Vietnam: Can Tho and Ho Chi Minh City

Can Tho

We were at the border, and it was getting hot. We had been sitting without moving for 20 minutes. We weren’t without entertainment however as we strained to look through the huge bus windshield. Motorbikes were flying by our stopped bus. When they rolled up toward the first gate crossing the road, they would go as fast as possible around the barrier avoiding the guards. The guards had some meager looking stick like the kind a child would get at a toy store. It actually looked like those nerve sticks that bend when you hit something with it. Their attempts to stop people were feeble and resulting in very few people stopping. Interestingly enough, many of the motorbikes were stacked with layer upon layers of goods. I’m not sure how any of them managed to stabilize their motorbike let alone speed up and swerve around the border guards.

What kind of border crossing is this?

After another 10 minutes or so we were told that we had to get out of the bus and walk with our backpacks across the border. We briefly had to show our passports. In addition, we had to scan our bags in a scanner multiple times. Then we saw the second border crossing in front of us. What kind of border crossing is this?   Why were they even bothering with us when so many other people are flying back and forth across the boarders with god knows what in their motorbikes? For sure the most interesting border crossing I’ve seen. Furthermore, why did we wait in the bus for almost 30 minutes if we still had to show our passports and carry our bags ourselves?

We continued to walk in the 90 degree sun and walked around the gate when we finally reached it. Vietnam! We had officially crossed overland from Cambodia to Vietnam. 

After we loaded the bus again, it only took a few minutes to realize that we weren’t in Cambodia anymore. Vietnam was a different world. Vietnam had much more order, and was much cleaner with a lot less trash everywhere compared to Cambodia. I was surprised. This was the first time that the four of us had ever been to Vietnam. We were blessed to be able to travel with our good friends Brian and Carla in Vietnam (Yes, the same couple who got married in the Philippines in November). They met us in Cambodia on Christmas Day. It was so nice to have our travel buddies in Asia for our short Vietnam swing! We only had 1 week in between our teaching in Cambodia and our volunteering in Bali. We were going to make the most of it.

Our plans were pretty aggressive, but we knew we needed to be, because of the short time we had. We also knew that we would only be able to see some of the highlights of southern Vietnam because it is a very long country and we simply didn’t have time. We settled upon starting our Vietnam adventures in the town of Can Tho, which was a seven-hour bus ride from Phnom Penh. We were all excited to visit Vietnam, but a little apprehensive. To be honest we had heard a lot of horror stories from other travelers about things that happened to them while traveling in Vietnam, so we weren’t sure how it would all go.

Can Tho is famous for its massive floating markets on the mighty Mekong River. The Mekong is one of the main rivers in Asia, which provides important trade routes from China south through Cambodia and Vietnam before dumping into the ocean. We came to Can Tho to visit these very interesting floating markets, and to try some of their local cuisine.

We arrived mid-afternoon and decided to shower up and take a quick catnap before venturing out. It had been an early morning with a 5 am wake-up call. The four of us then joined a walking food tour around the city that was awesome! The group was pretty large, about 16 people in total, and we walked to five local spots to try some of the food that the city is known for. We all loved the tour and had a lot of fun meeting new people as we dined. We started out by rolling up our own spring rolls, which was quite a learning process. Then we continued to some local treats that we didn’t have to work for. We ended the night together on our rooftop bar that overlooked the city sipping ‘expensive’ $1 beers. It was a great way to end the first night in Vietnam.

The next morning came much too quick. We had a very early wake-up call because we needed to get on the river before the floating markets were over. The markets started as early as 3 or 4 in the morning. We arranged a small tour boat for the four of us, and we arrived to the first main market by 7 am. The floating markets were very interesting. Each boat has a large pole with what they are selling tied up to the top so you can move your way around the market and know what each boat has. Each boat is filled to the brim with whatever they are selling whether it be watermelon, papaya, pineapple, lettuce, potatoes, etc. The vendors live on the boats that they sell their goods on. The market is their daily life. It would drive me crazy never leaving my boat and trying to sell fruits and veggies all day. Many of the buyers get there earlier in the morning so it wasn’t too insanely busy but was still happening.

We ended up having a few stops along the way to eat lunch and another to see rice noodles being made by scratch. We also stopped at another smaller market further down the river. Overall, the highlight of the day was seeing how people live their lives on the river, but we also had a lot of fun socializing on the long boat rides in between the stops. It ended up being HOT that day and we tried in vain to cover ourselves as much as possible because the sun was beating down on us. We had some fun with the camera that day! 

Ho Chi Minh City

After the floating markets, we took a 5 hour bus ride to Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) also known as Saigon. The capitol. The city was huge and the first thing we noticed, was how many motorbikes there were spilling out on the main roads of this big city. There are 7 million people that live in HCMC with over 3 million motorbikes (or almost 1 motorbike for every 2 people!). I knew motorbikes are huge in all of Asia but Vietnam takes the cake.

We stayed in HCMC for 2 nights and really enjoyed our time there. To be honest, there aren’t many ‘tourist’ attractions in the city, so we relaxed and just enjoyed ourselves. We ate some great food, caught up on sleep, walked all over the city, and sent some postcards to loved ones from the famous central post office.

During our walk around the city center we decided to go into the War Remnants Museum, which is a museum that showcases the events surrounding the Vietnam War. It was pretty difficult to learn more details about the war, but it was interesting. We also knew that it was constructed and operated by the communist Vietnamese government. We spent a few hours walking around the four story building from exhibit to exhibit. War is never a pretty thing. The reality is that innocent people die including children and babies. It is something that is tough to stomach because what did these people do? Nothing. Unfortunately they were caught in the crosshairs of something terrible.   We learned a lot about the war, which was fought before our time. We grew up in the ‘80’s and ‘90’s and only learned very briefly about it in our history classes in school. American education focuses heavily on the Civil War, WWI and WWII and generally run of out time when it comes to the more recent conflicts such as the Vietnam War. My conclusion is that nobody really won the war. There were many losses on both sides and I do wonder what would have happened had America not intervened.

Overall, we were surprised at how big and how clean HCMC was. I guess we had just spent a month in Cambodia prior so that is the perspective we were comparing it to. It felt like a mature city with some great coffee shops and restaurants showcasing fantastic French infused Vietnamese cuisine. Vietnamese coffee is amazing. We had a blast enjoying the city and the company of our friends. The first part of our trip in Vietnam exceeded our expectations. We had a good experience, found the people warm and friendly, and enjoyed exploring.