Sai Gon short stop
Upon arriving at the airport in
Ho Chi Minh City, I quickly
passed through immigration and customs and eagerly exited the
building. Towering above the crowd was Nick (the host for this
gathering) and beside him I could espy the black hat of Dave
(Dancing Dave) (the instigator of this event). Even though they
had only met 15 minutes prior, the two of them were already
conversing like old friends.
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►►► Sightseeing tours of Sai Gon
►►► Tours to the Mekong delta
It took a moment or two of disbelief to actually realise that
both Dave and Nick, whose blogs I have followed for a long time
were now standing next to me. None of us had ever met before, so
it was interesting to witness that the blogging style of my
fellow bloggers matched their behaviour.
Dave, the compulsive portraiture photographer, eyes often
roaming for another face to immortalise. Calm, confident, and
clinical, he was the perfect complement for Denise, his wife,
who uncovers the feelings, thoughts and dreams of those she
meets through her exceptional art of conversation. If Dave is
the head in this marriage, then Denise is certainly the heart.
Nick, having built a life in his adopted home in
Vietnam, is
wry, and holds strong opinions about many aspects of life,
including the most disrespectful excesses of the tourism
industry. Like me, he shares an interest in military history and
the Gods of Rock, Led Zeppelin. His wife, Quynh, perfectly
encapsulates the women I met in Vietnam – strong yet feminine,
especially when riding a scooter.
The first stop was bustling Ho Chi Minh City, a placed filled
with a dizzying density of darting scooters and mopeds. Any
street crossing is coloured with excitement as innumerable
two-wheeled opponents dash around you and a there is a definite
sense of achievement when the road has been successfully
navigated.
We visited the rather grand Revolutionary Palace (formerly
called the Presidential Palace) where tanks broke through the
front gates in those famous images from 30 April 1975. It was as
if entire rooms were frozen in moment from that time, with some
particularly garish 1970s furniture on display. We then
proceeded to the sobering War Remnants Museum, which detailed
the atrocities of former governments and of course, the War in
Vietnam during the 1960s and 1970s. Most confronting was the
numerous images of birth deformities caused by “Rainbow
Herbicides” (such as Agent Orange and Agent Purple) I managed to
remain stoic, but that veneer almost cracked when an emotional
Dave held Quynh’s hands and apologised for the war nations such
as Australia had inflicted on the Vietnamese.
At the conclusion of a busy day, the group became acquainted of
a fetish of mine, for located within metres of our accommodation
was a Baskin Robbins Ice-Cream store; it is the only Western
style eating place I frequent during my travels – and having it
so close was too tempting to resist multiple visits.
We then proceeded to Nick and Quynh’s home town on Bien Hoa,
which was our base for a day excursion to the remarkable Cao Dai
Temple in
Tay Ninh. Cao Dai is a syncretism of Buddhism, Daoism,
Christianity (amongst others) and they venerate Victor Hugo and
Sun Yat-sen as saints. There followed a
tour of the Cu Chi
tunnels, where the Vietnamese’s pride, resourcefulness and
tenacity saw them burrow hundreds of kilometres of tunnels with
which to confuse and confound their invaders during the Vietnam
War.
I was particularly keen to visit the nearby rifle range where
one could fire weapons used during the War. Firstly, I shot 10
rounds of the AK-47 and it had an impressive ear-splitting
noise, with a noticeable kick After the first shot, the only
words to blurt from my mouth were; "Well, f*** me!"
Not being content with just one weapon, I treated myself to 10
rounds of a Browning Machine Gun. The noise and power of the
Browning was incredible and after unleashing the load from the
pulsating weapon, I turned to see my travel companions aghast
with open mouths and wide eyes. Supposedly the expression on my
face was one of even greater astonishment.
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►►► Visit Hang Mua and Trang An
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Prior to leaving Bien Hoa, the others went off for various
beauty treatments, leaving me alone at the hotel. Whilst
awaiting their return, I was observing one of the many wedding
receptions occurring on the premises, when I was very kindly
invited to attend one of the receptions by Rainie, a cousin of
the groom. It only took a few steps for me to transform from
traveller to wedding crasher, and I was led into a room of 400
people, to be seated and fed. Dave finally found me at the
reception and whilst leading me out and shaking his head in
disbelief, muttered something about my troublesome behaviour
when not under the watchful eye of fellow bloggers.
The final segment of our tour was an overnight
journey to the Mekong Delta, where we cruised the waterways in vessels of
various sizes and safety to observe floating markets and other
activities conducted on and around the sprawling maze of water
channels. Arriving back in Ho Chi Minh City, our hosts parted
ways - the hospitality of Nick and Qunyh was incredible – every
place we visited was memorable and every restaurant they
recommended served Vietnamese food superior to anything I had
eaten in Australia.
After heartfelt farewells, it was left to Dave, Denise and I to
conclude exploring the city together. One day, Dave and I
explored the metropolis hunting for photographs, and we came
back with a pile of images featuring school children and
beautiful young women; it sounds more suspicious in writing than
it did in reality.
That evening we met Kris & Kate (Rat on the Road) for dinner. I
could have listened to Kris’ lovely accent all night, but
something uncomfortable was stirring inside, so after less than
an hour I returned to my room, where I gave a mighty fine
performance of replicating the vomiting scene from The Exorcist.
Not sure what caused it, but afterwards I felt fine.
The following day I departed for my favourite region of the
world, the Middle East, and is usual for me, I hate farewells,
and this one was no exception. Feeling quite emotional in ending
this hectic but memorable week, and with tears in my eyes, I
watched from the taxi as Dave and Denise waved me goodbye,
before my sight of them was obscured by a sea of scooters.
“How odd”, I thought, as I wiped my eyes, “I’ve only met these
people in person a week ago and I’m feeling this parting so
acutely...” But it should not be a surprise as I later
ruminated, for Travelblog is not just a site for keeping family
and friends informed of travels, but it is a community of people
who share a passion for travelling or exploration – whether that
be their own city, own country, or faraway lands. But more
importantly, it is a passion that is shared with such warmth and
humanity.
You may be interested in:
►►► Vietnam Ethnic travel
►►► Short tours to Vietnam
