Oh hello there!
As obvious from the pictures on Facebook, I've arrived safely to Ho Chi Minh. Woo! Despite the many connections (Moline-Detriot-Tokyo-Manila-HCM), all my flights went smoothly. The sweet Filipino woman sitting next to me on the long flight to Tokyo quickly became my new best friend when I told her I'd be teaching in the Philippines come October. Chatting made the flight go by rather fast, as fast as a 12 hour flight can feel, I guess. She has invited me to her home when I return to Manila, which I really hope actually happens cuz she's da cutest airplane friend yet!
I arrived just past midnight on the 2nd and apparently missed a pretty spectacular scene. Why? Because September 2nd is Vietnam's National Day--the 70th in fact! Crowds upon crowds of people gathered in Ho Chi Minh Square to watch a fireworks show, according to Luke and others that were able to witness it. Flags were everywhere the whole week as people and business are required to hang them from the 2nd to the 7th.
I missed the fireworks, but I did see a pretty good show of street animal butchering not long after arrival! Turned out our Airbnb place was along a major meat market in the city, so around 3:30 from our balcony we watched as the trucks rolled up, slaughtered animals were pulled out, and a team of about 20 people began chopping away. It was quite a sight! And by quite a sight I mean...so eww!
Our few days in HCM were full and informative thanks to Cuong (Luke's dad's cousin's cousin--haha) and Seamus (a Korea connection through Kayla). I don't have a picture with Cuong but here's my official shoutout to both---you guys are gems! We got the Vietnamese scoop from Cuong and the expat scoop from Seamus, resulting in well-balanced advice about everything from crossing streets to food to bus tickets.
HCM is pretty much like any other big city around the world, so...meh. We walked around for a day and hit the highlights such as the Independence Palace, Notre Dame Cathedral, War Remants Museum (I'll save that for another blog from the Philippines) and Ben Thanh market. I filled my belly with Vietnamese peach milk tea, coffee, banh mi, noodles, lots of tofu varities, and broken rice. There is definitely no shortage of delicious food in HCM; we didn't even dabble in the foreign or Western food options!
On the third day (or fourth day? Keeping track of days is of little importance on vacation), Luke and I decided to take a cheesy Mekong Delta tour. It was your typical tour with lots of stops that mainly lead to pushing products but nonetheless informative and fairly relaxing.
I must say, the time spent in HCM was plenty for me, so I was really excited to hop on the bus for an 8 hour trek to Dalat. The ride was surprisingly pleasant as the roads were smooth for most of the journey, and I had 3G the whole time. Sidenote: Get it together, America! I have far better cell and 3G service in the middle of Vietnam than I did in Iowa! Plus, I was only airborne out of my seat twice!
So now I sit in Dalat, a beautiful, mountainous Vietnamese honeymoon city in a perfectly cute (and clean!), $3 a night hostel typing you this blog update. Yes, $3, friends. I mean, really?! And we are not staying in dirtholes by any means. So far the hostel experiences have been great: cheap, cozy, clean, and full of interesting fellow travelers from Hong Kong, Germany, Northern Ireland, France, Singapore, and Canada. Today will be a "day of rest" of sorts with maybe some simple sightseeing around Dalat. Tomorrow will be the real fun...canyoning in the mountains! If I survive, I'll surely tell you all about it!
Peace and love,
Kelly
As obvious from the pictures on Facebook, I've arrived safely to Ho Chi Minh. Woo! Despite the many connections (Moline-Detriot-Tokyo-Manila-HCM), all my flights went smoothly. The sweet Filipino woman sitting next to me on the long flight to Tokyo quickly became my new best friend when I told her I'd be teaching in the Philippines come October. Chatting made the flight go by rather fast, as fast as a 12 hour flight can feel, I guess. She has invited me to her home when I return to Manila, which I really hope actually happens cuz she's da cutest airplane friend yet!
I arrived just past midnight on the 2nd and apparently missed a pretty spectacular scene. Why? Because September 2nd is Vietnam's National Day--the 70th in fact! Crowds upon crowds of people gathered in Ho Chi Minh Square to watch a fireworks show, according to Luke and others that were able to witness it. Flags were everywhere the whole week as people and business are required to hang them from the 2nd to the 7th.
I missed the fireworks, but I did see a pretty good show of street animal butchering not long after arrival! Turned out our Airbnb place was along a major meat market in the city, so around 3:30 from our balcony we watched as the trucks rolled up, slaughtered animals were pulled out, and a team of about 20 people began chopping away. It was quite a sight! And by quite a sight I mean...so eww!
Our few days in HCM were full and informative thanks to Cuong (Luke's dad's cousin's cousin--haha) and Seamus (a Korea connection through Kayla). I don't have a picture with Cuong but here's my official shoutout to both---you guys are gems! We got the Vietnamese scoop from Cuong and the expat scoop from Seamus, resulting in well-balanced advice about everything from crossing streets to food to bus tickets.
HCM is pretty much like any other big city around the world, so...meh. We walked around for a day and hit the highlights such as the Independence Palace, Notre Dame Cathedral, War Remants Museum (I'll save that for another blog from the Philippines) and Ben Thanh market. I filled my belly with Vietnamese peach milk tea, coffee, banh mi, noodles, lots of tofu varities, and broken rice. There is definitely no shortage of delicious food in HCM; we didn't even dabble in the foreign or Western food options!
On the third day (or fourth day? Keeping track of days is of little importance on vacation), Luke and I decided to take a cheesy Mekong Delta tour. It was your typical tour with lots of stops that mainly lead to pushing products but nonetheless informative and fairly relaxing.
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| Rice paper |
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| Ho Chi Minh Square |
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| Bus ride to Dalat |
So now I sit in Dalat, a beautiful, mountainous Vietnamese honeymoon city in a perfectly cute (and clean!), $3 a night hostel typing you this blog update. Yes, $3, friends. I mean, really?! And we are not staying in dirtholes by any means. So far the hostel experiences have been great: cheap, cozy, clean, and full of interesting fellow travelers from Hong Kong, Germany, Northern Ireland, France, Singapore, and Canada. Today will be a "day of rest" of sorts with maybe some simple sightseeing around Dalat. Tomorrow will be the real fun...canyoning in the mountains! If I survive, I'll surely tell you all about it!
Peace and love,
Kelly
