Vietnam: The Bomb.com

My recent trip to Vietnam wasn't necessarily motivated by cultural interest, but to see my friend Thu. Don't get me wrong, I was and still am incredibly interested in Vietnam, but my interests were mostly centered around Northern Vietnam--to visit Hanoi, Sapa, Halong Bay, and Hue in Central Vietnam, as opposed to visiting Saigon, which prior to my visit, I'd heard was very similar to Bangkok. However, my trip to Vietnam surprised me, in more ways than one.

First of all, Saigon is nothing like Bangkok--I'm not sure who told me that, but I definitely would have to disagree based on my two days there. Saigon isn't nearly as developed as BKK: the buildings don't even come close to being as tall, the streets are wide, tree-lined boulevards, there are barely any cars, mostly motorbikes--that was definitely overwhelming, it's impossible to cross the street! You just have to step out into the street and allow the motorbikes to go around you and trust that they won't hit you; this I definitely could not get used to. It's also funny because everyone wears a helmet, unlike in Bangkok, because it's against the law not to, so they've tried to make helmets attractive or "fashionable;" there were all these stores selling helmets that were disguised as different types of hats, it was hilarious.

Motorbikes flooding the streets in Saigon

But back to how Saigon was different from Bangkok, in general, Saigon isn't nearly as busy and bustling--it is by Vietnamese standards, but not compared to Thailand. Next, I was surprised by how developed Vietnam was; I knew it was developing very quickly but had still been told how poor it was. I guess poverty has become relative now--from what people told me, I was expecting it to be so poor, as poor as Laos or Cambodia, but this was not the case at all. Ironically, despite its rapid state of development, there is not one 7-Eleven in Saigon, maybe even in all of Vietnam, whereas Thailand is littered with them. There's a saying that if you can't see at least two 7-Eleven's in your view, well, then you're not in Bangkok, or Thailand for that matter. They're so pervasive in Thailand that I just assumed there'd be one in Saigon. When I got off the plane, I needed to top-up my cell phone and I asked one of the women I'd met on the plane where the nearest 7-Eleven was so that I could to purchase more minutes. She chuckled, shook her head and said, "Ha, you're not in Thailand anymore!," meaning that I had to figure out another way to get minutes on my phone.

A small alley in Saigon

Sickle and Hammer

I was also surprised by how much I liked Vietnam--I'm dying to go back and I just got home! I was also surprised by how much I truly fell in love with the food--oh, the food! It was so fresh, light and flavorful, I could honestly eat it all the time. When I got back to Bangkok, I was so repulsed by all of the fried foods and just wanted to run to FoodLoft, a restaurant in one of the department stores, where I know they would have Vietnamese food. Thankfully, I had pho (pronounced "fa;" it's a Vietnamese noodle soup) for dinner last night and I feel a little better, still craving it though. I felt so lucky to have Thu show me all of her favorite things; sometimes I felt like a culinary tourist because sometimes the main sites were the food! In Saigon, we didn't really see too many of the tourist sites, but mostly walked all around the city.

Fresh fruit sold everywhere

So, to start on the foods I had there: I had pho--the noodle soup that I mentioned--at a famous jai (vegetarian) pho shop, and the pho there had the most interesting varieties of tofu I've had, it was amazing! Also, Vietnamese people throw fresh basil, corriander (I left this one out, I hate the stuff!), lettuce, bean sprouts and chilli peppers into everything, it's fantastic, so this was definitely included in the pho. I had santoh, fruit smoothies, which were made from the most unique and delicious fruits I've ever had--Thu and I were on a mission to find another one in a particular flavor, but alas, we couldn't find it; sugar cane juice, which is really refreshing; ban mi, a special Vietnamese sandwhich in a baguette (yes, they too have bread and pastries! gotta love the French) filled with specially-made eggs (I don't know what they do, but I certainly have never had eggs like this, they were great); another noodle soup with a different kind of noodles; rice porridge which is really a misnomer because that name makes it sound bland and unappetizing, but in fact, it's delicious; and a cold-noodle breakfast specialty that is mixed with scallions and dry onions and is flavored, it's a pleasure to the palatte, but I'm blanking on the name! Then, I also has laou, a hotpot. This, by far, was my favorite gastronomical treat. There is a big hotpot which is set over a burner on the table, and is filled with a spiced broth which contains greens, tomatoes, onions, scallions, and other ingredients. Everyone at the table then throws in seafood, fish, vegetables (also pineapple!) and meat to cook in the hotpot (because I'm a vegetarian, we had a separate veggie-only pot). All the ingredients cool in the pot and you then serve yourself a portion of the mixture, which you pour over thin raw noodles in your bowl. The noodles then get cooked and you eat everything together. I couldn't get enough of the stuff, it was so incredible and I wish I could re-create it. I've never tasted anything that good and satisfying that was also so healthy at the same time. At that moment, I was ready to declare Vietnamese food as one of my new favorite cuisines.

