5 Days in Diverse Vietnam

I have just spent five fabulous and diverse days in Vietnam, a country which is undergoing rapid modernization, one which is completely different from 10 years ago, and one which will probably look completely different in 5 years. We arrived in Ho Chi Minh City, the largest city in Vietnam, on February 26th. While we had gotten used to the chilly air of Japan and China, Vietnam brought on some serious heat and humidity!

My first two days in Vietnam were spent with friends exploring the city. Namely, we learned very quickly how to cross roads in Vietnam. Unlike the Vietnam of previous generations, roads were not filled with bicycles, but rather a massive sea of motorbikes! It should be noted that traffic laws are not really followed in Vietnam, and pedestrians don’t have the right of way, nor are there many traffic lights. Thus, we learned that crossing a street requires timing, a confident walk (or run), and prayer!!! Luckily, neither my friends nor I were injured while crossing the street. Street life in Ho Chi Minh City is chaotic, to say the least. Sidewalks are filled with vendors selling sunglasses to postcards to jade bracelets to coconut milk. Streets are packed with motorbikes and large trucks making deliveries.
Ho Chi Minh City is nowhere near as dense as Shanghai, but we could not help but notice the large amount of individuals swarming us to buy their various products. We spent the morning walking through the French area of town (France was a major colonial power), and then we went to Ben Thanh Markets. Ben Thanh Markets is a marketplace that is filled with hundreds of stalls. Individuals could get suits or dresses made, buy wooden chopsticks and figurines, eat some Pho or other Vietnamese cuisine, or even buy underwear! The markets are as equally overwhelming as they are colorful and exciting. Many vendors would grab my arms and shoulders to see their products, which is opposite to behavior that you would see in Japan, where individuals are more reserved. Much of the day was spent exploring the city and observing individuals. We found that Vietnamese tended to be a mixture between Japanese and Chinese. They were as patient and kind as Japanese, but they were a bit more pushy like the Chinese. We experienced many individuals saying “Hello” to us and smiling, and even more, men smiling at us as we passed! Although it is clear that Ho Chi Minh City is a tourist destination for many (namely Europeans), there are areas of town that are still under strict communist watch. We were forewarned not to blog while we were in Vietnam, and we were also told Facebook was prohibited. I went to a café with free wifi to Skype, but found myself being watched by a security guard and not being allowed to go onto any website. This list includes Google, Yahoo, Kenyon College, or The New York Times. I had to go outside to use the free public wifi while I skyped; I literally sat on the edge of a window!

Vietnam is a country, once again, of dichotomies. It was odd to me that in a country that is filled with motorbikes rather than cars, and has unsafe drinking water, that almost all ATMs would accept American credit cards, stores would accept American dollars, and my cell phone had reception, which is opposite to Japan. While I enjoyed my stay in the city, I had an amazing time on the following three days to a trip to Cat Tien National Park.

Cat Tien National Park is a Unesco World Heritage site about 4 hours north of HCM City. It has just recently opened to visitors, so the accommodations were basic (think shower over toilet!). It was an amazing experience to get away from the commotion of the city and to only hear the sounds of birds, insects, geckos, and leaves crunching beneath our feet. I went with 18 other individuals, and had a fantastic time getting to know other students who also love the outdoors and are passionate about environmental conservation. The first day we had a light lunch and had a couple of hours of free time, so a group of us enjoyed hiking through the jungle and then finding our way to the river, literally rock hopping down the river in the scorching sun. We went on a guided hike at 2 pm, which lasted a couple of hours. The night was spent with a truck ride in the moonlight, a family style dinner, and scrabble.
The second day we started hiking at 7:45 am! We hiked 5 kms to Crocodile lake, where we had some free time to explore (including seeing a momma croc heading towards us with her 9 babies), and having a homestyle lunch. I then went canoeing with a few students through the lake. Our day ended with another 7 km hike to a bat cave, which was luckily empty for us! We climbed way down into the cave and explored with flash lights. Another evening was spent relaxing over dinner and scrabble.

Afterwards, a friend I made, Zach, and I met a woman from Scotland named Sylvia who had been volunteering in the park for 18 months. She worked in a salmon factory for 30 years and quit and moved to Vietnam. Currently, she is working in the bear reserve, where she helps rescue Asiatic bears and Sun bears. These bears are currently hunted for their bile (it has medicinal purposes) and their paws (for soup broth). Sylvia has a heart of gold and says she is living the dream! She invited us and a couple of others to join her the next day to visit the bears. While we were walking back to our guest houses, we met a couple from Australia who works for the World Wildlife Fund. They currently are working on getting a count of Rhinos in the park; if there are all males or all females, they may let them be, but if they are mixed sex, then they will try to keep them in a reserve. They are currently using dogs to help find Rhino poo, which they are sending back for DNA testing in Canada! Their project will last 6 months before they return to their desk jobs at WWF. It was amazing to meet such dedicated individuals who are committed to making the world a better place for these species, and who are so dedicated to their passions.

The final day began with a visit to the bear reserve. It was so nice to “meet” the bears, as well as other animals! We then headed on a speed boat to a local ethnic minority village. In the village, we were able to see the rice fields, and I even got to give rice harvesting a go! It is so much harder than it looks, especially in the blazing heat. We then hopped and carefully walked through bits of dry mud to the village, where we met a couple of 104 and 103 years old! They had lived in the same village their entire lives and had just received an award from the Vietnam government. We also saw lots of children playing in the street. They all were laughing and smiling when we approached them, and they said “Hello!” and waved to us. I am immediately drawn to children in every country I visit, so I decided that I would play with them some. I ended up playing chase with them, which was definitely the highlight of my trip. Despite not knowing Vietnamese, smiles and laughter are universal languages which I’ve noticed to which children send and respond. What was heart-breaking to me was the fact that primary education is not compulsory and requires tuition. While I heard children at recess at a school literally a block away, these children did not have the money to go to school, and spent their days in the streets. Although Vietnam is a communist country, something as essential and basic as primary education is not even provided. My backdrop on my laptop is currently a picture of these children, who I wish to pray for and think of daily.

We took a bumpy truck ride back to Cat Tien shortly thereafter. I sat in the back of the truck on some raised seats with 6 other people, and we had the time of our lives! We had to duck for different branches and hang on for dear life. It was a bit scary, but it was nice to feel the breeze after being in the scorching heat! Vietnam offered some incredible experiences for me, both in the city and in rural areas. It also offered me the worst sunburn of my life! Let’s just say SPF 30 cannot stand up to the power of the sun, and my back is in a lot of pain right now! I feel so blessed to have seen this country, and hope that the individuals I met will stay with me for years to come. I hope you all are doing well and gearing up for various spring breaks! I am on the ship for another 7(ish) days until India, which I know will be full of more powerful and inspiring experiences.