GSH 2019: Leg #2: Vietnam

The second leg of the trip was Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam.  We landed about 11AM so Bill (the event producer and ringmaster) opened the leg early in the afternoon.  We had the rest of that day and until 8:30PM of the next day to soak in Saigon City.  We were here 6 years ago (2013) with the competition so we decided to NOT repeat the highlight bonus for this area - the Cu Chi Tunnels – because we had done that already.  But if you ever come here, that should be #1 on your list. It is fascinating.   

Our first stop once the leg opened was the Ben Thanh Market. Did I tell you already that I LOVE markets?  We spent some time wandering through the bustle.

We had to taste test three different fruit.  Mangosteen was definitely my favorite..

And find the cobra wine… which does in fact have an intact cobra – with a scorpion in its mouth for extra flavor – inside the wine. Who thinks up of these awful things to consume?

Visited the Jade Pagoda to make an offering. I found some of the religious statues to be downright terrifying.  What happened to the “kind, loving and gentle God” concept?

No night in Vietnam is complete without a Water Puppet show: an experience of painfully terrible music as the backdrop to a totally non-understandable plot involving village people puppets dancing with buffaloes and jumping frogs and tigers.

A little Karaoke anyone?  In a private booth - decked out with velvet couches and artwork worthy of any high-end brothel - I belted out a tone deaf rendition of “YMCA.”  It’s for points, people.

We ended the night at the observation deck of the Bitexco Tower… for an incredible, panoramic view of the city at night.

First thing the next morning, for a bonus, we took the ferry over to Vung Tau

And then climbed the giant Jesus statue… a true oddity in a majority Buddhist country.  You first climb up the statue (not a small feat in the 108 degree heat) and then climb INTO the statue and pop out on Jesus’ shoulder for a terrific view of the ocean and city.

And Booth took a swim in the South China Sea.

Back in the city, we spent an hour at the War Remnants Museum, a place that documents the Vietnam war from the perspective of the Vietnamese people. 

What was clear is: He Who Wins a War, Writes the History.  The museum is a multi-story building with hundreds of horrific images of war atrocities committed by the American troops:  from smashing babies on the ground to dragging men behind US tanks to their death.  Even the signage is disturbing.  The punchline: War brings out the truly terrible in people. 

Saving the best for last, our A++++ scavenge was at the end of this leg: An authentic street food tour in a locals-only part of town.  It is run by college students who fetched us on motorcycles.  

They take you down alleyways and into back streets to try food cooked on open flames or over coals… and all beside the road – no actual kitchen or restaurant structure. 

My favorite stop was a place run by Bling (I’ll let you guess where his name comes from).

Nastiest food ate (and only because there were a lot of points on the line) was “trung vit lon”: a boiled egg inside of which is a fertilized and partially grown chick.  The baby bird grows to a certain size and then they boil the egg and eat it.  There is “gross food” and then there is “totally disgusting food”… this definitely is in the latter category. Even the other people on our tour (couples from England, Australia and New Zealand and hardcore travelers) were totally shocked when I actually bit into it.

Just found out our next country is ... drum roll, please ... MYANMAR (Burma).  We will be there by noon tomorrow.