Tasty Treats

I don't think you can travel without making food one of your top priorities. Vietnam was a nice change to Korean food with all of its variety. Because Vietnam has influences from France, America, as well as all the other Southeast Asian countries, the options are endless. We began our trip with some pho, the classic Vietnamese noodle dish.



One of our next meals out was recommended by the owner of the guest house we stayed in. The restaurant was outdoors, and was really lovely. The food was delicious as well.







The banana cake came with a frothy coconut milk to dip in...mouth-watering. The atmosphere was great and the food was even better, all for a whopping $8. Can you handle it?

After watching Anthony Bourdain's many travels to Vietnam, we decided we needed to heed his advice and go to a restaurant called Com Nieu Saigon. The highlight dish was Com Nieu which is rice baked in a clay pot so that it hardens on the outside, creating a shell-like exterior. The waiters put on a little show by throwing the clay pot to each and breaking it into pieces before serving the dish. We also ordered filet, crab, and shrimp wrapped in pork. My favorite dish was the filet, cooked and seasoned perfectly, although everything was scrumptious!





We went a little wild on this one...spending around $40 I think. We were ballin. I think the prices probably went up after all of the publicity Bourdain had given the restaurant. I say this as if the prices were outrageous...even though I'm pretty sure the last time I went to Chili's in the states, dinner for two was pushing $40, and well, it was Chili's.

The best part of Vietnamese food culture is not even the restaurants, but the street food, specifically Banh Mi, otherwise known as the Vietnamese sandwich. This sandwich combines the best of its influences, with its use of the baguette from the French, and adding Asian flair like soy and chili peppers. It also has some type of meat, usually pork, and various vegetables. Banh mi on the street typically costs 10,000 dong, which is 50 cents.



Fresh fruit and vegetable stands cover the streets. Vendors selling water also sell fresh coconuts, slice of the top in front of you, and hand you a straw. Fresh squeezed fruit juice abounds, in any fruit imaginable; passionfruit, papaya, mango, avocado, pineapple, etc. I honestly wouldn't even know where to go about getting these types of fruits in Korea, or America, for that matter. They definitely would not cost 50 cents, that's for sure.

Cu Chi Cu Chi

On Monday we went to the infamous Cu Chi Tunnels used in the Vietnam War. I was surprised to find out that many of the tunnels and the proverbial death traps were actually built by locals who feared destruction of their homes. The tour started with a demonstration:




wait for it....




TADA! what a trick eh?

We walked as the tour guide showed us some of those death traps that I described:





I sure as hell wouldn't want to fall into one of those...yikes. Next up: shootin' guns. I opted for the AK47 because I wanted to impress my students. They have some hang up with those guns. I once threatened a class that I had one, and I was going to shoot them with it if they misbehaved. Don't worry, their humor is extremely morbid here, that's like standard protocol in the classroom.



Finally, we moved on to go into one of the tunnels. Our tour guide assured us that the tunnels had been widened for tourists. He also mentioned there was an exit every 5 meters or so. Psh, why would I need to exit? these tunnels were even widened! Well through this experience I have learned just how much smaller Asian people are than myself. If you had even an ounce of claustrophobia, you would indeed have a panic attack immediately. I came out dripping with sweat and exhausted from having gone through the distance of maybe a block.




These pictures were taken extremely hastily and do not show the size of the tunnels. And the Vietnamese obviously did not have optional exits, or scarce lighting. Oh right, and they would stay months at a time, hiding from men with guns and bombs. Why do I keep returning to war talk? Sorry for all the somewhat depressing notes. Next will be something that cheers even debby downers like me up: FOOD.

Vietnam

Where do I begin? I really didn't want to post on this vacation because there is way too much to show and say, but my readers (Mom and Dad) requested I do so. I'm going to go in chronological order, not order of importance.

