Meat, Greens, Wrap…Repeat (South Vietnam)

The second half of our Vietnam trip revolved around one significant discovery – in spite of the decades that have passed since unification, the South of the country is nothing like the North. Sure, the dreary weather followed us all the way down to Ho Chi Minh City, and the grey, Soviet-style architecture was a constant theme. But as we moved south, we found ourselves increasingly charmed by the towns we visited, impressed by the food we ate, and energized by the people we met – it began to feel much more like the spicy, messy, hot, and noisy Southeast Asia that by this point was near and dear to us.

First, though, we had to survive a foray into Vietnamese train travel – which almost eclipsed the Indian coffin-style sleeper bus in our mental list of “things never to do again”…

Hue

The train journey from Hanoi to Hue is said to be one of the more beautiful journeys in Asia, an unhurried jaunt through endless green fields and past mile-upon-mile of mountainous, rugged coastline. This may be true, but unfortunately we were unable to verify, being more focused on the battalion of cockroaches marching down the walls and conducting maneuvers upon our pillows. The rather torturous (16 hour!) ride also involved plenty of leg cramps (owing to the Asia-sized beds), a bipolar AC unit, and a number of painfully shrill station announcements which ran continuously throughout the night. Fortunately we’d managed to smuggle some vodka onboard, which did help to dull the agony.

The cabin didn’t seem too bad at first, and Ethan delighted in two of his favorite activities – lounging…

…and pretending to be a giant

We did resist breaking out the grog ration until Jess’ cockroach kill tally was in the double digits

The unpretentious city of Hue, which sits about halfway along Vietnam’s expansive coastline, is better-known for what it used to be than for what it is today. For more than a century it was the seat of royal power in Vietnam, playing host to an expansive, moated Imperial City. Later, during the War, Hue found itself precariously positioned right next to the border between North and South, and it became notorious for the utter destruction wrought throughout the city as it was captured by North Vietnamese / Vietcong forces, recaptured by South Vietnamese / US forces, and then finally fell to the Northern forces years later as they captured the entire South.

Today, some say residents suffer from something of an inferiority complex, having been one-upped by rival cities to the north and south. What we found was an underexplored, friendly, and genuine community, packed with more than its fair share of young people, and brimming over with restaurants, bars, and hipster coffee shops.

Hue has a flourishing dining scene, mostly made up of casual, unlicensed eateries. The toddler-sized chairs allow for a quick getaway when the police decide to show up – which happens regularly

We had a good feeling about Hue when we arrived in the early morning at our hotel – by far the cheapest of the trip since India – and received an incredibly warm welcome, complete with a fruit plate. Hue is a small city, and it attracts fewer moneyed tourists than Hanoi, which may be part of the reason we immediately noticed a different attitude among people we met. Everyone we ran into had time to stop for a chat, and everywhere people were willing to offer advice, share drinks, and generally make us feel welcome. In the end, we stayed several days longer than we planned to in the city – not because of the amazing sights (of which there are few), but because we had rarely found somewhere where we felt so comfortably at home.

We ran into an incredibly friendly group of guys one afternoon while wandering around town, and they insisted we sat down for a drink (beer and red bull, a standard choice in Vietnam) and a chat (more of a mime, since their English was only marginally better than our Vietnamese)

Jess has endured a series of admirers over the course of the trip, but few so determined as our new best friend…

Wandering around town, we noticed this fishing net setup – which looked rather familiar based on our adventures in Kerala

Our local restaurant, where we discovered Vietnam’s version of The Voice and subsequently spent the afternoon watching YouTube highlights with the owner

Hue came to the fore during the Nguyen Dynasty, under which Vietnam was unified in 1802. Hue’s Imperial City served as the home of successive emperors for the next 150 years, until the revolutionary government forced the abdication of then-figurehead Bao Dai. Not much of the original complex remains standing, since it was badly damaged by fighting during the War, but the sheer scale – complete with a moat that still surrounds the area – gives a sense of the grandeur in which Vietnam’s royals once lived.

The main gate, reserved solely for the Emperor

A lot of the structures still standing include seemingly Chinese-influenced ornamentation, reflecting the Nguyen dynasty’s strong ties with their much larger neighbor to the north

 

As we were learning, in Vietnam any opportunity to catch up on The Voice must be seized immediately

Feeling regal

Part of the charm of the massive palace grounds is gracefully they’ve been overrun by foliage

We spent a perplexingly entertaining 15 minutes throwing fish food to some enterprising birds. While you’re supposed to feed the carp in the moats for good luck, the chickens have picked up on this, and angle for their share of the goodies. It becomes a feathery race of dazzling agility as each chicken battles to beat the others. After witnessing this, neither of us doubts that chickens are descended from dinosaurs.

