Ho Chi Minh City
Times Square? Continental Divide? Vegas? Downtown Disney? Jungle? Vietnam is all the above. Once again, not sure what I expected it to be, but it wasn’t anything I think I would have had in my mind. High Rise buildings are everywhere in Ho Chi Minh (Saigon) and in Hanoi. Didn’t expect that for sure. Our hotel in Ho Chi Minh was one of the oldest, yet is was absolutely beautiful. The woodwork was stunning. All of the amenities we had in Hong Kong. Crossing the street was an experience of putting your life on the line each time. It’s hard to remember to not stop or don’t run. Traffic lights apparently mean shit…Green means you can go. Yellow means you can go. Red means you can STILL go!!!
Driving in Vietnam is not for the feint at heart either. On our third morning we were driven in an SUV from Ho Chi Minh to Da Lat. A harrowing, nail biter, 6 hour drive. There are no rules of the road. People pass while going around curves, they drive in whatever side they feel like driving on. The bus drivers are the worst. I don’t think I will ever get used to it. Nor will I or can I not get sick to my stomach each time we pass a restaurant advertising their delicacies…. (dog and cat). Yup. You read that right. There weee even pictures of dog faces with cat mouths…(I may have just thrown up in my mouth). What I can tell you however, is that we are getting better at crossing the street!
Da Lat is a city in the Mountains. It was so beautiful. So nice to get out of the city and the pollution. We were in the home of Vietnamese Coffee. OMG! After not having coffee for 3+ years, I couldn’t think of a better place to have some. Hot or iced with sweet condensed milk. Soooooo fucking delicious. The only problems are, A) they’re too small. And 2) you best be near a bathroom afterwards. And have I mentioned the bread and pastries? The best Bahn Mi EVER!!! We went to visit some waterfalls, and came across a Treetop Adventure Park. Why not we said. We’ve all done it before. Remember how amazing I was in Thailand? Now was my chance to show Marc and Ari the fears I overcame. We went Marc, Ari, Sakai, and then me. All was going well. Marc was slowly getting used to the obstacles. Ari and Sakai were flying across with ease. I was even doing much better than I thought. We completed the Green Course- 25 obstacles. Got some water and set out for the Blue Course. It looked much easier than the one in Thailand. That was until I saw how high it actually was. Holy Fuck. I told them I would wait at the bottom, that I was finished. Nope. Sakai was having none of my shit, so Up I went. All was ok until the Cargo Net. Ari fell off and had to be rescued (he was still attached to the course). Even sakai was having a go at this one. Marc was saying how tired his arms were after he went. Shit. My turn. Doing great until the last third. Fell off and had to be rescued…Why couldn’t they just hook me up as if it were a zip line from the beginning? I would have aced it!! Ok. Just a few more to go and the final zip line to the end. That one looked sooo fun. And it was….until I told Sakai to help stop me as I approached the end platform….He just stood there and laughed as I bounced off and started flying backwards towards the other end. Shit shit shit! I’m not moving back to the finish line. I’m dangling above a lake and half way between either end. FUCK YOU ALL! Stop laughing. It’s not funny. Started pulling myself towards the end. After a while I just couldn’t do anymore. I couldn’t feel my fingers and my arms were numb as well. I would stop and rest while Ari was yelling for someone to help me. Marc and Sakai were telling them not to help me that I could do it. I made it almost the entire way back, but just couldn’t finish by myself….Did my best. Wasn’t scared for a second though. Just dead tired.
The falls were ok. Now comes a major obstacle for Ari…A bobsled down the mountain. You control your speed and you’re on a track similar to a rollercoaster. He has been petrified of this for months. What was going to happen? I went first with Sakai behind me. Then Ari, and finally Marc. Of course I had lame people in front of me that kept stopping…. so annoying. Wait? What is that I hear behind me? Couldn’t be…Is Ari whooping for joy? Is that him having the best time? Yaaaaay!!!!! All those months of his imagination getting the best of him for nothing. So proud of him for conquering his fears. We will work on bicycle riding next when he will have to ride to Nha Trang. Meantime, we will enjoy all that Da Lat has to offer us. Which is a lot! We had the best time just walking around, eating, and drinking. Many games of Uno were played in cafes. So fun.
Can’t wait to see our next cities!
One on, one off, one in the wash... 