American Vietnamese

Ca Mau Province: The Most Southern Point of Vietnam

2011-03-24T09:27:00.001+07:00

During my recent hiatius from my blog I have traveled to some very interesting places in Vietnam. One of these places is the Ca Mau Province. Ca Mau Province is the southern most province of Vietnam and is home to major fishing and agricultural industry. By far the fastest way to get to Ca Mau from Ho Chi Minh City is by air. Below is a picture from the airplane of some of the many marine farms in Ca Mau Province. I should note that the picture does not do justice to the beauty of the geometry of the farms nor does it capture the vastness of the farming industry.

When we got to Ca Mau city (the capital of the province) I was greeted with the colorful buildings and many rivers of Ca Mau. Below is one very colorful hotel I saw near the city center and is representative of many of the color schemes in the area.

The rivers in Ca Mau are extensive. When traveling around the province you will encounter many rivers and canals. A typical river and the houses on the waterfront is seen below. These rivers and canals are often used for transportation, not only of goods but of people; when we traveled to the southernmost point of Vietnam (Mui Ca Mau) we went by boat from Ca Mau city (nearly 75 km).

At Mui Ca Mau we encountered many strange and unique animals. We saw many different kinds of birds, bright neon blue crabs which were no bigger than a centimeter, and even a strange fish like creature that used its fins to walk along the mud (unfortunately the pictures did not come out too well). Below is a picture of the observation deck at the southernmost point of Vietnam.

The flora in Ca Mau is impressive. Everything is wild and natural and the colors of the fruits and flowers are striking. I decided to play with my macro lens and took some closeups of a couple of the plants I thought had interesting texture.

After sightseeing we went for karaoke at a venue that had live musicians for private rooms and was owned by one of the most famous traditional folk singers in Vietnam. The name of the place escapes me now but when I return to Ca Mau I will definitely find it again. Our musician is seen below playing a traditional Vietnamese instrument. It had only two strings and significantly less frets than the western guitar but the guitarist seemed to be unaffected by its (by western standards) limitations and was able to skillfully evoke feelings of a older and simpler life.

Ca Mau was a great trip and I was glad to go to a place that is off the radar of most tourist destinations. The food is fresh and delicious, the people are friendly, and the province is raw and unadulterated. I am looking forward to my next visit.

Back Blogging

2011-03-23T08:22:00.000+07:00

I have taken a leave of absence from the blog for a while because of lack of time. I have been busy with lots of things here like work, travel and even a (small) motorbike accident. I will have pictures and posts covering my time from the highlands to the beaches, the north to the south of Vietnam, and from the large cities to the small ones that are not in any guidebooks.

I have had some issues with my laptop again and as I am working on correcting those I will also try to clean up some pictures so I can get them posted here quickly. Thanks for your patience. See you soon.

Ben Tre Province, Vietnam

2010-11-29T13:48:00.000+07:00

A month ago I took a trip to the coconut capital of Vietnam: Ben Tre province. The name literally translates as "bamboo landing" which is fitting because of the abundant vegetation in the region. Ben Tre is an island flanked by two of the main branches of the Tien Giang river in the Mekong Delta (the Tien Giang river itself is one of the two main branches of the Mekong river). The way to access Ben Tre is by bridge.

The above photo is of the Rach Mieu bridge that connects Tien Giang Province and Ben Tre Province. It is very large with the towers of the bridge reaching over 115m and enough clearance below to accommodate a 12 story building.

Coconuts are the most famous product of the region, and rightly so. The region produces over 300,000,000 coconuts annually! Coconuts are used in many things such as wines (above), candies, dried pulp snacks, and more than 50 local dishes.

The coconut "hair" is also collected and used for floor mats (above, preparing to be loaded onto the large boat) and the leaves are collected for use in thatched roofs. The people of Ben Tre are very conscious about not letting anything go to waste.

The above picture is a very typical scene in Ben Tre of several smaller boats offloading their coconut cargo onto a larger ship. As the two pictures above show, many of the coconuts (and derivative products) that are produced in the region are loaded onto very large ships for transport. Many of these ships find their destination in other countries around the world.

Ben Tre is a nice place to spend a weekend if you are in the south of Vietnam. It is less than 3 hours by car from Ho Chi Minh City and is quiet and clean. Boats can be hired there easily; you can spend the day cruising the river and enjoying a quiet afternoon in a relaxing environment.

Texture of Life in Vietnam

2010-10-23T07:24:00.001+07:00

After living somewhere for an extended period of time you begin to take many things for granted that would be out of the ordinary to the traveler. I have tried to bring a few images together to give a feel for the types of things one typically sees around Vietnam.

Below is a homemade fan that I found at a fish shop. It was made to keep the flies away from the fish at the shop. How effective it was is debatable.

Phone numbers appearing of all types of surfaces are ubiquitous in Vietnam. They are glued (as seen below), painted, or hung on almost everything and advertise for all sorts of things.

Another thing that one often sees in Vietnam is people with deftly packed vehicles. An example is the man below who was making very efficient use of space on his cyclo (Vietnamese bicycle pedicab).

PetroVietnam Tower with Worker

2010-10-11T09:14:00.000+07:00

I took this picture from my Vietnamese school in downtown Saigon. I do not know what the guy was doing hanging around on the (windowless) side of the building. Still, I thought it made a good shot.