We landed in Saigon on Saturday at around 1:00. Walking out of the airplane, we were hit with a wall of heat and humidity. I glanced at my reflection and watched the hairs on my head stand up and my pores open to grease my entire face. It was a lovely sight, but I actually thoroughly enjoyed the heat. Driving through the city, the only thing I noticed were the motorbikes...literally everywhere. Old, young, men, women, even babies. The women would hold their babies on the bikes, sometimes masking them in a net as an attempt to keep the dust, and whatever else flies through the air, out of their face--as if THAT is the main concern in having an infant on a motorbike. Apparently 80% of motor accidents in Vietnam are due to these little Vespas. Honestly, I am surprised it is not 99% considering cars are few and far between.



This is not a good picture to illustrate the madness. There were swarms of motorbikes at times. I was not ready with my camera at those times, unfortunately. Also on the weekends, that is what Vietnamese people do for fun: ride on their bikes. Hot date? take her for a spin around the block on your sweet Vespa that everyone else in the city owns as well.

Our hostel was down the street from a famous Vietnamese market, Ben Thanh, so we walked through there for a bit.







Some interesting selections. Tequila with a worm: eat your heart out!

Sunday we walked around and first went to the Reunification Palace. Not the most attractive palace, it was clearly built in the 70's. Note the tacky decor; not usually what I picture when I think of a palace, but hey, to each his own.




We walked around the rooms inside. There was some interesting flair, like the elephant feet.




Onto the War Memorial Museum. Outside was typical war stuff, ya know, like big guns and tanks and what not.




But inside was a different story. This particular museum focused on war of aggression, so the emphasis was on who else but the United States and its atrocities toward the country. I was, however, surprised to see that the museum had completely left out France as its violent colonizer for years. Anyway, the first display as we walked in was this



In the words of Thomas Jefferson, the American declaration of inalienable rights contrasted with various pictures of war crimes, injured soldiers, dead women, babies, and elders. Of course everyone is aware of how great a contradiction this is, but seeing the images while having the claims of freedom still ringing in my ears gave me chills up my spine. Most of the imagery in the museum were--not surprisingly--those that I had never seen before. It was awful, really. One of the aspects that was spotlighted in the museum was the lasting effects the war has had on their country. The use of chemicals like napalm, and worse, agent orange, has created an entire society of disabled Vietnamese. Those exposed to agent orange were almost incapable of reproducing a normal child. A French politician at the time called the American use of such chemicals "an attempt to curb the evolution of an entire people."

Upstairs showed the destruction of land, homes, development, etc. Then, the rebuilding of the Vietnamese cities was proudly on display. Not far from these images, were pictures of people partaking in various tourist activities. Underneath, the caption read American tourists at Nha Trang, 1990, American tourists riding bikes, 2003, and so on. No comments underneath were present, but I got the message: "Look at what you Americans did. We rebuilt this beautiful country despite you, and now you have the audacity to use our country as a tourist attraction!" OK, maybe that is a bit of an exaggeration, but I shrewdly decided to refrain from speaking at a volume higher than ear-to-ear whisper anyway. I mean, I could be any nationality...

I have only put a dent in my first 2 days...more to come.

Update

It has been a while, I know. I have been getting very lazy about updating on this blog. A lot has happened since I posted last, one of which being my trip to Vietnam. I am so bummed it is over, but have tons of pictures and stories to come. My sister also came to visit recently, which was so amazing. It made me really miss home for the first time. I was so happy to be able to show someone the life I have been living for the past...whoa....8 months (exactly today).

Speaking of my sister, she went home to raise money for the 60 mile Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Walk. This will be her second year doing it, and I know it is really special to her. Anyway, I thought I would share her site with anyone who still actually reads this blog to offer her a little bit of help:

http://www.the3day.org/site/TR/2010/ChicagoEvent2010?px=3142957&pg=personal&fr_id=1463&et=VOUmp92nwW8X-TQlLkdJrg..&s_tafId=237604

60 miles is a really long walk...yikes. Any support is much appreciated!

I will post about Vietnam within the next few days. Tạm biệt!