Truly, a mini velociraptor!

Of course the most successful bird at getting the food was a slow-moving and somewhat obese duck who turned its cute waddle, shy sideways glances, and heartwarming tail wiggle into an unending stream of food placed before it by its human admirers

For the most part, Hue bears little trace of the horrors experienced by its residents during the Vietnam War. Due to its location only 50 km from the DMZ, Hue formed a key link in the supply chain for US troops early on, and it was an obvious target when fighting escalated during the Tet Offensive in 1968. The North Vietnamese Army and Vietcong occupied the city for 24 days, inflicting mass casualties and massacring civilians, and were driven out in one of the longest and bloodiest battles of the War. In all, over 5,000 civilians were killed, and the city was virtually destroyed. Today, it’s easy to forget that many of the friendly, welcoming people you meet in Hue lived through this – and in some cases, fought loyally for the South Vietnamese Army throughout the War.

Although there are few reminders of the Vietnam War in Hue, there is an extensive collection of captured US planes and tanks – our guide would go on to regret asking Ethan to give our tour group a quick briefing

As in Hanoi, monuments to Ho Chi Minh abound…at the age of only 18, he came to Hue to help farmers demonstrating against high taxes levied by the French

Interestingly, the French legacy is visible right across the road in the form of Hue’s famous Truong Tien Bridge, designed by Gustave Eiffel himself

One of the things we enjoyed the most in Hue was, obviously, the food. Hue is known for its Imperial Cuisine, supposedly honed to delight successive Emperors (much like in central Thailand). While for us the quality definitely represented a step-up from Hanoi, the highlight was the sense of casual fun that came with dining out in the city. We were lucky enough to find a group of local university students who spend their spare time ferrying brave tourists around on the back of their scooters, and with their help we discovered a host of hidden cafes and stalls which had sprouted up to feed the large and hungry student population. Dishes were cheap, unpretentious, and often innovative – and much closer to the idealized image of Vietnamese food we’d set out with.

Single-dish eateries are the norm in Vietnam, and it was obvious that the locals know exactly where to go for each type of food – observe the bahn mi line

Our early explorations involved quite a bit of pointing at other peoples’ food, since we had no idea what anything was called – and still don’t. These mini pancakes were the result of copying the kid in the background, since he looked like he was enjoying himself

Large pile of greens – check. Seafood and pork everywhere – check. Sweet / sour / spicy dipping sauce – check. Rice paper wraps – check. Excellent local beer – check

Yep, definitely getting the hang of things in Vietnam

Rice paper wraps take a bit of getting used to, since they must be dipped in just the right amount of water to be flexible but not fall apart. There is some dexterity involved in then stuffing them with crispy pancake, vegetables, meats, greens, and sauces, but once you get the hang of it the the end result is a heavenly contrast of textures and flavor

Among excellent beer options in Vietnam, 333 Beer – introduced by the French as 33 Beer and subsequently cunningly renamed

Since Vietnam is really hot most of the time, it’s standard practice to drink beer on ice…with a straw. We gave it a fair go, but were not converted

Hue is particularly famous for its peppery Bun Bo noodle dish, which far surpasses pho in the hearts of all locals

 

The one major letdown of Hue’s food scene was the desserts. For us, the approach was just a bit too…Burmese. This smorgasbord of ingredients was about to become clown vomit round 2…

  

…loath to offend our tour guides, we stoically choked down about half of this unbelievably horrible bean / noodle / fruit / nut / ice / custard concoction

Hoi An

Our next destination was mercifully only a few hours’ drive down the coast, which we spent uncomfortably on a rather weird semi-reclining bus, sadly watching the rain clouds close in on us once again. By the time we reached Hoi An, it was pouring, and it remained that way for our entire visit. This did nothing to detract from the beauty of the town, and although it did rather limit our sightseeing, it gave us a convenient excuse to spend more time in the rather plush, tourist-friendly restaurants and bars that line the river.

Aboard our chariot (with Ethan getting tangled in a particularly fiendish Killer Sudoku)

We did catch some spectacular scenery en route, dramatic under the darkening sky

Beautiful Hoi An! Lovely even with soggy feet

     

Hoi An was historically a significant port, and as with many port towns its heritage is something of a blend. Early inhabitants were Hindu, and diverse influences came later on from Arab traders and Chinese armies long before the Vietnamese arrived on the scene. Unlike Hue, Hoi An is beautifully preserved thanks to the river’s decline a couple of centuries ago, which ended the city’s role as a trading post and curtailed any future development. This makes for a fabulous tourist experience, and modern Hoi An is a polished, decorated, living museum – with visitor numbers in the hundreds of thousands, and a substantial entrance fee.