Bao Loc Vietnam: Beautiful Mountain Scenery, Dangerous Mountain Roads

2010-10-01T11:37:00.001+07:00

We traveled to Bao Loc for a conference recently and had the chance to do a little sightseeing while we were there. Bao Loc is on the way to Da Lat from Ho Chi Minh City; it is about 100km away. There is little to do in the Bao Loc other than enjoying the outdoors and eating at one of only a few restaurants. However, it is so peaceful and beautiful there that one could easily spend a few days just walking around on the various paths leading to tea or coffee plantations and enjoying the quiet fresh air. Below is one of the small paths for access to a farm.

Bao Loc is very mountainous and fertile and entire valleys are under production for various agricultural products. This is just one of many different tea plantations.

The city hospital is located at the end of a quiet road overlooking the mountains.

Bao Loc even has a delicious vegetarian restaurant. The prices were much cheaper than the vegetarian restaurants in Sai Gon and the food was much more delicious. If you like to eat vegetarian every now and then, this place is worth stopping at on travels to Da Lat or farther.

The only down side to the trip was the number of accidents we saw on the road during our 36 hour round trip. Below is an overturned trailer truck we saw on the side of the road on the way back to Saigon. It was not there the day before when going to Bao Loc.

We also saw the unfortunate aftermath of a head-on collision between two smaller trucks. There were also several motorbike accidents we passed that had occurred recently; one with a police officer measuring the accident seen (possible fatality) and one with a woman burning incense and praying in the center of the road with a picture of someone next to her (certain fatality). The traffic is very dangerous here. If you are in Vietnam, drive safely!

Phu Quoc Island

2010-10-01T07:35:00.000+07:00

I have not had much time within the last month to make any posts; I have been rather busy here with work, travel, and learning Vietnamese. Sorry.

I returned earlier this week from a 5 day trip in Phu Quoc Island. PQ is the largest island in Vietnam (nearly 600 km2) and is actually closer to Cambodia than to Vietnam. The island is in the process of building an international airport and soon will be able to accomodate large intercontenential airplanes. However, now PQ has an airport of the same size as Con Dao Island and thus can only handle twin turboprops (a typical example is seen below at the Saigon International Airport).

I stayed at a little hotel about 7km away from the airport. The motorbike taxis at the airport were fast and cheap (~30.000vnd or 1.50us). The hotel name was "Beach Club" and rooms could be found for 15usd per night with private bungalows for 20usd daily (each rate goes up by 5usd during the high season, i.e. after the monsoon). The hotel is run by a English expat named Mike and his Vietnamese wife and has been there for over 6 years. The staff was helpful and friendly, the location was beautiful, and the food was good. I would definitely recommend anyone coming to Phu Quoc to spend at least a few nights at the Beach Club.

Phu Quoc is an island whose inhabitants are fishers and farmers. The main town (Yuong Dong) has many different things to do; there are several good restaurants and bars (for example, Oasis Restaurant and Bar is a great place for a drink and some food run by an English expat named Stephan). The main town also has a wonderful night market and many places to buy fresh fish (fishing boats at the center of town seen below). The main town has other sites of interest such as a Cao Dai pagoda, a bustling city market, several unique coffee shops and snack stands on the water, and even a nightclub. From Yuong Dong, you can travel north, south or east on the island. The best beaches are to be found in the South, though. On your way down south, stop in at Phu Quoc Pearls, a large company where pearls are farmed in the ocean. The company is under the direction of a friendly kiwi named Grant and his assistant Jerry. They also plan to have bungalows available for the night soon.

The roads in Phu Quoc are a bit tricky to navigate with the majority of roads currently unsealed (see below for an example). Also, the roads can be a bit of a maze. If you are unfamiliar with driving in Vietnam or do not speak enough Vietnamese to figure out directions, I would recommend having a guide to show you around. They can be hired on the island very cheaply and should be able to help navigate around easily.

Ngã Sáu Church (Joan of Arc Church)

2010-08-21T09:52:00.001+07:00

Yet another pink church in Saigon. This is the Joan of Arc Church and was built from 1922 to 1928. The church was inaugurated in May 1928 and was dedicated to Jeanne d'Arc (St. Joan of Arc). A statue of her can be seen above the entrance. Locally, the church is known as Nga Sau and comes from the 6 streets that "tumble" across one another in front of the church. The church is located at 116B Hung Vuong Street in District 5.

Inside of University Housing

2010-08-14T12:42:00.000+07:00

I recently visited a friend of mine who is a university student here in Ho Chi Minh City. I took some pictures of the house so that people might have an idea of what the living space is like. In the picture you can see a ladder leading up to a flat sleeping area that covers the study area (the desk) and the bathroom (the open door). Clothes are kept above the mini refrigerator and cooking is done in the sitting space (area from where picture is taken). These entire apartments would fit inside of the bedrooms of most American houses.

See an older post on Saigon student housing.

More Amazing Vietnamese Electrics

2010-08-14T12:29:00.000+07:00

I spotted these very low electrical wires the other day while going around the city.

I have been warned several times about the electric wires in the city. This picture shows just how close you can find yourself next to live wires every day.

Football Overreactions

2010-08-14T12:05:00.009+07:00

This post was a draft from a while back. Sorry that the info is 1 month overdue...

In Vietnam people enjoy football tremendously (soccer to those of us from the States). Like many countries around the world football is the most popular sport in the country. As with many soccer-obsessed countries, the world cup is a great time for celebration and watching matches with friends. However, Vietnam suffers from the same problem that plagues many other football adoring nations: gambling. Gambling here often goes along with unpredictable consequences such as bankruptcy, loss of valuables, and even loss of one's home. Many football gamblers have gotten into serious financial troubles due to World Cup gambling.

