Scribbles Abroad

Vietnams a pretty large country, roughly the size of lets say the West Coast of America. Exploring the vastness of SE Asia could take years and I envy, or should I say, respect those that truly engage Vietnam for that long. After Hoi An it was on to Nha Trang. We took another overnight bus and since the first leg in the journey was so easy, we only expected this one to be so as well. Perhaps the residents in this leg of the journey forgot to pay their taxes, or maybe the communist party doesn’t own land in this area, but the road was hell. It was hard to get 20 minutes of sleep let alone a full nights sleep on this bus. About forty five minutes away from Nha Trang the roads got nice and we finally got some sleep but then a half hour later the driver blasts some ridiculously loud Vietnamese music that sounded like cats having sex and we were once again FULLY awake.

When we awoke it was sunrise and we were on the coast. The blessed music we awoke to was complemented by the lines of decent surf pouring into chocolate brown waters polluted with trash from the hundred villages upstream. We had our boards, we were jonesing to surf, but in that shit? No way. Considering there were waves here we knew there would be waves somewhere up or down the coast that weren’t as nasty.

We spent the rest of our time in Nha Trang going to mud baths, hot springs, searching for waves, and looking at huge Buddha statues. We stayed at a great hotel while we were there called, (shit forgot) The girl that worked their was awesome. She lined up motorbikes for us, bikes as well, and best she turned us on to the best Pho place in Nha Trang. We ended up eating at Pho Hong at least twice a day for the entire stay!

If you look really hard you can see Louise standing up out there

The best Pho in Nha Trang

A few days in Nha Trang was all we needed so we planned our next stop for Saigon (aka Ho Chi Minh City or HCMC) on one more overnight bus. The last journey definitely included real estate with ties to the government because this was a smooth ride. We pulled into HCMC an hour early and with a decent enough amount of sleep. Here is where Vietnam treats us like royalty again. The parents of our friend Brian live in HCMC. His Father is more or less the big baller of a pharmaceutical company based in the Philippines but with a branch in Vietnam. His mother is a professional host that showed us the greatest time in Saigon. Mr. Caleda told us to call him upon arriving in Saigon and then he would send the driver to pick us up. As the taxi drivers hassled us upon departing the bus we simply told them, with our grey poupon in hand, “ah hem, we have a driver.” It was great!

The driver picked us up from touristville Saigon and took us to their private residence in a new part of the city that resembled a bit of Southern California. Upon arrival we were greeted by the maid who walked us into their beautiful home. Once through the threshold we got to meet the eloquent Liza. I handed her the bouquet of daisy’s and artichokes that I had custom made at the Bintang Market and she gave us a look of “um ok?” I realize its quite an odd mix but coming from a utilitarian context of Vietnam I figured it was a perfect mix, both beautiful and usable.

For the rest of our time we were given free reign of the house and a car with driver. All our meals at the house were prepared and our intoxicating laundry was sterilized. With much responsibility often comes the requirement of time overseeing your responsibilities, therefore we saw very little of Mr. Caleda. The time we did get to spend with him was enriched with good conversation and great food.

Sushi with Benny and Liza

Our two culinary highlights this trip were wth the Caledas. The first was at the Bintan Market when Liza took us to have Durian. The only memories of Durian I had were from the show on Discovery Channel where the chubby bald buy who eats anything, vomitted when he tried it. This is the same guy that eats goat nuts, scorpions, and rotten tofu! The Durian is also a fruit that you are not allowed to take on public transportation or into hotels because of its odor. Needless to say I was very hesitant and was not going to be the first. Liz and Liza both had tried the fruit many times before and both had an affinity towards it. We had what was considered a good one cracked open. The lady handed us plastic gloves to put on so that the smell wouldn’t stick to our hands and we were invited to dig in. Liz and Liza without apprehension dived in. Louise went next and then it was my turn. The fruit says don’t eat me just from its appearance wich is an extremely spiky tough skin. Then when its cracked open it looks like yellow organ parts like the kidney or gall bladder. When you pick up a portion the piece seems to slightly melt. When you put it into your mouth it melts more and feels like soft serve ice cream. Now for the taste: So it wasn’t really as bad as I was expecting but lets say I wouldn’t ever be like, “hey lets go get some Durian!” It tastes like onions, garlic, jackfruit, bananas, maybe even a little white chocolate all mixed together. Sound nasty? Sound awesome? Its up to you to decide. Give it a go, I might try it again in a couple of years.

The next culinary highlight was the Balut. A duck fetus a few days away from hatching that is hard boiled and served with salt and vinegar. You eat it with a spoon. I’d have to say that I preferred the Durian to the Balut. Benny (Mr. Caleda) showed us how. You crack the top with the bottom of your spoon with a quick hit. Then you sip the juice/soup. After that you peel away the shell and dig in. Supposedly if you don’t look at the fetus it’s easier to eat, great advice not taken. The sight of the bird was sad but comical. This is one of the most popular Filipino dishes and was popular in many other parts of SE Asia. I took the stance that by eating the Balut we were keeping one duck off the streets and bird flu free! The taste of the bird was salty and vinegary. Wonder why. But the tough part were the feathers in my teeth and the need to chew the almost fully developed skeletal system. I didn’t like it and wasn’t able to finish it up. The tough part was that the chef had prepared about 8 of them thinking we’d eat more than one and we were unable to fulfill her visions.

We went on two tours while in Saigon. The first was a trip to the Mekong Delta where we met up with some of Liza’s other friends and we toured life on the Mekong.

The second was a tour of the Cuchi Tunnels, a complex network of man-made tunnels used to combat American forces during the Vietnam War. The Cuchi Tunnels were tough to visit but what we took away from the visit was that Vietnam has moved well beyond the war and seem to hold no animocity toward Americans. They are happy talk, drink, and eat with us. They hold no grudges for many of the atrocities commited on and to their lands. Its like Obama just said to the Middle East, if you unclench your fist we are willing to shake your hand. Its as if Vietnam has unclenged their fist but we are just beggining to be able to shake their open hands. I will not get into discussing the war in detail here but going to Vietnam has opened my eyes to both sides. I can only say that I appreciate the sacrifice our families and friends made both in and supporting the war regardless of the outcome.

While at the Cuchi tunnels I did get to buy a few bullets and shoot off a couple of rounds on an M-10. The gun was huge and had to be mounted in order to shoot it. More so that I couldn’t swing it around and hurt/kill myself of anyone else. Check the video below for the quick 20 seconds of action.

We left Saigon the next day for Cambodia. We planned for 3 days and 4 nights in Angkor Wat, considered the biggest temple on Earth! The pictures are awesome and Louise will be posting them soon!

A quick massage on our last night in HCMC.

saying bye to our drive Mr. Phuk and Chita our cook!