We had just been debriefed about current day Viet Nam by the American Consulate and were heading back to our room to get our stuff for the day when the intercom sounded:
“May I have your attention please? May I have your attention please? Alex Pop report to Tymitz Square immediately. Alex Pop report to Tymitz Square immediately.”
Brooke started laughing hysterically at the sound of my name being heard over the loud speaker… I turned to her smiling and said, “They’re here!” Sure enough, lo and behold, Jeff and Belinda Pop better known as Mommy and Daddy were surprising me in person in Viet Nam! They had originally told me that they were meeting me at the airport to travel to Cambodia with me. I knew they were coming before but I expected them to arrive on Saturday, not Friday. I was even contemplating surprising them Saturday morning at the airport. Bottom line: I was surprised… shout out to Sami and Jackie who did not completely ruin it. Second bottom line: I HAVE THE COOLEST, MOST AMAZING PARENTS IN THE WORLD.
Rachel and I had signed up to go on a field trip to the Cu Chi Tunnels on Friday but the perks of having my parents here meant that we could both go on the parent trip to the Cu Chi Tunnels and not waste our entire day there. We went to the giant market which was a slightly more chaotic version than the markets in China. My purchase of the day was a rice hat… the hats that the Vietnamese wear in the rice fields. I guess hats are becoming a collector’s item for me.
One thing that we had been told to do was get a dress made in Viet Nam. Since we were leaving for Cambodia on Sunday morning, we had to go to the tailor asap to ensure we got the dress before then. Rachel, Mom, and I went to the tailor and not going to lie, it was a huge disappointment. I thought we would be getting custom made dresses for cheap and a $100 dress (though probably cheaper than one in a department store) was still not exactly cheap. This whole dress thing was partially my fault- I should have come prepared knowing the exact dress I wanted and the materials I needed for it. Instead I was about to pay at least $100 to create one on the spot which was way too much pressure. My dress was starting to resemble a shorter version of Belle’s gold gown dress in Beauty and the Beast- who knows how that would have turned out. Maybe we went to the wrong tailor but either way custom made dresses for Alex Pop were not in the cards. Sami and Jackie- that means you did not getting any dresses either… sowwy.
Post-dress failure we had about twenty five minutes to grab lunch before going to my parents’ hotel to catch the parent bus to the Cu Chi tunnels. My mom had given up on Vietnamese food the previous night so that left Rachel and me to fend for ourselves. We found, Pho 24, a pho restaurant that serves famous Vietnamese noodles in soup with your choice of meat. We each ordered Chicken Pho which turned out to be beef pho. Regardless, it was pretty good. I successfully ate Vietnamese food! Getting down to the last minute we had to hastily asked for the spring rolls to go and literally ran the two blocks to the hotel to get on the bus.
Cu Chi Tunnels: an underground tunnel system that the Vietcong used during the Viet Nam war to get to different places and attack the American and Southern Vietnamese soldiers. We saw the tunnels and the traps they created in the jungle (really grotesque, shady, contraptions that really injured enemy soldiers- you’re walking in the jungle and accidentally stumble into a trap door on the floor that turns over and drops you into a pit with sharp sticks). The tunnels were about five feet tall and two feet wide and included underground rooms like kitchens and hospitals. The tour guide asked us if we wanted to try going into a tunnel and I immediately volunteered. I was the first person to go into the hole and put the camouflaged entrance over my head. Let me tell you, it was pitch black in the tunnel. Apparently there were also a lot of bats that were extremely close to me in that first tunnel and it’s a good thing I didn’t see them. Props to Dad- he was the only parent to attempt to fit in the small hole and not only did he attempt but he successfully fit inside. The tunnels were really interesting because the whole setting was very light hearted and awkwardly made the tourists feel happy or playful there. I was having a great time at in a place that caused so much destruction and death to American soldiers. I kind of feel guilty for having a fun time there. I went in the underground tunnels, tried the rice wine (which was legit a million percent proof alcohol and tasted horrible), was the first to go into the first tunnel, was taking pictures, etc. I did not try shooting the AK47s and other guns though… One of the parents asked my dad if it was hard raising me because I was so adventurous. How she labels going into underground tunnels that were set up in a tourist attraction for Westerners as being adventurous I don’t really understand.
After the tunnels we headed back to the hotel/ship for a much needed shower. It was at least ninety degrees and very humid in Nam and mixing that with the dirt and grime of the tunnels made me filthy. Rachel and I were going to meet my parents for dinner at around 8:30. Brooke and Jenny were supposed to come but went MIA for the past six hours and I could not get a hold of them. I had told them earlier about dinner and was expecting to meet them back at the ship and since they were not there and Jenny’s phone was not working I was really worried something happened- Sherry, I feel your pain when you can’t get a hold of Jenny. I later learned that they had been in a spa for hours and did not have reception. Rachel and I met my parents at their hotel and we went to an Italian restaurant. After dinner we left mom and dad and went to meet up with some friends at the Rex Hotel rooftop bar.
