Days 110-111 Sunday-Monday February 28-March 1 Saigon, Vietnam

Knowing that they had to be up at 3am to make an early flight, Tony and Anna Marie crashed early at the Park Hyatt once we got into Saigon.  And since Tania and I decided to move our flight from Saigon to Kuala Lumpur to Tuesday so that we could enjoy one last day at the hotel, and to hang out with Steve, Lisa, and Luke a little more before we left.

Sunday night, Steve and Lisa's crew met at the 2 Lam Son bar down on the lobby level of the hotel which gave us the chance to say goodbye to all of these people who welcomed us so kindly into their scene over the last few weeks.  It also gave us the chance to spend as much time as possible with Steve and Lisa, who we were really going to miss when we left.  That's why after relaxing around the hotel and downtown area on Monday, we met them for a sushi dinner on Monday night to bid farewell to our time in Vietnam.  This being Steve and Lisa, though, we of course had to head back to their house and have a few more drinks before calling it a night.

 Steve and Lisa's crew growling at 2 Lam Son

And just like that, we were gone.  On the flight to Kuala Lumpur, we realized how long we had been in Vietnam, and how much we had done during our time there.  6 weeks passed in the blink of an eye, which was surreal because Vietnam was the reason we looked at SE Asia as a honeymoon destination in the first place.  It is where our great friends Dave, Steve, and Brian were from, which built our intrigue in the country over the last few years because of the traditions and food we were exposed to by them.  Vietnam was the heart of our trip, and it was over now, which could be a sad thought, but wasn't because we did more than we ever expected during our time here.  It was an incredible 6 weeks that we'll never, ever forget. 

Post sushi euphoria

Cảm ơn bạn Vietnam!

Vietnam & Cambodia Video

Here's the video we made for our time in Vietnam and Cambodia. This stretch of the trip was extra special since we got to spend so much time with family (Tony and Anna Marie) and friends (Steve, Lisa, Luke, Hugh). 

Music is by The Temper Trap and Hot Chip.

Enjoy.


Honeymoon Phase 4 - Vietnam & Cambodia from Craig Palumbo on Vimeo.

Days 101-102 Thursday-Saturday February 18-20 Saigon, Vietnam

What better way to cure a hellish sickness than to move into the Park Hyatt Saigon?  The answer is that there is no better way.  Even though Lisa, Steve, and Luke were the most gracious hosts imaginable and took such good care of us while we were sick yesterday, it was nice to move into the Park Hyatt where we’ll be meeting my (our) parents when they arrive tonight.  After all of the 2 and 1 star hotels we’ve been staying in over the last few months, this place is heaven.

Tony and Anna Marie got into Saigon late on Thursday night, so we had a simple hello and hug before getting them to sleep.  We had an early start the next morning to start the true site seeing of Saigon.

Friday was our first day together, and we drove with our guide Mr. Un to the Cu Chi tunnel system about 45 minutes outside of Saigon.  Here we saw how the Liberation Army of Southern Vietnam was able to hide and withstand attacks from the US and ally forces, even though they were just miles from the American base in Saigon.  Their ingenious ways of concealing their underground cities and ways of using the lush terrain to hide explosives that could take out tanks are impossible to ignore, but the communist government’s propogandish ways of telling the story was tough to stomach, especially sitting next to my father who had to live through the entire situation and watch friends being lost in the whole melee for 16 months.  Yet, as my dad said today, to the victor go the spoils, part of which includes getting to tell the story as seen through the their eyes.

 Mr. Un describing the tun

Mr. Un describing a trap door...

...and the subsequent trap hole.

