The Remnants of Communism - Ho Chi Minh City

I’m standing before an intimidating road where hundreds of motorcycles and rickshaws make their way through the afternoon traffic. Alongside me are some spring roll and crafts vendors, some of them still soliciting me even with my back turned. I almost fell into a trance staring at the red headlights, probably due to the exhausting journey over. Suddenly my friend grabs my hand and we suicidally wonder into the traffic. Cursing to myself along the way, I can’t slow down because apparently that could be ‘dangerous’. Praying that the motorbikes will dodge me, I literally held my breath until we reached the other end. That is how you cross the road in Ho Chi Minh City.

Hordes of motorbikes travelling at less than 5km/hour in the congested traffic

With my quivering legs, we then managed to have a wonderful night wondering around a city where communist themes have been built into a French Colonial landscape. What is different about this city is that you can sense the restlessness in the people, who cannot wait to thrive in this developing economy.

   

The French Quarter 

---

Vietnam was top on my list of countries to visit in Asia. I am among the thousands of tourists wondering into Vietnam annually just for the food, having no idea of the rest of the country. What we end up with is a significantly more emotional trip than we expected.

To start, our flight there was cancelled due to a rainstorm. Since it was Easter, many travelers had to postpone their plans for the long weekend and were stranded in the airport. A random of few of my friends also had their flight cancelled, so we assembled our own little camp to pass time together. While wandering the terminal looking for up-to-date flight info and a phone plug, we saw an elderly man collapsed due to exhaustion. At this point, I could sense the cabin fever settling in on most of the population. About 5 hours into the delay, I felt like I was in a social experiment - angry travelers demanding updates surrounded the customer service desk. Fearing that things may get out of control, security came around with big guns. That night, I saw the inside of a Hong Kong hotel room for the first time since moving here. They’re not as small as I thought.

8 hours into our trip, still in Hong Kong and headed for a hotel in TST

Twelve hours later, we finally arrived in Ho Chi Minh City. After we checked into our hostel, the number one priority was to dash for food. 

When it’s too hot, just find somewhere to eat

There's a decent Vietnamese population in Canada and every kid would've grown up with the delicious taste of Pho (Rice Noodle Soup). I often wonder why it's so damn good, then I finally put two and two together over my visit. Vietnamese food belong to a category of subtle cooking, much like Italian food. It makes its legacy through keeping the seasoning simple, so to not overwhelm the natural taste of the ingredients, but supplement it instead. 

Here are some key ingredients you can find in practically any corner of HCM city in the early morning: - Condensed milk: It can keep so it’s used in a lot of tea and coffee to add richness, which leaves you savouring more than your regular Starbucks drink.
- Rice noodle soup: It's cooked with a few of spices that blend perfectly to give an unexplainable flavor that is often craved during exam period.
- Rice paper: It doesn’t even matter if it’s wrapped around grass, once you dip it in a tangy or peanut sauce, a bite is absolutely euphoric.
- Banh mi: The King of all Vietnamese food. A French baguette with pate, pickles, salami and grilled pork. When the vendor heats it on their makeshift grill, the pate melts into the baguette, making it soft compared to its crusty exterior. I had about five of these when I was there.

Vietnamese coffee made with condensed milk

Spring roll fillings 

Banh Mi

Last but not least, Pho!

A Country Never Forgets…

The Vietnam War is still fresh in the minds of most of the population. It was less than 40 years ago that this nation was torn apart by bombs, chemical weapons and the foreign military. This is a country with a bloody past, having been constantly invaded for the past millennium. Yet, its people never stopped fighting, until they finally got the freedom that they deserve.

Sculpture depicting a peasant woman offering her family's ration to a soldier

All throughout the city, you can see propaganda telling the people to never forget the atrocities committed against their people. Our visit to the Vietnam War Museum was probably one of the highlights of our trip. It told us of exactly what its people went through, with no censorship. There is an entire gallery dedicated to Agent Orange victims, which I had to think twice before entering. Whether the museum was biased or not, a picture is worth a thousand words.

Children crying for help after a Napalm attack

We also had the opportunity to visit the Cu Chi Tunnels, the headquarters of the Communist Viet Cong during the war. Although small and stuffy, these intricately dug tunnels hosted resistance forces up until their victory. We took a dive ourselves, 20 meter of crawling later, we gave up...

Five very claustrophobic minutes later in the Cu Chi Tunnels

Despite such a sad past, nowadays tour groups from the US, China and France flood the sites where their nation once occupied. We live in an age where holding a grudge is a silly thing to do. Vietnam looks forward, after coming a very long way.

A part of me knows that I didn't really scratch the surface with this country, but however short this trip is, I'm glad I didn't miss it altogether!