Day 38: Mekong Delta

Location: Mekong Delta/Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
Date: February 16, 2013

Our grand adventure for our fifth day in Vietnam was to head to the Mekong Delta. We had to wake up super early in the morning to have breakfast and be in the lobby of our hotel ready to go. The program we had signed up for was through our hotel. The bus was picking us up (and other people on other stops throughout Ho Chi Minh) and taking us to the Mekong Delta. 

The view outside the bus window.
I believe those are tombstones at their cemetery in a rice field.

The good old Mekong Delta.

The tour guide gave us a little history on the area before we made our way to the water. We "sailed" down the Mekong Delta for a short while. 

Our tour guide talking about honey.

They fed us fruit, tea, and honey while this band played.

Yep, we all rode in that tiny boat. 

Live view from the boat of the Delta.

It really is that brown but otherwise quite pretty.

We all bought hats to save ourselves from the heat a little bit and try to fit in.

We road in that boat too to lunch.

Ew! That was not a very good meal. The fish was too much for me.

They ended off our tour by visiting some Buddhas.

Lauren is a millionaire! That is Dong millionaire.

When we returned from our tour we finished up any last minute shopping we thought we wanted to do. And if I remember right, Lauren and Alexa's dresses weren't finished by the time the alterations shop said they would be. So we had to quickly hoof it over there so they could make sure that there dresses would work which is when I took this picture of Lauren and million Dong.

Day 37: Just Go For It!

Location: Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
Date: February 15, 2013

Crossing the streets in Vietnam is something else. You have to find a YouTube video of it. Somehow I never got hit crossing the street (although, our cab driver one night hit someone). Here are two videos I found in a quick search. This one shows how crowded the busy streets are and this one is right outside the Ben Thanh market watching people cross the street. 

The big plans for this day were to adventure off to the Ben Thanh market, see a Water Puppet show (it was a cultural event we wanted to witness), and check on our dresses that we designed. 

When we were walking to check on our dresses we came across a festival in the streets. It was definitely a unique experience. I tried uploading videos to better share the experience with you and failed. I'll try again a little later to load them.

I think this was celebrating their New Year.

See the Pho 24 in the background?

Before I had left for this adventure around the world, there were many things that I didn't know about or had thought I knew about. There were things that blew my mind and things that I found crazy cool on this adventure. 

Before I had left, I thought that all of the Pho whatever number restaurants were an Americanized version of Vietnamese restaurants. I was mistaken. They are on every corner in Vietnam just like they are all over the place in the United States. I had to try it. After we tried on our dresses, we ate at Pho 24. 

Here is a not so great comparison of the dress made and the picture Mady sent me.

Here is a not so great comparison of the dress made and the picture Mady sent me.

We stopped at a restaurant on our way to the Water Puppet show later that evening. It was a random sort of restaurant that we found. It was tucked away from anywhere that we had really explored. We ordered our food and they brought it out. Raw. We were in charge of cooking it ourselves. 

You can sort of see the different style of restaurant in this picture. This is everyone minus Kyle.

Between the noobie chefs cooking their own food and the poor service we missed the Water Puppet show. When we were heading back from trying to make it to the Water Puppet show we came upon another cultural experience that we hadn't expected. 

Totally fits the cultural experience right?

She fits in so well! 

Soon after we took these pictures, they told us we weren't allowed to take the pictures and needed to pay. Whoopsies!

We grabbed Baskin Robbins and some wifi at a Burger King to end the night.

Day 36: Valentine's Day in Vietnam!

Location: Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
Date: February 14, 2013

On Valentine's Day it only seemed right that we treat ourselves. Alexa, Kyle, Lauren, Sawyer and I found a place to get a manicure, pedicure, and massage while in Vietnam. We wanted to compare getting our nails done in Vietnam to getting them done in the United States commonly by Vietnamese people. For one thing, it is far cheaper to treat yourself in Vietnam. Otherwise they both do a great job. 

Here are some pictures of the Ben Thanh market that we frequented every day in Vietnam. I'm not even sure that we visited every little stand. When I say hot, humid, hot, crowded, and hot. I mean it.

It really is bigger than it looks.

See what I mean when I say it was crowded.

I can just feel the sweat dripping down my face looking at these pictures. 

We all got dressed up and ate at a "fancy" hotel restaurant for dinner. 

After dinner, we adventured out for our night out in Vietnam. At some point during the day, I made contact back to the States with Mickey!

Day 35: Crazy and HOT in Vietnam

Location: Vietnam

After breakfast this morning, a crowd of us were following Mike (he sailed last spring) into town to see where he recommends getting clothes made/tailored. Last year when he was in Vietnam he had a nice quality suit handmade for an inexpensive price.