Crawling through the Cu Chi Tunnels

After a lunch filled with 12 entrees (I kid you not, but thank God the tab was covered by our tour group), we hopped over to the war museum and continued to hear the story of the war through the communist government’s eyes.  After looking at gruesome images and reading one-sided accounts of the conflict, there was only one thing we could all agree on…war is tragic, and those who make the decisions to go to war, whether just or not, are ruining lives on both sides of the tape.  At that time it was either a battle over communism vs. democracy or over the rights to a massive supply of tin and tungsten, and now it’s us vs. Al Qaida or it’s over oil.  No matter what it’s all over, it’s men making decisions who don’t have to act on them, and it’s crap.  Period. 

 Tony exploring the war museum, and recounting history through the opposition's eyes.

Any way, it was fascinating to visit these places and hear stories from my dad about how it was 40 years ago when he bravely served here.  I’ve always respected the selfless ways of his daily life, and his service during the war is one of the finest examples of who he is.  Being here has brought that even more into light, and made me even more proud.  Thanks Pop for your service, no matter who’s fight you were executing.

Mr. Un and the driver then brought us over to the Ben Thanh Market where my parents took one look over the compressed rows of trinket stalls and opted to head back to the hotel.   Having already been here, we can’t say we had an issue with doing so.

Saturday morning we stopped by the Presidential Palace where the South Vietnamese government had been stationed before the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975.  It was here where the Communist tanks bowled over the gate, stormed the building, and hoisted the VC flag on the 4^th floor.  The architecture was totally 60’s, and our friend Troy would undoubtedly love the furniture sprawling throughout the conference rooms, gambling/drinking room, and bedrooms.  It even had a movie theatre, but the room-size projector was no longer functioning.  The grounds were gorgeous, but standing on the site of such a pivotal moment in our country’s history was the most fascinating part of visiting the palace.

Outside the Presidential Palace

Then it was off to Vinh Long and Can Tho to see where my dad was stationed 40 years ago.

 

Days 89-95 Saturday-Friday February 6-12 Saigon, Vietnam

We (thankfully) took our last overnight train of our trip from Danang (Hoi An) to Saigon. Even though taking these overnight trains in China and Vietnam saved us a ton of time and weren’t too terrible, we swore to never take another one again in our lives. Hopefully we will be able to afford flights when the time comes so we can keep to this promise. The overnight trains are not life threatening or anything, but we’ve come to realize on this trip that our tastes have become refined enough to travel with certain conveniences and luxuries from now on.

And speaking of conveniences, when we got to Saigon at 4:30am, we grabbed a taxi to Steve, Lisa, and Luke’s house and were greeted at the gate by their maid. Yes, their maid. She cleans. She runs to get Vietnamese coffees or food when requested. She does laundry. She does it all, and we got awfully spoiled by her while we stayed with our friends. If only hired help was so cheap in the US.

Tania making the most of having a couch for a few days.

Having been on the road for so long, we loved back being in a home environment with a kitchen, couches, proper bedrooms, and just that homey feeling that hotels can’t provide.

Of course on our first night in Saigon, we did as the Saigonians do and went out big with Steve, Lisa, Luke, and their friends, dancing to the techno beats that are the heartbeat of the city. It was a great time, and thank God we had that homey environment so we could recover the next afternoon on their trusty couches. We also needed to rest up because we had to be at Phatty’s, the local sports bar, at 6:30am the next morning to watch the Saints and Colts play in the Super Bowl.

We were sorely mistaken in thinking that we would have prime seats before the crowd arrived just because we got to the bar before the sun rose, because when we got to Phatty’s, the place was jam packed and we were delegated to the back corner watching the game on a marginally big screen off in the distance through several support pillars. It didn’t matter, though, because we had a access to delicious bloody marys and a good enough view to see Drew Breese and the Saints pull of the big upset over the Colts. So cool for the city of New Orleans after all they’ve been through this decade.

We even sat next to several of Steve’s friends who were from New Orleans, meaning the victory tasted that much sweeter when their friend bought drinks for the group after the game. We guess football fans are football fans (the real football, American, not that crap they call football here and everywhere else in the world), whether you’re in America or an expat overseas.

