I know, it’s been awhile. We got stuck with really slow and intermittent internet so uploading photos took more patience than I had. Especially when there were beaches and curries calling my name. BUT better late than never, right? We continued the journey in Hoi An and into Ho Chi Minh City, learning more about the country’s history along the way. The first few days I took it easy to finish recovering and by the time we got to our last city in Vietnam I was feeling fully normal again. Phew.
Immersing in the Culture of Hoi An
After completing the drive over the pass we arrived in Hoi An. After checking in we walked to the old city a few blocks away which is an UNESCO world heritage site so it requires a pass to get in and out. A local guide gave us a quick tour helping us orientate ourselves within the city, talk about the history, and point out a few places our ticket could let us into later, such as the theater.
One of the couples joined us for lunch in the town while everyone else went back to the hotel, and then we visited the theater for a traditional show of music and dancing, and ending with a bingo game. The winner received a small lantern and was invited up at the end of the show for a few minutes.
Needing to rest, we headed back to the hotel. We ventured to a restaurant nearby for an easy pizza dinner again and picked up a bit of water at the pharmacy across the street.
Oodles of Noodles and Tofu
The next morning I was feeling really rundown trying to stay up with everyone and to skip the morning activity, the cycling tour. I encouraged Mr. Wander to go so at least he could get the experience and I could see pictures after.
The tour took them through the countryside to several farms where they saw how tofu was made by hand using a tofu press (above), could help irrigate crops, and got a ride in super spinny bamboo boats.
They were served a snack and one of the ladies took to Mr. Wander’s muscles so well he got two extra omelettes. The rest of the tour told her that he was married and her response was “It’s okay, I have family too!”
That afternoon I was feeling good enough to join the tour on the community event. On every tour, G Adventures plans some sort of service experience, where funds from the tour fee go towards something benefiting the community. This event was at a place called Oodles of Noodles where we were taught the process of making noodles and we got a smash sandwich and bowl of noodles for lunch at the end as well.
This restaurant and cooking class is taught and run by teenagers that would otherwise be living on the streets. They are taught proper food safety, English, and other skills important for tourism industry. They also are given housing and healthcare and have a chance to practice what they learn with tourists to increase their confidence. After about 14 months they can graduate from the program and are usually fast tracked into higher end employment opportunities such as 5 star hotels and restaurants.
After walking back to the hotel I needed a bit more rest so we just relaxed for a bit. Then we headed back to the older town to a coffee shop that had a smoothie bowl and Mr. Wander tried a local dish, Cao Lau, which is a sort of noodle soup served with crispy rice crackers.
We walked around old town at night to see all the gorgeous lanterns throughout the town and on the river.
Mr. Wander the Chef
On our last day in Hoi An we had a completely free day. I took it easy in the morning and ventured out only for a light lunch, Mr. Wander having Cao Lau again. After a bit more resting through the heat of the day we joined a cooking class with two from our group and one from the other G Adventure tour running parallel to ours. The menu included Smoked Duck Spring Rolls, Green Mango and Shrimp Salad, Chicken Coconut Soup, BBQ Pork in Banana Leaf and Red Dragonfruit Sticky Rice.
It was both interesting to learn and fun to watch the chef in his element, giving out tasks and prepping the next steps. We all had aprons, a hat, tasting spoon, and towel on us. One of Mr. Wander’s tasks was to mix up the sauce for the sticky rice, with the special ingredient: Raspberry Vodka.
My favorite by far was the smoked duck in the spring rolls, it was just smoked in a dutch oven with sugar, rice, and green tea. The chicken was really good too, it was poached in water with lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves. The water used for poaching eventually became the base for the soup, after mixing a little seasoning, lime juice, and of course coconut cream.
While making the spring rolls the chef had us try 8 different herbs, including 2 different kinds of mint and basil. We could put whatever herbs we wanted in our rolls and much of what was left was put with the salad.
When plating our sticky rice we could make our own design on the plate, everyone really liked Mr. Wander’s work of art:
After eating this filling meal we slowly made our way back to the hotel.
