Tassafy Hossain reminisces about her exotic trips abroad
Ho Chi Minh: A city of relics
For me, Vietnam tends to remind me of the war. I guess I can blame it on the Hollywood movies I watched as a kid. My Ho Chi Minh itinerary included two major topics – war monuments and food.
To kick off our Vietnam adventures, we decided that trying out snake meat will be a perfect start. After some google searches we decided not to creep ourselves out by going to the snake alley. Instead, we decided to locate a street side local restaurant which serves snake. Since snake was not on their menu, it was quite an achievement explaining what we wanted using hissing sounds and making gestures to show a snake head with our hands. We were almost ready to give up when a local client at the next table came to our aid. He helped us choose a regular non-poisonous local snake and ordered it to be cooked in two different styles – minced meat to have with the crunchy pancakes and as soup. The minced meat is recommended if you are adventurous when comes to food.
The next days were spent walking and motorcycling around the city – the Reunification or Independence Palace is an interesting stop to get a picture of the South Vietnamese regime of the early 1970s. It was the site of the end of the Vietnam War during the Fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975, when a North Vietnamese Army tank crashed through its gates. The War Remnants Museum was again another collection of war relics, but the best part of it would have to be the photography collection. I found the place fascinating – a showcase of how wars can tear down all sense of humanity. The highlight of our trip was the day trip to the Cu Chi tunnels. The forested area was beautiful and the tunnel system used by the Viet Cong simply left me enthralled. It makes you realize how passion can fuel any society to thrive and find the power to defeat any force.
The Cho Benh Thanh market and the Saigon Tax Center, as recommended by the locals and internet searches, turned out to be the best places for getting a mix of local tourist and interesting items ranging from clothes and handicrafts to regular household items. Try to get yourself the áo dài, the traditional women’s wear of Vietnam. The local shops cater to different sizes and looks though a little bargaining is required.
Ho Chi Minh should be a must on anyone’s travel bucket list. The city is beautiful and easy to roam around in. You will find yourself lost in its history through all the remnants that can be found scattered around.
Credit cards are not accepted everywhere, so keep cash handy. Although the currency gets tricky to account for since 1 USD is around 20,000 Vietnamese Dong.
Some things to note:
1. Try the iced Vietnamese style coffee – it is strong and sweet, and a perfect drink to wake you up.
2. Motorcycles are one of the major transports around the city; you can use them to get around very easily, but also keep in mind that there are many zooming aroundmaking it a bit difficult for pedestrians.
3. You can negotiate anything anywhere, but the women shopkeepers drive a harder bargain.
Myanmar: Of lungis and beaches
In need of a quick relaxing break from my crazy schedule, I decided that I will start ticking off places to visit around Asia from my list. After looking at the easiest visa options, flight schedules and budget, I decided to take off for a week to our mysterious neighbour – Myanmar. Having heard all the different “experiences” from others, ranging from it being an underdeveloped, unexciting city with poor cuisine to an exciting, beautiful country with fabulous food, I really did not know what to expect. First note: if you thought lungis can never look formal or stylish, be prepared for the shock of your life!
From the time we landed in Yangon, Myanmar was a land for reminiscing and thrills. Much of Yangon reminded me of the Dhaka from my childhood – similar roadside footpaths, tall green trees lining the shaded roads, the absence of crazy traffic jams, and the earthy toned buildings with the grilled windows. There were sudden bursts of golden pagodas sticking out from among the cityscape. There were so many of them that you could spend days just visiting the beautiful pagodas. Instead, I spent my days walking around Yangon. I started from the Central Railway Station towards the Aung San Sports Ground Stadium and all the way towards the bank of Yangon River on Strand Road. We passed through what seemed like a commercial area of Yangon, just taking in the view of the old colourful buildings and busy working people. In the hot summer sun, we took a short break to have lemonade. We sat on low plastic chairs which seemed to be the norm for the roadside food places. The day ended with a ride on a cycle rickshaw.
Yangon has a great mix of old and new with different areas of the city encompassing different lifestyles. Bogyoke Aung Sun Market makes for a worthwhile visit if you are looking for local artifacts, lungis and paintings. A whole section is dedicated to precious and semi-precious stones and gems. The parks can be a relaxing outing where you can have leisure walks or eat out at the restaurants located there. The Yangon nightlife culture is an experience that consists of bars and cafes with live music – my favourite was the 50th Street Bar. There are also clubs that you can venture out to for a night of dancing. There’s also a big expat culture in Yangon, if you are looking to find English-speaking places to hang out at, check Facebook for recommendations.
After two days in Yangon, we headed out towards the Bay of Bengal, the Ngwe Saung beach. The resort was green, with small cottages leading right on to the sandy beach. Ngwe Saung is a beautiful stretch of white sandy beach with gorgeous blue water. The best part is that the beaches were empty. You could walk, bathe and nap by the beachside. The resort also served food on the beach under the coconut leave canopies. If you need time off to relax and rejuvenate then this beach is definitely the place to head out to. Different resorts line the stretch but this is not one of the most visited places. The main street of local food places is a short walk from the beach and there are motorbike taxis going up and down all the time. The resorts are beautiful with a range of styles, looks and prices. The internet is not the best in the area so you might be cut off from 24/7 updates of the world and your workplace. This helped me to relax more and spend three days just swimming, sleeping and enjoying the fabulous local food. Oh, and the Burmese massage helped too.
Points to Note:
1. Most of the service personnel in Myanmar do not speak English, so buying tickets at the local bus and railway stations is quite a feat.
2. Feel free to ask your hotel to get interpreters, especially to help you sort out logistics issues.
3. Credit cards are not usable in most places, so make sure you have cash.