There was a story here during the middle of the World Cup about a young man who was found drowning in a part of the Saigon River near downtown Ho Chi Minh City. The young man was rescued by some passersby and once he regained consciousness he was taken home. After talking to the man, it was found out that he had lost so much money from World Cup gambling that he had to borrow money and couldn't pay the debt. Thus, he decided to kill himself to remove the burden from his family.

He was not the only person who made this kind of decision to die to escape gambling debts. There was another attempted suicide via drowning that happened near the same place in the river during the World Cup. After being rescued, the victim explained that he gambled all of his family’s money away in football pools. He wanted to relieve his guilt for what he had done to his family so he went to the bridge and jumped into the river.

Not everyone who goes into massive debt take their own lives, though. I recall reading about someone that lost too much gambling on the Cup. He tricked his colleagues into loaning him thousands of US dollars and dumped the money into bets. Ultimately, he lost all the money and then he fled his life completely.

Can Gio District: Short Weekend Trip

2010-08-09T08:49:00.002+07:00

Over the weekend I decided to get out of the city and away from the crowds so I took a day trip to Can Gio, the southernmost district of Saigon. Can Gio is an island and has a number of secluded beaches. Although the quality of the beach is not the same as some of the other beach destinations in Vietnam, the quietness and seclusion make it a good destination for people in Saigon who want to escape the noise and crowds of the city.

Can Gio is by far the largest district in Saigon; it covers over 700 km2 (roughly 1/3 the size of all of Ho Chi Minh city). It is also the least populated of all districts- according to the 2009 census, the district had a population of just over 68,000. The next least-populated district had almost 100,000 people according to the same census. This combination of huge area and low population make Can Gio a very quiet and relaxing place for a weekend getaway. The way to access Can Gio is by ferry which departs from Nha Be district. The cost is a bit over 1 usd each way for a car (cheaper for motorbikes) and the ferry leaves roughly every 15 minutes during the day time.

The point of departure is nice and has lots of things to see; you can watch Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) ships offloading their chilly treasure, large container ships hauling cargo down the river, high-speed hydrofoils zipping tourists about, and small wooden fishing boats practicing traditional fishing techniques. The river is a hub of activity.

During the ferry trip I saw part of the Vietnamese Navy. This is a Soviet Union Tarantul class corvettes armed with 4 SS-N-2 anti-ship missiles (two missile houses visible on side near pilothouse), 1 x 76mm AK-176 main gun (front), and 2 x 30mm AK-630 Gatling Close-In-Weapons-Systems. Two of these ships were parked along the ferry route to Can Gio.

The resort we picked was called Hon Ngoc (hồn ngọc roughly means "beautiful soul"). It was very quiet and there were few other people there. The food was excellent as well; everyone with me said that their restaurant really knew how to cook.

Next to Hon Ngoc was a larger resort with more people (and more noise). The other resort did not impress me much by itself. They did, though, have a really great building for having large banquets or parties that was built on an the end of a long pier and was very pretty.

I thought Can Gio was a great place for a short getaway. However, the one negative thing about my trip there was the return to Saigon from Can Gio. We arrived at the ferry terminal at 4:30 and did not get on the ferry until 6:30 due to the huge number of people wanting to leave at the same time and lack of ferries to accommodate everyone. If they only built a bridge...

University Housing

2010-08-09T07:18:00.002+07:00

Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City is located in the Thu Duc district of Saigon. VNU-HCM has over 50,000 students and a campus that is the largest university in Vietnam. Degrees are offered for technology, natural sciences, social and humanity sciences, literature, foreign languages, and business. The degrees normally take 4 years to complete and the curriculum is structured similar to the curriculum in the States. However, the student housing is a bit different than the housing in the states. Below is some of the university run off-campus student apartments.

The entrance to one of the student housing areas. Notice that there are no lights- I imagine it is scary at night time...

In front of the housing is a very natural green space. The grass (?) was over 1 meter tall and the entire housing area was surrounded by trees, grass, and shrubs.

The housing is located 5 minutes from the university so the location is very convenient. The only drawback is the general sketchiness of the place. If I were studying at the National University in Saigon I would definitely look for other options. I am told that the dormitories on campus are nicer. Hopefully I will have a chance to check them out soon and post some info about them as well.

My Lai Documentry on PBS's "American Experience"

2010-08-03T09:13:00.004+07:00

I have recently started a course in Vietnamese and am trying to find a balance between studying, working, and blogging so I haven't really had a chance to publish anything for a while...

That being said, I have recently seen a documentary on PBS that I found to be moving and informative about the killing of hundreds of unarmed people in the village of Sơn Mỹ located the Quang Ngai Province of Vietnam in March 1968. This event later became known as the My Lai massacre.

The story of the killings and the subsequent cover-up is an interesting narative beginning with the naivety and idealism of the troops, progressing to the hell of war and My Lai and ending in the cover ups and the very slow delivery of (some) justice. Writer/director/producer Barak Goodman skillfully lays out this interwoven story in his 90 minute documentary “My Lai" for PBS's documentary series "American Experience."

This complex and emotional documentary not only tells the story of American soldiers involved (Charlie Company of 1st Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 11th Brigade, 23rd Infantry Division (the Americal Division)) but also explores the nature of combat and it's psychological toll in Vietnam. The documentary also presents the bad intel that led to the events of My Lai, damning problems in the command hierarchy (leading all the way to a two star general) and the command's cover up, and the following political and judicial repercussions in the US.

