Last Day in Vietnam

We then turned in and next morning I was feeling quite hung-over and Halong Bay was now Hung-over Bay. There was not much on the program the next day anyways except a short kayaking trip, which I passed on. I just lay on the front of the boat and relaxed while everyone was gone. I was kept company by Mai, who was this pretty Vietnam girl who worked on the boat. She asked me to sing her a song, and I sang her Norwegian Wood by the Beatles. I had them fill me in on the adventure when they got back and even saw Glen’s pictures, so I felt like I had gone myself while lying lazily on the front deck of the boat. Neil was not feeling much better either. I think he was secretly cursing me and my whiskey bottle this day.

We then returned to the hotel and did everything in reverse from the day before. The only difference this time is instead of awkward hellos when each new person entered the bus they were now frantic, heartfelt goodbyes with sincere handshakes and exchanged emails with all the new friends that we had made. As soon as I returned to the hotel, I called up my Vietnamese friend LeeKien. I asked him if we could go out later, but he said he would be over in 15 minutes. I tried to tell him I was tired and needed some time, but he repeated he would be over right away, so I guess I was not getting any rest. He came over and I gave him a Michael Jordan t-shirt. He was so happy he hugged me.

They took me to a Karaoke place and they sang some Vietnamese songs while I hunted for a song to sing. I finally choose the Beatles Yesterday. When the song came on Kien and his two Vietnamese friends jumped up and down and started singing along with me. It was hilarious. We continued to sing songs, drink beers, and chain smoke for a couple of hours having a great time.

After a few songs we went for dinner and had Vietnamese Pho and the dreaded rice wine. Each time we did a shot we yelled the Vietnamese cheer, which sounds like Yo. They then apologized to me because they had to leave. They explained that not only where they students, but also soldiers. I guess they had to be back at their base. They returned me to my hotel around 7pm and we said our goodbyes. I told them next time I am in Vietnam I will call them right away. Kien said he would pick me up at the airport and hoped that I would bring my family next time.

The Sun Also Rises in Hanoi

Next morning I was still not feeling very good, and I really did not want to stay in Vietnam or my hotel for a moment longer, but I was stuck and went out to make the best of it. My first stop was the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. There was a big long line to get in. All of a sudden, half of the line just took off and left. It was a big Japanese group. I think they just realized at that point that you could not take pictures inside the mausoleum complex, and they all bailed.

Inside the mausoleum lies an embalmed Ho Chi Minh in a glass casket. There were many guards as you came in. In fact over 20 protected the grounds and the grass area in front. At one point I put one hand in my pocket while walking in. A guard motioned for me to have both hands out to my side. If you go into the Ho Chi Minh complex make sure that you are comfortable before you get in. Because if your underwear gets stuck up your rear end or some other inconvenience like this you will not be able to rearrange the furniture while inside.

I thought this hero worship a little strange. It seemed a little iconoclastic to embalm a man and have people walk by and see his preserved corpse. From what I was to learn about Ho later on, I bet he would be horrified by this type of preservation and worship as he was a simple man. I am sure he would have preferred a simple tomb in a normal cemetery among other regular Vietnamese people. In retrospect though, I guess it is not that strange. Our country gave god like attributes to Washington after he died and Russia did the same with Lenin for a time. Uncle Ho was the Vietnamese George Washing and Lenin and his death was very recent in terms of history, so to still worship him in this way is not so uncommon when you think about it.

After getting out, I walked up front and took a few pictures. A Vietnamese girl grabbed my arm and someone was about to take a picture. Thinking this was some type of scheme to make me pay for a picture in front of Ho’s mausoleum, I tried my best to disentangle myself, but the girl was insistent. Finally, I relented and the picture was taken with no harm done. I guess she just wanted a picture of herself with a white tourist. Very strange.

I then walked over to the Royal Palace next door. I was told by a Vietnamese fellow I would have to get a ticket. I got a ticket and kept walking. There was this big sign saying no admittance past this point, but a bunch of people were up past this point taking pictures, so I walked past it to get a better view. All of a sudden this asshole policeman with a whistle blares on it and motions me back. Now I am pissed because what the hell did I get a ticket for this place if I cannot even get in front and take a picture.

