Ho Chi Minh, Sapa and Beyond

I once again boarded a flight in Vietnam, this time to Ho Chi Minh city. How many flights had I been on so far I had vaguely wondered. Thinking back on my trip so far, I was thinking that the number was definitely somewhere between 10 and 15, with many more to come. Weirdly enough, getting more flights didn’t calm my nerves one bit about them. In fact, I’d argue the opposite. Taking so many short haul flights made boarding planes more unnerving for me. The flights on this side of the world were definitely a lot more turbulent. Aircrafts were smaller, and take-off/landings were rushed. The only constant I had were my headphones and the take-off song I religiously played every time I boarded a new flight. As the plane began to barrel down the runway to take flight I pressed the play button. BTS’s Mic Drop instantly flooded my eardrums. The only familiarity I had in an unfamiliar place.

Ho Chi Minh…. Not the capital?

Skyscrapers, taxis, hordes of tourists, plenty of fashion malls and counter culture yet… not the capital? I’m ashamed to admit that I had always thought that Ho Chi Minh was the capital of Vietnam. Even when I was in Hanoi, I was blissfully unaware that I was in the country’s capital. I was mortified when I learned the truth. Ho Chi Minh (or Saigon as a lot of locals referred to it as) is reminiscent of the city Bangkok. It’s metropolitan in a way that Hanoi is not, nor frankly I don’t believe will ever be. Apart from a few select things to do here, it is also as empty as Bangkok culturally in my opinion. Stop for a few days, and check out the city’s main attractions. After that, there’s nothing to do but shop in one of the city’s many malls, eat or party. Just like Bangkok.

A Grab-Taxi brought me from the airport to my hostel as per usual. This time, I was leaning once again on the hearsay of travellers regarding hostels. The latest hostel, The Hideout (approx.. €7 per night), had been emphatically recommended to me by both Hannah and Paul. Free beers, a rooftop bar and amazing vibes? Sign me up. After checking in and being shown to my bed, I collapsed, unwilling to move a single inch. The past 2 weeks of non-stop socialising, partying and eating out had caught up with me and I wanted nothing more than to regress into a pile of gelatine on that bed. Theresa wouldn’t be checking in until the following morning as she had other plans, so I had that one day to rest and recuperate. Thank God.

Out and About

The following day saw Theresa check in to the hostel and the two of us, plus an English girl by the name of Saoirse (I had met her on the last day in Hoi An, and coincidentally she was situated in the bed opposite me in the Hideout!) explore the city. Our first stop was the Grand Central Post Office, not only because it was a beautiful building and a must see, but also because I had a tonne of stuff that needed to be posted back home (remember all the shopping in Hoi An). I left 8kgs lighter, and out of pocket by approx. €90.

After a quick bite, we made our way to the War Remnants Museum. It was tragic, heart breaking and angering. Though I knew exactly what the museum was about, I still felt unprepared to be confronted by the history of the Vietnam War and the absolutely disgusting atrocities that were a part of it. The exhibits were graphic, unashamed to highlight the crimes against humanity that happened, and did not hold back in pointing fingers. We moved from exhibit to exhibit like ghosts, absorbing the information, and feeling the pain of the victims. After the Agent Orange exhibition, Theresa and I cried. War is never the answer.

In my Laos post, I briefly touched on the war in Vietnam and the US fight against communism. As in Laos, the war in Vietnam became another proxy war between the US and the Soviet Union. Communist Northern Vietnam fought against Southern Vietnam aided by the United States (during 1965-1974). The death toll during the period where the US were directly involved in the war stands at about 1.4 million. Many of this number are civilian causalities. The U.S. government viewed its involvement in the war as a way to prevent a communist takeover of South Vietnam. The war was and still is, extremely divisive in the U.S., Europe, Australia, and other parts of the world. During their aid, US soldiers committed many atrocities, such as the My Lai massacre. US soldiers murdered around 500 unarmed civilians due to their frustration with the Vietnamese army who were engaging in guerrilla warfare tactics. Intense bombardments, such as Operation Rolling Thunder (1965-1968) dropped the equivalent of 864,000 metric tonnes of bombs in the country. Chemical warfare in the form of Operation Ranch Hand, exposed up to 4 million Vietnamese people to the chemical Agent Orange during the years of 1961 to 1971.

Over the 10 years period nearly 20 million gallons of the Chemical was sprayed over Vietnam. Due to the exposure, people today are disabled or have health problems. There are still countless numbers of children being born with alarming birth defects due to their parents being exposed to the agent. Because the U.S. failed to achieve a military victory and the Republic of South Vietnam was ultimately taken over by North Vietnam, and to this day Vietnam is a communist republic. The Vietnam war was unpopular in public opinion in the U.S. The war saw many thousands of U.S. citizens take to the streets at home to protest the war and the atrocities that came with it. Protests took place virtually from the day the US army involved themselves in the war to the day they pulled out of Vietnam in most major cities across the world.

The following morning saw us join an organised tour to visit the Cu Chi tunnels (pronounced koo chi..). The tour was informative and engaging. The tunnels themselves are an immense network of underground tunnels used by the Vietnamese soldiers against American soldiers. The tunnel system spans an impressive 121km. The tunnels were used to travel to and from different points unnoticed, as hiding spots from the American army as well as a supply lines for medicine and food. During the tour, there is also an option to visit a shooting range and shot a weapon of your own choice. Theresa chose an AK47 with 10 bullets. I was coaxed into firing the last bullet. It was the first time, and most likely the last time I will ever fire a weapon.