We spent the entire morning at the tailor shop. It was much harder than I expected to communicate to the ladies at the tailor shop what we were picturing in our minds and then trying to select fabric. Oohemgee. Lucky for me, Mady had sent me a handful of pictures or suggestions to use in communicating to the tailors. It seemed as if the tailor had every color or kind of fabric I could imagine and I had to narrow it down to my favorite. I sent my pictures to the tailor shop via Viber so that there would be a real good chance that I would get what I had been expecting. Those who did not have a picture or sketch were more or less just wingin' it. We also had to emphasize to the tailor shop that we would need our dresses to be completely finished, including the fitting and final touches, in three days.

After we were all done at the tailor shop we walked around the corner to a Vietnamese restaurant for lunch. We still had a sizeable group of people with us and planned to regroup and make our way back to the shuttle bus drop off area to get back to the ship. We wanted to pack up for the next few days so that we could check-in at the hotel where we would be staying.

Once everyone in our now littler-group was packed up we took a taxi to the hotel. After we were checked-in, we walked to the Ben Thanh market. It was probably a 5 minute jaunt.The market wasn't really set up yesterday when Lauren and I walked through it. This time, there was a huge building filled with little shops where people sold various different products from backpacks to purses to perfume to snacks to jewelry to t-shirts to tailor shops. It was ridiculously hot in there. Keep in mind it is about 100 degrees Fahrenheit outside making it a scorcher in this building, complete with minimal airflow and way-to-many-people. It was very overwhelming with all of the people shopping and and all of the people begging me to buy a t-shirt or a pair of shoes from their little shop. We were literally dripping in sweat as we walked around. After pure exhaustion from heat and over stimulation from the new overwhelming culture we decided to just go back to the hotel, order pizza, hang out for the remainder of the evening and de.com.press.

Day 34: Good Moooorning, ViiiiETnam!!

Location: Vietnam

Lauren and I have looked forward to seeing the sunrise at we enter each port and so far, we have yet to see the sun actually rise from the horizon. There have been too many clouds until later on in the morning. This was the first port that we got closer to our goal of seeing the sunrise from the horizon.

 Sunrise as we approach Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam

We sat outside for a while enjoying the warm air. I expect it to be cold when I walk outside for breakfast and surprisingly, it is hot and sticky. I was pretty excited for the weather in Vietnam; I'm certain not everyone shared my excitement. It was supposed to be in the high-90's with the humidity equally high. I'll take the warmth any day over the cold and...the humidity is good for the hair and skin. Lord knows, I can use it! 

It was really early.

We hurried down to Alexa and Sawyer's room to see what time we were going to meet tonight. They had a field lab so they wouldn't be spending the first day in Vietnam with Lauren and I.

Often as we travel from port-to-port there is an "interport" student on board the ship. For example from Hong Kong to Ho Chi Minh City we had Vietnamese "interport" students on the ship. They are able to interact with the students/faculty/staff/life long learners to inform us about what we might expect in Vietnam and answer questions. They are also on board to experience life as passenger on the ship in case they may want to sail in the future. Lauren and I went and learned about the best things to do and places to eat in Vietnam from the "interport" students.

We were told that we would be unable to get off the ship once we arrived until close to noon. Part of the immigration/customs process to get off the ship was that we would all need our landing cards to be able to get back on the ship. Typically over the loud intercom they call the students up to the faculty lounge by their sea and then follow by Unreasonables, Life Long Learners, and families. 

After we received our landing cards it was time for lunch. I think they read my mind at lunch today. For dessert they had ice cream sundae's. I won't mention how many ice cream sundaes I had just know they were great. We could decorate them with chocolate syrup and sprinkles!

Feeling very full, I went back to my room to shower and pack. After lubing up on sunscreen, bug spray, and preparing myself to sweat all day I was ready to head out.

Semester at Sea was required to provide a shuttle for all of the passengers from the ship to the city (MAYBE a 10 minute bus ride) so that taxi's and motorbikes wouldn't crowd the ship. Lauren and I hopped on one of the first shuttle buses to begin our day of exploring Ho Chi Minh City.

We were pretty tickled because it was a breeze, compared to other ports, to get off the ship and hop on the shuttle bus. The bus driver was eating a granola bar or a bag of chips while he was waiting for passengers to board the bus. We were among the last passengers the bus could hold so Lauren and I end up seated right behind the driver. As we are driving into downtown Ho Chi Minh City I see the bus driver roll down the window. I wasn't quite sure why the heck he was doing that since it was already ridiculously hot outside. Apparently he was just tossing his trash from his snack out the window. I looked at Lauren to see if she saw what I just saw. She definitely did. The guy that was sitting across the aisle from us said "well that's one way to do it."