The film consists of archival footage as well as new or never made public material. For example, the film team obtained home-movie footage of Charlie Company during its training in Hawaii and non-combat deployment as well as film shot in the My Lai area from the helicopter of Hugh Thompson, the American pilot who intervened to save some of the villagers from the massacre (who, along with crew was much later awarded the Soldier's Medal, the highest honor a soldier can receive for an act of valor in a non-combat situation).

Remarkably, the filmmaker even obtained exclusive interviews with several soldiers from Charlie Company. In many of the interviews with the solders of Charlie Company, the soldiers seem to be defending their actions. They cite such reasons as they were following orders, they were given intel that everyone in My Lai was known to be the enemy, and that they could find fault with the system of war more than with themselves. However, their emotions give an impression of deep personal hurt and remorse. The filmmaker also obtained interviews with survivors of the massacre in the Quang Ngai Province of Vietnam. It is painful to hear how they describe the My Lai massacre; many of them were only children at the time and saw their entire families killed.

The film has been justifiably nominated for three Emmy nominations.

http://video.pbs.org/video/1475790127/

Saigon Working Class

2010-07-27T08:39:00.001+07:00

Many of the people in Saigon make a living on less than 5 dollars a day. However, in Vietnam a meal at a food stall can be had for under 50 cents (and cheaper if cooked at home), brand name clothes (made here for export) can be purchased for a small fraction of the cost overseas, and housing can be found for under a two dollars a day. Thus, for the working people in Saigon life is manageable.

The working people here are great and warm. If you visit them at their home they will go out of their way to make you feel comfortable by providing you with snacks, tea, and hospitality. The interior of a typical working class home is certainly not luxurious. The homes are very utilitarian- bare bones essentials are all you will find.

The typical worker does not have the things that a Westerner would think they could not live without (multiple vehicles, heated shower, walk in closets, kitchen appliances, tens of outfits, art and knick knacks, flat screen jumbo TV 200 channel satellite digital surround sound system, blah blah etc.). They don't have the things we work so hard to get and they don't seem to care. Here, friendships and family are very important and free time is spent with both. In the west, we have replaced personal relationships with relationships through technology.

However, the younger generation seems keen on adopting a western lifestyle; I imagine that it won't be long before the people here replace meeting friends for coffee with having virtual coffee on their 3G smartphones while texting a tweet and listening to an ipod on their car stereo. So it goes.

Daily Traffic In Saigon

2010-07-24T07:14:00.001+07:00

Daily traffic is something that everyone has to deal with no matter where you live. However, if you live in Saigon you most likely battle a sea of motorbikes each day as you fight your way from place to place. The following pictures should be very familiar to anyone who has been here.

The traffic problem in Saigon is supposed to be caused by the small percentage of the city's land area that is covered by roads. Figures for the percentage vary (depending on how you measure it) ranging from 2 to 6 percent. Either way this is much smaller than the city's targeted goal of 20%.

This lack of roads inevitably leads to traffic jams. A professor at the HCM City University of Technology has stated that the level of traffic jams in HCMC exceeds the permitted level by 11 to 23 times. He estimates that economic losses caused by traffic jams are $840 million per year, which is over 5% of the city’s GDP.

Earlier this year, some whiz kids from IBM came to Saigon as part of a corporate outreach program. One of their main goals is to help the city improve the traffic problem. They will be using software developed 3 years ago for helping traffic in Singapore to model the city and predict when intersections will clog. Ideally, this will be used to intelligently change light signals or to deploy police to direct traffic. Hopefully it can be used effectively here and gets implemented quickly.

Cool Motorbikes in Saigon

2010-07-24T05:41:00.002+07:00

These are two of the most unique factory built motorbikes I have seen before. They are from a German based motorcycle company called Sachs, one of the oldest motorcycle manufacturers in the world.

The first is a naked bike (exposed frame and engine). It is an enduro (offroad/on-road capable) called the X-Road. The bike reminds me of a mini version of the Ducati Monster.

The second is an interesting design for an underbone (the typical kind of motorbike found in Asia). Sachs has made an eye-catching naked underbone called the Madass. Everything has a custom look to it. They have even incorporated the gas tank into the frame. Cool.

Although I couldn't find price info for the enduro, I've seen a 2 year old used Sachs underbone selling for 3000 USD.

Old Churches in Saigon pt. 2

2010-07-22T20:23:00.005+07:00

More of the old churches in Vietnam. This one is the most famous, the Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica. It was completed 1880. The total cost of construction at the time was 2,500,000 French francs.

In 1960, the Vatican founded Roman Catholic dioceses in Vietnam and assigned archbishops to Hanoi, Huế and Saigon (archbichop's Saigon residence information to come soon). The cathedral was titled Saigon Chief Cathedral. In 1962, Vatican anointed the Saigon Chief Cathedral, conferred it basilique. From this time, this cathedral was called Saigon Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica. The cathedral is open for public viewing daily.

The entrance to the cathedral has an inscription in Latin. The translation means "To God, the greatest and best. Blessed Virgin Mary Immaculate."

Old Churches in Saigon

2010-07-20T00:35:00.005+07:00

Ever since being here I have made it a point to see various religious buildings in Vietnam as they are often beautiful and elaborate, however I have just now decided that it might be a good idea to record some of these experiences with pictures. I decided to start my photo collection with an old church near to my home. A Vietnamese friend of mine told me that there are over 5 famous churches in Saigon which are rather old. This is one of them and is located on the outskirts of HCM city in the Thu Duc district. I is over 100 years old and was built by the French. Heaven knows why they painted it pink...

