Getting it all in Vietnam!
While I was teaching in Thailand, my mom came to visit. She wanted to see a lot of this part of the world during her vacation. So, we booked some local flights. The best part of my Vietnam journey is the fact that it was all of two days long. With only two days we (my Mom and I) were able to get so much done within those two days that looking back it would definitely seem like it was a much longer journey. The theme for this trip was “get it all in!”
We started by flying into Ho Chi Minh and were immediately swept away by the hustle and bustle of the city. I believe we saw more scooters and bikes road than I have personally seen in any other metropolitan city. There were more bikes and scooters than actual cars on the road by a huge margin. While making our way to our AirBnB we saw sights of people balancing multiple trays of food while sitting on the back of a moving bicycle.
Of course if you have read the previous blogs you know there is one thing we must have when going to a new country, the Street Food. We were able to sit on the infamous little red stools and have actual Pho and Banh Mis from Vietnam at a street side eatery/cart/area. Something about eating authentic food from the country it comes from makes it all worth it.
The next day, the first thing we did in the morning was fly to another part of Vietnam, Da Nang, to go the Ba Na Hills and see their newest tourist attraction the “Golden Bridge.” Exactly 3,280 feet above sea level and 150 meters long is a bridge being held up by two weathered-looking hands. This was sight was definitely worth the trip within the trip. The base of the mountain was completely turned into a large mall like area filled with ornate statues, ponds for fish and of course gift shops and gift carts for people to buy things. Unfortunately the day we were there we were greeted with the rain. It was an intense rain yet everything was still open.
The journey was pretty much filled with lines. Long lines, even though it was raining. The longest part though was the trolley cart ride up to the bridge itself. The majesty of slowly climbing up the mountainside going through layers and layers of clouds cannot be overstated. At the top of the mountain where the hands were is an entire wonderland of photo opportunities and the bridge itself.
Even though it was crowded and there was raining my mother and I managed to get over our collective acrophobia to actually take decent photos. It was worth it. Back to Ho Chi Minh we went to indulge more of the culture. We visited the War Remnants Museum and ate at one of the more upscale restaurants in Vietnam. All of this was done within two days. The moral of the story is to get it all in! Leave no stone unturned and spare no expense because we do not know what will happen in the future. If we are ever in a situation where the only thing to do is to share stories it is nice if you have a lot of them.
