Vietnam Part 3

Now we're getting to the best pictures.  The next part of our trip was in Northern Vietnam, where the landscape was much more interesting, but the food wasn't as good.  We flew from Saigon to Hanoi and took a bus out to Halong Bay.  For those of you who have never heard of Halong Bay, rent the movie Indochine.  The bay is full of thousands of tooth-like islands, definitely a must-see location for anyone visiting Vietnam.

We spent the first afternoon settling in.  We visited an newly built park that was part beach-side resort, part museum, and part Seaworld-style entertainment.  We then checked into our downtown hotel, where my parents ended up with a room three times the size of mine and Megan's.  The next day was great, sailing the between the islands of the bay.  We stopped on one of them to walk through a massive underground cave (battling hundreds of other tourists).

Pictures of the resort, our hotel, the caves and beautiful bay are here.

Vietnam Part 2

Our second day in Vietnam was spent on a trip to the Mekong Delta.  We took a powerboat ride (or is it swift boat?) to the city of My Tho.  There we boarded smaller boats and canoes to travel between the jungle-covered islands of the delta.  For lunch we ate a really large freshly caught and fried fish and then relaxed on some hammocks.  The highlight of the day was a bike ride through the jungle of the delta passing scattered homes.  We got a little lost with some Australian tourists and they were grateful my Vietnamese-speaking parents could ask for directions.  Pictures of that day are here.

The next day we went east of Saigon to the home of my Aunt (my mother's sister).  She's the mother of my cousins Phuong, Trung, and Hai (I mentioned them in part 1).  She lives on the land of my grandfather, in a beautiful fenced in house with views of mountains and rice farms.  We visited the tomb of my maternal grandparents located on the property.  Having not seen her sister in many years, my aunt treated us to a multicourse meal of lobster, pork, soup etc..  Megan had durian, a very pungent fruit, for the first time, which she thought wasn't bad (I think because she ate it in an open-air dining room).  The rest of the afternoon was spent lounging around my Aunt's home and then on the beach.  Pictures of that day are here.  Sorry, no pictures of the beach yet, but they ARE coming, so stay tuned.

Vietnam Part 1

Vietnam was amazing.  I could have easily spent an entire month there... maybe even longer.  We crammed in so much of the country in two weeks, even visiting places my parents had never been to.  You see, they grew up when the country was in conflict and they could not venture too far away from civilization for fear of running into guerillas.  Well, those guerillas have since become the legitimate government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and now the tourism industry is flourishing there.

Vietnam is a socialist state in name only.  Although the communist party remains in power, the government is actually more of a one party dictatorship.  The people can't choose their leadership, but when it comes to making money, it capitalism all the way. 

Well, anyway, I went there with three other people. Megan (of course) and my mom and dad.  For Megan and I, it was our first trip there.  For my parents, it was their third (or fourth).  Bringing them along was a great, because they introduced me to family I had never met.  They also told many stories about their past (both family and personal history).

Our trip began with 25 hours of flights.  When we arrived in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon from now on), it was night.  Two things immediately struck me as I stepped out of the airport. The first was the heat, an inescapable humid heat that would (with one exception) be omnipresent throughout the trip. The other was the massive crowd of people waiting.  From the crowd sprang four people who rushed us into a van.  My parents then introduced me to my cousin Trung (who graciously did all the driving for us), my cousin Phuong, her daughter Lan (our unofficial tour guide of Saigon) and Lan's daughter Vy.  (Days later, we would meet Trung's wife Hein and their daughter My)  Trung took us to our hotel and Lan gave me the near-fatal jackfruit.

The next morning we met my cousin Hai, went to Pho 2000 (where Bill Clinton had breakfast on his Vietnam visit), and explored Saigon.  My parents showed us where they used to live.  Over the next three days, Saigon became our home base to which we returned from touring elsewhere.  We spent a lot of time shopping there and more time eating.  We became quickly attached to two restaurants: Pho Hoa Pasteur (best pho in the city, maybe even the whole country) and Bahn Xeo 46A (for lovers of all things fried).  

Getting used to traffic there was a lot of fun.  The number one mode of transportation was the motorcycle and the city was full of swarms of them.  They didn't stop for anything, either.  Traffic laws were regarded as good ideas rather than actual laws.  It was fun riding Trung's van while he was making a u-turn downtown with bikes speeding all around him.  As a pediastian, if you had to cross the street, it would be useless to wait for an opening.  Darting as fast as you can would be deadly.  You just had to step into the road and cross slowly and deliberately as motorcycles swerved around you.  

