Emerging from our encounter with the good life, we boarded an innocent looking, overnight bus to Vientienne, the Laotian capital, where we were to fly onto HCMC. Little did we know (isn't this becoming a convenient narrative device?) this was the longest, bumpiest, curviest, jostlingest most cramped bus ride in the history of bus rides. Add an AC unit dripping an unkown sticky substance onto our makeshift poncho shelter, no bathroom break for 6 hours and chairs that didn't recline to an already sleep-deprived bunch, and we were NOT happy campers. We got into Vientienne and crashed, though we did make it to the Scandinavian bakery for some delicious omelletes.
And finally! Ho Chi-Fuckin-Minh City. . .
Within an hour of touchdown in the most traffic-congested city in the hemisphere, and already suppressing the almost constant urge to scream "Gooood Morning Vietnam!"/"I love the smell of napalm in the morning"(Jen/Jed respectively), we were caught in the most vicious motocylce gridlock we'd ever seen, making Mexico City look like the Deerfield/Newton Free library parking lot. Racing to our comfortable guest house (which was hard when it took Jen 10 minutes to cross the street), where the owner kept a menagerie of rare songbirds to sell/eat, we narrowly escaped a deluge of biblical proportions (and we're talking water filling the streets up to your knees in a matter of minutes).
Things witnessed in the HCMC streets as Jen was too afraid to cross:
Motorbikes-cum-waterskis cruising past crowds of children through 2 feet of water
Our lives flashing before our eyes
And to top it all off -- motorcycles, mac trucks and semi's wizzing by -- a woman standing in the middle of traffic, leaning over her 2-year old, spoon-feeding him nonchalantly. In the middle of traffic!
Besides having a mindblowing/spiritually transcendent experience with a bowl of Pho and watching a German movie about two blind lovers make their way from Germany to Finland . . . we think . . . IN GERMAN(!) without subtitles, we took a tour of the Cu Chi tunnel system. Built by the Viet Cong, according to the brochure, "the tunnel system embodies the undaunted will, intelligence, and revolutionary heroism of the Cu Chi people liberating the fatherland from the American imperialists and their lackies." Yay!
While the tunnels themselves were pretty cool, both Jed and Jen actually managed to scuttle their way through 100 meters and 3 floors of underground corridors and declined to partake in the lunch-time gun firing opportunity, our favorite part was our historically accurate point-counter point between Gucci and Cu Chi. An excerpt (in high, squeaky Austrian voice):
Gucci is so hot right now vs. Cu Chi is so hot right now
Gucci: "By reinterpreting iconic elements from Gucci's past, such as the 'Flora' scarf patterns and equestrian imagery, Gucci has infused a rich heritage with new energy and modern sex appeal. This is why Gucci is so hot right now."
Cu Chi: "As the strong base of the Military Zone Party Committee, the Cu Chi tunnels sustained firefights in such 'hot' areas as the Liberated Area, the Disputed Area, No Mans Land, and Temporarily Occupied Area. Due to relentless napalm attacks and 30-ton bombing runs by American B-52s, the once lush town of Cu Chi has been effectively turned into a moonscape. This is why Cu Chi is so hot right now."
. . . that's it for now!
-See you in Hoi An.
Jed & jen
p.s. will SOMEONE comment on our blog???
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13 comments:
Ok, I will answer your call for comments...
It sounds like you two are having so many fabulous adventures! Boston is Boston...very hot days followed by insane thunderstorms with the sun shining the whole time. Odd. I miss you guys, did I mention that? How's the visa debacle?
Love you two!!!
sounds like a trip you have always dreamed of taking. At times I bet those all inclusive resorts arent looking too bad right now. Is riding elephants any different than riding with the dolphins? we miss you and are thrilled taht you arehaving this glorious adventure
update your map please. your adoring public wants to know where you are! ooh could you do the google satellite photos with you guys in it.....
Thanks for the comments, guys! We'll add the clustr map Anonymous is asking for so you can see where all our fans are from!
Are you sure the Monklettes aren't a Motown group from Detroit? Have you heard them sing?
Sounds like a fabulous trip and THANK YOU for writing the blog! It's so much fun to follow your adventures, and you both write so well - it's a joy to read. You have quite a fan club among our friends!
Thanks too for updating the map of your journey - it's fun to see where you've been. However, your path is a bit windy and torturous - due no doubt to the excellent senses of direction you've both displayed in the past.
yay!!!! so glad you updated the map. love you.
woa! My dad's first blog posting ever! Take that Ceric Dental Machine yahoo group! And to answer your question, the difference between swimming with the dolphins (who are kept in tanks that are too small and are trained through starvation and are captured from their natural habitat and displaced for profit) is that we went to the XXL Elephant sanctuary where the elephants have plenty of jungle to roam around and would otherwise be hunted for ivory. Laos went from being the land of 1 million elephants to having only 2,000 in the entire country. The elephants are treated extrememly well and exhibit all signs of healthy elephant behavior and appearance. So there.
And Gavsters, so good to hear from you - for now, we're okay with visas . . .check back in with us in Korea and it might be another story. We miss you too. Say hi to Olivia Darling for us!
Great new videos, guys! Babar's girlfriend is named Celeste, by the way. Cornelius is the elderly advisor and Arthur is the son. They live in Celesteville (before you get too impressed with my memory, this is all from our resident expert, Richard, natch.)
Who knew you guys were such animal groupies - elephants, tigers, AND water buffaloes! We are impressed! We can ONLY IMAGINE how wonderful your shoes smell. Sorry to miss the experience.
We love you! Looks like you're continuing to have an amazing time.
i love the video guys! i'm not sure.... is arthur babar's brother? or a friend?
this post made me laugh--jen, i can just picture you trying to cross the street, hahaha. oh geez, and the woman feeding the baby...lord.
thanks, you guys, for putting so much time into keeping all of us informed, it's so much fun to read! and i love the map that shows where you guys are/are going.
how come i cant watch any of your recent videos, powered by youtube?
You two make me laugh. What a fun bonus to see and hear you!
Post Script - Isn't fun how I've decided we're close enough for me to post all over your blog?
Good - you dig it too!
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