The shuttle bus dropped us off at the Rex Hotel. I'm pretty dang sure that is one of the nicest hotels in the area. 

A beautiful day as Lauren and I begin our adventure exploring Vietnam. This was taken right outside the hotel the shuttle drops us off at as we walk down a street decorated with flowers for the Tet celebration.

The first thing I saw, besides all of the flowers and fancy stores, was a "Tourist Information" building. I told Lauren that we needed to make our way there. If for nothing else, to find a map. We had a hotel, somewhere in Ho Chi Minh City for a few nights. We were on a mission to find our hotel as we wondered through the city.

The shuttle bus dropped us off at a street with an amazing flower display. Multiple displays. The street was blocked off for at least six blocks. You are just going to have to look at the pictures. I don't think my words, much less my pictures, will do it justice. 

An example of the flower displays that were set up for the Vietnamese New Year celebration.

Lauren and I walked the entire street full of flowers. We looked at our map, identified where our hotel was, and started to walk in that direction. Our hotel was only about 15-20 minute walk away from where the shuttle bus had dropped us off at.

Technically, we didn't have a reservation like how we are used to making reservations. We hadn't given the hotel any of our information. All they knew was one of our names. So if we didn't like the hotel or if it looked like a bad idea to stay there we could bail. When Lauren and I found the hotel we walked in to cool off and do a quick inspection on the lobby. We are definitely judging a book by the cover! We asked the receptionist for a map and to show s where the ship was in relation to the hotel. We also had decided to visit the famous Ben Thanh market that we were told was a must-see. Before we left we had made sure that we had a reservation for the next three nights like we had planned. It was a nice hotel, especially for the price we were paying.

The Ben Thanh market was closed because of Tet. There were "shops" along the main street next to the market set up. I put shops in quotes because they weren't really shops. There were just Vietnamese people with their wares (t-shirts, sunglasses, wallets, etc.) basically just sitting on a table selling them. They were lucky if they were on a table or on a hanger. Some of the people were just sitting on the ground selling their products. I wasn't on planning on getting anything now at least. I was just seeing if something looked appealing and then I was planning on deciding if I wanted it. I knew we would be back multiple other times later in the week, especially since the market was only a five minute walk from our hotel.

Here is an introduction into what the streets look like if pretty much no one is on them in Ho Chi Minh City. Just wait until I explain walking on the sidewalks and crossing the streets in Vietnam. 

It was almost 4pm and we were planning on meeting some friends at 6pm back on the ship to go see a water puppet show. We weren't quite sure what to do for the next 2 hours so we wandered through a park that was in the direction of the ship. You would never believe it but there were "workout machines" in the park. You would have thought that we stumbled upon a playground. Lauren and I "played" or "worked out" on the machines. I think this is a really cool addition to the park. They can have these in their park because they rarely get weather that is colder than 50 degrees Fahrenheit.

The "workout" equipment in the park. I saw a different variation of these in China, too.

Lauren and I were parched. We grabbed a Coke at the Family Mart and then decided we should make our way back to the ship since we weren't a 100% sure where we needed to go.

Using our handy map we started heading in the direction towards the ship. It was not as easy as you might think to know which way to go. We had no bearings to say which direction was N, S, E or W. We weren't headed towards the ocean or the bay because the MV Explorer was parked on a river. So once we got to the river we knew that it was either right or left. I had thought that the ship was to our right. So we headed that direction and things weren't looking familiar. We asked a man who spoke English but clearly wasn't from Vietnam or the United States. He told us that we should have went left. We walked for quite a while that direction along the river until we were able to see the ship.

I think it is interesting how, as travelers in a foreign place, we put so much trust into the locals. In every country we have needed to put faith in the locals for suggestions on directions, food, attractions, and transportation. I can't even count on my hands how many times we asked someone in Japan for directions or help getting with one thing or another. All I can say is that next time I see someone who is in the States that needs help, I am certainly going to try to help them.

We made it back to the ship at 6:01pm. Let's just say we were both quite impressed. Our friends hadn't made it back yet, so Lauren and I decided that we were going to have dinner on the ship. After dinner, they still weren't back on the ship so Lauren and I decided to be productive and work on our blogs. After a while we made our way up to the seventh deck to socialize for a little before heading to bed.


      

Day 33: Could it Be...Valentine's Ice Cream?