Later on our trip, Lan gave Megan and I each a nighttime tour of Saigon from the back of her bike.  We both agreed that it was, by far, the best way to see the city.

For a 40 picture slideshow click here.  If you like captions for your pictures then read onward.

Vietnam Pictures Part 1

Hotel in Saigon, originally uploaded by mykng.

This was our hotel in Saigon ($16/night)

Mom's Home in Saigon 2, originally uploaded by mykng.

My mom, the daughter of the assistant post master general, lived on the upper floor of that building during her childhood.

Dad's Home in Saigon, originally uploaded by mykng.

My father's family lived in this house when they moved to Saigon

Pho Hoa Pasteur, originally uploaded by mykng.

Best Pho in Vietnam

Pho Hoa Pasteur Inside, originally uploaded by mykng.

You'll recognize Pho Hoa Pasteur by the bamboo forest on the wall

Banh Xeo 2, originally uploaded by mykng.

This place is famous for their pancakes filled with shrimp and pork. If that is too daring for you, then go for the eggrolls. Don't confuse it with Bahn Xeo 49A which is across the street (accept no imitations)

Phuong and Lan and Vy, originally uploaded by mykng.

My cousin Phuong (seated), her daughter Lan (standing) and Lan's daughter Vy (sitting in her grandmother's lap).

Trung and Hein and My, originally uploaded by mykng.

My cousin Trung, his wife Hein and their daughter My

Hai and Family, originally uploaded by mykng.

Hai and his family getting ready for the ride home

My and Vy, originally uploaded by mykng.

Another look at My and Vy

Mr. June?

The staff at The Kent General E.R. as part of a team-building initiative, began a newsletter.  The first issue, out this month, looks great.  Every issue features a short bio about one of the employees.  Well, guess who's "Mr June"  (one of the other docs gave me that name).

I mentioned this blog in the article, so hopefully we'll get more traffic here.  In anticipation of more interest, I want to remind everyone the VIETNAM PICTURES ARE COMING.  I just need more time.  I've been busy I came back... work and Kaitlyn's Baptism (congrats Mary and Long).  So hopefully later this week, I'll have the first installment.

The Article

I'm Certified (Not Certifiable)

I'm back from Vietnam, by the way. I originally wanted my first entry to be about the trip... but this is pretty exciting. Megan was pretty excited too, she woke me up from sleep to tell me. I passed my oral boards. So now it's official. You're reading the blog of a specialist in emergency medicine.

Geezers Need Excitement

There's a restaurant/bar around the corner from my hotel in Ho Chi Minh City called Allez Boo. Since I'm in a hotel district it mostly caters to Western tourists (notice the French-ish name). I highly recommend it by the way. If you spend two weeks in Vietnam, you're eventually going to get tired of Vietnamese food...pretty much what happened to Megan. Allez Boo is great because it has a very international feel there. You'll meet people from Austrailia, France etc... With like 30 budget hotels around the corner, you'll definitely find the backpacker crowd.

Anyway, while there I heard the first piece of familiar music blasting from the jukebox since this trip began. Two songs: "Geezers Need Excitement" and "Has Come to This" from Original Pirate Material by The Streets. (By the way, anyone reading this blog should immediately go out and buy both albums by The Streets. Special thanks to Carl and Derek for introducing me to them)

Well, familiar food and familar music has definitely made me homesick and luckily I'll be home soon.

Barter 'Til You Drop

The barter system is very much alive in Vietnam. Never immediately pay the asking pricing for anything. For a pair of shoes, Megan got someone to go from 155,000d to 55,000d (from $10 to less than $4). They may have started especially high because she was American.

Megan's discovered the cheap shoes here in Vietnam. She's purchased 4 pairs so far. Not much to complain about because they're about 1/10th the price they would be in the U. S. Me, I'm going to get a $500 suit for about $130.

Back From the North

Just got back from a six day trip in Northern Vietnam (Sapa, Hanoi, and Halong Bay). I highly recommend anyone travelling to Asia to check out those locations. They are definitely the must see locations of Vietnam. Sapa has the mountains, Hanoi is a beautiful city, and Halong Bay with its tooth-like islands is completely out of this world.