Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam, previously called Saigon, changed its name in 1976 to honor Ho Chi Minh. Founded as a small fishing village, it’s now the largest city in Vietnam and is a mix of French and Vietnamese cultures. You’ll see baguettes and croissants sold alongside pho and Vietnamese noodle soup.
Day 1 – We declined today’s excursion and hopped a shuttle to a small town called Ba Ria, a 30 minute drive. We were deposited at a Co-Mart which was a large grocery store. Outside were people selling “stuff” and they would not leave us alone. Even worse were the taxi drivers who would follow you up the street for blocks trying to convince you to get into their taxis. We outsmarted them by turning into an alleyway and at that point they left us alone.
The Vietnamese people were extremely friendly. We really didn’t know what to expect. After all, what we call the Vietnam War, they call the American War. The one of us with the grayest hair seemed to attract the most attention and they always asked how old he was; it was very interesting. One guy wanted to trade hats with him for a souvenir after asking to be in a picture with him. The adults we encountered all said hello and those who spoke English wanted to continue a conversation. Those who didn’t would push their children toward us so they could practice their English. The parents were so proud to hear the kids speaking English with Americans.
We stopped in our favorite eatery, the bakery, and bought some cookies and a slice of sponge cake which is what they are famous for. In addition to sponge cake, they have some of the best chocolate and coffee. There are cafes everywhere so we picked one that was very upscale, called Mocha Coffee, located on a corner with a roundabout. We spent the next hour in awe at the motorcycles (main form of transportation) navigating cars, bicycles, walkers and things that looked like trucks around this roundabout. We continued our walk and found a number of English Career Schools with kids age 5 and up. By the way, this was a Saturday that these kids are in school. Signs advertise “English is Your Future”.
Day 2 – Todays excursion was to the Iconic Ben Thanh Market in HCMC. There were only 9 of us on the bus and it was delightful. Ben Thanh is the place to find…well…just about everything. We had to laugh at the signs advertising authentic, fake Rolexes, no kidding. The aisles are narrow and the vendors are aggressive and it was HOT and HUMID but I have to admit; this is exactly what I expected when signing up for this excursion. We had a snack of spring rolls, chicken skewers and iced coffees. It was great.
Next we headed to an Eastern Medicine Museum. This did not interest me at all until I got inside. After a 10 minute movie on different aspects of eastern medicine, we had 5 floors of herbs, jars filled with various “things”, medical supplies, pots and huge vases, more teas than you can imagine and just a lot of interesting objects to study.
Time for lunch at Ngon Restaurant which was filled with mahogany everything. The ceilings had silk billowing overhead and there was a warm breeze coming in from the open windows. It was pretty nice and we were able to select our meal from a menu of about 20 pages, which was provided in English, yea! We washed lunch down with more iced coffees; the Vietnamese really do know how to make coffee.
Another thing the Vietnamese are known for is their lacquerware, so our last stop was at a Lacquer Factory. We watched as an artist applied pieces of eggshell or mother of pearl no bigger than half a grain of rice to his piece, then cover it with 14 coats of varnish. Many of the pieces were extraordinary in their colors of red, purple, green, black, yellow and orange.
On board is a multi-year Vietnam POW, both as a guest and a lecturer. Traveling with us is also a boat person with a harrowing experience. Both have spoken in our auditorium sharing their riveting personal stories that leaves one thinking for days. There are ~20-25 Vietnam veterans that gathered for a private meeting. This port of call provided something for everyone.
