Emilia's España Aventura: Louis Vuitton in Saigon

I know, I know. It's not called Saigon anymore, but it has a better ring to it than Ho Chi Minh City. And Louis Vuitton is everywhere in this so-called communist country! For Lunar break, I traveled to Vietnam with my friends Jennifer and Breanna. I was beyond excited to delve into the historical and cultural vastness of this country. We spent the first half of our vacation exploring the Cu Chi tunnels, the Mekong Delta, touring HCMC on scooter taxis, visiting the home of a Vietnamese family, drinking tons of Vietnamese iced coffee, and desperately trying to find an open shopping market. If you ever travel to Vietnam over the Lunar holiday, none of the shops are open! You have been officially warned!

My favorite Saigon moment was encountering Tae. We met, er, hired him (and his other family members) outside of the Vietnam War Memorial to drive us back to our hostel on scooter taxis. I was scared that my other two travel companions would chicken out, but to my delight, they immediately hopped on! He dropped us off, write down his phone number, and encouraged us to call him the next for a personal tour of HCMC. I'm certainly glad we took! The scooter gurus drove us to museums, pagodas, shops, and finally to the family home. I was little nervous about the last part, but curiosity won us over. Tae and his family were extremely charming and hospitable. They live in a boisterous alleyway with a multitude of Vietnamese families near the river. We scuttled onto the floor with ten other people, and glasses of beer and soda were immediately shoved into our hands. Tae introduced us to everyone and told us stories about the neighborhood, his family, and his involvement in the Vietnam War. He fought with the American soldiers and proudly displayed the eagle tattoo on his inner forearm to prove it. He didn't (or couldn't?) elaborate too much on the war, but the brevity of his stories didn't matter. I was just thankful he was open to sharing! Since Tae was the only one that could English, our visit was finished once Tae's translating energy had exhausted itself. He drove us back to the hostel, shook our hands, and scooted away. I was sad to see him go. The remainder of our visit was spent curled up in bed. HCMC proved to be excruciatingly hot and knocked us all with heat exhaustion the following day. This is one reason why I like four season climates and will avoid living in a tropical climate if I can help it!

Midweek, we traveled to the capital city of Hanoi. It wasn't quite the beautiful North that I had expected; in fact, it was gray, dirty, and gloomy. I felt disappointed, but knew we would see interesting things despite the melancholy atmosphere. The first two days we spent on an overnight cruise in Halong Bay. The advertisement didn't lead us to believe that is would a "romantic getaway", but the trip consisted a couples and one single guy. Great place to socialize for three single gals! Nonetheless, we had a great time hiking, kayaking, socializing, taking pictures, talking, and enjoying some great food. We returned to Hanoi exhausted and happy.

We visited Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum on our last day. It was so strange and surreal! We waited in line for a half hour, then were ushered into a huge, gray monument. I got scolded for having my hands in my jacket pocket, so I hurriedly took them to avoid causing any trouble with the fierce looking guards. The whole experience was over in 30 seconds. We came, we saw Ho Chi Minh, we left. That's it. Ho Chi Minh himself looked old, waxy, and relaxed. A friend told me that his body is shipped off to Russia a few times a year to be "worked on". (Translate- new nose and ears. Eww!) I'm still baffled by the reverence the Vietnamese people hold for this man. Perhaps it's my limited viewpoint as a foreigner, but I just don't get it. It makes me curious how hysterical the North Koreans must get when Kim Il Sung is on display.

This is my fourth attempt going down into the tunnels. I eventually suceeded!