This was a wonderful experience. I wasn't sure what to expect before entering, but by the time I was leaving I fully understood that Vietnamese women are bad ass!! The exhibition highlighted the involvement of women in The American or Vietnam war. The women were involved in production of essential materials but also were involved in armed combat. These were women who shot down planes, carried the wounded to safety and engaged in hand to hand combat. When I discovered more about the lifestyle and work these women did, I could understand how they were able to be such valiant heroines! Some of the women I have been taking photos of, carrying their baskets through the streets, work from 2 am until 8pm and return home to their families who live in the country side only once a month or so.
The museum also had a whole section about marriage customs. After the culture shock I received, where everything seemed so alien to me, it was comforting to read of many shared customs. Ireland and its people seem so different from the Vietnamese way, however, fundamentally, we are all the same. For a wedding, the bride and groom wear extremely elegant clothes and attend a ceremony surrounded by friends and family. There is feasting and dancing and much celebrating! Sounds just like an Irish knees up to me! It's amazing to think that people so far away, who seem so different, at heart are just like us. It made the people I met on the streets after seem more real, more human.
Feeling empowered by Vietnamese women's bravery I worked up the courage to try some of the street food. A tiny lady had an equally tiny disposable barbecue on which she was grilling the most delicious smelling, spicy pork skewers. At less than 50c a pop this was definitely backpacker prices. I was a little dubious at first but one bite later I was converted! It was gorgeous! The outside was crispy and smoky while the inside was moist and spicy! A quick wander away from the touristy hub took us to the Mekong River. The scale of the river took my breath away!
Showered and changed, and still feeling brave, we decided to up the ante on the street food and get a full dinner. Don't eat the street food, the guidebooks say. Don't eat the street food, the doctors say... Well I say, don't eat the street food, unless you want one of the most delicious meals of your life!
We asked our hotel for a recommendation, just to be safe, and made our way to a tiny roadside cafe. It was a small garage, complete with tools and parts on the wall, with tiny plastic tables and mini stools dotted around. A man had set up a barbecue/cooking station in the entrance. His ingriendients were neatly placed around him, on the cooker, hanging off it and in buckets on the floor.
We plopped down less than gracefully on the tiny stools and within a minute were served up steaming bowls of chicken noodle soup. The chicken was so moist and succulent and perfectly cooked. Bright green, fresh herbs like coriander and chives swam around in the salty soup. I sprinkled in a few scarlet chillis to give it a kick and a dash of lime juice and OH Mamma!! It was delicious! Incomparable to the slurpy, gritty chicken noodle soup I've had at home. Everything was so fresh, the flavours were all so vibrant! Honestly it was one of the best meals I've ever eaten. Without doubt, eat the street food!!! Although here come the lessons......
After we ate we went to pay. "How much?" "70,000 dong " Cue peals of laughter. Now I may not speak Vietnamese but I know when someone is taking the mickey. Yes it only cost about $3.50 for 2 but clearly this was way overpriced. So firstly, ask your hotel how much it should cost, then before ordering ask the cook how much it should cost! To us it was practically nothing, so after a few feeble negotiations we paid up and shut up. Well worth it for a delicious meal!
Feeling a little cheated we took a stroll through the night market and stumbled upon a temple. There was a band playing the most entrancing, hypnotic museum outside. What better way to get over things than with a bit of a dance! For once I wasn't the one taking photos of strangers for my blog. A group ofAsian tourists, delighted by our exuberant dancing whipped out their phones and iPads and captured the crazy, sweaty western girls dancing alone to the catchy temple tunes! It's all part of My Big Asian Adventure!
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