietnam!!!!

Oh Saigon!!!

"It's called Ho Chi Minh city, but still considered Saigon by all of the Vietnamese".  This is the first statement spoken by our couchsurfing host, Phuong, that made Marjie and I think there was so much meaning beyond those words.  And we were right.  The history, pain, joy, beauty and smiles of this city speaks volumes and it's something you can just feel.  We arrived in Saigon, exhausted after 2 full days of bus rides and airplanes, and I knew automatically we were in for a treat with this one.

Marj and I really wanted to couchsurf in Vietnam, largely because of the history and we were determined to get in with some of the locals.  It's hard enough to learn about the complexities of Vietnam and the war so we knew staying with a couchsurfing host would be a strong and unique way to learn about the city/country.  We really lucked out with our host in Saigon as he lived through much of Vietnam's changes, and we earned each others trust in such a way that he shared so much of it with us.  We feel honored and privileged to know him and to be privy to the information he shared.  To respect his privacy, I'll only share his general story, as I tell about our time here.

After a long journey to get to Saigon, we decided to sleep in and then just walk around and see where it led us.  Hanging with Phuong for breakfast was a treat....We learned he is adorable, very smart, curious, open-minded, loves music/reading and has a lot to say....we were loving him!  He gave us the scoop on the local buses and we headed out for Benh Tanh Market.  We were told only to eat there, not to buy souvenirs as its all overpriced.  All I care about is food anyway so that was like music to my ears.  I met a young girl on the bus who told me she could tell we were nice because we smiled a lot....I guess our excitement of day one was obvious.  She said she really wanted to learn English so she could travel - so we practiced on the bus ride a bit.  I had been told by many people, both Vietnamese and travelers, that the Vietnamese were hard people and not as warm as other SE



Asians.  Granted it had only been 24 hours, but we were pleasantly surprised to have come across so
many nice and helpful people so far.

Marj is from Louisiana, but her soul city (as she calls it) is NY and she lived in the city for many years, as have I.  I say this to express how we are both used to pretty large cities with lots of cars, people, traffic, yada yada.  Yet, I looked at the street I had to cross to get to the market from the bus stop and became slightly nervous.  I don't think I've ever seen so many motorbikes in one place together, all going around in a circle of the market monument.  It's hard to express how overwhelming walking into yhe middle of all of that would be.  Yet, Marj and I enthusiastically held hands and went for it (Luckily Phuong warned us about this and gave us some tips) and we survived!  We jumped onto the sidewalk after 2 life threatening street crossings and high-fived each other.  Once in the market, we hit up some fresh vegetarian spring rolls and a vietnamese pancake (pancake filled with veggies and meat if you're not a veggie, fried =yum).  After meat infest Philippino food, it was so nice to be able to eat something purely vegetarian. Satisfied with my first snack, we carried on with our leisurely stroll in this lovely city and stumbled upon beautiful grounds/building which happened to be the Reunification Palace, one of the historical sites we had wanted to visit.

The Palace offered free tours so we got some good info.  Basically, the palace has been built, re-built and "owned" by the various different countries who have held stake in southern Vietnam at any given period during its tumultuous history.  After French rule ended in 1954, southern Vietnam's first president lived at the palace and it served as a site for many governmental meetings and hosting of international guests.  It is one of the most significant sites of the Vietnam War as it was bombed on Vietnam's Liberation Day on April 30, 1975 which marked the end of the war and the reunification of north and southern Vietnam, hence it's name.  This would be the first of many tastes of the war.

After an afternoon heavy on the emotions, Phuong gives us a ring to meet up.  He takes us to few more well known sites: Notre Dame Cathedral, Post Office, Opera House and City Hall with a





famous statue of Uncle Ho (Ho Chi Minh is known as Uncle Ho.....Marj and I think this is absolutely hysterical because of its ridiculousness).  Most of these sites were new to Phuong too!  Afterwards, he took us to this little vegetarian joint that sold cheap delish food down a little side street off the beaten path.....it was exactly what I told him I was looking for and it didn't disappoint.  More variations of fresh spring rolls, a noodle dish chock full of veggies and sauces and washed down with a passion fruit shake.  Three people waddled out of the place with full bellies for the price of 6 bucks....the local food is so cheap!!

