Ho Chi Minh

I still can't believe I'm already on the Southeast Asian portion of my trip. This journey has been a phantasmagoria of cultures thus far, but the dichotomy between the Middle East and Southeast Asia is incredible, and has actually left me a little culture shocked.

Anyway, today marks the first day of the guided tour portion of my trip - and the end of the inherent penumbra of traveling alone. While I anticipated I would most enjoy this segment given that it should be the most structured and brainless of my trip, I actually have found the I feel the opposite, and crave the freedom to do what I want, when I want. There is also an inauthenticity in traveling strictly with a group of Westerners (not that I don't like them!) I don't necessarily have any complaints about this place otherwise, though.

A few highlights:

- Eating pho (the very best part about traveling to Vietnam!)
- Cruising the Mekong Delta, stopping along the way to see how rice cakes and coconut candy are made
- Our tour guide, who fought for the South during the Vietnam War and who told us an incredible story about a former relationship he had with a Viet Cong spy

Random facts about Vietnam & Ho Chi Minh:
- Ho Chi Minh was actually called Saigon until the end of the war
- The motorbike is by far the most common means of transport here
- Interestingly, all adults wear helmets on motorbikes but almost never put helmets on their kids
- There are approximately two million Vietnamese children suspected to have been conceived by American Gis. The Vietnamese claim these people can be identified by their being hairier than normal.
- In place of summer and winter, Vietnam has rainy and dry seasons
- Markets here sell four packs of live frogs, bound by their tiny little legs (simulataneously sad and hilarious)
- People in the Delta region of the city do not celebrate birthdays but rather celebrate the deaths of their ancestors
- There are no McDonald's in this city
- Fruit is extremely prevalent in this country. Common fruits include dragonfruit, lychee, mangosteen, jackfruit, mango, pineapple, pineapple, papaya, and coconut.