I go storming back to where I bought the ticket from and was about to complain when a young Vietnamese fellow comes up to me. He seemed nice, so instead of cussing him out I politely ask what does the purchase of this ticket entitle me to. He tells me that I can come in this area and also Ho Chi Minh’s old living quarters. He tells me I can go up to the Royal Palace, but not to the absolute front. He then starts walking with me as he is explaining this. We get back to where the policeman with the totalitarian whistle is, and I go to the edge of the sign and take a picture. The young man says I can go further up if I want. I told him I tried, but the NAZI jerk with a whistle blew out my eardrum. He leads the way and motions for me to follow. The NAZI jerk sees me, but the guy I am with waves him away. I guess I was less of a national security risk with a Vietnamese guide. The young man even offers to take my picture in front of the Royal Palace.

This person that I followed starts talking to me and begins the usual round of questions. He then leads me around the whole park area, which includes all types of relics from Ho Chi Minh’s life as president. He tells me that Ho refused to live in the Royal Palace because it was too luxurious and he preferred a simple house. He shows me his house and a pond near his house. He also walks me around a house on stilts, which was his residence later in his term, which was even simpler than the regular house. The House on Stilts was almost a modern Walden except it was a little bit more luxurious.

My new guide asked me if I wanted coffee. I say sure, and we have coffee. He tells me he is an English student and loves to practice and tells me he does not want money. This is reassuring because with all my experiences I have begun to feel a little apprehensive when someone is being nice to me thinking it is a ploy to get money from me.

My guide’s name is Leekien. He asks me what I think of Vietnam. I could have just been polite and told him I loved Vietnam, but I decided to be truthful. I tell him I have had some great experiences, but I have been frustrated because I don’t feel like I have met any real Vietnamese people. He buys my coffee for me. He tells me he has friends that work in the Ho Chi Minh museum, which is adjacent to his house and Mausoleum, and that they can show me around. While drinking my coffee I am joined by four of his classmates. They are all eager to meet me and very friendly.
We begin to walk around the museum and one of these friends takes charge as he knows the most about the museum, but the other three are not far and chime in with a fact if they know anything that the one guy forgot. This is great. The Lonely Planet says it is best to get a guide while going through this museum as many displays are symbolic and lost without explanation. Well, I have better than that, as I have five guides.

By 11am, I am a Ho Chi Minh expert. He really was an incredible man. He toiled for communism, but the communism he preached was a hell of a lot more pure than what happened in China and Russia. What is great about Ho Chi Minh was he was a humane person. He had no blood on his hands like his communist counterparts. He was tolerable to all religions and ethnic minorities in Vietnam. He was also a very cultured man. LeeKien and his friends also stress many times that Ho deeply admired American people and even though we went to war with his country he did not have any bad feelings towards Americans. His problems were with our government, which he did not think reflected the feelings of the people. They show me an exhibit of his letter to the American people to prove this. It is this feeling of Ho’s that probably has laid the foundation for the acceptance of American people in this country. Even though we went to war with them only 30 years ago this fact is totally forgotten with almost everyone I have met.

We then grab another coffee. Leekien tells me he wants me to go to lunch with him. We have coffee and I go to the bathroom. I come back and Leekien tells me he has bad news. He tells me that we only have one moto-bike and there will be three going to lunch, so I will have to pay 1$ transport. He deeply apologizes because he tells me he hates to see me pay. I say no big deal and let’s go.

We hail another moto-bike drive and Leekien’s friend Anh Vu gets on with that drive and I climb on the back with Leekien. Leekien tells me that the reason he liked me was because he could tell that I want to understand the Vietnamese. He tells me that many foreigners just come to Vietnam and see with their eyes and their mouth. What he meant by this is many come and just take pictures and eat and then leave. He appreciates the fact that I want to understand the culture. I thank him for the compliment. He teaches me some Vietnamese phrases on the way there. We go through a labyrinth of alleyways to get to our destination, which is Leekien’s girlfriend’s apartment. This really makes me laugh. I told Leekien that I did not think I had really seen the real Vietnamese people, so he wanted to immediately rectify this situation by inviting me over for lunch so I could hang out with Vietnamese people. The real Vietnamese people turned out to be himself, his girlfriend, and his friend Anh Vue. I was very pleased by this turn of events.

