'Nam

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Insane. Motorbikes, smog, communism.

Day 1: My friends Katie and Rachael came with me to meet my Mommy at the Rex Hotel. It was so awesome of her to meet me in VN! Our first stop was to the tailor to get measured for a custom dress! I’ll be wearing my coral and champagne colored dress to at the Ambassador’s Ball, the big dance at the end of our voyage. Then we stopped at our hotel, which was outside of the touristy area of HCMC. Our hotel was amazing—more like a bed and breakfast! Trang, the hotel manager, took great care of us with everything from breakfast to tips to calling us drivers to fresh mangos in our hotel room! Then, we hit the market for some SERIOUS shopping. The most ridiculously real fakes in the entire world find their home in Vietnam. I stocked up on Marc Jacobs bags, Louis Vuitton bags, and Northface gear. And, of course, I bought a straw cone hat! That night we went to the infamous Pho 2000 restaurant where Bill Clinton dined when he was reestablishing diplomatic relations with Vietnam in 2000. I love pho!!!!!!!!!

Day 2: Mom and I hit the Cu Chi Tunnels and the Cao Di temple. The temple was bizarre. The religion is like a combination of Christianity, Buddhism and Daoism. Sort of. Then our driver took us to the Cu Chi temples where we saw first hand the underground tunnel system that the Vietcong literally lived in during wars—first with the French and then with the US. These tunnels were so complex and are still standing, at least those tunnels that were not bombed out by US planes. It is no wonder we lost the Vietnam War; our enemy was literally impenetrable. We watched an anti-American propaganda video before touring the tunnels. It was so interesting to see how the current Vietnamese government has transformed what they call the American War from a civil war that the US became involved in, to a war between the Vietnamese and the Americans. Since all of VN is united now, the government likes to paint the image that the country was always united, all banning together against the “cruel and horrible” American soldiers.

That night Mom and I went back to the non-touristy area of HCMC where our hotel was located. We walked around the area and discovered active night-life at the local park. Everything from dance lessons to games to late-night working out to young lovers stealing a moment took place in this beautiful and extensive park. It was a fantastic and unique experience to be flies-on-the-wall in this section of VN—we were literally the only white people in the entire park.

Day 3: The next morning I showed my Mom my home, the MV Explorer. I also loaded her up with souvenirs to take home to alleviate my packing process in December! Then we hit the War Remnants Museum. A lot of the information presented at this museum was anti-American, which I truly appreciate seeing; at least it’s a different perspective! I learned a great deal about Agent Orange, which was the chemical the US planes spread all over VN during the war. Since the Vietcong lived and hid in the deep thickets of the VN jungle, the only way the US planes could successfully kill the VC was by destroying their hideaways. We decided to us the most toxic chemical known the man kind, now referred to as Agent Orange. Our planes sprayed this chemical all over the country, both in the North and the South. The chemical did not just kill plants; it also killed and deformed the humans living amongst these plants. It did not just harm Vietnamese citizens; it also killed and deformed US soldiers who came in close contact to the chemical. Agent Orange stays in one’s DNA for four generations; all over VN one sees deformed and mutilated people who have been affected by Agent Orange. At home in America, we do not like to discuss the horrible deaths and deformities that have been caused by Agent Orange. But both Vietnamese and Americans have been, and still are, affected by Agent Orange.

Anyway, at the War Museum, there were extensive photographs of victims of Agent Orange and other events of the war. Outside the museum sat US military planes and tanks that had just been left in VN once the US pulled out. Mom and I were walking among the tanks when we heard an American voice say, “There it is,” when he saw the biggest tank. We went over to talk to him. He had tears in his eyes as he sat and looked at these huge, overwhelming weapons of mass destruction. We asked him if he was a Vietnam vet, and the woman who was with him told us that he was. She was a therapist who leads a group called Soldier’s Heart. She and her husband lead groups of people, mostly vets, who come face-to-face with their enemies in order to forgive their enemies and themselves. This veteran from Wisconsin was, bravely, returning to VN to heal. It was so powerful to be a part of his healing.

