Wifely Steps

We had our company outing last week in beautiful Vietnam. I’m sharing some pics with you!

Stories behind the Pics
Pic 1: Upon arrival at the hotel, we were welcomed with sampaguita garlands. Their sampaguita flowers looked prettier and smelled more fragrant than ours!

Pic 2: Not much of a view ‘no? Most of the sites look quite rural. It made the place all the more charming.

Pic 3: We stayed at Grand Hotel Saigon (not in the pic) which was situated in the middle of the city. We could walk to anywhere we wanted! Here’s one of the streets. Simple lang ‘no? Most of the shops were very quaint; there were a lot of small stores that sold beautiful lacquerware, silk, clothing and gorgeous bags. There were a lot of art galleries. Parang kung ano dinami ng mga barberya natin sa Pilipinas, ganun ang dami ng art galleries nila.

Pic 4-6: Taken at the War Remnants Museum. I could not look at all the photographs displayed in the museum. There were pictures of the victims, the soldiers, almost everything about the war. The atmosphere was quite sad and heavy. Upon going back to our bus though, our tour guide told us, “What do the Vietnamese feel towards American people? Nothing. What’s past is past. Now we Vietnamese are about moving forward. We cannot improve if we dwell in the past. So if we are asked what we feel about them before, nothing. We are focused on the future.”

Pic 7-8: Notre Dame Cathedral. Ang isa sa mga natitirang French-inspired structures. Maganda rin. Natuwa ako kasi may Mama Mary sa tapat eh

Pic 9: There were soooo many bicycles and motorcycles. They call all their motorcycles “Hondas” — very much like some of us call gas as “Gasul” or softdrinks as “Coke” (or taking pictures as “Kodak,” the list goes on and on!). I was very much amused with the motorcycle traffic but it freaked me out at the same time. The motorcyclists don’t give way to pedestrians even if you’re on the pedestrian lane!

Pic 10: On our way to Cuchi Tunnels. Multiply this by 1000 and you’ll get a fair picture of what we saw on our way to the Cuchi Tunnels from Saigon. Beautiful fields.

Pic 11: Squeezing into one of the tunnels! We tried out 3 different kinds of tunnels — one was 150m long and super small and dark. Good adventure! The Vietnamese hid in these tunnels to protect themselves from the American soldiers.

Pic 12: One of my favorite “pasalubongs” – a pair of beautiful cranes. They’re now settled on top of our living room chest (and yes, that’s a little bit of the controversial window blinds you see there.)

I already miss the beautiful bags…

Our Vietnam trip was very educational. I wasn’t able to take a lot of pictures because I didn’t want to take my camera out much and I was too busy oohing and aahing at the sites! We were made aware that there were also some pickpockets so we had to be extra cautious.

While the city’s a bit quiet and still looks pretty rural, they are gaining an edge over Pinoys. I was a bit sad for our country when we were in Vietnam. Even if the feel of the place was a bit slow, you could feel the sense of purpose each one had. I hardly saw any “tambays.” Busy busy busy!

The people are friendly. The girls were better-looking than the guys, heehee. What I initially disliked about their culture was their tendency to be very tactile! One of my officemates was walking in the market when someone placed a hand on her waist. Turns out if was just someone pushing her aside gently so they could pass through. No excuse me’s here, just pushing you to the side gently with their hands. Akala mo chinachancingan ka na yun pala nag-e-excuse me pala at di siya makadaan. Pati yun mga vendors hahawakan ka sa braso mo, tapos hihilahin ka patungo sa stalls nila. One of my officemates encountered a streetkid who hugged his leg and wouldn’t let go of him. Nakakabigla lang kasi naiinvade ang concept ko of personal space! Pero I’m sure natural lang yun sa kanila.

At ang pagkain? Okay na ang Pho Hoa restaurant dito. Promise! Kuha na nila yun lasa. Ang hahanap-hanapin ko na pagkain ay ang Bread ng Vietnam. One of the first things the French taught the Vietnamese daw was to bake really good bread. And masarap nga naman talaga ang tinapay nila. They serve it with almost everything, even their Pho. Yum.

And their coffee? Yum! I think that with the right marketing/planning, their Vietnamese coffee can still become bigger. It was so good! Strong but suave.

The shopping in Vietnam was pretty good! I loved their bags, shoes and slippers. They’re crafted very well and the designs are fresh and all are so pretty! Note however that “loved” does not translate to “bought a lot” haha!

Wishful Thinking
I wish I had taken more pics, I wish I had bought more bags, I wish I had bought Vietnamese lacquerware! But I’m thankful for this Vietnam experience. Nakakamiss din magtravel and it’s amazing how new places really make you feel that there’s so much more in this world you can learn about.

Of course, all these observations are based on a 2-3 day trip to Saigon. I would love to see what the rest of Vietnam has to offer. I shall now place “Return to Vietnam” on my life’s Things to Do list!