It was at this dinner that Phuong began to share details of his family history.  His father worked for the Saigon government during the war (meaning, his family were not communist supporters and fought on the southern vietnam/american side during the war).  In 1975 northern vietnam won and reunified the country, turning lives and families upside down.  Not that the war itself didn't do that in and of itself, and many Vietnamese wanted to reunify, but now people who were just in civil war were now ruled under a unified communist government.  Anybody who sided with the southern Vietnamese that was not  snuck into the safety of American borders by the American government, was sent to "Re-education Camps", basically a nice term for prison, to be reeducated on a unified communist Vietnam.  Phuong was 8 years old, the eldest of 5 siblings with a 25 year old mother now responsible to find a way to feed her family.  They were poor and didn't have enough to eat, as most families lived during this time (again, not like things were much better for most during the war, but things got worse afterwards) largely because after the war ended, Vietnam closed off its borders to everything until 1991-ish.  Phuong would walk 10km every day to deliver rice to his dad through the gates (the camp only provided one meal a day and so the family was responsible to provide more if they wanted to, even though there was next to nothing to give) and take care of his siblings while his mom tried to sell things at the market.  Eventually his dad was released yet the government continued to make life difficult for these families regarding getting an education, finding work, etc. Basically, anybody from a family with a French or American history (as in support) is discriminated against via unfair disadvantages regarding jobs and education.  The government made it nearly impossible to do either.  Although this problem, corruption, unfairness, bullshit as I like to call it, still exists it has improved since 1991 when Vietnam re-opened its borders.  Phuong had written a short story bout his experience and let us red it....it was super powerful. It was an emotional dinner yet we were so grateful for it.

Last of the Philippines!

Sagada.  What a special place - so special that I ended up staying there 3 days longer than planned.  

When we first arrived, most of the guest houses were booked.  We figured that " all booked" is a good sign that this place is good stuff. Erin ran around like a champ to figure it all out for us and almost immediately we meet 2 guys, 1 from Spain (we named him Spain, creative, I know) and 1 from Boston (we named him Boston) and spent the day eating (we literally restaurant hopped) and lazily strolled around.  We go on a mad search for the Philippino rum (btw, it's called Tanduay) and begin our evening with rum mixed in all natural fruit shakes (hmmmm).  We randomly stumble upon 'Kimchi Restaurant' which seemed to be the Rastafarian joint of Sagada.  Again, no dreadlocks or anything like that, it was more of a feeling.....and Bob Marley posters everywhere and One Love playing on the speakers didn't hurt giving off the feeling either.  It was a great evening meeting some new Philippino's and foreigners alike.  There are a handful of really interesting foreigners that live in Sagada because its just so peaceful, out in the middle of nowhere and difficult to get to so only the cool ones are willing to venture out there.  Yes, I just bragged about how cool my friends and I are :). Anyway, it was a typical fun evening....a little too much fun because it was a real struggle to get up the next morning to go explore the caves.

But we sucked it up.  The caves is kind of the thing to do in Sagada.  Our Israeli friend, Yaniv, who we met in Batad had told us to spend the little extra money on the tour because it was worth it.  And he was right.  Erin and I quickly perked up the minute we approached the cave and realized what we were in for.  The cave we entered was called the "Burial Cave" because it had old coffins placed all along the outer walls on the way into the cave. Ancient tribes in the Northern region would bury the dead in small coffins in the fetal position, the position we are born in.  The coffins were placed on the outer walls of the cave because each day, the coffin had to be exposed to light and darkness.  The evolution of the cave including natural environmental situations, such as typhoons which are very common  in the Philippines (and necessary to meet agricultural needs), had created various rock formations that resembled all sorts of things.  Our guide, Mike, would let us use our imagination first to state what we thought the formations looked like and then he'd share the "real" answer.  We saw marble cake, a pregnant lady, mushrooms (although to me, this looked like the bad guys in the Pac-man game), and well, what cave would be complete without a penis formation? So we got a little of everything in that department.  As for exploring the caves: Climbing, swimming, walking, squeezing, bending, traversing, stretching - whatever position a body can get in to, that's what we did over the course of the four hour trek.  Our guide lit up the way with kerosene lantern. There were parts when we had to step on his feet, leg or shoulder to make the next move.  He was professional, aware, helpful, informative and absolutely adorable.  In case I haven't made it obvious in previous blogs, I adore Philippino men, in the general sense (and individual sense!) and Mike was no exception.  We shared with Mike our desire to join amazing race and  he gave us some additional challenging routes for fun. He may be our biggest fan!  The trek through the caves was by far, the coolest activity I did in the Philiipines....I'd highly recommend it.  And if you can get Mike as your tour guide, you.are.golden.  He was awesome.

Mike was surprised we wanted to walk home after that trek, but it's what we do.  It worked out perfectly because we walked past this off-the-beaten-path vegan restaurant, Gaia, other PCVs have told me about that I completely forgot about.  We went home to shower and get Marjie just to trek back to the restaurant and it was worth it.  Not only was it vegan, but they used all natural, locally grown, organic products, a rarity.  The owner was this adorable 31 year old woman who was super environmentally friendly (she is a reduce, reuse and recycle badass!), smart, friendly and knew how to create a freakin menu.  I also got to eat the most well known Philippino cuisine, Adobo, that usually has chicken in it, but this one had tofu....delish!  We literally spent over 3 hours there eating, talking and relaxing.  It's super possible to do this, largely because the restaurant is placed smack in the middle of the mountains.  Gorgeous.

