HCMC

After a fun-filled weekend in Hong Kong gossiping about work and bringing the 10-year reunion to Y, it's onto Vietnam. We found a good tour after the recommendation of another sorority sister, which was affordable and unstructured enough to take care of transportation and accommodation and leave flexibility for everything else.

Truth be told, I had no idea what to expect from this country. The war with the US, not to mention the Chinese and the Cambodians, must have devastated the country. My dad's impression after five tours with the Merchant Marine was that of "the @$$h0le of the world" - dirty, smelly, depressing. My glimpse out the window from the plane and noticing a parking lot full of motorbikes should have been my first clue.

My goodness, there are tons of motorbikes in this town - 9.5 million with a population of 8 million people. Crossing this street is riskier than using a meat slicer or working in a mine. Every time I cross the street I curse more than a Tourette's sufferer.

The Cu Chi tunnels were quite interesting. It's amazing how ingenious the Viet Minh and Viet Cong were, constructing miles of underground passageways, including booby traps with recycled or basic materials. The shooting range with Vietnamese and American heavy artillery, felt a bit inappropriate, but otherwise it was a neat site. I barely made it out of the sample tunnel, with my breasts and then hips grazing the opening.

I am a huge fan of pho. So far I have had a huge bowl, with all the various cow parts, as well as several glasses of cà phê sữa đá. There must be crack in the condensed milk.