I didn't get a chance to go inside of the church (try the Saigon Notre Dame Basilica if you want to see the interior of an old church here) although I did take a tour of the grounds. The church land is spacious and they have several other small buildings including a school for children which was also supposed to be over 100 years old. They even have some kind of religious themed rock outside. It's fenced off so I guess it must be special.

I am told that the services here can be very popular- I hope to attend one to see for myself!

Amazing Vietnamese Electrics

2010-07-18T14:09:00.002+07:00

The system of wiring the power lines in Vietnam is easily the most complicated I've seen in my life. Vietnam does not have individual transformers (that I have seen so far) to step down the high voltage from the main distribution lines. Thus, if a new business comes online on a block, a new wire is strung to that individual business from a centrally located transformer that serves several blocks. The result is something that ends up looking like this:

I really wouldn't want his job- I have no idea how he figures out which wire goes where.

Motorbike Accidents Hurt

2010-07-18T07:27:00.002+07:00

A friend of mine recently had an accident on his motorbike. He dumped his bike at about 60km/h while going around a curve in the road. He is not unique; almost everyone you ask here has been involved in at least one motorcycle accident (many have been in multiple). Below are some pictures of the aftereffects of the accident. The first is a large scar he got on his knee.

The foot got it pretty bad too.

I imagine these scars will stick around for a while. Drive safe :)

Snake Wine in Vietnam

2010-07-12T07:37:00.002+07:00

Here in Vietnam people have an interesting fascination with putting random animals/animal parts in their traditional wine (read liquor- the stuff is generally over 40% alcohol). Take, for example, this wonderful elixir: Vietnamese snake wine.

This large container was nearly 10L of potent magic supposed to increase the sexual prowess of a man. Vietnamese people prefer to use venomous snakes for this drink (the poison of the snake is made harmless by the alcohol) and the drink can be found easily throughout the country. If snakes aren't your thing, you can try a variety of other creatures instead: bee wine, lizard wine, and seahorse wine to name a few. Bottoms up!

Airplane Cafe in Saigon

2010-07-12T07:10:00.001+07:00

There is a neat coffee shop in Saigon near the airport that has an retired Boeing airplane parked at it. It is very unique; I would imagine it is the only coffee shop in the world that has a Boeing, and is very impressive to see in person.

The cafe is much larger than the pictures suggest; after all it is a full size jet airplane that they have parked here. Customers can enjoy a Vietnamese style drip coffee while in the shade of the Boeing's massive wings. Cool place!

Eating Dog Meat

2010-07-10T09:33:00.001+07:00

Great article on the politics and ethics of dog meat consumption here. In Vietnam, people eat dog and if I were a carnivore, I'd definitely give it a try.

Twitter Account

2010-07-09T11:16:00.001+07:00

I have a new twitter account @AmericanVietnam which will incorporate an adapted Yahoo Pipe that is set up to search various news sources for information on traveling to Vietnam. I can add/remove sources to the pipe if necessary which will then tweak the content of the twitter feed. The twitter feed will have both streams related to Vietnam Travel as well as streams from my blog. I will also use it to post anything tweet worthy.

My Home in Vietnam

2010-07-08T10:37:00.002+07:00

I decided to write a post about what my home is like here. At my home in Vietnam we have a factory for manufacturing plastics as well as a small processing plant for some agricultural products. The house has been built for around 20 years and is rather spacious. All of the homes in Vietnam are built of brick and cement which makes them very strong structurally. Also, houses here are not electrically grounded so you should unplug expensive electronics during storms here!

This is the garden for the house. We have several orchids which are very popular in Vietnam. We also have many more at another location. I would like to rent them to some companies here in Saigon for a small monthly fee. Do you know anyone who is interested? :)

I was a bit shocked when I first arrived here and found that my room resembled more of a prison than a bed room. The bedroom door is made of Iron and has bars across the glass (see below). The window in my room also has bars. I have gotten used to it now, though; now I see it as safe and secure.

We have a large storage area for our chemicals located nearby the house. I like the texture of the walls and the generally "used" appearance of the place. There are even monkeys that live in the trees. Au naturel. Also located on this street is a small port which means there are always large trucks barreling down the road. You do not want to have an accident with these trucks- many people lose their lives here in such accidents.

Vietnamese coffee shops can be found at random homes along the street. One I enjoy going to is very near my house and serves good coffee with hot tea for around 0.25usd - a great value. I enjoy going there and sitting with a Vietnamese friend of mine and practicing English and Vietnamese with him. It is relatively quiet during the day and a very local setting. I think I will go have a cup of coffee now!

Interesting Article on Historic HCMC

2010-07-07T08:22:00.000+07:00

I found an interesting article on a part of Saigon that I have not yet been (but will be going soon after reading). Check the link below.

Only one old quarter remains in Ho Chi Minh City | Vietnam Travel ... - Only one old quarter remains in Ho Chi Minh City, a 300-year old urban area that has seen some of its most historic neighborhoods vanish amid the onslaught of development and commercialization,

Con Dao Island: A Quiet Escape From The City

2010-07-06T11:20:00.005+07:00

I have just returned from Con Dao. While initially I had planned to go diving there, I ended up sightseeing and snorkeling instead. It was a wonderful experience and was one of the most beautiful places I have been in Vietnam (actually one of the best I've seen in the world). The secluded island had clean air, beautiful clear turquoise water, lush green vegetation, and scenic vistas. I would definitely return and hopefully for longer than 3 days next time.