The rain did little to deter the crowds gawping at the Japanese Bridge

 

Ancient yellow buildings line the riverfront, all of which house restaurants, beauty salons, and souvenir shops

Attempting to bargain Faust-style with the rain gods

At night, the network of streets in the old town is wonderfully atmospheric thanks to brightly colored lanterns strung up between the buildings

The waiting area outside of one famous Hoi An restaurant matched more-or-less exactly what we would have imagined the decor of a warm-weather opium den to be

We had to admit that Hoi An was gorgeous, and for a day of riverside strolling and people watching it was perfect (or it would have been, had the rain slowed down). It’s also a hub for tailoring, and though we didn’t have enough time, or space in our backpacks, we heard that it’s possible to get some rather incredible custom-made suits, dresses, and the like if you choose your vendor carefully. The food, too, was excellent, with plentiful complex, nicely plated, high-end offerings. The unashamed pandering to tourists, however, did make us feel slightly uneasy. Once again, we felt that our interactions were empty and transactional, and that everything was for show. The cherry on the top was when we tried to pay a visit to the rather unimpressive beach nearby and found that we were being asked to pay an entrance fee, apparently for no reason (of course, it turned out there was another entrance hidden down the road).

Although the harbor is no longer active, aquaculture plays a significant role in the economy to this day, and picturesque dippable fishing nets dot the river

One of the beaches outside the city, likely an R&R destination for American GIs in a past era

 

More importantly, back to the food…our favorite  upside to a full-on tourist town.

A veggie version of the city’s most famous dish, Cao Lau. For the purist, this Japanese-Chinese-Vietnamese bowl of noodles is only available in Hoi An because it must be made with water from a specific well

Ethan’s personal favorite, com ga (chicken rice), an excellent Vietnamese take on the famous dish of Singapore and Hainan

An unbelievably delicious salad, which brought the best of Myanmar (fried bits), Thailand (sour fruits), and Vietnam (lots of leaves…and an undisclosed sprinkling of meat)

A proper breakfast! Pho Bo with some side rolls for soup sopping and other tasks. The French baking obsession spread widely within Vietnam, and the country is the undisputed bread champion of Asia

Our trip to Vietnam did nothing to curb the caffeine addictions we’d been fostering since Thailand – Vietnamese ca phe, slowly trickled through a French drip filter, is robust and chocolatey – and perfect with a little bit of condensed milk

Ho Chi Minh City

Ho Chi Minh City – better known to most, including its residents, as Saigon – was the last stop on our Vietnamese adventure. By this point, we were really starting to get into the swing of things, with a basic grasp of pronunciation (it’s not as easy as it looks!), a roster of favorite foods, well-honed scooter avoidance skills, and an extreme aversion to both bus and train travel (we found out, belatedly, that flying is cheaper anyway). Despite this, we were still very much waiting to be blown away by Vietnam. To use a Britishism, Saigon seems to be a bit of a “marmite” destination, ie. you either love it or you hate it. For us it was a breath of fresh air, and we agreed that it was the one place in the country to which we would seriously consider returning.

The view from our temporary home, which sat far outside of the center but in a neighborhood which was nonetheless buzzing with activity

Saigon is a real, big, vibrant city, and one that is clearly growing at breakneck speed. By day, an absolutely mind boggling number of scooters buzz past, rendering some roads impassable for even the most experienced pedestrians. People study and work in modern, air conditioned buildings, and take their breaks in chain coffee shops. By night, Saigon’s own (far superior) version of Times Square draws immense crowds, many of them locals, who while away the evening chatting, playing games, and people watching, before heading to one of the many bars and clubs.

Nguyen Hue Street, which is packed with performers, food stalls, and groups of friends come sundown

The traffic in Saigon is truly terrifying, particularly when there are multiple lanes involved

We saw the legions of scooters put to every use imaginable – including as mobile pet stores / aquaria

We were staying in an Airbnb in a busy neighborhood about 40 minutes walk from the center of the city – which made for plenty of exploring, as well as indulging in our favorite hobbies of browsing convenience stores and sampling street food, since both were abundant. We also enjoyed getting to know our host, who was working as an app developer. He confirmed our suspicion that, for the entrepreneurially inclined, Saigon is the only place to be in Vietnam.

