Semester at Sea: Visiting Vietnam

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For the MV Explorer’s next port of call we were visiting Vietnam. The ship docked in Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon without any customs delays. Unlike previous ports though, we were given landing cards that we were required to carry with us at all times in order to get through the security between the ship and the port. While the official name of the city is Ho Chi Minh on all official documentation, many of its citizens still use Saigon interchangeably.

I split my five days of this port between visiting Vietnam and Cambodia through a field experience with Semester at Sea. While students are free to travel independently throughout each country the ship visits, they are not permitted to leave that country unless they’re on a program being run through Semester at Sea.

Getting Oriented

To start the first day I went on the Ho Chi Minh City Orientation with Semester at Sea to get a feel for the city. I like getting a general overview of a new place, and the city orientations offered through SAS are an easy and affordable way to see many of the top attractions. 

The first stop our tour made was the Rex Hotel which is also where the shuttle provided by SAS from the port stopped. There were many ATMs and places to exchange money in this area as well. I was happy to find an HSBC ATM since that meant I didn’t have to pay any outrageous fees for using a different bank’s ATM. I thought this was really great planning to start the tour in an area where everyone could get some Vietnamese currency, the dong. Yes, the money used in Vietnam is referred to as dong, and yes, there were many jokes made about this (we were only college students after all).

Ok full disclosure: I still crack jokes about Vietnamese dong because I’m immature.

Finding French Influences

Located in the same area of the city is the Central Post office. After taking some pictures, I used this opportunity to buy stamps so I could send out postcards to friends and family. We also visited the nearby Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica which was completed in 1880 in the Romanesque style using materials that were all imported from France. The influence of French colonialism is very prominent in many of the historic buildings in the city which was an interesting contrast to the Vietnamese architecture and modern buildings mixed in throughout the city.

The History Museum was our next stop, and we were able to learn about the history of Vietnam. When we had gone all the way through to museum, there was also a water puppet show. Water puppetry is a traditional performing art in Vietnam dating back to the 11th century. I wasn’t a big fan, but I’m sure what we saw was a very touristy version of what water puppetry is intended to be. 

Lunch Break

Our lunch was at a restaurant called Vietnam House. Unfortunately for me the entire lunch menu consisted of shrimp dishes (except one beef dish and fruit for dessert). While this was great for a lot of people, I didn’t eat shrimp during my Semester at Sea voyage. This was for good reason though as my dad and sister are both very allergic to shellfish, and I had yet to be tested. I asked the restaurant for something other than shrimp, and was able to enjoy some chicken fried rice instead of the shrimp fried rice everyone else had. Luckily I now know I don’t share their allergy and can embark on eating adventures including seafood with confidence.

A Palace and a Tank

Once we wrapped up our lunch, we visited the former Presidential Palace, now known as the Reunification Palace. To many this is recognizable as the building whose gates the North Vietnamese army drove a tank through at the end of the Vietnam war. The building has been left much as it was at that time even with the tank parked out in front of the building and was very interesting to tour. 

Last Stop

Last on our itinerary for the day was the Thien Hau Temple and Pagoda, a Chinese style temple dedicated to the Chinese sea goddess Mazu. One of the things I found most fascinating here were the big incense coils that burn for as long as a month! Pilgrims can purchase these incense coils and attach their name to them before having them suspended from the ceiling so that the smoke curls up and takes their prayers to the goddess. It was a beautiful and unique site to finish off the city orientation tour.

At the conclusion of the tour we returned to the ship where I was able to meet up with some friends and get dinner. Ironically the food on the ship is at its best when we’re in port. I presume this is because fresh supplies are easier to get and less people eat on the ship since they want to enjoy local cuisine. Once we finished dinner we caught the shuttle back into the city to go to the Night Market which runs from every day from 6:00pm-12:00am. It was fun to wander around the market and bargain with the vendors, I’d definitely recommend this to anyone visiting Ho Chi Minh City.

Why Does Anyone Cross the Street?

A fun experience everyone should try at least once: crossing the street in Vietnam. From observing the traffic on the streets, I wonder if there are any traffic laws at all. Scooters and motorbikes were everywhere, and they outnumbered the cars by far. The motorbikes were a constant stream going by, weaving through the streets (and sometimes sidewalks) in a seemingly random fashion.

