Anyhow, we were in a mamak one day when I randomly asked him and Nicholas Tong if they were interested in traveling to a random neighboring country. Both agreed but Nick had to pull out due to unforeseen circumstances.
After confirming a few logistical issues, Mahesh and I decided on Vietnam and hence booked our flight into Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), our flight back home from Hanoi, our first two nights of accommodation and we were on our way! The rest was pretty much us going with the flow!!
A quick note though, Mahesh does not eat beef or pork. This proved to be our biggest challenge in Vietnam. Looking for dishes that have chicken instead!
Day 1
Vietnam is still a relatively poor country. Motorcycles are very, very common. At first sight, traffic seems almost unreal but it is the perfect epitome of "
organized chaos".
I learn very quickly that the best way to cross a street here is to "just walk and be confident that somehow everyone will avoid you".
The view from our cab. A couple of times I thought we were for sure getting into a wreck but that never happened.
These motorcycles and cars are all moving simultaneously in different directions!
Upon checking in, the first thing we did was to find a place to eat! Lots and lots of roadside stalls to be explored!! Mahesh and I at the first of many to come.
Pho - Vietnamese Beef Noodles.
Since we only had our first two nights of accommodation and flights booked, we had to figure out how to get from Ho Chi Minh City (South Vietnam) to Hanoi (North Vietnam). The whole situation was complicated by the fact that our traveling period was close to Tet - the Vietnamese New Year. Hence, flights were extremely expensive but taking the train would be too long.
We finally found this travel agent who booked us our flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Hue (Central Vietnam) and then got us bus tickets to get from Hue to Hanoi. However, there is more to just this story.
As you read on, remember the lady in this picture! She's a lying vixen!!!!!
Day 2
The next day, we decided to visit the legendary Cu Chi Tunnels. Built during the Vietnamese War, it is a testament of the resistance that the Viet Congs (Vietnamese guerrilla) demonstrated. The tunnels are an intricate piece of art and it was probably the reason why the Vietnamese held their own at war.
The entrance to one of the many tunnels.
A guard demonstrating how the tunnel entrance works. See how it is completely hidden after he shuts the door?
Checking out the entrance. It was pitch black when the tunnel shuts.
A tourist trying out the tunnel but getting stuck in the process. Lol.
Next, we tried our hands on some guns. Looking at the long list of options, the only model I recognized was AK-47 from playing Counter-Strike. Naturally, I chose that. The recoil was strong!!
Crawling through the tunnels for the heck of it. Mahesh could barely fit and had to squat all the way. However, these tunnels have been widen to accommodate tourists! It was really really small back in the days!
Stopped at our first sit-down restaurant for lunch upon returning to HCM City.
Vietnamese Coffee - something I learned to like from Pho All Seasons!
Vietnam's very own Bia Saigon!
Dried Pork Rice
More Pho!
Vietnamese Spring Rolls!
We were walking around in the back alley and stumbled across this woman cooking something with eggs and meat.
Naturally, we took a seat.
No idea what this was but it was delicious!!
Walked around the streets of HCM City and stumbled across more food. Had to try them Fried Beef Noodle. This was so-so. Poor Mahesh could not try any of these unfortunately.
Day 3
The next day, we took a flight to Hue - situated in the middle of Vietnam. The moment we got off our flight, we took a bus into the city and was approached by 2 motorcyclists who told us that they would take us to the travel agent where our bus to Hanoi was departing at night.
Our ride!!
We left our bag at the bus place and I was feeling adventurous so I decided to check out a road side stall again. Unfortunately, they only had beef and pork so Mahesh was out of luck again.
Finally, he had to settle for Vietnamese Maggie Mee. Mahesh was definitely grumpy quite frequent due to difficulty in finding food.
Our first stop in Hue was Emperor Khải Định's tomb.
Several other pictures of the famous tomb.
Out next stop was the Thien Mu Pagoda. The pagoda has seven stories and is the tallest in Vietnam.
It is also home to the car which a monk drove to an intersection in Saigon in 1963, got out and positioned himself in a Lotus position before burning himself in protest against Nao dinh Diem's regime against Buddhism. Refer to link below for a pictorial explanation.
Warning, pretty graphic:
(http://www.olmec.co.nz/abode/43/images_43/2008/Thich-Quang-Duc-Colour.jpg)
After the pagoda visit, we stopped by at a local store for some Vietnamese Spring Rolls and other local delicacies. At every chance that Mahesh had, he would stop for any non-pork/beef food! Vietnamese taufu-fa.
Our last stop was the Citadel in Hue. We tried to sneak in with a group of tourists in order to avoid paying the entrance fee but failed. Not feeling like spending more money, we resorted to walking around on the outside.
Finally we went back to the bus station where we were going to board a bus to Hanoi. Unfortunately, the conductor informed us that our tickets were not on the list. Apparently, although we already paid for our tickets back in HCM City, the lady had not called to confirm our seats. She had been dishonest and we realized that we were conned. Remember the lying vixen above???
Through looking pitiable and with a lot of pleading, he finally agreed to let us board the bus but warned us that we might have to end up sleeping on the floor (It was one of those buses with beds and not seats).
Bunk beds in the overnight bus.
There were empty beds when we got on! We made it! : )
2 hours into the journey, more people boarded the bus. And of course, we got kicked off our beds : (
Ended up sleeping on the floor the rest of the journey. Maybe this is self-consolation but I honestly thought that it was more comfortable on the floor anyway. The beds were shaped weird!
We had not booked anything in Hanoi yet so upon arrival, we signed up for an overnight trip to Halong Bay (Bay of Descending Dragon).
The picturesque scene of paddy fields on the way to Halong Bay.
The traditional junk boat that Halong Bay is famous for!
Thien Cung grotto with its magnificent limestone formations.
The beds on the junk board. Nothing fancy but it was fun to hang out with the other people on board.
The other people on board of the boat with us.
First night in Hanoi, enjoying the various road side stalls.
We discovered this sit-down restaurant which Mahesh decided was his favorite restaurant in Vietnam because they had a variety of non-pork/beef meals.
The following day, we decided to sign up for day trip to the nearby Perfume Pagoda. I like this picture because I think I think it describes a lot of Vietnam with one picture.
Taking a boat down the river which leads to the pagoda.
Mahesh bought a local Vietnamese farmer's hat to protect himself from getting a tan.
The serene ride down Yen River.
Huong Tich Cave after a cable car ride and a little hike.
KFC in Hanoi after the trip - safe food for Mahesh.
Day 7
On the last day, we decided to visit the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. It is the memorial building built to remember Ho Chi Minh. His body is preserved till today in honor for all that he has done for Vietnam.