City of Mr. Ho Chi Minh
The next morning we were up early to get to the airport and flew to Ho Chi Minh City, which was renamed officially sometime after the end of the Vietnam war, but some people in the south still refer to it as Saigon.
After getting lunch a few of us went with the CEO to get Pho at a place called Pho 2000, to celebrate the year Bill Clinton came to Vietnam and ate there. After his visit, Vietnam became more open to tourists which has helped build the economy and create many job opportunities.
That afternoon we got an orientation tour from our CEO pointing out several buildings including the bar at the Rex Hotel where reporters used to gather that were covering the war, and the War Remnant Museum. Some decided to tour the museum right away but it was only an hour before it closed so we waited until the following day to visit so we’d have more time.
That night the group went to a street food market where there was a stall for several types of cuisine: Thai, Vietnamese, Italian, Mediterranean, and even special stalls for ice cream. We decided to go with Thai and split Pad Thai and Mango Sticky Rice. Afterwards a few of us went in search of another drink at a rooftop bar but unfortunately the Rex Hotel bar was closed. We found some sort of short Sky Bar, but it was loud and a bit crazy, randomly fireworks starting going off right next to us!
Crawling through History
The next morning we were taken on a tour to the Cu Chi tunnels, with probably the most entertaining guide we had yet. If you are unfamiliar, these tunnels were where much of the Vietnamese hid during the war. They were made very small because Americans were bigger and in many cases would not be able to fit, or at least not move as quickly. First we were showed one of the secret doors that were nearly invisible with just a few leaves.
They even let a few people try to get in and out, but I can squat too much weight to be able to fit! Mr. Wander and I did get to crawl through one of the tunnels where they had a larger entrance made for tourists. While I was able to sometimes “walk” with my back just about flat to the ceiling, sometimes it got a bit short and I had to do more of a duck walk. It actually didn’t feel too claustrophobic for me until there was a bit of a traffic jam ahead of me and I couldn’t keep moving forward, then I was ready to get out.
The tunnels were dug by hand, and I couldn’t help but marvel at the ingenuity of the measures used to hide these tunnels. The dirt removed from the tunnels were strategically placed to look like termite mounds. They were also only in a straight line for 5 meters before turning.
Our guide showed us around the jungle and showed the many types of traps that were meant to slow down American troops or give early warning so the people could hide in the tunnels. Many of these were trap doors that contained a snake that the soldier would have to shoot to save himself from a poisonous bite, giving off his position. Most, however, were meant to injure the soldier to slow them down with bamboo spears sticking up from the bottom or coming at you from the sides. They repurposed found metal to create many of these traps as well. Just after this we went to an area they had for snacks or souvenirs, and a gun range where you could try many types of guns. For the Vietnamese Army this allowed nearly-expired ammunition to get “paid for” because the shelf life was not as good as those they used to get from Russia. It was all pretty disturbing hearing the gunshots while learning about all these traps. My least favorite was the machine guns, especially when we were close to the range.
After the tour we were given tapioca root that you could dip in a mixture of peanuts and sesame seeds and a strong tea, and then our bus took us back into the city. A few of us were dropped off at the war remnants museum.
Inside were several rooms telling the facts and dates of the war, dedications to the photographers who lost their lives trying to share the truth of what was happening, details about war crimes, and the lasting affects of agent orange. If you are unfamiliar with agent orange, it was dropped by Americans in an attempt to destroy the jungle where the Viet Cong army was hiding. The long term effects caused many birth defects and other diseases for generations as innocent people have drank water or eaten fish from sources that were unknowingly contaminated. As hard as it was to learn most of this, it is important to learn both sides of the story and as our CEO kept reminding us, “stay in the middle”. The real key to sharing this knowledge is in the hope of preventing these things from happening again.
Crossing Streets Like Sticky Rice
Needing to lighten the day a bit we decided to go to a craft brewery, which they had several options mixed with tasty tropical fruits, including one of Mr. Wander’s favorite styles, a sour. I enjoyed the mural behind the bar because it had the process for making beer, and the steins say the way to say “cheers” in Vietnamese, “Mot, Hai, Ba, Dzo!” (last pronounced Yo!), meaning, “1, 2, 3, cheers”
For dinner we went back to the street food area as the last night with one member of our tour group, and the first night with 6 others that joined us for the Cambodia half of the tour. Afterwards most of us walked to the river where we crossed one of the craziest streets. Even though we were at a crosswalk, there were no lights so you just had to start crossing slowly and put your hand out and hope some of the cars/bikes stop for you. It was 4 lanes, although with a small divider about 2 people wide.