Crossing the street was a leap of faith that those motorbikes will steer around you as there are very few crosswalks and even fewer signals for pedestrians. You had to just step out into the traffic and walk at a steady pace across the street with all these scooters zooming past you on either side. I wish I had a video of crossing the street so anyone who hasn’t experienced it could see how many scooters flow around pedestrians. After this, crossing the street back home in the USA seems so boring!

On a Mission to Rock

The next morning I started the day pretty early (for me), getting up, organized, and out onto a shuttle into the city by 9:00am. Be impressed, I certainly was. I was on a mission: find the Hard Rock Cafe to get my mom a t-shirt. During my city orientation tour the previous day, I’d seen the building where it was located so I knew it wasn’t far from the Rex Hotel. After getting a map from the tour desk inside the hotel, I headed out on my quest. It only took 15-20 minutes to find it, but it was really hot already (yes, it was ridiculously hot at 9:00am) so I tried to enjoy the air conditioning inside as much as possible. With my mission accomplished, I caught the 10:00am shuttle back to the ship since this was the day my Cambodia trip began!

To be Continued…

I spent the next couple days exploring Cambodia’s temples and more.

Upon returning to Vietnam, some of the girls who were on my Cambodia trip and I decided to go look for a Vietnamese restaurant for dinner. We eventually found one where we ordered Pho which is a Vietnamese noodle soup. When ordering there is usually a choice of various proteins which may include chicken, beef, pork, seafood, or vegetables. I ordered the chicken and thought that it was pretty good, reminding me a little bit of chicken noodle soup or Japanese ramen.

To finish off our evening, we decided to go to the Rex Hotel’s rooftop bar to have a cocktail as it’s a famous site in Ho Chi Minh City. While at the rooftop bar, we ended up hanging out with many other friends from Semester at Sea since they’d all had the same idea for our last night visiting Vietnam.

Solo Exploration

I spent my final day in Vietnam exploring District 1 in Ho Chi Minh City by myself (this is where the Rex Hotel is and was pretty central to many of the places I visited). First I headed to the Ban Thien Market, where one could buy everything from fresh fish and meat to clothing to DVDs to Vietnamese handicrafts. After picking up some souvenirs, I worked my way back towards the Rex Hotel and found lunch at KFC (I know it’s American, but I was craving a little bit of home!).

During the afternoon I wrote some postcards by a fountain near the Rex Hotel while sipping on some Strawberry Fanta I’d found in a convenience store. Unlike many of my shipmates, I hadn’t had time to get a dress tailored, but while wandering I did end up finding a dress I liked which I managed to get much cheaper than what getting a dress made would have cost me. When I returned to the ship, many students had returned from their various travels during our time visiting Vietnam. 

Running Errands

Our on-ship time was later while we were visiting Vietnam than it usually is, 8:00pm instead of 4:00pm. This gave me time to catch the shuttle back into town to get dinner and stock up on all-important snacks. I picked up more of that delicious Strawberry Fanta and some Sprite. Soda can only be purchased on the ship, and I like to treat myself once in a while by having a tasty beverage with my dinner or lunch. 

Shuttle Shuffle

When I went back to the Rex Hotel to catch the shuttle, I had just missed the 6:30pm one. While I was content to wait for the 7:00pm shuttle (which would be the last one to run), some SAS employees told me I would be better off taking a taxi. It would only cost about $1 to get back to the port, and they warned that there were some Semester at Sea trips coming back late. These returning trips could cause delays in me making it back onto the ship by the on-ship time.

Even if students are in line to get through security by on-ship time, if they haven’t swiped in with their ID, then they are considered late and will get dock time. 1-15 minutes late onto the ship results in three hours of dock time, and 15-30 minutes late will earn you six hours dock time, etc. Not something I wanted to risk since dock time takes away from your precious time in ports. So needless to say, I took a taxi back and made it onto the ship with time to spare.

Goodbye, Vietnam!

I thoroughly enjoyed the time we were docked in Ho Chi Minh City, and the time I spent visiting Cambodia. Although I feel like I missed a lot of Vietnam by going to Cambodia, it was amazing and I would make the same choice again. There’s so much more of Vietnam to explore and I hope to make it back someday to see more of it. It was time to sail onto to India where I was looking forward to visiting another Wonder of the World, the Taj Mahal!

Read more about my adventures on Semester at Sea!

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