Plus Three

If I had to make a list of all the places that had the largest impact on my life, Ho Chi Minh City would be near the top. Which is strange, because I've only spent about 5 days here before this trip - most of them buying dishes and cleaning supplies in one of the outer suburbs, Bien Hoa. Not because that itself was particularly impactful, but I had a job here and was settling into a new life. At least I was, for a short time, before I realized leaving Ella back in Bangkok was a mistake. Maybe it was the absolute craziness that is HCMC, and having nobody to share it with. Regardless, I, rather wisely in retrospect, turned tail back to Bangkok, and the rest is history. During that very short time here I only spent one day seeing the sights, with my fresh off the boat, likely traumatized roommate in tow. "Cross the street Vietnamese style - just walk, don't change your stride. The bikes will move around you." And like some sort of Vietnamese Moses, they do. But I suppose that could be hard to accept when you lived your whole life in a country with traffic laws.

Note the American flag

But this craziness is exactly what I like about Vietnam. It may be chaos to an outside observer, but to me, it's an amazingly choreographed dance where everyone naturally knows the steps. Just like Laos, I can't help but be impressed with the Vietnamese. They had their country devastated, again, by the US. Yet despite that, they routinely rank at the top of countries with the most positive impressions of Americans. Honestly, I don't know why. Maybe it's because they won the war against a vastly superior force, and they, rightly so, have a chip on their shoulder. Or the more likely answer, like all their neighbors, they embody the South East Asian spirit - who cares? Just relax, have a beer, and laugh about any problem that comes along. I'm jealous. Honestly. I almost wish I spent a year, or more here, in my formative years. Maybe I would learn to be less stressed, more happy. Or at least, I'd know how to make the best coffee in the world. But having already explored the middle and northern parts of the country on a previous trip, Ella and I find ourselves back here for about two weeks to see what the southern part has to offer.

And what it does have to offer is a constant party. I honestly expected HCMC to be pretty much like Hanoi. But it's actually more like Bangkok. We're staying near Bui Vien Walking Street, which reminds me of what Khao San Road used to be. Filled with gogo bars, roadside beer shops, elephant pants, dried fish salesmen, and surprisingly decent foreign food, it's pure craziness. But not in a debauchery craziness like Pattaya, in a giant party craziness. Everyone is smiling and having a good time - heck, there are even male gogo dancers (hooray for gender equality!) But hey, this is South East Asia. Again, just relax, have a beer, and roll with it.

In fact, I saw a T-shirt I wanted to buy, and the lady told me 350,000 dong (~$15). Knowing that this isn't even in the same universe as a fair price, I walked away. She yelled after me, "300k, 200k, 100k!!!" I went back and said "Okay, 100k" (~$4). She asked me why I didn't bargain. I asked her why she didn't give me a fair price.

"This is Vietnam. You must bargain."

Well, apparently not, because I got what I wanted. Scroll down to the photos to see me rocking a totally legit Starbucks T-shirt.

But unlike Laotian tuk tuks, this wasn't an aggressive offer. It was a "Okay, you played the game - now you get what you want." So after sharing a laugh, Ella and I continued our exploration of the city. I realized one notable advantage HCMC has over Hanoi is that it wasn't on the receiving end of the US Air Force. So there are a lot more intact colonial style buildings, that now are basically Instagram meccas - like the Fine Arts Museum. Although, I couldn't tell you a single thing I saw in there. Granted I am the premier art idiot, but even Ella didn't seem exactly wowed by anything. But we both were wowed by the building, along with many other Vietnamese taking photos. They came ready, dolled up with makeup and traditional clothing. And I am wowed that everyone is just so ridiculously beautiful. Or maybe I just really like the Vietnamese Ao Dai. But we also got some photos in this pretty place, and realized we need to get Ella an Ao Dai. Later we would get one as a souvenir from this nice lady who hand makes her own, and yup, looks pretty awesome.

Speaking of looking good - Ella is very interested by a Vietnamese religion most have probably never heard of, called Cao Dai. It's definitely a unique take on things, and I'm nowhere near an expert - but as I gather, it's a sort of mish mash of all the major religions, Vietnamese folk religions, and other things you wouldn't expect blended together. Like, Jesus and Buddha are both worshipped, along with others like Sun Yat Sen, the founder of the Republic of China. Or what really threw me for a loop, Victor Hugo (yes, Hunchback and Les Miserables Victor Hugo) is one of the highest saints of all, who brought the word of god to Earth.

Mhmm. Well, that is a take.

What I do like about Cao Dai Temples though is that they are incredibly colorful. Sort of like Hindu temples, they slide that color saturation bar up to 11, and decorate everything with the most varied and vibrant paint they can find. It's really quite interesting look at, although some of the places didn't want us taking photos. The temples are also very vertical, with most having the main room on the 3rd or 4th floor. Finally they're divided in half, with men having to stick to the right side, and women the left. Overall, very unique places that are worth a look, if not just for the spectacle. They're certainly not on the tourist trail, but it's something that's totally free to look at and very Vietnam.

Not at the museum, but a bunker used by the Vietcong

But let's finally get to the elephant in the room - last time during my one day as a HCMC tourist I went to see the American War Museum. While I wasn't exactly thrilled to see it again, I do know it's an important thing for visitors to see, so we gave it a look for Ella's sake. Aside from some generously donated US military equipment outside, there's not so many "things" here - it's mostly photos and testimonials. And as expected, it's really hard to see. Not unlike the Nanjing Massacre Memorial, it's a gut punch. I'm not putting any photos here, for starters because it would mostly be photos of photos. But also the effects of Agent Orange is probably not something you want to see while drinking your morning coffee, or whatever it is you're doing now. But what I will say about Laos and Vietnam, is that the US were the bad guys here. And that isn't to dismiss all the terrible things done by the South or North Vietnamese, or taking into account that this museum probably is biased in some way. But there is no excuse for the immense cruelty inflicted on the people that live here. Some may say the ends justified the means. And I do have the benefit of hindsight, but I think it is something we should be more repentant about. Because if your strategy to win over people is to put others into a barbed wire box, you're on the bad side.

Oof. Well, that was pretty heavy. I think this is a good stopping point before our next journey to get some sunshine. Some photos, then: