Vietnam: Arrival and Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City

There is no question in your mind, when you land in Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon that you are not in America. And though renamed, it is still, in many respects, especially the heart of the city, Saigon.

Being night time on our landing I could not see the old fortifications of Tan Son Nhat, one of the busiest air bases in South Vietnam during the war. When we landed later in the trip, during daylight hours, the old revetments and Quonset hut hangers still exist.

Left: A Mekong Delta fisherman


Right: A scooter or bike can carry a lot, and I mean a lot!

The terminal is brand spanking new and very nice. There are no guns or other weapons touted around by armed guards either. You do not feel that sense of Big Brother with small firearms at hand that you feel in Europe for instance.

You start to get the feeling of being in Asia on board the aircraft from Hong Kong for sure.

But when you land, and come out the doors to the heat and the rousing crowd watching each plane load embark on their journey, you know you are not in Des Moines. Since the crowd is not allowed into the terminal they wait outside like it is a Red Carpet arrival.

For sure, it is a long, long plane ride. Jet lag is of utmost importance and consideration. United’s flight attendants made sure we had water in front of us all the time. At least upstairs in Business they did…sorry I can’t speak for steerage.

Left: A brightly attired woman doing recycling in Ho Chi Minh City

I took Jet Lag medication from Trader Joe’s; I drank EmergenC high octane vitamin C three or four time’s enroute and in preparation for leaving; I laid off the gin and wine; I ate healthily; I slept with the schedule of Vietnam time zones in mind. I was still pooped. But not as much as I could have been.

We got to the May Hotel in central Ho Chi Min City about 11:30 pm and with an Ambien and some water, I dove into bed with the air conditioning set to “meat locker”. The first day in Vietnam was not going to be a lazy one.

We were greeted at the airport by Anh, our TOP tour guide. A young man in his thirties, his energy and enthusiasm for his country and his family was clear. And obviously, his friendship with TOP top gun Jess DeVaney was of long standing as his son’s name is Jessie. I suspect they’ve known each other quite some time for that to have happened.

Left: Graham Green's Continental Hotel..changed a bit

The group consisted of three TOP staff, Jess DeVaney, Bruce Logan (a retired Army Lt. Col.) and Natalie Greenleaf, a Washington D.C. therapist. The travelers were myself, Stevie and Sallie. Then there was Anh, our bus driver and little Jessie.


Left: Stevie and Anh in the lobby of the May Hotel (Sallie image)

Bruce is a Vietnam historian. He served two tours during the war and now comes back with TOP and with his wife to stay in the Hoi An area during the winter. He is very involved with Helping Hands in Hoi An that is run by and for challenged adults. This was his first tour as a Mother Duck, which means he has to keep everyone moving and accounted for.

Natalie’s late husband was a Chaplain who served in the Da Nang area of Vietnam. She returned for her second TOP tour this year to be our emotional support person, conducting the nightly group meetings to deal with the day’s events.

Jess, the founder of TOP, served in Vietnam as a Marine and came back to live and learn the language. The rest is history, as you will learn.

Natalie was my assigned “trip buddy”, and Jess couldn’t have made a better pairing as you will discover through these postcards.


Left: Anh and Jessie delivering toys first hand

First, let me say, I am not a “kid person”. I am a grandmother, but Zach is 18 and long on his own. Jessie is 4 years old and rarely has the chance to be with his dad, given Anh’s tour schedule, for any length of time. Without doubt Jessie has to be one of the most amazing children I have ever spent time with. We all agreed when Anh asked if Jessie could go on the tour with us. In retrospect, he helped make the tour the success it became and was a major glue component. He entertained himself for two weeks on a bus with a single Matchbox car and a tennis ball. You’ll see and read that throughout the postcards. He surely will grow up to be Vietnam’s first ambassador of major distinction or he’ll control all the Matchbox Cars of the world.

The May Hotel is located near the center of the city which includes the Continental Hotel, Rex Hotel, the Majestic Hotel, stores like Yves St. Laurent, Louis Vuitton, Gucci and the giant Ben Than indoor market place. It is the heart of Graham Greene’s "Quiet American" tour.

Right: The quiet street in front of the May Hotel

The May had excellent staff, comfortable and quiet rooms, a great breakfast buffet and location, location, location. Located on a one way side street it is a relatively quiet site where street and city noise is minimized. I highly recommend it.