His girlfriend was named Tu or Autumn, and she lived in a square box with a bed roll in the corner, which doubled as the sitting area and what we ate on. She was standing on her feet and crouching over a little wok over a little stove. There was no table or chair for her to cook on. She was adorable, sweet, and a great cook. She made this incredible tofu dish, which was a square of tofu hollowed out and filled with some sort of meat and sautéed with tomatoes. There are several other dishes served with rice, and it was a veritable feast. It was absolutely delicious, especially the tofu dish.

I tell Tu in Vietnamese thank you many times, and each time she giggles. Leekien tells me that he wanted to show me how Vietnamese people live, and how they love peace. He gets out the rice wine and we do a couple shots of rice wine. He also tells me he could take me to a restaurant, but no delicious food could replace the feeling of seeing how Vietnamese live. I tell him that I could empty my pockets on a five star restaurant and not have something as good as what his girlfriend just cooked. He tells me that he does not have much money, but he has what he wants and is happy. I tell him I am happy to have a glimpse into his life and appreciate him inviting me.

Leekien’s friend Anh Vue then returns me to my hotel. I have their numbers, email addresses, and even their birthdays. I tell them to keep Monday evening open, as I will call when I get back from Halong Bay. I can think of no better way of spending my last night in Vietnam than with these terrific people. Now that I have friends in Vietnam I am sad to leave.

Thinking back on this, I was lucky that this good experience occurred. I was in a bad frame of mind when I approached Leekien. If I would have been rude, which was the way I was feeling, he may have thought I was an ass and just dismissed me as soon as he answered my question. Instead, I tried to keep my attitude in check and was rewarded by meeting some really great people and had a really incredible experience which was one of the highlights of my trip so far.

I returned back to my hotel just glowing. My state of mind had done a complete 180 degree shift. I saw my past antagonists at the hotel and smiled at them and told them I had met some really great Vietnamese people. They smiled back although in the back of their mind they were still probably thinking I was an asshole.

Later on I walked around the old quarter trying to find a barber, a bottle of whiskey, and some sunglasses. I was only successful finding the bottle of whiskey, which was for the Halong Bay cruise I was taking the next day. This was the most important task anyway. I could not find any sunglasses for the life of me even though I was in the heart of the tourist area of Hanoi. I gave up after walking in circles and finding everything in the world for sale except a pair of sunglasses. I was lost now too, so I just rented a cyclo to take me back.

Hanoi

The hotel I was staying at said they have a branch in Hanoi, which has the same amenities as theirs for 7$ a night. I said that sounds great. They booked the hotel for me. We arrived in Hanoi at 6:30am and there was a smiling moto-bike driver holding a sign that said “welcome to Lucky Eden hotel Nelson.” I got on the bike was whisked away to the hotel. I got some sleep and woke up and went downstairs. A bunch of smiling Vietnamese said good morning. It was a good thing I hurried to Hanoi because I did absolutely nothing this day.

The next morning I was given a complementary breakfast and Aiy brought some coffee and some bread along with a bright smile. Today I was going to walk around the old quarter for awhile and check out the sites. I was hoping Hanoi would be a little quieter than Saigon, but it was not. The streets were filled with buzzing moto-bikes honking their horns and zigzagging their way through the maize of streets and alleyways.

My first stop was Hoa Kiem, which is a really nice lake in the old quarter area of town surrounded by benches and walking trails. Unfortunately, there were many peddlers too, but I guess they are everywhere. I bought a pineapple and sat on the bench and relaxed. The pineapple was not cut, so I took my pocket knife out and started to cut it up. I was making a huge mess out of the thing and lucky not to cut the hell out of my hand. The lady that sold the thing to me walked by and looked at me in horror at the butchering job I was doing on her pineapple. She came running over with this big huge knife and cut it up in manageable pieces for me. I wish she would have done this in the first place, but I was thankful of her consideration in seeing me in my plight.