I flew from Saigon to Con Son (the larges island of the Con Dao island group). There are 2 flights per day from Saigon and the cost is around 100usd round-trip. The flight was 40-45 minutes long and is by far the easiest way to get to the island. The other option is by boat from Vung Tau. The boat leaves only on certain days and takes between 11 and 13 hours to arrive. Add to that the 2 hour travel time to Vung Tau from Saigon and you have quite a long trip. The Con Dao airport is extremely small and accommodates only one aircraft at a time and has a rather scary runway due to its short lenght (the plane slowed to a stop less than 50 meters from the end and the runway ends in the ocean!). There are no restaurants or even snack stands in the airport. However, the airport is surrounded by beautiful scenery.

The temperature was 29 degrees when I arrived (84 Fahrenheit) and shortly after arrival 2 or 3 buses came to take different tour groups to their hotels. I saw very few western people at the airport. There were no taxis (but motorcycle taxis may be available sometimes) and the only way for me to get to the hotels was with a guy who offered me a free drive if he could show me his hotel. On the way to the hotel he told me that there were 16 islands that made up Con Dao and he pointed out to me a new town home development from an American backer with prices starting at 2 million usd.

I arrived at the hotel and liked the beach and the rooms. There are very few sleeping options in Con Dao and thus they would not move off their price of 55usd per room (add 17 usd if you want a second bed, non negotiable. Note second bed is inflatable). The hotel was newly built with beautiful wooden rooms and very nice restrooms for Vietnamese hotels. A scant breakfast was included. I decided to stay there as the views and the rooms were very nice. The hotel had 12 rooms and was at 65% occupancy. The hotel was 1km from the main town and there was a karaoke bar next to us that had traditional Vietnamese music. I saw a few black squirrels during the day and at night I saw a couple of brightly lit boats night fishing, several bats and a million stars (the population of Con Dao is five to six thousand so light pollution is not a problem). While the hotel and the surroundings were wonderful, the service was terriable. I had to ask the front desk 6 times to clean up plates and food garbage they had brought to my room, they did not fix the phone, fix the television or bring extra towels after repeated requests. The service at the restaurant was sub-par with the waiters and waitresses literally ignoring requests for service and standing at the restaurant bar picking their teeth. The manager was ineffective and inattentive. All in all - room: 3.5/5, location: 5/5, food: 2/5, service: 1/5. However, the room and the location more than compensate for the poor food and service; I would return to the same hotel without a doubt.

Swimming at the hotel was relaxing and was how I spent my first day at the island. There were no jellyfish, very calm water, and visibility of over 20 feet. In the morning, fresh fish can be purchased from the fishermen when they come in at the beach shore. The beach was very quiet and only two or three people are on it at a time. There are many crabs living in the sand of the beach that dart around when you walk on the shore and the mountains surrounding the beach often had clouds draped over their peaks. In the morning we enjoyed watching the rain roll in from the distance and found the hour-long storm to be very plesent. However, there were an astounding number of aggressive sandflies during the day and mosquitoes at night, almost no wind, and very few fish in the water. While picturesque, the beach of the hotel was not really ideal for prolonged outdoor enjoyment; other locations in Con Dao were much better suited.

What I really enjoyed was renting a motorbike and driving around (most of) the main island. There was almost no one else on the road (a nice change from Saigon!) and the views everywhere were breathtaking. Some of the mountains on Con Son are more than 300m tall so some of the roads can be difficult for a 110cc motorbike to manage. There is only one gas station on Con Son and it is only open in the evening. If gas is needed at other times it can be acquired at various local people's houses for around 20,000vnd/L. It is best to get a map of the island showing all of the various attractions to make getting around easier. There is a large military presence on the island which means certain areas are restricted. It also means that the island is very safe.

Having a motorbike is great because it gives easy access to all of the attractions of the island. One must be careful, though, while driving around for sleeping dogs in the road, humpbacked cows randomly crossing the street, and butterfly swarms pelting you in the face. The list of sights to see on the island is large. You can make a stop at Cho Con Dao (Con Dao market) for all of your fruit, veggie, meat and miscellaneous goods needs, head over to the Con Dao National Park, see the old prison where over 10,000 people lost their lives, hike one of the numerous trails around the island, look around the farms, and join the locals on saturday night on the seawall.

I took a day trip near the airport for some hiking and snorkeling. I had heard that there were some easily accessible places to see some nice coral and possibly a natural hot spring. I arrived and found the place for snorkeling and it was amazing. The clarity was over 20 feet and the coral was abundant and very colorful. There were many different fish of various sizes and the currents were almost non-existent. After snorkeling I talked to a local for a while. He told me that the best snorkeling spots are on the islands that surround Con Son island. He also told me that the island gets their water from wells and that the electricity (which is subsidized for the residents) never gets blacked out. I asked him about the springs that I had heard about and he told me how to get there. I had to go on a short walk through the forest with a few steep climbs. Upon arrival, I was disappointed to find out that the hot springs were not hot springs, they were just regular springs. However, the springs were near a beautiful secluded beach and I had a nice snack there without seeing other visitors.

While I had planned on diving I was turned off from it because of the high cost on Con Dao. However, ecotourism is supposed to be excellent in Con Dao as there are dolphins, sea cows, sea turtles, coral, many varieties of fish, forests, and various conservation centers around the various islands. All things considered, Con Dao is an wonderful place to have a vacation and luckily for us Saigonese it is less than an hour away!

