(This was supposed to be posted days ago but internet has been absent from my life until now! I will post more soon about what we have done in the last few days since I wrote this post as soon as I can).
I think this might be my third blog post written from inside a mosquito net. Welcome to Vietnam…This time, however, I'm no longer in a mosquito net on a wooden plank "bed" with no air conditioning in my home stay in HCMC, but instead inside of the most delicate mosquito net, which I just unraveled from its intricate knot hanging from the ceiling, with air conditioning blowing overhead. I'm lying down on the most comfortable bed I've yet to experience while in Vietnam and rain is trickling down the drain from outside the hotel. Yes that is right! I am in Hoi An at a BEAUTIFUL hotel!! Last night I enjoyed my third hot shower since being in Vietnam for the last month and a half, so in terms of amenities, all is well! This hotel is extremely nice, even by American standards, the concept of which I am having a hard time even remembering. We flew into Da Nang yesterday morning after ending our home stay period and spent the day yesterday at a pagoda on top of a high mountain overlooking the China Sea. Because it is the rainy season here, the rains were pretty heavy and left the 160 step climb to the top of the pagoda quite treacherous. It was incredible to see this pagoda in the rain, especially because it meant very few tourists or even people on top of the mountain. The pagoda is located on Marble Mountain, which by its title gives away that it is an area known for beautiful marble and marble statues. Our tour guide suggested we go to the very top of the mountain, which is only accessible through climbing up a rocky cave. He explained that during the historical period of kings in Vietnam, the kings would travel up to this point for the views of the ocean and the river. We decided to go for it, despite the rain. It turned out to be a beautiful view at top unlike anything I have ever seen before. The crashing waves of the ocean from above made the waves appear to be moving in slow motion. The most hazardous experience I have yet to have in this country took place on the way down from the top of this cave (okay, maybe it ties with enduring a typhoon in a wall-less structure in the middle of the Mekong river). The combination of rain, mud, sharp rocks, and a very steep downward slope was pretty unbelievable. We all literally went down this cliff on our behinds and moved as slow as possible to avoid slipping and completely losing control, which would have happened with one small slip of a foot. Once again my Chacos (strappy, outdoorsy shoes) that I have grown so fond of saved my life a few times yesterday. Best traction ever, I highly recommend investing in a pair if you come to Vietnam at any point in your life!
On a slight side note but related to our experience climbing down the pagoda cliff, it was until I arrived in Vietnam and have been exposed to a country SO devoid of infrastructure that I can truly grasp what the concept of infrastructure means. This realization became clear once again on our trek down the rocky, muddy cave, which is apparently in the process of becoming "a road for people to walk down." Change the word "road" to the phrase, "hazardous rocky cliff" and the phrase "people to walk down" to the phrase "people to fall down and almost break every bone in their bodies," and then maybe they will have the right idea of what they are getting into! We all made it down safely, though, and it was well worth it and actually a good time, despite the permanent mud stains on the outfit I wore yesterday.
We had lunch yesterday at Bread of Life, which is a restaurant and NGO run by an American couple who moved to Vietnam 15 years ago. The entire restaurant operation is run by this couple but the proceeds go directly to their NGO, which is for the deaf in Vietnam. Deaf in Vietnam have a completely different quality of life than in America where they are accepted and can lead normal, healthy lives. Here, they are cast out as dumb and incapable. They are isolated their entire lives and denied even the very basics, such as an education. In reality, however, the ability to hear has no correlation with intellectual capabilities. This American couple saw this issue and jumped on it- they opened this restaurant, developed a place for deaf to live and interact with each other using Vietnamese sign language (which they had to teach them because most people here, even deaf people, do not know Vietnamese sign language). It is so interesting how sign language varies by culture. For example, here the sign for bathing is pouring something over your head, because that is how people bath here. And the sign for foreigner is holding your hand over your nose in the shape of a long nose, since foreigners always have long noses in comparison to Vietnamese people's short, flat noses. It took this couple quite some time, in fact years, to set up a system to teach deaf people they recruited from all around the country how to sign, at the same time as teaching them skills like cooking, so that they can work at this restaurant or even other restaurants and in turn, make a life for themselves. The food was INCREDIBLE! I had my first real, hot cup of coffee with milk in it. Although coffee is huge here, it is always really sweet and condensed into little tiny cups that are never filled completely and never really hot. What a treat to have a real cup. All the food was "American" portion sizes too, which made me realize just how much my stomach has shrunk since I've been here. I could not even come close to finishing the "egg in a hole" dish I had, which was two pieces of bread with egg cooked in a hole in the middle of each, as its name implies. The best part of the meal was the SALAD I had, which was with lettuce, cucumber, and tomato, with dressing too. I would definitely put salad in the top three list of foods I miss most in America. We all couldn't have been happier to have such delicious food, and also support the NGO.
We ended the day back at the hotel for a nice dinner as the rains continued in full force outside. After dinner we walked around the main streets of Hoi An in our 10 cent neon colored ponchos. Hoi An has become quite a tourist destination because of its historical significance (it is the place of origin for Romanized Vietnamese language characters, a key place of European missionary influence in terms of religion and culture, and its favorable conditions between both the river and the sea made it a sought after location for European trade). It is also recognized by UNESCO as a world heritage site, which demands a certain standard of restoration and level of quality. It also is known for its INCREDIBLE shopping. You literally go into any clothing store that line the streets of the old town and can have any pair of shoes, pants, clothing replicated in a new fabric of choice. You can come with drawings and have shoes or clothing made in 2 hours time. Apparently this tailor tradition started during the historical times when the Europeans arrived in this port city and only stayed for short 2 day visits or even less. Because this region is not a rice basket like the north or south of Vietnam, the people here had to find a way to economically support themselves, so they began to take advantage of the European merchants coming through and learned to make clothing for them in record time. Since then, Hoi An is known nationally and internationally for incredible clothing and shoes. I am having a few dresses, pairs of shoes, and pants made for so cheap. It's a lot of fun to be able to pick out your own fabrics, design, and tailor too.
I will post more as soon as I can about the rest of my HCMC home stay since there is so much left to say, but in the meantime know that I'm still doing great, miss you all, and have SO many incredible stories to share!
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