The war may have been years ago, not even in my own lifetime, but here I was, standing in front of this man who was still, to this day, so deeply affected by the things he saw in the country we were both visiting. It is easy, I think, for my generation to forget or dismiss the Vietnam War as part of all the craziness that was the 1970s. But what truly slapped me in the face was the fact that this is not history—this is present. My parents, my teachers, my family, and this veteran, were all, and still are, incredibly affected and changed by the war. America was affected by the war. It was the first war we lost, and the first war where there did not seem to be definitive sides of “good” and “evil.” Vietnam, although they have moved on from the war in terms of their country’s psyche in a way America has not, is still affected by the war. Agent Orange still abounds. Huge craters litter the countryside from bombs. The tunnels still remain. And, of course, the result of the war was that the North took VN; they are a Communist country.

Meeting the veteran was one of the most important and definitive experiences of my life. War is something huge and real; I don’t think I’ve ever experienced anything like that in my life. I write this and feel silly; my country is at war right now, at this very moment. People are dying at the hands of my countrymen in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Why is it that this statement does not feel concrete to me in the way that the Vietnam War does?

Day 4: Mom and I took a taxi to VN’s Chinatown. We had no idea what we were in for! Chinatown was certainly not set up for tourists! Mom and I ended up in Chinatown’s motorbike parts district, I think. We were ogled and stared at like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. It was exciting for us and for the Vietnamese people who may have not seen Americans in their shops before! I saw live fish, pig penius for sale, fish heads, pig brains, live frogs, oh and live chickens, all for sale. Many people did not even get off their motorbikes as their purchased live animals! It was a strange and exciting experience.

Then we headed back to tourist-civilization and hit the spa! What was supposed to be a sixty-minute massage followed by manicures and pedicures turned into a three-hour event! No joke—we were in this spa for over three hours!!!! I can’t complain too much though. : )

Then Mom and I met up with my friend Jules for dinner. After some MORE shopping at the night market, we walked to the area of the city where the young tourists hang out. It was basically a SAS convention, as the local youth spots inevitably end up being in every port. Mom got to meet a lot of my friends at the bar. It was fun and now, Mom, you can pretend you are cool. ; )

Day 5: Sadly, Mom had to catch her flight this morning. After our driver dropped her off at the airport, I headed back to the ship to drop of my luggage. While headed up to the ship, I ran into my friend Madison. She invited me to join her to visit the house where her dad used to live! Her grandfather worked for the government and in the late 1960s their whole family lived in HCMC. We found the house and knocked on the gate. Can you believe it—the woman who answered spoke English! Han invited us into her home, letting Madison take pictures for her father. We saw the entire home! It was incredible and so lucky to yet again be a fly-on-the-wall and see deep inside the home of a traditional Vietnamese family. Han proudly told us she was still single and that is why she still lived at the family home with her aged and yet still lively parents. What fate it was that she answered the knock at the gate; no one else in the household speaks a word of English and probably would have dismissed us immediately! Moments like this, and I seem to have them over and over on this trip, reaffirm my strong belief in fate.

Madison and I were, obviously, giddy, and headed back to the market to spend the rest of our dong before we had to get back on the ship to leave VN. I got some Marc Jacobs Daisy perfume for like $10!!! And I got some Mac makeup and Chanel lip gloss! : DDD

After a few 333 Bias, my personal favorite, I headed back to the ship where I proceed to pass out before 9pm. Saigon wears you out, believe me. Everyone on the ship absolutely loved VN; you can tell because everyone, including me, slept in today until at least noon. Thank goodness we have the day off from classes.

American tends to see Vietnam through the lens of the Vietnam War. But this is a country so much more complex and beautiful and interesting than a country we “bombed back into the Stone Age.” I have a new understanding of Vietnam Veterans and, truly, of America and Americans after visiting this country. Funny how I learn about America once I leave. I don’t think I will ever forget the courage that the Vet I met at the War Museum showed. I can’t imagine wanting to return to a place you were told to destroy, a place that truly, destroyed your entire life. Now, this is a country of technology, speed, and youth. It is a country changed. Vietnam changed America and, truly, it changed me.