Final Thoughts about Vietnam

Part 1: From Saigon to Phu Quoc
After being in Saigon for barely two days we headed to Phu Quoc Island. This was once the site of horrific torture and today it is a rapidly expanding tourism market. At the War Remnants Museum in Saigon we saw examples of the prisons and torture devices used first by the French, and then later by the U.S. and South Vietnamese who had captured political prisoners. Arriving in Phu Quoc via plane we took a taxi to “Thousand Stars Resort” which is probably best described through some of the photos that we took there, so do look for those on picasa. This was a place well past its prime, and I’m not quite sure how it might have looked then. Perhaps a cross between Coney Island and the boardwalks of Atlantic City but with a tropical small island feel? Oddly there were large cement animals that ranged from horses and giant prawns to monkeys and cheetahs. The idea behind these? Not sure, to add “ambiance” to what is already a naturally beautiful place. Phu Quoc is very green and lush with red sandy roads and amazingly warm waters. The highlight of 1,000 Stars was meeting up with friends who had taken a cycling trip through the Mekong Delta. Orlena (a friend of mine from college) and her sister Andrea (who I taught with in NYC) along with Andrea’s partner Melvin and their friend Jean arrived in the late afternoon on January 2nd. On the morning of the 3rd we all (quite happily) took a taxi to Mango Bay. This is a must see place! An eco-friendly resort on a different part of Phu Quoc we stayed together in the “Reef House” which was an open air thatched roof place that provided us with incredible views of the water and relaxing verandas. I’m not a hot weather person, and I was definitely still overwhelmed by the heat when we got to Mango Bay, but the warmth of the people who own and operate this place really helped me get over my aversion to the tropical climate’s heat and humidity. The accommodations were well priced since there were six of us and made up for the high cost of food and beverages, but everything was worth it. We even planned to take a boat out to go scuba diving the next day. This is a story unto itself.
Part 2: Apparently I get boat sick?
Andrea, Melvin, and Jean are all certified divers so they were pretty excited to check out the underwater environment along the northern shore of Phu Quoc. Colleen opted to Snorkel whereas Orlena and I decided to do a “Try Dive.” We had a great instructor, John, who went over the details of equipment, breathing, preparation, etc. At one point he said to me “you look kind of nervous” and I replied, “well I might have some anxiety about all this.” I decided to do some snorkeling along the reef on the first boat stop to see how that went before committing to the “try dive” and it turns out that scuba might not be my thing after all. The good news: the reef was incredible! Colleen and I could see A LOT just by snorkeling. The not so good news: en route to dive site number two I started to feel sea sick, and this turned out to get even worse so that by the end of the boat trip I was on the verge of throwing up. The captain of the boat, a really nice Vietnamese man, seemed to be concerned about me and watched as I sat close to the side of the boat (just in case) leaning to one side he wondered what was going on (probably because I was crying) and with a cigarette hanging off his lip he motioned to me. Fortunately Colleen let him know I wasn’t feeling too well but I’d be okay, and he walked back to the front of the boat. The water was very choppy that day. Colleen got boat sick while snorkeling in fact! And Orlena ended up throwing up watermelon into the water after her second dive. So we were a sorry lot, but we still ended up having a pretty good time.
Part 3: I kinda like Saigon, especially the food.
Amazing food. Night swimming. Free range cows and chickens along the grounds a reflexology foot massage later we left Phu Quoc after three nights and were Saigon bound. The traffic is totally crazy in this city and crossing the street definitely takes a bit more effort than I think I would want to manage on a daily basis, but for a bustling place of over 10 million the impression I left with was that people are quite friendly. And food wise this place is awesome, lots of different options at a range of prices. We ate some rice pancakes stuffed with a variety of mushrooms that you fold into a lettuce leaf with fresh herbs and then dip into a sauce, SO delicious! And we also ate a range of Vietnamese dishes from different regions, Pho of course, and also lots of other rice based dishes, curries, and a range of noodles. I decided by the end of our time there that I really want to go back to Vietnam. To see more places, try more types of dishes, and definitely to be able to meet more of the people. I am grateful we were able to take this trip. And it was a good way to acclimate me a little more to SE Asia…so now on to the Philippines! Oye, only wish we didn’t have to take a 1 AM flight to Manila.