Ho Chi Minh

Immediately when we got out of the doors at the airport, we were in love. Over the course of a week, Ho Chi Minh became one of my favorite cities. The people were so friendly and made us feel welcomed throughout our entire time, and we’re already thinking of when we can come back!

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On our first day in the city, we arrived in the afternoon to a friendly man standing there with our name on a sign. We really like staying at these airbnb places because they always go above and beyond to make our stay great. The owner of the apartment we were staying at for the week, sent a driver to pick us up, and then met us at the apartment. He showed us how to work everything, gave us a few recommendations of things to do, and then gave us his number to contact him if we needed anything.

We had a lovely apartment right downtown in District 1, and with this location, we could walk everywhere! It was perfect! We loved that we were in a residential neighborhood with lots of local street food, but then if we walked a little ways, we could eat at a Hard Rock Café or similar places, if we wanted something different. Basically we loved the location of the apartment, we loved the food, we loved the city, and we love Vietnam! (This is just a warning letting you know how much I’m going to ramble about our love for Vietnam in this post.)

Anyways, back to our day-to-day adventures. So the first day we arrived and got all situated in the apartment, and then headed out for some dinner. We were nervous that some of the not as nice looking restaurants might only have a menu in Vietnamese and then we would have no idea what to order, but we decided to try one of these restaurants anyways. We walked in to one and to our surprise, the menu was in both Vietnamese and English, and the woman who waited on us spoke basically perfect English!

We had a nice dinner of spring rolls for an appetizer, phó (noodle soup) for the main entrée, and a Vietnamese take on crème brule for dessert. It was all delicious, and Brad and I both agreed that we wished we would have been eating more noodles all semester, instead of the rice we ate everyday in Thailand. Oh well, we’re getting to enjoy the noodles now!

By the time we got done eating, it was already getting late, so we headed back to the apartment to get some sleep.

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The next day in Vietnam, we got up and got ready for the day, and then headed out for something to eat. A place called Buds caught my eye (probably because it was actually an ice cream parlor that also served a little food), and we stopped here to have a bowl of phó.

The lunch was good, and when we were finished, we decided we better wait on getting ice cream. We said we would come back after we visited the War Remnants Museum, and that’s exactly what we did.

We got to the museum and took our time reading everything and looking around. Outside, there were tanks and airplanes that were used during the war. Then inside the museum, there were many different exhibits and rooms that each had their own theme. One of the rooms was all about the chemical Agent Orange that America sprayed during the war. It showed pictures of what it did to the land, and then also what it did to the people.

It was so saddening to see the numbers about how many people were affected by this chemical. Agent Orange not only affected the people who got infected by it when it was sprayed, but it also caused many birth defects in their children, grandchildren, and even some great grandchildren. With each generation, fewer babies are affected by it, but 40 years after the war ended, some children are still paying the price for America’s use of this chemical.

There were other rooms in the museum, such as one about propaganda and one about photographers trying to capture the war. But the room that had pictures and stories of those affected by Agent Orange, stood out the most.

Now, I’m not one who typically enjoys museums, but this one was a museum that I’m glad I took the time to read and learn about everything in it. It was interesting learning about it in a place where it actually happened, and seeing it through a different point of view. For example, the museum referred to the war as the War of American Aggression, where in America we call it the Vietnam War. The museum also focused on how it affected the Vietnamese people, a side of the war that I had not learned about before.

Here are just a few pictures from in the museum.

After the museum, as I said above, we went back to Buds for some ice cream. It was my half birthday that day, and I know that isn’t celebrated by most people, but for as long as I can remember, I’ve been getting cards or texts telling me happy half birthday. Therefore, I should probably celebrate it! So to do this, Brad and I got delicious ice cream sundaes (pictured below).

We had spent the entire afternoon at the museum, so after we were done there and done with the ice cream, all of the tourist things we wanted to do were closing for the day. So we headed back to the apartment to relax a little before heading to dinner. We went out to Hard Rock Café to have a burger, since we haven’t had a burger with real beef since we left America. Needless to say, I don’t think a burger has ever tasted so good! Then, after every crumb was eaten, we headed back to the apartment to head to bed.

