Vietnam: The Introductory Phase

With India in our proverbial rear-view mirror, our sights were set on Southeast Asia. At the risk of being redundant, we had another exhausting flight schedule. Our flight departed New Delhi at midnight and we arrived at the absolutely massive Bangkok airport at 5:30am not having slept a wink and slightly crabby. We had four hours of chilling until our flight to Saigon, Vietnam (note: I'm pretty sure that the official name of Saigon is Ho Chi Minh City, but I like the name Saigon and it is used interchangeably in our experience, so I'll refer to that beautiful city as either Saigon or HCMC). There wasn't a great place to sleep, plus we were afraid that we would oversleep and miss our flight, so we hit up a restaurant airport with free wireless and ordered bacon and egg sandwiches for breakfast. I cannot describe how amazing it was to eat meat again, particularly bacon. Lauren and I are staunch bacontarians, so defined as people who believe that bacon makes every dish better. The bacon eased our moodiness and we plied ourselves with several cups of coffee to keep the eyelids from closing. Finally, we boarded our Thai Airways flight for HCMC. The flight was only an hour long, so we didn't get a chance to sleep, but the flight crew was really friendly, so we had no complaints.

By this point, the rigamarole of arriving in a new country has become second nature to us. Immigration and customs control passed without a hitch and we stepped out of the airport into a swarm of taxi drivers offering us a "good price" for a ride to our guesthouse. Seven and a half months into the trip and I have yet to hear any taxi driver, street vendor, restaurant proprietor, or other shill advertise a "bad price." Actually, that's not true, there was one guy in Egypt who told us we could buy something for double price, but I'm pretty sure that he meant half price. Fortunately, we do a little bit of homework before arriving in a new country or town, so we knew the exchange rate and how much a taxi should cost. It's great armor against less than scrupulous business practices.

Lauren loves to negotiate and bargain, and I'm finding myself developing an affinity for it as well. We've heard it said that the locals expect you to bargain and find it an insult if you don't. I don't know if I would go so far as to describe it in such terms, but bargaining and negotiating is certainly an everyday fact of life for us. Every time you want to go anywhere or buy anything, you have to haggle, otherwise you get ripped off by a factor ranging between 2 and 10. We also do our best to share our accumulated knowledge with fellow travelers, telling them how much things should cost, good places to go, who not to go with, where to/not to eat, etc. There's a fine line between being helpful and pushy or arrogant, but I think we stay on the right side of that line. Of course, we also keep our ears open to the advice of others, which has led us to places we would otherwise not have known about. It's that kind of open, sharing environment that makes the backpacking world so special.

I love the first taxi ride in a new country. While pretty much every day is filled with new things for us, that first glimpse of the new country is always so interesting. It was no different in Saigon. People told us that there are a lot of motorbikes in Vietnam, but you really have to see it to believe it. A hive of motorscooters buzzes on every street.

It's hard to capture the mayhem of the motorscooters in a picture, but this shot of a typical Saigon intersection may give you some idea.

We checked into our lodging, the Luan Vu Guesthouse, and then immediately crashed. We are a couple that cherishes their sleep, so the sleepless night was particularly rough.

Lauren in the alley in which Luan Vu is located.

We woke up in the late afternoon and went for a walk around our neighborhood before heading to dinner. You might have noticed that we talk about food a lot. That's because we love to eat and for that reason, among many others, we loved our first foray to Vietnam. The first dinner did not disappoint: simple but divine noodles, chicken, and spices. We had a couple of Saigon brand beers, then went back to our room, read, and looked forward to exploring HCMC.

Saigon has so many little parks and fresh flowers and was a refreshing change from the urban filth of New Delhi. This was a cool statue in one such park.
Here's Lauren in front of the Reunification Palace, which the North Vietnamese stormed to complete the Fall of Saigon. They have left the Palace in the same state as on that fateful day, complete with replicas of the two North Vietnamese tanks that crashed the front gates.
Our first day's walking tour of Saigon took us to the riverside, where I snapped this picture of Lauren in front of a hungry riverboat on which one can have dinner. The cost for the dinner cruise was prohibitive, but the boat was really cool.

After two days of hanging out in and around Saigon, an incredibly important day popped up on the calendar: Lauren's 27th birthday on January 11. She woke up to a birthday postcard and a promise that several surprises awaited her. First, we had a scrumptious breakfast at Sozo, which is a cafe that is staffed by citizens who are disadvantaged. It is a great operation that teaches useful skills to those who would otherwise be on the street and they serve great coffee and breakfasts to boot: the definition of win-win. I then hailed two cyclos for the journey to the first surprise destination.

Lauren with her groovy cyclo driver on the way to the surprise. Truth be told, I wasn't sure if we were going to make it in time, as I wasn't sure of the actual distance to the surprise, but those cyclo drivers can really move and we made it perfectly on time.

