A Breath of Fresh (Humid) Air
Vietnam – Cao Dai Holy See – It’s hard to sit still, even if your church has dragons
We began this week celebrating Pat’s birthday and entering Vietnam. We were more than ready to leave Cambodia. We spent the entire week in Ho Chi Minh City with day trips to the Mekong Delta, Cu Chi Tunnels, and Cao Dai Holy See. Ho Chi Minh City has been exactly what we needed after Cambodia: our guesthouse was quiet but still in the middle of the action, the food is fresh and tasty, and there is more than enough to see and do. We ended the week with seventeen hour overnight train ride to central Vietnam.
1. Go
Vietnam – Ho Chi Minh City – Train from HCMC to Danang
- Bus – 770 km. This was a big week for bus travel. We started with a six hour trip from Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh City. Then during our stay in HCMC, we took two full day trips that involved lots of bus time. On the upside, we got to listen to the first few episodes of Serial and got caught up on some of our other favorite podcasts.
- Train – 935 km. We love train travel and booked this overnight train from Ho Chi Minh City all the way to Danang despite the travel agent and hotel owner telling us to fly instead. It was a 17 hour journey, but surprisingly enjoyable. We slept decently well and ate a few mediocre meals. We also met some interesting travelers along the way.
- Taxi – 32 km. We took a taxi to the train in Ho Chi Minh. Our guesthouse owner was very sweet and walked us to the road and flagged down a taxi for us. We agreed on a price and got in. The second we started moving he tried to claim that the price was per person instead of total. We firmly said no, he said he couldn’t do it, so we got out. We easily waived down a metered taxi and got the train station at our original agreed upon price. Our second taxi was from the train station in Danang to our guesthouse in Hoi An.
- Foot – 78,000 steps in 7 days (approx. 39 miles)
2. See
For our first day in HCMC, we decided to walk the town and visit sights until we dropped. We ended up walking around all day and visited the War Museum, Independence Palace, Notre Dame, the Post Office, and the Market. The War Museum documented the Vietnam War (aka Second Indochina War or American War) through vivid photographs from both sides. There was an entire exhibit depicting the affects of Agent Orange, which was upsetting to say the least. We continued on with the Independence Palace which was the home of workplace of the South Vietnamese President during the Vietnam War. It has been preserved since the end of the war.
We took a full day tour to the Mekong Delta. In retrospect, we probably should have taken a multi-day tour instead. The tour itself was fine, but the bus ride was extremely long – three hours each way. While there we visited a rice and coconut shop where we sampled the treats being made. We explored the large river and floating market on one large boat, then explored a small river with a tiny oar boat. Our oar lady sang “row, row, row your boat,” made us wear Vietnamese hats, and made Pat paddle.
Our second full day tour was north to the Cao Dai Holy See and the Cu Chi Tunnels. The Cao Dai faith is a blend of eastern and western religions – think of a church with dragons. It was founded in 1926 and pulls from Catholicism, Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. Among other beliefs, they list Victor Hugo as one of three saints who signed the third covenant with God (the first two were with Moses and Jesus). It was a fascinating visit and we wish we could have stayed longer!
For the afternoon we toured the Cu Chi Tunnels. These were tunnels used by the Cu Chi people during the Vietnam War. They were incredibly elaborate and some went down four levels. They were used by the villagers to hide from the Americans as well as by fighters to hide or ambush Americas. It was a bit strange touring the tunnels and hearing all the comments about “the enemy.” We were the only Americans in our group and many of the others didn’t know much about the war.
3. Eat
Vietnam – Ho Chi Minh City – First Pho!
Pho, pho, and more pho! Seriously, we have had pho every day at least once. It’s served at all times of day, but most locals eat it for breakfast. We usually get the basic pho bo – beef noodle soup – but sometimes we get adventurous and have other meats, stew instead of soup, or other noodle types (which means it’s not technically pho any more since pho is the type of noodle, but oh well). All have been delicious. Since we are in Vietnam for a whole month, we know we will have plenty of time to try the food, so we went out for Indian food twice. It was just so good that it’s all we wanted to eat!
4. Drink
Vietnam has some seriously good coffee. It’s chocolatey and often serve over ice. Most of the time it has milk and sugar, but we’ve been able to order it black. After months of instant coffee, it’s quite a treat to have fresh coffee and espresso, although we may have a hard time getting to sleep after all the caffeine.
5. Sleep
In Ho Chi Minh City, we stayed at a guesthouse in the middle of the action. Thankfully, the room was quiet. It was on the fifth floor with no elevator, so we had to earn our sleep! The owners were some of the nicest people we have encountered. They treated us like family and made sure we were happy and comfortable every day. When leaving, the lady walked us to the road and got a taxi for us, then hugged us and said, “see you next time!”
6. Move
We’ve fallen off the work out wagon pretty hard, but we are trying to get back on… or at least talking about it a lot! But on the upside, our daily life was more active: we did a short bike ride in the Mekong Delta, lots of walking in Ho Chi Minh City, and 100 meter tunnel walk (super hot and awkward). Now that Pat is healed from his cold, he was able to fit in one lifting session. Unfortunately, Lindsey is now fighting the same cold.
Check out Pat’s CADENCE Week 32 post (coming soon) for details about this week.
7. Etcetera
We had read that the Vietnamese people were not as overtly friendly as those in Cambodia, who aren’t as friendly as those in Thailand. We have found the opposite. The Thai were friendly enough, but the Cambodian people were more genuinely happy. The Vietnamese are down right excited to see us. All our tour guides, drivers, and hosts have treated us like family. They are like long lost relatives excited to show off their town.
Check out our Flickr album to see all our photos from this week.
Nomadic Cadence 
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