I arrived back in Saigon yesterday and was a little sad that the trip was so short. The plane that I took both to and from Con Dao was made by the Italian-French company Aerei da Trasporto Regionale, model ATR 72 which is a twin turboprop with typical cruising speeds of 300mph or 480kph. The plane, as configured by Vietnam Airlines, seats 60+ passengers. Water and moist towels were provided along with incomprehensible English courtesy of the flight attendant. On the brief flight there were several rainbows of great brightness and size. When we were descending, we flew over my home and then landed in 2 minutes. That was significantly faster than the hour that it takes to get to the airport by car; traveling by airplane is definitely the way to travel around Saigon!

Getting Around in Vietnam

2010-06-26T07:53:00.005+07:00

There are many ways of moving around in this country: rail, bus, car, motorbike, hired driver, plane, hydrofoil, and boat. My preferred method is airplane but due to the high cost of air travel, I usually go with car & driver. For long distances car and bus are much more comfortable than motorbikes. Hired drivers are a good way to get around Vietnam. The cost is relatively cheap and it is more comfortable than a bus. You also have more freedom to plan your itinerary as you want. Hydrofoil is a great way to get from Saigon to Vung Tau beach (around 90 minutes away). This is an excellent day trip and round trip is around 15usd per person. The many rivers of Vietnam can be explored on slower fishing boats or on high speed boats used for long distances. With almost 18,000km of waterways to explore in Vietnam, a boating trip should not be missed.

By far the most popular method of transportation in Vietnam is the motorbike. Motorbikes here are cheap, easy to maintain, and fuel efficient (~100mpg/160kpg). If you have a problem with your motorbike such as a flat, engine problems, electrical, etc. you can find a mechanic within 1km from you wherever you are in the cities and within 20km on the highway. In the city, traveling by motorbike is generally much faster than by car because the small size of the bikes allow them to bypass traffic jams with ease. However, motorbikes are extremely dangerous: the roads are crowded and in poor repair, people often ignore traffic rules, large trucks drive very fast and often in close proximity to the motorbikes, and the helmets here are poor and offer little protection. Even though dangerous, driving a motorbike in Vietnam is extremely fun. Below is a sample of the traffic in HCMC to give an idea of the number of motorbikes here.

My recent purchase here was a new underbone- the 135cc Yamaha Exciter (known globally as the t135). This is about the closest I can get here to a large displacement motorcycle without spending a fortune (motorcycles with engines over 149cc are taxed 100% making them twice the cost of a bike in the states...). My motorbike has a clutch with gearing set up the same way as a conventional motorcycle- 1st gear is all the way down, neutral above it, 2nd above neutral and so on. It is a four speed so the top speed is in the neighborhood of 140kph which is plenty fast in Vietnam.

If you come to visit Vietnam I would recommend taking one of the motorcycle taxis around the city. They are called "xe om" and are about half the price of a regular taxi (note that you should negotiate your fair before you go). The xe om is a good way to see the city and get a feel for driving a motorbike in Vietnam. If you are feeling a bit more adventurous you can rent motorbikes here for the day, week, or month and the rates are very reasonable. Be aware though that national drivers licenses and international drivers licenses are not accepted in Vietnam and one should get a Vietnamese drivers license before driving here.

Cooking At Home

2010-06-23T19:27:00.012+07:00

I often cook at home because I live ~20km outside the center of the city and I get tired of eating the same things at the restaurants around my house. I also like to do my own cooking because I can control (most) of the cleanliness of the food and +plus+ it is much cheaper. I can make a huge plate of noodles and veggies with a bottle of beer at home for ~0.70usd and at the restaurant i will pay ~4usd. The restaurant is still cheep by American standards, but all those small amounts add up to large amounts in the long run.

In Vietnam markets can be found everywhere from a small butcher shop at some random person's house to a guy on a 3 wheel bicycle selling fruits, veggies or jerked seafood.

Freshness spans the gamut from literally just come from someones garden/tree/bush/slaughter to guaranteed to make you sick. You can get some great quality ingredients here but you can also get some great stomachaches too if you are not careful.

Cooking can be unique too- especially outside the city. We often have flies and mosquitoes swarming you at the kitchen. This is because many homes here do not have central air conditioning so we keep the house cool by keeping doors and windows open (this alone saves a ton on the electric bill!). Therefore, cooking usually involves killing many files and mosquitoes before preparing the food and scratching for a while afterwards where the mosquitoes successfully got you. The frequent massacre of the pests is made a bit easier with the aid of the "bug bat" (see below). It is essentially a hand held bug zapper. This thing really packs a punch- it will give a person a good shock if the metal part is touched while turned on. It is much more fun than the conventional fly swatters back home.

The thing about using the bug bat is you don't have to wait for the mosquitoes or flies to land to kill them; you can get them mid flight. This leads to a lot of fencing-like moves with the zapper. Also, when you are busy with cooking and you are not zapping bugs you need to keep moving around constantly (almost dancing) to avoid being eaten alive by mosquitoes you missed. I thought this video appropriately shows what it would look like in my kitchen to avoid being bitten while swatting at flies and mosquitoes. Take care.

Sick Like A Dog

2010-06-23T06:21:00.004+07:00

I am under the weather now for the second day. I have congested head, sore throat and I feel generally terrible. Seems like a perfect time to talk about health related issues in Vietnam.

When I first arrived here, I did not feel well often and the food disagreed with me. During this time the WC and I became very good friends. Within a couple of months I had become fully acclimated to the environment here and feel fine most of the time.

