Vietnam is hot, humid, busy, sweet-smelling fragrant or “not-so-much," and is frequently noisy.
(Lee and I
were awakened by a rooster outside our 9th floor hotel room in
Hanoi!)
How very different were my experiences in Vietnam this time
– all to the positive! To a person, the Vietnamese were kind,
friendly, and gracious to us Americans despite our shared history of “the
American War.” We visited at the time of Tet, the Vietnamese family-based celebration of the new year: the year of the snake.
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| Warm and humid afternoon at the sidewalk fruit and vegetable market. |
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| Along the sidewalk: special gifts and decorations for Vietnamese weddings. |
Motorbikes: The tremendous number of motorbikes on the
streets terrified me on my first visit to Ho Chi Minh City: this time I learned
(gradually and with a good measure of trepidation) to actually be able to cross
the streets and boulevards – though, as a pedestrian, I could not completely
rid myself of an internal kernel of trepidation.
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| Motorbikes on sidewalks along with sidewalk cafes with meals cooked on small fires and Vietnamese of all ages dining. |
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| Different sections of the 5-km. mural were designed by different artists about different periods of history |
A 5 km. mosaic mural along the main street coming in to Hanoi was created a couple years ago to commemorate Hanoi's 1000 year history
Quite surprisingly I was completely comfortable and having
fun on the last of 6 days in country when Lee and I met Vuong and Chung Ngynen
by pre-arrangement and rode around HCMC
on the motorbikes! The passenger’s
experience of the streets while riding with safe and cautious drivers was
remarkably pleasant and even exhiliarating! Most Vietnamese families have 4 or more motorbikes. The young ride in front or in back or both. Frequently there will be a family of 4 on one motorbike - and occasionally 5!
Crowds: With more than 90 million people, just about
everywhere in Vietnam is busy and bustling. Homes are much smaller than our
grand and spacious American homes.
Some of the tube homes are as narrow as 2 – 3 meters wide
and 4-5 storeys high (since the taxes are paid based on the footprint of the
house, not it’s height.
People
bustle and jostle through temples and marketplaces. Schoolrooms have 38-52 students per
class. Even the Gods in the temples
reside close-by one another.
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| Street vendors everywhere with crowded tables of wares. | |
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| A crowd of fisherfolk dolls in a display at a seafood restaurant. |
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| TOO MANY ZEROS!!! So hard to quickly calculate while bargaining with the vendors! |
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1000 dong = 1/2 penny; 2000 dong = 1 cent; 20,000 dong = $1; 200,000 dong = $10; 1,000,000 dong = $50; too many zeros to make it easy!!!
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| A view from the Bitexico Tower in Central Ho Chi Minh City. The expansive building with the red roof is the famous Ben Thanh Market where one can buy ... just about anything, and many many tourists do so! |
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| Crowds of cripts in this cemetery nestled in with the high power tower. |
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| Incense and calligraphers and jostling people and tourists taking photos and candles and guards shouting out to "keep moving" and Vietnamese people praying to each God and statue, all in the stuffy heat and humidity! |
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| Shop girl sleeping in a crowded stall at Ben Thanh Market. |
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| The coach driver paying great attention ... no doubt to all the motorbikes! |
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| Instructive (Communist) billboards are seen in both the countryside and the cities. |
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| Tube houses - very narrow (as narrow as 2 miters wide!) and very tall, with open porches on the top levels. |
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| Ho Chi Minh resided in this house and in another traditional stilt house | for his last 20+ years |
Landscapes: As Vietnam is a country of more than 1000 miles
from north to south, we visited a great number of different landscapes from
misty Ha Long Bay to rice paddies to cityscapes in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh
City. From gritty street corners to aerial
views from atop the Bitexico skyscraper in HCMC, it was all fascinating.
Ha Long Bay is 3-4 hours from Hanoi. Our time there was quiet and mysterious and misty.
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| Semester at Sea Resident Directors Paul, Elizabeth, and Travis |
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| In this floating Vietnamese village there are homes, a school, and fishing boats, all on the water. |
Tet - the annual
New Year's Celebration in Vietnam
Lanterns
hung along the streets in every village and in the cities of Vietnam. Schools and shops and markets were closed for the
holidays while all families gathered for food and family celebrations. The first day is for parents (Fathers and Grandfathers in this patriarchal society). The second day is
for Uncles (and Aunts) and the third day is for children (all the cousins).
Our first
day in HCMC Lee and I enjoyed the Flower
Festival which is a spectacular part of the Tet.
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| Two ladies born in a year of the monkey. |
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| The Flower Festival from the rooftop terrace bar of the Rex Hotel where "Good Morning Vietnam was broadcast daily, long ago. |
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