Natalie, Sallie and I went to the Continental and Rex Hotels to check them out. But, being a little on the heated and travel worn side, we didn’t quite fit in with the motif of mahogany and brass. Ok, frankly, I looked like a sweat drenched refugee in L.L. Been. But the A/C sure felt good. The Rex’s famous roof top bar was quiet and really hot, as it was afternoon, and we did not, to my regret, make it back for cocktails.

I quickly learned the art of using the card key power system. To keep the room’s A/C running you put your amenities comb or a business card in the key holder slot. You never lose power then.

There is no question that Saigon is rapidly returning to the status of Paris of Southeast Asia. It is really hip, smart and big. Food is fantastic and shopping is heaven for those so inclined. You will not realize you are in a Communist run country or that they have reinvented themselves in less than 40 years after a major war.

Natalie and I spent quite a bit of our shopping time searching for dog tags to purchase for TOP's Dog Tag Recovery Program. More on that later as well. Suffice it to say either we were being too stingy in our negotiations or the proprietor thought we were trying to steal a large chain of tags. We offered a fair price but, alas, we left without those.

While in HCM City, aka Saigon, Jess surprised us the first night with dinner on a Saigon River boat. We cruised the river enjoying the lights of the city from the top deck and then went down to the main saloon for a multi-course Vietnamese dinner. We were entertained with traditional Vietnamese music. It was a great way to spend the evening before we set out the next day for Da Lat and our first project.

Left: Rooftop of the Rex Hotel

What was almost hard to compute and fully appreciate, is the magnitude of the scooter in Saigon, and the rest of the country. But Saigon! Think of a million gnats with motors in a liter bottle. They buzz around and never touch their brakes. They have a cell phone to their helmet ear hole, a cigarette going and 500 pounds of 30 foot long plastic pipe on their shoulder, driving through cheek to jowl traffic.

We saw many near accidents and happened upon what appeared to be a fatal accident with a helmetless scooter pilot lying in the roadway with his head at an odd angle. We learned quickly that life in Vietnam is fleeting even today. There is no such thing as OSHA. Men arc weld with no dark safety glasses under dual wheeled trucks jacked up without chocks under the wheels and gas leaking (I imagined) wearing flip flops for safety shoes. At many of our projects someone was gone because a relative had suddenly died or been killed tragically. It was a recurring theme.

Left: Just a small dose of scooters in Saigon

Adult riders have to wear helmets, but children have no helmets and wear, well, a hat. Most women are totally hidden to protect their creamy skin, with gloves, helmets, hats, face masks and long sleeves. Between the sun, the air quality of the city and the dust and grime, the body is greatly exposed. But, when you see the ladies with their armor off, and in their silken clothes, you see that taking care of one’s outer layer is all that it is cracked up to be. And alas, it is far too late for my rosacea cheeks.

Right: Flowers float in a "teeming" small body of water in the Mekong

While in Saigon we did an excursion to the Mekong to find the crash site of Sallie’s father’s helicopter in which he perished on the 4th of July, 1968. But that my friends and fellow travelers is a story totally unto itself and one for which you will have to wait patiently.

Our last night was spent in Saigon and we were graciously hosted by Anh’s mother at the family home near the airport. Anh’s wife, also named Anh, along with his mother and sisters, cooked us a homemade Vietnamese dinner that was divine. Then, we went around the corner to the family’s karaoke bar and sang ourselves into the night. It was a very short last night at the May Hotel. We had a 3 am departure for the airport in order to catch a 6:00 am flight for Hong Kong.

At dinner we had Mangosteen, a purple, delicious fruit that you crack open and then remove individual fruit sections. I fell in love with it. Anh’s wife surprised us by going to a market and getting us a bag to take home. We ate almost the entire bag in the waiting area for our flight. But, since we could not take it into California, what we couldn’t finish in Hong Kong we gave to some drooling seat companions who did not have the same destination.

Right: Natalie and Bruce serenade the fans (Sallie Image)

When I got home I went on a quest of the Asian markets for Mangosteens and found that they are not grown even in the agriculturally abundant Central Valley given our winters. And given fruit fly issues, they cannot be imported from Southeast Asia. Oh well, I guess I have to go back again if I want some Mangosteen. Another reason to return, as if I needed one.

My next postcards will go into the heart of the Southern Highlands and the beauty of Da Lat, our Leprosy Village project and a rare trip into the Montagnard Hill Tribes.

Below: Mangosteens