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The next day in Ho Chi Minh, we went to Vietnam’s version of the Notre Dame Cathedral. In Vietnam, 60% of the population is Buddhist, 30% is Catholic, and the last 10% is a mix of Hindu, Muslim, and their own religion Cao Dai. So since 30% of the people are Catholic, it only makes sense that there would be some beautiful cathedrals around. Here is a picture of the cathedral below.

When we went inside Notre Dame, beautiful stained glass windows surrounded us. Here’s a picture for you to see for yourself.

Once we were done looking at the cathedral, we walked across the street to a historic post office (pictured below). This post office is still a functioning post office, but also is a tourist attraction. I know if I lived in Vietnam, I would definitely go to a different post office, to avoid all of the tourists, but surprisingly many locals were there simply going about there day to day life.

While we were there, a group of high school students asked us if they could interview us for a project they were doing. They asked us where we were from, what we liked and disliked in the city, and then had us fill out a survey. The survey asked about employee and boss relations and how they work together. As I was filling mine in, I asked them about these topics. I learned that in Vietnam, the boss makes the decisions and the employee’s ideas are not valued.

During our conversation, we got talking about school, and the differences between school here in Vietnam and school in Thailand. In Thailand, the students will always be passed no matter what. This was something that I found to be a struggle while teaching. I mean I only had kindergarteners, but some of my friends who taught older kids had to deal with the kids not even trying. They could just sit there and do nothing and they would get passed.

In Vietnam, the students are actually held accountable for their learning. I think that’s why so many of them can speak English so well. The Vietnamese students agreed that they all are proud to be able to speak English, and they love to practice speaking it with people like us!

Then after we finished the survey they asked to take a picture, and here’s that picture.

After finishing up with the students, we got stopped by another group of students. These ones were selling key chains to help pay for school, so of course we bought one. I hope the cute little duck key chain can help that girl further her education.

By the time we had finished looking around down by Notre Dame and the historic post office, it was already time for dinner. Our evening was a typical one, consisting of us eating phó and then making our way back to the apartment for bed.

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The next day in Ho Chi Minh was a busy one. We woke up and walked down by the river. Here we went inside the Bitexco Financial Tower, which has an observation deck to look out over the city. We had heard there was a café a floor higher in the building, so instead of going to the observation deck, we took the elevator up to the 50^th floor and enjoyed a latte with a view. Here are some pictures from that.

It’s crazy how big the city is, but with its layout of the districts, it doesn’t feel so big. Seriously, it’s like the perfect city! (Sorry, I warned you this post was going to be me rambling on about our love for Vietnam.)

After leaving the tower, we stumbled upon the Ho Chi Minh City museum. We went in to find a museum filled with a mix of everything Vietnamese. They had a room about their currency and how is has evolved into what they use today. There was also a room about the war and a room about the daily life of people living in the Cu Chi tunnels. The first picture below is of a small portion of the layout of the tunnels. The second one is of a stove in the tunnels. They would build a fire in the half circle part and then put a pot over it. The smoke from the fire would then go up and come out at multiple different locations, so the American soldiers could not use the smoke to track where they are.

When we left the museum, we went to Independence Palace, the building where the war ended. We explored the many grand rooms that were used by ambassadors and cabinet members during the war. 

Here's some pictures from Independence Palace.

Finally, our last stop for the day was the Saigon Opera House. We took some pictures of the outside and then bought some tickets to a ballet inside of it on Saturday. We’re excited to see the ballet about Vietnamese culture, and after we go on Saturday I’ll make sure to write about how it was.

For dinner this evening, we went in to one of the stalls at the Ben Thanh Market and enjoyed some noodles and a Tiger beer. We love to people watch, and when it started raining, it was crazy to see how efficiently everyone worked together to get the tarps up to keep us dry. There was a hustle and bustle of people trying to stay dry while still buying or selling goods, and once it stopped raining, we went out and joined in with the crowd. We ended up getting a few souvenirs for friends and family, and a nice set of chopsticks for ourselves. There was a lot of things we liked, but we can’t get too much since we have to carry it around with us until we come home.

By the time we left the market, it was close to 10:00 pm and we were exhausted from our long day. We got back to the apartment and quickly fell asleep.

