Five Days in Vietnam

Now that school's finally over, Daniel, Derek, Kyleen & I (the gwanak gang), made plans to travel a bit before going back to Hawaii.

Our first stop, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam!!!

My parents spent their early childhoods in Saigon (now called Ho Chi Minh City), before immigrating into America, which is why this trip was so special to me. I've never been to Vietnam before, so growing up listening to their stories really made me want to see the country myself.

DAY ONE: Ben Thanh Market & Exploring District 1

We landed in Ho Chi Minh City and converted some money at the airport. We did a lot of research beforehand and learned that exchanging money in jewelry stores had WAY better rates. Research also told us that the easiest (and cheapest) way to get around Vietnam was through Grab. (Grab is like Uber, and it's very affordable way to ride around the city - offering car rides AND motorcycle rides.) We rode to our hotel that was located in District 1 (there are about 12-ish districts in Ho Chi Minh City). District 1 was the closest to all the touristy things that we wanted to do, and it wasn't too expensive (making it peRfEcT for us).

After trading in Korean Won for Vietnamese Dong, we walked over to the Ben Thanh Market, Ho Chi Minh City's largest market. It's not only a classic tourist attraction, but also a well-loved locals spot. The market had souvenirs, food, fresh fruit, clothes, and all the trinkets and knickknacks you could ever imagine. Since it was our first day, we just strolled through the market rows and window shopped.

temperature check: 86 °F (BUT SO HUMID)

We spent the rest of the day just walking around the city and taking in the sights (while trying to not get hit by mopeds)

DAY TWO: Ben Thanh Market (again) & Ho Chi Minh City Hall

Woke up EARLY, to go back to the Ben Thanh Market and this time we actually bought stuff. Haggling is a huge thing in Vietnam, and so we haggled for all the items we bought (stuff like magnets and little pouches). We were able to cut prices down by over 50%!!!!

Just a short walk from the market took us to the Ho Chi Minh City Hall. In front of the city hall was the massive statue of President Ho Chi Minh.

DAY THREE: War Remnants Museum, Independence Palace, and Notre Dame Cathedral of Saigon, Saigon Central Post Office

Knowing that Vietnam has deep rooted history with the US, we were all curious to see their point of view on the Vietnam War and their perspective of the US. We purchased tickets to the War Remnants Museum, located in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City (about $3 a ticket).

Outside of the museum were tanks, hardware, planes and helicopters on display. These were the modes of transportation during the war, and we spent a while looking at all of the vehicles. The UH-1 “Huey” sat right outside the museum doors.

Inside the museum were loads of old war propaganda, (all anti-US of course), and a lot of gruesome photos of the war. When I learned about this war in America, I never got to really visualize how much damage this war caused on people. Seeing the photos hung up in the museum of dead bodies, protests, starving children really hit my core. There was a whole level decided to those affected by Agent Orange. Photos of disfigured kids, sick families and tainted crops were displayed along with a message that said that there are still people alive who carry the affects of Agent Orange. It was very heart-breaking and eye-opening. My biggest takeaway from this experience is that peace is so so so important.

Picking up our spirits, we skipped over to the Independence Palace that was just about to close its gates for the day! We got in one photo before having to leave :( Down the street was the famous Notre Dame Cathedral of Saigon and a massive statue of the Virgin Mary.

Wrapping up our sightseeing adventures for the day, we ended with visiting the Saigon Central Post Office. The post office building was actually constructed when Vietnam was still part of French Indochina. It's been beautifully preserved and still in business!

DAY FOUR: Cu Chi Tunnels

We booked a tour to see Vietnam's famous Cu Chi Tunnels on Day Four, and hopped on their tour bus to ride about 2 hours northeast from our hotel.

Cu Chi Tunnels was actually something I was afraid of seeing. Not because the site itself was dangerous, but because of my grandfather's horrific memories of the place. He was forced to fight for Vietnam when he lived here (before he and his family escaped), and has never been the same since. Thus I was weary about going to see a place that caused my family so much hurt, but I thought it would be a great learning opportunity and going with my friends makes the experience much lighter.

Cu Chi Tunnels is a network of underground connecting tunnels located northwest of Ho Chi Minh City. To combat the US's attacks from land and air, the North Vietnamese troops (also known as Viet Cong) dug thousands of miles of tunnels underground instead. It was how they traveled between the districts, and some tunnels even led to other countries like Cambodia. They lived in the tunnels, cooked, bathed, planned attacks, and raised children underground as well. They set up hundreds of booby traps - a lot of the traps were displayed when we visited. Our tour guide explained how each one worked (most traps included the use of spikes).

We got to crawl through some tunnels, learn about North Vietnamese war strategies, and Daniel and Kyleen even got to shoot bullets using military guns. The tour script was very anti-American, and though I understood why, it was just weird to hear us being referred to as the "American Devils" and seeing portraits of Vietnamese war heroes who were awarded for "killing the most Americans"

We drove off from Cu Chi Tunnels feeling grateful for the opportunity to learn, but also feeling weird.

DAY FIVE: The Last Pho & Flying to THAILAND

We met up with some friends (from SNU, who were from Vietnam) and had our last bowls of pho in Vietnam. Our friend Kim, even took us one-by-one on the back of her moped and we rode around the block before heading to the airport. Grab gives us the option to request a moped, but we've always chose to request a car. Riding on the back of Kim's moped only reaffirmed our prior decisions. MOPEDS are SCARY. Driving in Vietnam is wild and I hold my breath every time we enter an intersection and I feel like I'm going to die ever time we try to cross the street.

Overall tips for Vietnam

- exchange money in jewelry shops

- be VERY respectful (some locals are still resentful towards Americans)

- pack light, the humidity is insane

- bring wet wipes/ hand sanitizer/ napkins everywhere !

- cross the street in GROUPS. trail along with another family if possible. Locals are great at crossing the street but we were deathly afraid.

- get Vietnamese iced coffee (cà phê sữa đá). it's a must.

Visiting Vietnam was such a great learning experience and I hope to one day come back with my family. Being here - even though decades after my parents left - made me feel more connected to my family than ever. Being surrounded by the rich culture and liveliness of the city was just incredible, and I'm so thankful!

<3,

vik

The trip continues ! The gwanak gang head to Thailand! Read more about it here.