Souly Positive

So my tour in Vietnam is over. Spent the last 4 days in Ho Chi Minh. I took one last tour involving a 6 hour roundtrip bus tour to see the Mekong Delta and the floating market. Our guide told us that the floating market probably won’t be around much longer because they have roads and scooters now and boats are more expensive. There wasn’t really much of one left but I was glad to see the Mekong Delta. We went to a village market and watched as they made rice paper and rice popcorn…it was pretty fascinating. I got to hold a huge python as a bonus:) I also got to ride a bicycle along a narrow village path. What I learned is that you should not try to take photos while riding a bike. I crashed into a tree and ran into a sandbag. I knew those sandbags were there for a reason. Luckily I returned my bike relatively unscathed, only needing a new pedicure afterwards.

Exhausted by the time I reached Ho Chi Minh, I did very little there. There was a restaurant that was close to the hotel on a very busy street corner, where a cacophony of sounds constantly filled the air. I spent a lot of time watching people trying to cross the street. This activity goes good with beer:) All the joking aside about the chaotic driving, they obviously know what they are doing, I never witnessed one accident.

Yesterday I went to a restaurant that Matt Martin recommended. I was so proud of myself. I googled it and then took a picture of it as the Koltak’s taught me:) I got out and there was a man with one of those bicycles with a passenger seat up front. I told him I thought I needed a taxi and he said no, for me to get in. We agreed upon $150,000 dong. It was 4:00 pm but I hadn’t eaten all day and was starving. Off we went…He gave me a grand tour of the city, showing me all the sites. It took quite a while but was enjoyable albeit a little scary as he often took us right into oncoming traffic, remember, I’m in front:( After a while I realized he had no idea where we were going because he stopped and asked directions several times and then would ask me to show them the photo:) I’m still starving and finally we get there…I’m not sure I’m at the right place but he says I am. I’m feeling generous and give him $200,000 He says, “no, more.” And I say but we agreed to 150,000 and he just smiled and laughed and said, “no, more.” I finally peeled off another $100,000. He said he would wait and I said, “no thank you.” I know he spoke some English because I had asked him what his bike and passenger seat were called. He said something and I repeated what I thought I heard back to him…”shit lo?” He bust out laughing…so yeah, he definitely spoke some English.

The restaurant was awesome. Different food preparing stations all around that you could go look at and order a taste of authentic Vietnamese Cuisine…thanks for that tip Matt, it was really fun. After stuffing my face, I was feeling lazy and instead of my usual walking, hailed a cab. Just as I was about to succeed, up rides my little friend on the bike. Of course I get in (SUCKER:)…this time we just went straight to the hotel…only 200,000 dong this time:) I figure that guy had a pretty good day off of me…probably half a weeks worth of salary in a few hours…se la vie:) I was really too tired too argue…for those of you that know me, this is unusual:) Lesson learned…don’t wait until 4:00 to eat.

I enjoyed my time in Vietnam. My favorite places were Halong Bay and Sapa. The bigger cities, Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi, while manageable were just really not my cup of tea. Too loud, too busy and everyone seemed to be in a hurry. Which is ironic because I am now on my way to visit India, the country I am most excited about seeing. I wonder if it will be loud, busy and crazy:)LOL..the best part is I will see both my sisters there an hour after I land…I hope:) I’m so excited I can hardly stand it!

From Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam…just like crossing a street…relax, stay calm and be confident!