I tried taking a video of the crossing so the quality isn’t great but you get the idea. Most streets in Vietnam you cross like this, there are a few with crossing signs but you always have to watch for motorbikes crossing. When our CEO is with us he says “sticky rice” meaning we all stick together and cross slowly. This would have scared me much more had I not had several weeks of crossing streets without stoplights, especially in Hanoi. After crossing back and forth some of us went to a nearby rooftop bar, with such a beautiful view of the harbor.
They had tasty beverages as well, and a live band, playing mostly songs I knew, and ones that the whole bar knew and sang along, such as “Sweet Caroline” (Bum bum bum).
Tasting Our Way Across the Mekong River Delta
The net morning we boarded a boat to explore the Mekong River Delta and visit a few of the islands. We were introduced to several trees for the fruits that we had been eating throughout the tour, such as Jackfruit, Bananas, Several types of Mangos, and Starfruit. We even were able to try removing fruits from trees with these bamboo poles into a conical hat.
We also were able to taste several of the fruits along with some tea while local musicians entertained us. Most of the songs were in Vietnamese but at the end they threw in one we’d recognize, “If You’re Happy and You Know It…”.
We were also introduced to several instruments and were given the opportunity to try a dan bau. It required you to place the side of your hand on the string to change the length when you went to pluck, but you had to lift your hand to allow the string to resonate. It was very difficult. The tall antennae on the end could be used to bend the sound, once you got it to make a sound it was really entertaining.
After this we visited a bee farm where we could hold bees and try fresh honey. They also had us taste honey made up into a tea with pollen and lime juice.
The last spot on this island was to a spot that made coconut candy and other treats. We were given a taste of the warm candy on the table before it was formed and wrapped in rice paper. I ended up buying a package because the peanut flavor was so tasty!
One of the things we tried here they also made was banana wine, that was pretty tasty. The other wine I couldn’t bring myself to try (nor could anyone else in the group), but it is called snake wine. ***Warning*** If my mom or MIL or any others that are not a fan of snakes are reading this, you should close your eyes and skip over the next picture.
Next we loaded into the back of trucks and then into boats paddled through a stream to the big boat we had arrived on.
After returning to the bigger boat, we were taken to another island for lunch at a restaurant. Then we were served some fresh coconuts as we headed back to the mainland. Our guide sang a Vietnamese song while we passed this prize around the boat until the song finished. The woman holding it won the prize, 1000 Vietnamese Dong (about $0.04) and was the first to start a round of Karaoke for an English song that I still couldn’t tell you the name, even though I sang a bar or two.
It was a few hours drive back to our hotel in the bus and then it was time to find some dinner. We had just enough cash left for a small dinner, since we were leaving for Cambodia the next day it didn’t make sense to get any more from an ATM, so our options were limited. We decided to see what a Western restaurant would be like in Vietnam (and themed like an old western town with cowboys) and got to try their popcorn chicken and mac and cheese. Overall it wasn’t too bad, and washed down pretty well with a few local beers.
Both Mr. Wander and I agreed that we’d like to visit Hoi An again and explore a bit more (when I’m not sick!). Maybe even get a dress made by one of the many talented tailors and certainly visit more of the sites in the old city. I definitely didn’t get enough Pho or spring rolls, either. We are off to another country tonight, and next time you’ll hear from me will be all about our adventures in Cambodia.
Speaking Vietnamese, if you please
- Cheers (especially when drinking beer) = Mot, Hai, Ba, Yo!
- Hello = Sin Xiao
- Thank You = Cam On
- Yes = Dza, No = Kong
- Count to 10 = Mot, Hai, Ba, Bon, Nam, Sau, Bay, Tam, Chin, Muoi
- Vietnamese Dong, 250,000 ~ $10