Location: Just Outside of Vietnam

We arrive in Vietnam tomorrow! It doesn't sound real to say that I will BE IN VIETNAM tomorrow, let alone that I will be able to say that I have BEEN TO VIETNAM. That's pretty much how this entire trip has been. 

In the morning, Lauren and I sat in the ship's library going through all of the travel books, Lonely Planets, and using the travel resources on the ship's computers to find the best places to go and the "must-dos" in Ho Chi Minh City.

When we arrive in Vietnam it will be the end of their Tet celebration (the Vietnamese New Year). We are told to expect many of the shops to be closed. At the same time we were told that it would be very difficult to travel anywhere in the country (flights would be difficult to get and very expensive).

In the afternoon I had a group presentation (that's why I had a group meeting yesterday). I also had another group meeting for a different class followed by a mini presentation (not a group one). It was exhausting to say the least. Life can be rough on board the MV Explorer. And you thought this was a vacation!

Lauren and I were making our way to dinner at our own pace, nonetheless. As soon as we walked in the main dining room on Deck 5, Sawyer and Alexa had said that Kyle was looking for us. Turns out, his real mom had ordered him a cake for Valentine's day. They wanted us to sit at their table. Typically people get cakes on their birthday and when a cake comes to a table you would have thought some people had never been fed. They rush over and ask for a piece, whether they know the birthday kid or not. We all think that is kind of rude. Anyway, as soon as I heard there was going to be cake I was hoping it was -- you guessed it -- an ice cream cake!! Sadly, it was not. But it was waaaaay too good because I ended up eating waaaaay too much ice cream to go with it, for my own good.

Tonight at pre-port, they had a lot to discuss. Vietnam was going to be very different from the previous countries we had visited. Everything from the way the local people acted to how we should act. We needed to be cautious of our surroundings more than the previous ports. Tom Jelke, Executive Dean, had warned us about not bringing our iPhones off the ship. You could be standing on the sidewalk looking at your phone for directional purposes and someone could come up and rip it out of your hands. Tom had also warned everyone about watching your drinks be poured. It was not uncommon for Semester at Sea kids to be drugged in Vietnam. They told us which taxis to take and which ones not to take. Apparently there are some very sketchy cab companies. There were a lot of Semester at Sea trips heading to Cambodia while we were docked in Vietnam. So the field office had to brief everyone on when to meet and other information about their trips. 

She also gave us a suggestion for walking across the streets in Vietnam...find an older Vietnamese person and shadow them!!

Day 32: A Typical Day on the MV Explorer

Today was a very stressful day balancing all of the things I had to do with all of the things I wanted to do. There wasn't going to be any napping today. 

In the morning I wrote all of the papers/reflections that were due following our stay in China. For a few of my classes, we have to observe the culture of each country and then write about our adventures and observations when we return to the ship. For example, in my Digital Media course we have to pay attention to the advertisements, how the culture/country advertise which includes -- what kinds of advertisements they use, the types of digital media the country/culture uses, how frequently we are able to find Internet, when/if we find Internet what we do on the Internet.

In the afternoon after class, I had a group meeting. A lot of the professor give group assignments. It seems to be a way they can balance their classroom activities with what they would have balanced it with had we been going to school on a normal campus.

After dinner, Lauren had her first soccer game. I was going to go watch so I could figure out how on earth this was going to work. Turns out, no one from either team showed up besides Lauren. I didn't have much time before my family was meeting. My ship mom wanted everyone to meet up on the seventh deck at 8pm. She was going to buy everyone an ice cream cone before we arrived in Vietnam. My ship mom was not going to be getting back on the ship in Vietnam. Her plans include a Cambodia trip with Semester at Sea and then independently traveling to North Vietnam to see Ha Long Bay and Hanoi before meeting the ship in Singapore. I think she was treating us to ice cream because we weren't going to meet after Vietnam.

After ice cream, I hurried back to my room to grab a Coca Cola and head to the Union. The Residential Directors on the ship airing The Dark Knight Rises with free popcorn in the Union at 9:00 pm. Free popcorn + Dark Knight Rises = a packed Union. They should have started the movie at 8:00 pm rather than 9:00 pm because --with no nap-- I didn't make it through the movie (and I lasted like an hour and a half). By the time I left only about half of the students/viewers were remaining.



Side note.

I know you're as curious as I was about what the "soccer field" would look like on the ship. Well, as promised, this is what it looks like. The goals will be the bottom part of the basketball hoops. You can see that the black post on the left of the photo is the post of the basketball hoop. If you look close you can see the hoop near the top of the photo. Looks like a narrow field, to me.