I then walked out over this bridge and they have a little cute island in the middle with a pagoda on it. Very peaceful here and I read and relaxed. They also have some souvenirs with fixed prices on them and I bought a few. Every time I have bought something here in Vietnam I have gotten completely screwed. I am not a good haggler and here they are pretty tough hagglers. Every time I buy something I seem to find the purchased things later on for half the price. I was glad to see prices on the items after these experiences. I paid the amount on the sticker and was happy with my carefree purchase.

After this I head over to the Hao Lo prison museum. This was a prison for Vietnamese nationalists during the French occupation. When the French were booted from Vietnam in 1954 this place eventually became a prison for American pilots that had been shot down over Hanoi. It was dubbed the Hanoi Hilton by the American GIs. They had an exhibit on the American soldiers who stayed there and it said that even though the American pilots did unspeakable terrors to the Vietnamese, the Vietnamese treated them well. They had several pictures of American pilots when they were returned after the war and they seemed in pretty good shape. Senator and now Republican Presidential nominee John McCain was actually a prisoner here. Another notable person was a pilot that actually returned to Vietnam in an ambassador role in 1997-2001. This part of the museum appeared to me to be propaganda. I am sure the prisoners did not feel they were treated well.

After this I walked home because I was beginning to not feel well, and it was a terrifying experience getting home. My hope that Hanoi would be a little bit more laid back in terms of traffic was shattered on this walk home. I had to cross the street numerous times and each one I feared for my life as moto-bikes whizzed past me. Earlier in the morning I had first woken up at 4am. Instead of counting sheep I counted moto-bike horns. I counted until I heard a moto-bike or car horn. Then I stopped and started over after hearing a horn. At 4am I almost got to 60 seconds, but most of the time it was only like 20 seconds. While sitting at the lake I tried the same game, but most times I could not even get past one second before a horn blasted. At most I got to five seconds.

When I returned back to the hotel I booked a tour to Halong bay for Sunday and a flight to Bangkok for Tuesday. I figured I had had enough of Vietnam. I enjoyed it here and ironically wished I had more time to see other places farther north, but for now I was ready to leave.

I booked all this through the hotel. I had done some shopping while walking around at other agencies and the agency in the hotel was around the same price. They asked if I wanted to pay for everything now. I said sure. They brought the bill over and it was 60$ for the room or 15$ a night. I got a little angry at this as I was quoted 7$ a night in Hue. I double checked with the receptionist Aiy when I checked in and he confirmed the 7$ price.

The guy told me that he was sorry, but the room was 15$. I guess Aiy must have not understood me when I confirmed the price as he pleaded ignorance. For the first time on my trip I was really upset, and I exploded. I know this is not much money, but I was tired of getting screwed in this country. I said “if you want me to pay 15$ then fuck the tour and get me a god damn flight out of here tomorrow.” They were little taken aback by this outburst and a moment later they apologized and changed it to 7$. This did not make me feel much better because I don’t like losing my cool, especially with people I would have to see for the next two days. Plus, I did not feel like I could trust them now.

After this I went out for something to eat. I wanted to find a menu with a set list of food, so I could see the price. After walking around the area for an hour I could not find anything. I should have just stayed in the hotel and ordered something because I was not in a good frame of mind. I even yelled at a moto-bike driver that kept haggling me for a ride. I did finally throw in the towel and returned to the hotel and ordered a pizza. I ordered a large four seasons with a side of garlic bread. I had the hotel order this for me. When the order came it was a medium with no garlic bread. Medium pizzas here are like our personal pizzas, and I was starving. I told the staff this was not what I ordered. They called the pizza place and said it would be the same price if they ordered a small and I could eat the medium now. I said fine, and also order me garlic bread. When the pizza came it was accompanied with a green salad and no garlic bread. I threw up my hands. I was thinking now that the hotel was just fucking with me. I ate the salad and watched Lord of the Rings on TV and went to bed. I think a big part of my problem was I was still exhausted from my Bach Ma hike and then the overnight bus trip. Vince Lombardi once said that “fatigue makes cowards of us all.” I was letting all these minor problems getting to me.