After our trip to the Cu Chi tunnels, Theresa and I left to explore the markets of Ho Chi Minh. The market that we went to, Ben Thanh, was absolutely massive. It was a spiralling maze where anything could be bought. We got lost a few times, engaged in the sport of bargaining with some sellers and enjoyed some nice cool drinks at a stall. That evening both Brahm and Jun arrived in Ho Chi Minh. They checked into the Hideout also, and that evening we went for some drinks at the aptly named ‘YOLO Bar’.

After a few days in Ho Chi Minh I was pretty much ready to leave. I had some extra time knocking about on my Visa, so I made the decision to fly back up to Hanoi. Not only did I want to go to Sapa in the north of Vietnam, I was also looking forward to seeing Hannah and Frida again before we all dispersed onwards. My onward journey would be bringing me to Indonesia (with a quick pit stop in Bangkok to pick up my sister, Lisa), Frida would be going to Cambodia and Hannah would be heading home.

Back to Hanoi

“And she’s back”

Duy Anh was there to welcome me as I walked back into Nexy in Hanoi. After checking in, dropping my stuff and filling him in on my adventures thus far, I left to go find Theresa and Sam. Theresa had left Ho Chi Minh a day earlier and I hadn’t seen Sam since Hoi An. I eventually found them, and we spent the day running around the capital running some errands, and later, saying goodbye to Sam as he moved onwards to Laos. Theresa would be heading thereafter and would be meeting him at some point. As for myself, I was scheduled to head to Sapa the next day with Frida and Hannah. I was both excited and apprehensive. I had done a lot of treks, nature walks and hikes during my journey thus far, however this was to be my first overnight trek. Not only would I be trekking, but I would be staying with a local Hmong Tribe family. The tour itself cost about €58 through Lily’s Travel Agency. The girls had been in Hanoi for a while at this point and had booked the tour for us all while I was down South. The fee included the bus to Sapa and back to Hanoi, all food, drinks, the actual trekking and accommodation.

Sapa

The trek was tough. Like extremely tough. My heart was beating so hard and fast that at one point I asked myself;

“Is this what a heart attack feels like?”

At times the climb was so steep that even stopping for breath for a minute or two wouldn’t help me catch my breath. We trekked upwards for hours, we trekked through rice fields and we trekked through jungle. As we trekked we saw local children poking their heads out from huts out of curiosity, at times some accompanied us during our trek for short periods before going back home. We saw local farmers with their goats and water buffalo. The views as we trekked were awe inspiring. We had opted for a trek in a less touristy area, and as such we ended up seeing no other tourists but ourselves during that first trek. After 4/5 hours of trekking we eventually arrived at Mao’s homestay. We were tired and smelly but happy. There were a few others there but we hadn’t seen them as they had trekked a different route than us. That evening we sat down for a traditional family dinner and indulged in the local rice wine (or happy water) with Mao and her family.

The following day we set out to trek back towards the main town. The trek back was a little easier, as we were travelling and trekking downwards, instead of upwards like the day before. There were still some challenging parts, and at one point we actually lost our guide for a good 30 minutes, but we eventually made it back down in time to make the bus to Hanoi. We said goodbye to Mao and her family and boarded the bus back to Hanoi.

Back to Hanoi

We returned to Hanoi that evening and collectively crashed from exhaustion. Over the next few days I said hello and goodbye to everyone. First was Frida who was leaving to go and join a friend in Cambodia. Then, I met Jun again, as he was flying from Hanoi back to the Netherlands. All too soon I was saying goodbye to him again, with a promise to look him up the next time I found myself in Amsterdam and vice versa should he find himself in Ireland. And then finally I said goodbye to Hannah. At this point I was weak and emotionally raw from continuously saying goodbye that I couldn’t help but burst into embarrassing tears as we parted ways. I had to remember though, that it wasn’t really goodbye, it was a see you again soon.

I spent the next few days in a state of apprehension and excitement for one reason; Lisa. My sister would be joining me and would spend the next two months travelling with me. She would basically be with me until the end of my trip. On the one hand I was so excited to see her. I hadn’t seen her in about 7 or so months. She had moved to Spain from Ireland in February. Sure we kept in contact over WhatsApp and the odd video call, but face to face I hadn’t seen her since the 14th of February. On the other hand I had gotten so used to being by myself, travelling by myself and making decisions for me based on my own interests, that I just didn’t know if I was ready to start compromising on things. I knew the exact kind of traveller that she was, but she no longer knew what kind of traveller I was. I tended to just drift from place to place, with no real plans about where I would be going or what I would be doing. Lisa was a planner and she had to know exactly what we were doing, where we were doing it and so on. I was apprehensive, but tentatively looking forward to it all the same.

After a few days I said goodbye to Vietnam for the moment, as (surprise, surprise) I would be back in about a month. There were still some things I wanted to see and do there, plus Lisa also wanted to check it out. I left for Noi Bai Airport early and boarded the plane to Bangkok, ready to meet Lisa and to take a few days break from living in hostels constantly. We had booked Parinda Hotel at €50 per night and I couldn’t wait to have such luxury after months of constant hostels and cheap private rooms. As usual I hit play on my phone and the sounds of BTS’s Mic Drop filled my ears as we took off.

Until next time..

Barbara