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For one of our final days in Ho Chi Minh, we signed up for a day tour to see a few things that we weren’t able to get to easily.

The tour started out by picking us up and driving out of the city, towards the border of Cambodia. Here we were to see a Cao Dai temple. Caodaism is a religion in Vietnam that is a mixture of Catholicism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. It was established as a religion in the 1920s and over the last 100 years the religion has grown. Today about 5 million people in Vietnam practice this religion.

While we were at the temple, we were able to witness a typical Caodaism worship service. It started with the men walking out on one side and the women walking out on the other. They then sat in groups, which we later found out have to do with how long they have been practicing the faith. The group that sits at the back has been practicing Caodaism from this being their first day to 10 years. The group in front of them was people who have been practicing for 10 – 20 years. Each group represented 10 years of practice, and as you got further towards the statue in the front, the longer you had been practicing the religion.

Here are a few pictures of the way they sit and the temple.

During the service, we were able to observe from above. We stood next to the musicians who played music and sang as they worshiped. The worship service happens three times a day, and last about an hour. We stayed only for a bit of the service and then made our way outside to take a picture of the outside. Here's that picture.

Once we were done exploring the temple, we loaded back on the bus with the other 5 people in our tour group, and we headed to a place called handicapped handicrafts. Here we toured a facility in which people who were handicapped from Agent Orange or the war were making artwork. These people might not be able to have employment because of their disabilities, but this company finds a task for each of them to do. They might do anything from crushing eggshells, carefully placing those egg shells in a design, painting, or buffing and shining the artwork.

It was amazing to see how these people worked together to make the most beautiful artwork, and we couldn’t help but purchase a few pieces. I’d post a picture of the artwork, but it’s all wrapped up and packed, so you’ll have to wait until we get home and I hang it up. Then maybe I’ll post a picture.

When everyone was done looking around and purchasing any artwork they might want, we got back on the bus and headed to lunch. For lunch we had a traditional Vietnamese lunch in which we all passed around huge amounts of food until they were gone.

Then after lunch we headed to the Cu Chi tunnels. Here we got to explore some of the immense system of tunnels that were used by the Viet Cong during the war. The tunnels were very small, so we only got to see the first layer of the underground system. The tunnel system has three levels, in which the people lived. There were rooms dug out and they were all connected via tunnels.

Here’s a model of what the rooms and tunnel connection looks like.

The tunnel system was not only for people to live in, but also was used as hiding spots during combat. The Viet Cong could pop up and shoot at the soldiers and then go back down and hide. The American troops could not follow them in to the tunnel because they were so small that they couldn’t turn around to come out. If they went in, they would have to crawl all the way until they reached a room, and here there would be Viet Cong ready to fight them.

The tunnels were also used to pass communication and supplies from one place to another. There were also hospitals in some of the rooms underground. The tunnels were very valuable to the Viet Cong during the war, and they were able to keep control of them throughout the entire war.

Here’s a picture of me in the small hole that the Viet Cong would use to come in and out of the tunnels.

After exploring the tunnel system, Brad and I both got to shoot an AK47. Here’s Brad doing that.

Our time exploring the Cu Chi tunnels came to an end, and then we headed back to the bus to face rush hour traffic. After about two hours in traffic, we got dropped back off at the place we were staying. From here we went and grabbed dinner and then called it a night.

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On our last day in the city, we slept in and then relaxed a little because being on the go all the time is starting to get tiring. We walked down and grabbed a bowl of noodles for lunch and then came back and packed everything up, in order to be ready to fly the next day.

We got all dressed up and then went to Hard Rock Café to have a drink and appetizers before we headed to the Opera House.

We arrived early in order to get a tour of the Opera House and then after the tour, it was time for the ballet to start.

Here’s a picture of the Opera House and one us from before the show.

The ballet was about the life of people working in the rice paddies of Vietnam. It started with them planting and ended with the harvest. I know that doesn’t sound that exciting, but the show was done really well and the dancers did a great job, making it a great experience!

The ballet was a great way to end our time in Ho Chi Minh, the city we love so much. We’re off to the mountains of Vietnam next, so be sure to keep reading to hear about our time there.