Other than the food, it was wonderful to see and hang out with Thu and also to meet her family, who are a very interesting bunch--some are French, others are Vietnamese and she's American (with Vietnamese parents). I also enjoyed how relaxing it was. We went with her family to Mui Ne, which is a small beach town 4 hours northeast of Saigon. We were driven up by her cousin's private driver, which was certainly much nicer than transportation by bus. Driving though, in Vietnam is crazy, it's a bit of a free-for-all and no one really pays attention to the lane demarcations, I guess they're there for show? Also, on the narrower roads, people didn't really pay attention to directions either, but somehow, I never felt endangered in the car.

In Mui Ne, we stayed at a very nice beach front resort which was certainly nicer than anywhere I would stay while on vacation with friends in BKK (it was pretty pricey). The resort has beach access and a private pool. At the resort, Thu and I didn't do too much--we lounged, swam quite a bit and relaxed. The beach itself was okay; the countryside on either side of the beach though, did make me feel like I was in the south of France, not Vietnam (forgetting that I was in Vietnam actually happend a couple of other times as well). Our first night in Mui Ne, we took the hotel bikes and rode towards the main part of the "town" (it was basically a row that was lined with resorts) to get a late dinner before going to bed. We found a very local beach-side barbecue of sorts--it was basically all the Vietnamese people who work in the hotels and go to eat after they're done with work, it was pretty cool to be in such a local setting.

Our resort and the pool

The beach at our resort

By the beach at the resort

Down the beach from our resort

On Sunday morning, we took the bikes out again and biked about 5 miles uphill to the red sanddunes. We got up really early, while it was still dark, so that we could see the sun rise over the sanddunes. It was beautiful and we got there just in time for surise (it took us a little longer to bike up there than we thought it would).

Approaching the sunrise on the way to the sand dunes

Thu in the red sand dunes

Tourists at the sand dunes, all wearing matching red hats

Sunrise

A portion of the fishing village we biked by on the way back

I know I didn't really "do" too much, but I really enjoyed myself and still felt that I got to see and experience a lot, even though none of it was touristy. Through Thu, I felt that I learned a lot about Vietnamese culture, far beyond the cuisine: I learned about Vietnamese family norms and values; the Vietnamese language (it's the most tonal language in the world, but they do use the Roman alphabet!); habits of the Vietnamese youth and trends in the youth culture (apparently they're obsessed with Japan and romance!); religious ceremonies, including the upcoming autumn festival where all these little mooncake shops pop up to sell mooncakes for the festival; traditional Vietnamese clothing to be worn at special times (Thu had 2 tailored while I was with her); social and gender norms (women don't drink, smoke; most men and women marry at around 25, etc); the educational system (Thu was teaching for the summer, first in a university at Danang and then at a university in Can Tho); conceptions and standards of beauty; ideas about foreigners, and many other things.

One of the only touristy things I did: rid in the Vietnamese version of a rickshaw. This used to be the main mode of transportation for Vietnamese people but now motorbikes are; Thu's cousin insisted that I ride in one

I would thoroughly recommend trip to Vietnam; it is a fascinating place with a rich cultural heritage, an amazin cuisine, and wonderful people. Of course, my perception was probably skewed a bit because I was with my friend who is Vietnamese and spoke the language, but I think it's still accessible for anyone, without someone Vietnamese.