The Rex Hotel is a famous, historic hotel in Saigon. The rooftop restaurant bar was very cool because it was outside, had live music, and overlooked the city. Rachel and I went to meet Jordan, Pierce, and Taylor for a few drinks before going out. Fruity cocktails, Cubans, lots of SASers, live music, and an insane exchange rate. Life was good. I could have stayed at the Rex forever but had been told by past SASers that I HAVE TO go to the bar Apocalypse Now. We left the Rex and headed to Apocalypse Now by various modes of transportation…
Apocalypse Now can be best described as a mixture of Palladium or Mandara and Studio with a hint of Southeast Asia (sorry if you don’t go to Michigan and get that reference). The bar I think would be better described as a club with two floors, two dance floors, three bars, and an attached outdoor restaurant type thing. Apart from the invasion of SASers there were a lot of kids who were on spring break from their abroad semester in Singapore. One of the boys informed me that all or most of the Vietnamese women in the club were prostitutes… not sure if that’s true or not. If you could imagine “freshman year studio” multiplied by one hundred you would end up with Apocalypse Now. It was a really fun club and the exchange rate made it that much better.
My parents were supposed to meet me at the ship the next morning at ten. I should have known that ten in pop time was eleven but I took a chance and waiting in the smoldering humidity for a good half hour before giving up. At least I got close with the security guard who pats us down and checks our bags for alcohol. Mom and Dad finally arrived and I took them on a tour of the ship and up to the snack bar for an early lunch. We left the ship around twelve in hopes of going to the War Remnants Museum and the Reunification Palace. Unfortunately we did not realize until we were at these sites that everything closes down for lunch in Viet Nam and would not reopen until 1 or 1:30. We ended up crossing some more streets at our own peril and finding a Coffee Bean. I would like to point out that my parents ordered a hot latte in 95 degree weather instead of an iced one because “you can’t drink the water in Viet Nam.” I thought it was kind of funny.
We went on a tour at the Reunification Palace and eventually decided to leave it a tad bit early. It was cool to see the palace and the different rooms because it was so different from all the other palaces I had seen in Japan and China. For one thing this palace was pretty modern. My dad shared some memories of watching the news and seeing American troops stand on the roof of the palace in hopes of escaping Viet Nam by ropes descending from helicopters. Having just made that war reference I’ll discuss the War Remnants Museum.
In comparison to the Peace Memorial Museum at Hiroshima, I felt a lot more bitterness and angst towards the United States at the War Remnants Museum. Whereas in Hiroshima I felt the museum gave mostly unbiased facts, in Viet Nam I felt way more targeted. We definitely deserve to be held responsible for all the civilian deaths and the atrocities of the war but it was weird to be directly presented with that almost anti-American feeling. Contrastingly, I did not feel any resentment towards America in any place outside of the museum while in Ho Chi Minh City. 75% of Vietnamese are younger than thirty five years old and like me were born after the war. I think most current Vietnamese view the war as something in the past however as shown by the museum there are definitely those who are still traumatized by Agent Orange related illnesses and other consequences of the war. In my opinion the museum was designed poorly. There was no clear entrance and exit point and it did not flow well. I think it would have been beneficial to follow a structure that allowed you to view the museum chronologically with the war. Regardless I was definitely glad that I went to the museum and was able to view the “American War” from the counter perspective.
Post palace and museum tours we went back to the hotel. Mom and I had a date at the spa. I never had a real massage before Viet Nam and was excited for it not to mention it was much needed. We got a forty minute back and neck massage and not going to lie, I fell asleep or dozed off for a good portion of it. I got woken up to being hit on the forehead with an “egg breaking” type of massage technique. I then continued my spa treatment with a manicure and pedicure. It was pretty amazing to have all this done for extremely cheap in comparison to the US. After the spa my parents and I got hors d’oeuvres at their hotel. I’m a big fan of dumplings after my Asian adventures. My dad proceeded to accompany me via motorcycle back to the ship.
Having just gone on a motorcycle with my dad and relaying my adventure to Brooke and Jenny they were both eager to ride one on the way back to my parents’ hotel before going to dinner. I loved it the first time and agreed to do it again. Immediately next to the port terminal are thousands of Vietnamese motorcyclists hoping to give SASers rides anywhere for $1. Though we technically are not allowed to ride the motorcycles (we can’t participate in dangerous activities including racing type things) all the kids had been riding them. We told them to take us to the Riverside Hotel which was just down the boulevard but ended up on a fifteen minute ride around Saigon and stopped at another American hotel before they figured out where we were going. Our motorcycle ride was great however the picture taken with all of us on them did not turn out as planned. Brooke unfortunately got too close to the muffler and burned her calf which resulted in my getting yelled at for my “stupidity” in riding them again by my Dad. Don’t worry everyone, Brooke is happy, alive, and well, and her burn is healing well.
As I’ve stated previously I loved the Rex Hotel Rooftop Bar and decided that was where I wanted to go to dinner. The five of us went to dinner there and I was finally able to order and eat some steak. We also had the privilege of watching an extremely drunk older, female, hotel guest, dance alone in front of the live musicians. A highlight was watching her try to lure random men from their tables to dance with her while her husband was sitting directly in front of her. We had a great dinner and since we were leaving to Cambodia the following morning we opted to return to my parent’s hotel for a possible late night swim and dessert.
Overall Viet Nam was amazing. Saigon was a lot more crowded and happening than I expected it to be. It was cool to look outside and see entire families riding a single motorcycle. The people were friendly and I think they rebuilt the country well since the war. Viet Nam is definitely a developing country but the key point is that it is developing and prospering. The one thing I wish I had time to do in Viet Nam was travel to the Mekong River Delta and visit the floating markets. As I’ve said in all my previous country blogs, you can’t do it all. I am also so thankful that I got to spend Viet Nam with my parents and learn about how much it changed from when they were my age. Next stop, next blog: Phnom Penh and Angkor, CAMBODIA!
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