Erin's last night with us came up quickly and we had to celebrate properly.  We finished off the Tanduay and hit up our Rastafarian Philippino friends, Bazza (we named him Cutie patutie because that is what he was) and Dimps (this is what I named him, because he has a smile and dimples that will just make you melt) at Kimchi's for a Red Horse.  Red Horse is the other Philippino beer but its much stronger than San Miguel.  Kimchi only sold Red Horse.  Gotta love a place that sticks to their guns. Not sure how to explain it, but it was yet another extra special fun night, mainly because of the people.  People can really make or break an experience and we met some really cool ones in Sagada.

The next day, again a struggle, we spent the morning taking care of the necessities including the creation of mine and Erin's Amazing Race application video.  We send Erin off on top of a jeepney (there were no seats left inside...perfect sendoff), a very sad good-bye.  After 3 weeks as my travel companion and eating partner experiencing various interesting adventures, we were parting ways and my heart ached a bit.  But she was off to India for a month to get her yoga certification...gotta love that girl.

So, despite our sadness, Marj and I embraced  the fact that its her and I for the next 3 months! We set off on our first adventure to the hanging coffins.  These are more coffins, well hanging, on the side of the mountain for the same reason I explained earlier, that you can trek to and almost touch.  I came across this second path upon meeting a family with a tour guide and was told it led to an underground river.  I asked what that was and was told it was a river under the ground.  Ok, I guess I deserved that.  They extended an invite and I accepted.  I informed Marj I'd be a little longer (the trek to the coffins was really steep and Marj opted out) and followed the family.  The family was walking very slow and a few minutes later I hear Marj calling my name.  She decided to face her fear and come on the hike!  It was a really great afternoon and a beautiful hike. 

By day 4 in Sagada we had been there long enough to know that each evening around 5pm there would be a hard downpour for about an hour.  With this knowledge, we set out on a hike to the Mt. Kiltepan viewpoint early afternoon. There are many hiking opportunities in Sagada, this just being one of them.  On our way up, things started to get dark, cloudy and thundery.  I stated we should stop at a shelter and wait it out but Marj encouraged us on.  We make it to the top, take the view in for a hot second and then the rain comes down.  hard.  Damn Mother Nature!  We see a bunch of guys working on this shelter of sorts and run over to them.  A young man welcomes us in and says "oh, you again". Taking a second to get my shit together, I realize that it's Joseph, the guy who helped us along our journey to Sagada!! Well, I was so grateful Marj encouraged us on because we were stuck there for almost 2 hours and at least we had good shelter and lovely company.  Small world. 

Later that night, showered and dried, Marj and I hit up Kimchi for live music. I spent the last 2 nights at Kimchi meeting cool people and this night was no exception.  First, we meet an older RPCV who served in the Philippines 30 years ago and never left, our usual locals and a new group.  I now feel like I have to go to Israel because I've met half the population on my travels!  we met a group of adorable Israeli's and a lovely Dutch couple, celebrating a birthday. As Buffalo soldier played on, I learned a few new card/drinking games and clearly did not do well because I left very drunk, maybe as drunk as the birthday boy! The best part of the games was Gil, the dealer.  He was just a treat to be around: funny, sarcastic, sweet and adorable.  I've officially dubbed him "monkey man".  How many people do you know who travel and volunteer to take care of monkeys?  I gotta love a fellow animal lover.  I met up with these guys again the following night for light drinking, and I mean that literally because I think we were all hurting that day from our card games the night before.

Our time in Sagada was chock full of hiking, caving, relaxing, getting caught in the rain, delish food and most importantly, great people. We left Sagada on an overly satisfied yet sad note as we made our way to the airport to begin the 2 day journey to Saigon / Ho Chi Minh City.  Still, 1 week later as I write this, I miss the Philippines.  We were told by almost every Philippino we met that they love Americans and that our countries are "friends". I didn't want to spoil it by reminding them of how we tried to take over back in the day and relished in our friendship instead! At the end of the day, it was great to be in a country that was open and warm to us, but I believe that is simply their nature.  We met such amazing people, saw beautiful sites, got caught in a few interesting adventures and were embraced by the beautiful, warm and friendly people of the Philippines.  I can't recommend it enough for all to visit.  It's still fairly underdeveloped and so it's not stacked with accommodations / transportation for tourists, but if you are willing to work around that, don't miss this place.  After all, it is more fun in the Philippines!