The fast pace of life in Saigon clearly calls for a lot of instant noodles…

…and nutritious fungus drink (?!)

Fact: putting an egg on top improves absolutely any meal. Ethan approaching his food with a tenderness Jess can only dream of

Some of the best chicken Ethan’s ever had, which miraculously emerged from a grubby-looking grill in the middle of a row of bike repair shops

Veggie bahn mi – so convenient, so simple, so perfect

Admittedly, there are some downsides to big city life – we passed this toilet graveyard on our way into town every day. The toilets changed over alarmingly frequently, raising the question of what happened to the old ones…

Saigon grew famous as the capital of the French colony, and later the capital of independent South Vietnam. Many of the most significant colonial buildings have survived to the present day and, although much of the city is modern, those relics that remain are steeped in history. Saigon was the focal point for the Southern and US forces’ War efforts, a refuge for many who were forced out of their homes throughout the rest of the country, and it was the setting for the dramatic capitulation of South Vietnam in 1975.

The City Hall, one of many well-preserved and repurposed relics of Saigon’s colonial past

Saigon Cathedral of Notre Dame – the statue is said to have shed tears in 2005, and still attracts many visitors

Inside, plaques adorn the walls

Outside, somewhat less official dedications

The Central Post Office was built at around the same time as the Cathedral – together, they are a popular spot for wedding photographs. We were told that in Vietnam photoshoots happen months before the actual wedding, so as not to disrupt the day

Inside, Ho Chi Minh stares out at all who enter

We loved the fact that the old phone booths which line the walls have been converted into ATMs. Above, an original map of Saigon as of 1892 remains

The Opera House, which was only restored in the late 1990s, having been damaged by the Japanese during WWII. The unused building served as a temporary shelter for French civilians arriving from North Vietnam during during the 1950s

22 Gia Long Street, which was a key evacuation point for Americans during the Fall of Saigon – you may recognize the small hut on the right hand side from the world-famous photograph, where people are swarming around a helicopter perched on the roof

Reunification Palace (aka Independence Palace) stands pretty much exactly as it was when the North Vietnamese Army tank crashed through the gate in 1975, ending the War

Triumphantly displayed in the grounds, a replica of the tank in question

The inside is a total step back in time, with furniture and decor preserved as it was when the President of South Vietnam occupied the building

A slightly eerie warren of war rooms comprises the basement…

…complete with 1960s radio equipment…

…and military maps

Saigon seemed to suffer less from the identity crisis we observed in Hanoi – from what we saw, capitalism has pretty much won the battle in this city (if there ever was a battle to begin with). Here, more than anywhere, the North-South divide was obvious to us. One university student we spoke to described how, although students come from all over the country, friend groups are firmly decided based on place of origin. Students from the North just like hanging out in different places, eating different things, and telling different jokes. Ironically, he perceived that Northerners are actually more flashy in their spending habits, seemingly trying to prove a point, while Southerners prefer a more relaxed approach.

Although Saigon seemed more sure of itself and its role when compared with Hanoi, it was fascinating to catch a glimpse of a city undergoing incredible transition via growth and modernization, and a pivot towards the international economy. These days, Saigon has dedicated business parks to host rising tech startups. Increasingly global businesses are finding it necessary to have an office in Vietnam – and where else, but Saigon? The streets of the city are packed with ambitious migrants from across the nation who see it as the center of all things commerce-oriented. And yet, in some ways, and for many long-time residents, life remains very traditional. A huge portion of the local economy still relies on agriculture and simple manufacturing, and a few steps outside the city center reveal networks of winding, dark streets where neighbors lounge in their stifling front rooms with the doors wide open, chatting to each other across the narrow road. Many eateries are still based in people’s homes, with the kids playing in the next door room. At least where we stayed, there was still a fundamental sense of kinship and community which is absent from many of the larger, more developed cities around the world.

The wet market in our neighborhood was worthy of any we’d seen in Asia so far

Our most decadent meal in Saigon involved a grill, some attentive waiters, and vast amounts of meat

However, our favorite meal (OK, meals) were at a tiny family-run place around the corner from our apartment, where we were lured by some intoxicating smells – the owners were lovely, albeit baffled about where we had wandered in from

        

One of many historic buildings earmarked for demolition in the city center – every former-apartment in this block is a unique coffee or tea shop. The ones at the top are reportedly the best, but must be earned through a long, dusty climb

 

The 68-storey Bitexco Financial Tower – one of the more recent additions to the Saigon skyline