A few pieces of advice for travelers here: bring hand sanitizer and plenty of Imodium, clean chopsticks and bowls with sanitizer and paper napkins (not the wet towelettes found throughout the country; they are supposedly "cleaned" and re-packaged. The paper is more sanitary), and wipe glass bottle tops before drinking (the rims may not be sufficiently clean). Most of the other things should be common sense.

Many medicines that would require a prescription in the States are available here at the pharmacy without prescription. Therefore practice due diligence when taking medicine from the pharmacy to ensure it will not react with you adversely and that you are comfortable with the safety of the medicine you plan to take. Also, many medicines are not redially available so bring plenty of required prescription drugs with you (this goes the same for vitamins and supplements).

If you astigmatic and wear contact lenses bring plenty of extra lenses as you will be very hard pressed to find your lenses here (I have astigmatism and I have not yet found an optical shop who carries my lenses- if you know one please tell me!). This is not true for non-astigmatic contact lens wearers; non-astigmatic contacts can be found here very easily. Prices are around 10 usd for a pair of disposable lenses (lifetime of lens greater than 2 weeks but unknown).

In HCMC we now have a fantastic hospital known as Nha Thuong Viet Phap or FrancoViet Hospital. They can perform the same services as the hospitals in the states. They have foreign trained doctors who all speak English and French and offer outstanding service. The prices are reasonable by western standards (about 25 usd for a doctor visit) and I have had very good experiences there. If you are in Saigon and need a doctor, this is the only place I would recommend going.

Hopefully you found the above useful. I am feeling bad so I'm going to rest now and maybe I'll feel better. Tam biet.

Goaaaaal!!!!

2010-06-21T17:39:00.007+07:00

The world cup is underway and is a huge deal in VN. Lucky for us the host location is S. Africa; the games all take place after work hours here (starting around 6pm local time). Every restaurant and coffee shop broadcasts the game and everyone seems to enjoy it. There are posters and flyers for the cup all around HCMC, small printed schedules at coffee shops, people dressed in the uniforms of their favorite teams and even daily newspapers strictly dedicated to world cup.

Here people enjoy watching the world cup with friends either at someones home or while eating at a restaurant. The groups can be huge- as many as 20 friends can be seen watching the cup together each night.

It is so markedly different from the states where we don't give football (soccer) nearly the same attention that the rest of the world does- people here have a passion for the world cup. As an American, I would describe it as a month long super bowl. It is a fun atmosphere and a time for friends to get together and have a good time. Yo!

Back From Travels

2010-06-20T13:31:00.019+07:00

Just returned from travels- have visited many areas along the coast from Saigon to Tuy Hoa. Travel in Vietnam is much different than the States- maximum speeds here are less than 100km/h (~60mph) and are often significantly slower. However, the countryside is lush, colorful and varied (mountains, beaches, plains) so traveling long distances can be enjoyable even with the longer drive times.

On the trip, we stopped in several small beach towns as well as a couple of very developed cities; Nha Trang was one the large ones. Nha Trang is the supposed dive capital of Vietnam. Although I did not dive while there, I did see many dive shops around and the rates were very reasonable (around 40 US dollars for 2 dives and gear rental). It is definitely a tourist city and Westerners can find all the things they are accustomed to there. The city itself is beautiful and has many things to do: scuba and snorkel (most popular), take the cable car to Vinpearl island, take a boat cruise of the different islands in Nha Trang bay, take a several hour long mudbath at Thap Ba hotsprings, sample the various local dishes including the seafood and the locally favorite dish Bún cá ("bun ca" means "noodle fish") which is a fish noodle soup first created in Nha Trang.

However, I preferred the smaller cites and found the relative seclusion to be much more relaxing. One small beach town that I enjoyed had an island about 12km from the shore. We hired fisherman to take a group of ten of us out to the island and back for 40usd total. The trip took quite a while (2hr out to island and 1hr15min return as the fishing boats here are not very fast in the ocean) but it was cool to be on an all wooden boat in the ocean. The fisherman told us that the boats are made using wood planks secured by wooden screws and nails and are made completely watertight using a coating mixture of oil and nail polish. The boats are produced locally in the small town and can cost a small fortune for Vietnamese people (large boats for 30,000usd to smaller ones priced at 7,000-10,000usd; small boat we took shown below. Note the mountians at very top of picture is mainland). The life for the fishermen can be difficult and unpredictable; one day they can catch 100kg of fish and the next day they may only catch 3kg. However, like many of the Vietnamese people I have met here, the fishermen and their families were very friendly and jovial people. Spending the day on the boat and on the island eating in a makeshift house with them was memorable and fun.

The remote beach town I enjoyed the most had a small hotel on a private beach where I was the only guest. The beach had pure white sand and clear water (visibility was over 10 feet). I enjoyed a few beers under a large thatched umbrella while looking on at a large island 5km from the shore. It was spectacularly beautiful and cost only 15 USD per night (see picture below). I will definitely return; hopefully soon!

The natural beauty of this country is amazing. I can not wait to see more of it! Coming soon: diving on remote islands - stay tuned!

Chào Thế Giới (Hello World)

2010-06-20T12:50:00.004+07:00

This is my first posting of many more to come.

I've been in Vietnam now for over 8 months and have been busy learning the language, the culture and traveling around this magical country. I hope to inform those unfamiliar with this place about what it is like here and to update those that have been before about how things are today.

I have had a wonderful experience here so far. Follow along as I encounter more of the beauty and intrigue of this great land.