After the game we walked around town, past all of the Tet decorations that were furiously being installed along the city’s largest avenues. Once past the backpacker’s district, we stopped off at Lisa’s recommended spa called Lady Saigon. And boy are we glad we did. The massages were incredible, and the environment was much more luxurious than the cheap price tag implies. Let’s just say we just happened to return to the spa two days later.

 

Scooter madness in Cholon, Saigon's Chinatown.

Thursday night was my 32nd birthday, so Tania and Lisa organized an incredible sushi dinner with 14 of their local friends. Lisa wasted no time in resuming her tradition of “shots bitches” from our LA Korean BBQ days, and we were all on our jolly way to a fun evening and worthy celebration around Saigon.

 The ladies represented at Craig's birthday sushi party.

Craig and Luke taking a breather from the birthday madness.

Other than a few other delicious dinners and a boys/girls night, we did a whole lot of hanging around the house with Toby and Guiness (Lisa’s dogs) and simply walking around town. We didn’t want to do too much site seeing since my parents were coming in a few days, and we wanted to hit all of the major sites for the first time with them.

Lisa and Steve's dogs, Toby and Guiness.  We want to clone them when we get home.

On a side note…

On this trip, Tania and I have come to the realization that we are old, really old, because our ideal night now is to have a great dinner with lively plans for afterwards, but once dessert is done and the bill is paid, we are dragging ourselves back to the house so we can crash before 10. It was a tough pill to swallow for Steve and the crew who had grand aspirations of showing us a good time of all-nighters in Saigon, but we are comfortable with the fact, after such a long and draining tour through Asia, that it’s who we are now. Maybe it’s good we’re not going back to LA and instead onto a city where we won’t know anyone. I know our livers and bank accounts will appreciate it.

Some Valentine's Day Thoughts

Since this is our first Valentine's Day as a married couple, I wanted to take this chance to brag about all of the things I've learned about my wife on this trip.

1. She's strong. The way she's lugged so much gear across the hectic Asian landscape. How she's handled many tough situations with people that don't speak her language. To being able to sleep on any less-than-ideal overnight train/ferry/bus. To keeping me in check ever step of the way. There's a ton of strength in that diminutive frame of hers.

2. She's adventurous. Before the trip, the most extreme physical activity she enjoyed was a tough yoga class or a strenuous hike. Now she has kayaking, snorkeling, motorbiking, Great Wall climbing, and bare back elephant riding to her credit. Who knew?

3. She's passionate. I've always known this, but it's come to a whole new level on the trip by the way she has planned so many details of the trip, engulfed herself into information about all of our destinations, and simply by the way that she utilizes all possible free time to the fullest, whether its regarding the trip or our future endeavors.

4. She's a teeny bopper at heart. I just need three words to describe this one: Twilight, Edward, Collins. 'Nuff said.

5. The girl likes massages. Yes, of course we all like massages, but she's made sure that there hasn't been a $7 oil massage that past her way without putting it to good use.

6. She really likes me. I'll be the first to admit that I'm not the easiest person to deal with, especially when it's just you and me in a strange land for 4 months straight. But the way she's handled my temperament, she deserves a medal for that. And the fact that she's handles me so well, I have to believe that means that she really does like me. Whew.

7. She can stretch a small bag of clothes into a wardrobe that never gets old. I literally wear the same thing every day, and it shows. But she has just as many clothes, and is able to look fresh and beautiful every day.

8. She's my wife. This seems obvious, but as those of you who are married will know, it's a strange thing to get accustomed to. Whether it's getting used to saying the word "wife" to feeling the ring on my left hand, it's still something that surprises me every day, and puts a smile on my face every time I get surprised. I'm a lucky man.

Tania has always amazed and surprised me in new and bigger ways, but after spending so much time with her completely out of our element, she's finding newer and smaller ways to surprise me. I didn't think I could love or respect her more than I did at our wedding, but I do every single day, and I'm sure that will continue to happen until we're old and grey.

Happy Valentine's Day kitty!