Unfortunately, we neglected to snap any pictures of the first surprise, which was a trip to L'Apothiquaire, a spa set in a French colonial mansion and nestled in a quiet neighborhood of Saigon. There, we had a swim in their pool (a real luxury for us) and then Lauren was whisked away to her pampering. First, she had a steam shower and a sauna. Then, a very capable Vietnamese masseuse gave her an hour and a half hot stone massage, Lauren's first ever. The look on her face as I met her for the finishing cup of green tea evidenced her clear satisfaction and I was happy that I didn't blow her first birthday of our nascent marriage.

The next surprise was a gift, but also a necessity. Lauren's pants have taken a beating on this trip, particularly following the drive-by vomiting in New Delhi, which left her only pair of pants stained with green puke. Unfortunately, due to her dimunitive stature, finding pants that fit her womanly hips and adolescent waist is a challenge. Or rather, was a challenge. Before Saigon, I had never seen so many stores with jeans and pants made for women but in sizes 23-26. It was the perfect opportunity to restock her wardrobe and thus she was able to pick out two pairs of really stylish jeans as her second birthday surprise. She found a green pair adorned with subtle sparkles and a royal blue pair of jeans with a crystal button and crystal rivets. They are so cool and it made me really happy to see her so pleased with them. They don't even have to be hemmed: it's a miracle!!!

After a refreshing birthday nap, it was time for the final surprise. Again I wasn't quite sure of the location, but with the innate sense of direction I fortunately inherited from my father, we made it to dinner on foot exactly on time. We dined at the Temple Club, which was well-appointed and also served one of Lauren's favorite foods: soft-shelled crabs. My meal was really good, but hers was transcendent. I exhaled a final sigh of relief. Although I know Lauren will love me no matter what, I also know that she cherishes her birthdays, so it was important to me to get everything perfect. I can't promise that will happen every year, but this year, I nailed it.

Lauren in the entryway to the Temple Club.

On our final full day in Saigon, we again set out on foot to explore other parts of the city that we had not yet seen. We also had to finalize our tickets for our next stop, but I'll get to that in a moment.

We lit candles for our various family members at the Notre Dame Cathedral.
Lauren with the Opera House in the background.
Taking a seat in front of the well-manicured and colorful promenade that leads to the HCMC City Hall.

Our original intention was to head south to the Mekong delta region, where the mighty river empties into the sea. However, a chance perusal of that ever-helpful world wide interweb led us to a cheap flight to Phu Quoc Island, which is located off the southwestern coast of Vietnam, close to Cambodia. We pondered our options, but the choice was not difficult, as we had heard great things about Phu Quoc and we would be back in southern Vietnam at the end of our Southeast Asia tour, so we will have another chance to visit the delta. Thus, we put together our packs, had a spot of dinner and got to bed early, eager for the next adventure.

The choice to visit Phu Quoc was as correct as it was easy. A short Vietnam Airlines flight later and we touched down on the tiny tarmac of the Phu Quoc airport, buzzing over the fishing fleet as we approached the seaside runway. A friendly taxi driver took us to our accommodations, set back in the pseudo-jungle but just a 250m walk to the beach. The next three days were spent in coastal bliss on the not-too-populated-but-just-populated-enough-to-have-fun-people-around island. Highlights included long walks on the beach (cliche intended), delicious seafood, reading books in comfortable beach chairs, and swimming in the warm waters of the Gulf of Thailand.

It was past noon, so it was totally acceptable to sit in the sun and drink pina coladas.
I'd like to say that I was contemplating the meaning of life at the end of this idyllic dock, but I'm reasonably confident that I was just staring out into the nothingness of the sea.
On our first night on Phu Quoc, we visited a shack-like restaurant located on the beach not 10m from the water. I don't know the name nor do I know if it even has a name, but it served up simple but heavenly fresh seafood. The day's catch was placed in the mini-boat above and you picked your poison: red snapper, huge prawns, tuna, squid, etc. The able cooks seasoned it with the right combination of local spices and then cooked it on the most rudimentary of wood-fired grills. After that first night of gustatory pleasure, we couldn't bring ourselves to try another restaurant, and I think that was the right choice. All three of our dinners were exactly the same: perfect.

On our second day on the island, we decided to go on a boat trip. We are generally wary of these package deals, but it was cheap, and the cruise took us to some other small islands, so we figured it was worth it. In the end, the cruise itself was just okay, but we met some cool Americans on the boat and had a good time hanging out with them, snorkeling, and vegetating on yet another pristine beach.

Lauren's picture of locals out fishing in their homemade vessel gives new meaning to the rhyme "rub a dub dub, three men in a tub."
This is my office.
This picture, along with the rest of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, will be hitting newstands any day now.

Yes, we lead a charmed life, but we cannot reiterate enough that there is not a second of this trip that we take for granted. Already, we can sense the benevolent changes in our outlook, in our confidence, in our married life, in our lives in total. It certainly is an incredible way to spend a honeymoon!!! Another huge thank you to everyone who has helped us along the way.

And, to match the sappy ending to this post, here are two sunset pictures from Phu Quoc for your viewing pleasure. Tune in next time to read about our Cambodian adventures.