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Chúc mung nam moi!!!!!! (Happy New Year)
The 40th anniversary of the Tet offensive has arrived. Saigon celebrated in style last night. Imagine Chicago 4th of July times 10. There were 6 places to watch fireworks in the city, and millions of motorbikes in the streets. I have never seen that many bikes in one place. It was crazy, but a lot of fun.
Today is very quiet, as most places are closed and everyone spends time with family. JS and I arrived in Saigon about a week ago on the back of motorbikes. We got to Dalat in the Central Highlands and were talked into taking a 3 night, 4 day motorbike tour from Dalat, all the way to Saigon...ok, it didn't take that much to talk us into it. Dalat is famous for drivers called "Easyriders," we met two and before we knew it they were picking us up at our hotel the next morning. They put our packs on the back of the bike, so you can actually lean back...it's not too uncomfortable.
We saw so many interesting things on our ride, it's impossible to list everything (we stopped about every 15 - 30 minutes), but I will try a few:
3 waterfalls,
3 minority villages,
1 beautiful lake,
Cu Chi Tunnels,
Traditional basket weaving, brick making, rice wine ("happy water") making, and many more
The whole trip was great, we started at the crazy house in Dalat, pretty much what it sounds like. An eccentric daughter of the former President has too much money and too much time, but it was pretty fun to visit. We then just cruised all through the countryside for the next few days. We walked through some villages that do not see too many tourists, everyone just stared at us. I like to imagine what they were thinking..."What are these stupid white people doing here?" or "I can't believe he just paid 50,000 dong for those sunglasses...they will just break in 2 days anyway (they did)."
On our last day we stopped at the Cu Chi tunnels, about an hour from Saigon. Cu Chi was an area with fierce fighting during the War. They showed a video about the village and how they made the tunnels, and also traps to catch the "American Aggressors and the Puppet Army." It was very interesting actually, especially when the video explains about some famous Cu Chi fighters..."he went on to kill 16 Americans, and was given the title 'American Killer Hero'"
The tunnels were so small, and they have actually made them wider to fit us fat Westerners. JS and I went through all the tunnels, and were soaked in sweat and very sore from crouching down and crawling...it would have been terrible being in there during bombing.
We arrived in Saigon after that. I thought traffic was bad in Hanoi, but Saigon is at least 10 times worse. It is just crazy. I have gotten used to crossing streets, pretty much jumping over bikes, coming within inches of being hit, but what really annoys me are the sidewalks. You are walking on the sidewalk, minding your own business when you hear "beep beep." Yea, they drive on the sidewalks, and then honk and act like you are an ass for not getting out of the way. I actually had my sandal run over, someone was so close to me...so I have tried to explain to them that the road is five feet over, this usually goes over well. Other than that, Saigon is ok, it's not as nice as Hanoi, but there is a lot of energy, and the people are still nice.
I met another person from the couchsurfing website, and again it was amazing. JS and I met Tam, and then some of her friends to watch a cover band that was actually very very good. Tam showed us around the city the whole next day, which makes sightseeing much easier. I am actually heading to her hometown tomorrow (about 100km away) to celebrate happy new year with her family. Should be fun...
Ok, sorry this is long, and I am sick of typing so I will be quick...we just got back from a 3 day trip to the Mekong Delta. This is an area South of Saigon where the MekongRiver fans out with about 5 branches. We saw floating markets and villages, but they were very quiet because of happy new year. We were told it is usually crazy...I think there were about 10% of the normal boats. It was still fun, but not what I was hoping for.
So, anyway, tomorrow is Tam's for happy new year, and then JS and I part ways on Feb 10th. I go to Cambodia and he goes to Bangkok to meet his girlfriend on Feb 14 (Valentine's Day, how romantic...I think he's whipped (just kidding JS)).
I put photo's up, but they are not the best...I can't be bothered to sort through and pick out only the best, this computer is too slow. Thanks for reading the blog and leaving comments. I love hearing from everyone!
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