We finally arrived into Hồ Chí Minh City , Vietnam! One of the ports I was most excited for! I was excited to see and try all the different foods, and just experience different cultures. Now Hồ Chí Minh City was hotter than our last two ports ( Japan and China) something I was happy about, because the cold was making me sad, and I was excited for some hot weather.
As I found my friends Kelsey, Callie, Mackenzie, and Lindsey, we got on the shuttle bus that Semester at Sea provided to drop us off into town. We then explored the old local post office that is now turned into a little shopping mall. Outside the old post office there are now vendors. One of the vendors that I was interested in, yet decided not to buy anything from sold these pop-up cards. The cards would have monuments or important symbols representing Vietnam, when you popped them up; however, when you closed the card, the pop- up went away. It was not ruined though. After exploring in the old post office, we then started exploring around the city for the day. Not exactly sure what we wanted to do, but knowing that we were eager for adventure! Then we continued to walk around the square, not exactly sure what we were looking for, but determined to explore.
After exploring for awhile, we finally get out our phones out, at least the ones who have Google Maps and service in country. Our group has finally determined to go to the famous Bến Thành Market. It is famous because this market is largest market in central Hồ Chí Minh City! After walking for awhile, and running into other SASers along the way who have just come from Bến Thành Market, we are so excited to get inside. However, the moment we get inside it became like a zoo. We were the animals, and the vendors were the people, trying to sell things to us. They shout, "Come here," "I see you looking, what would you like pretty girl?" Let me start by saying it was a very hectic experience. All we want were a pair of elephant pants or pants that have patterns, and so the first vendor we went to was selling the pants. We stop at the vendor, who is saying 2 pair for "x" amount. I stop and think to myself, that is not bad at all. I pick out two pairs of pants that I want, and was unsure about the number that they were saying because I could not understand their English, so I pull out my Vietnamese đồng. My first lesson I learned when traveling was at this very moment. The lady then snatched my money out of my hand, looking at all of my đồng, and said to me, "You do not have enough." I later learned that if I had not allowed her to see my đồng that I would not have had that issue. Thus, I ended up getting one pair of pants and walking away ripped off.
Once we all got our pants, we decided that it was time to leave the Bến Thành Market, because it was getting too hectic. We all walked back to where the shuttle drops off SASers and also picks them up. We got on a shuttle which took us back to the ship. On the ship we all eat dinner together, rest for a little, before we meet on deck 6 where Callie, Kelsey and Mackenzie spray their clothes with DEET bug spray. They are doing this to make sure they do not get bit by any mosquitos or any other bugs in country. I on the other hand do not want to spray my clothes because I do not want them to smell all gross, and possibly unwearable after SAS. As Callie, Kelsey and Mackenzie spray their clothes, spraying one side, waiting and then flipping their items over to spray the other side, a boat passes us by. Now I do not know why I get excited when I see other boats pass the ship, but tonight just felt like a special night. I was with my friends, and then all out of the blue this fish looking boat appears. We all started waving to the people on the fish looking boat, and we hoped we could get the people on the boat to look at us, on the massive ship, and wave back. A few more boats passed by. We enjoyed waving and shouting "Hello" to them! Finally as the night hit, we started heading inside, Kelsey and Mackenzie were going to leave tomorrow for the 4 day long Cambodia trip, while I was heading to Hanoi and Ha Long Bay! I got back to my cabin, making sure I had everything ready for my field program. Then I went to bed, excited for my journey that was about to happen in a few hours!
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