Ta Cu Mountain

During our trip to Mui Ne, we took a day trip to a nearby mountain to see some pagodas and Vietnam's largest laying down Buddha.  The Buddha was built in 1963, but the pagodas were built in the late 1800's.  I tried to find information online about how it was built and materials and what not, but all I could find were the dimensions.

To get to Ta Cu Mountain we hopped into a 1960's Jeep and had a guy drive us to the the base of the mountain.  It was about a 45 minute very bumpy drive.  Both boys fell asleep in my arms on the way there.  When we got there, and the guy turned off the engine, Oliver bolted awake and started clapping.  It was really cute.

Once there, we purchased tickets to take the gondola to the top of the mountain because neither of us were down for a 2 hour hike up a mountain through a jungle.  (I don't think Owen would have enjoyed that.)  When we got to the top, we followed a group of tourists down a path that led to some stairs.  After about 15 flights, we got to the pagodas.  They were impressive!  I was surprised at the number of people who were there for worship, and it was a great opportunity to talk to Owen about how the culture is different here.

We then hike up another 10 or so flights of stairs to find three beautiful statues.  The problem with being a tourist in Vietnam is that you can't read any of the signs--Vietnamese has nothing in common with English.  So I have no idea what those statues were for or what they represented.  I do know that they were breathtaking!

Then we climbed another 15 or so flight of stairs before we got to the Buddha.  This guy was massive!  He is 49 meters long (about 160 feet) and 11 meters tall.  He was laying down, sleeping, and had a very serene expression on his face.

After taking several pictures, and posing in a lot more with a bunch of random tourists, we walked back down the 40 flights of stairs to the gondola to take us back to the foot of the mountain.  We ate lunch at the base surrounded by Vietnamese tourists.  It's so funny to eat in a room full of Vietnamese people because we get stared at the entire time.  The boys especially.  Owen doesn't like the attention very much, but he is coming around.  He's getting so much better at talking to strangers.  Oliver, on the other hand, LOVES the attention, and boy! does he get a lot of it.  People love his blonde hair, and they point at him, and take pictures of him everywhere we go.  He smiles, waves, and blows kisses and makes all the girls giggle like crazy.  Such a ham.

Panoramic view of the Buddha

After lunch, we went back to the Jeep to take the ride back to the resort.  The guy was busy having a smoke, so we were told to wait 10 minutes for him to finish up.  Sounds crazy, right?  After he was finished with his break (even though we had been on the mountain for about 2 hours), we got in the Jeep.  It wouldn't start.  Turn's out that his transmission was busted and gears 1, 2, and 4 were out.  He asked us to get back out of the Jeep (using only gestures because we don't understand Vietnamese and he didn't speak English).  He had a friend tell us to wait 20 minutes, so we wandered around and got some ice cream.  Meanwhile, the guy pulled the floorboards out and opened up the gear box.  He then rigged it so the the floor boards would hold the gear box in place so that he could jam the transmission into third gear.  Derek had to push on the shoddy floor boards with his foot the entire drive back to Mui Ne.  And we couldn't get past third gear, so the trip back took significantly longer than the trip there.  He was supposed to take us into Mui Ne to a restaurant for dinner, but he dropped us on the edge of town saying the restaurant wasn't far (it was).  He just didn't want to have to drive through town because his car couldn't shift.

We ended up taking a cab about 2 miles (which is too far for a 4 year old to walk after climbing up and down 40 flights of stairs) to a place called Oliver's.  The food was okay, and Oliver broke a ramekin.  At least my mojito was good!

It was quite the day.  One I am sure we will remember for a long time.  It was for experiences like this that we packed up our family and moved to the other side of the world.  I'm so glad we went on this little vacation before school started to solidify why we came here.  I think we are going to go to Dalat for our next mini vacation!

Mui Ne Vacation

We took a four day vacation to Mui Ne, Vietnam.  It is a beautiful tourist town right on the beach.  We found a great room at a resort on the water and have had a blast splashing around in the ocean, looking for sea shells, and exploring the surrounding area.

We took the Reunification Express from Saigon to Phan Thiet early Wednesday morning.  The train ride took about four hours, and Oliver slept nearly the entire time in my arms.  It was a short cab ride from the train station to the resort.

We checked into Phu Hai Resort shortly after noon, and immediately went to check out the water.  It was simply incredible!  We then ate lunch at the resort's restaurant and went back to the room to put the dudes down for nap.  Oliver, of course, didn't want to nap since he slept all morning, so Owen and I rested while Derek and Ollie explored the resort.

When Owen woke up, we got in a cab and went to a vegetarian restaurant in Mui Ne.  The owners spoke zero English, but the food was incredible and super cheap!

After dinner, we put on our suits and splashed around in the ocean a bit.  Then we went up to the resort's pool so that the boys could swim in calm water.  (The ocean here is a little rough.)

We snacked on the delicious tropical fruit left in the room for us before bed and all had a great night's sleep.

Thursday morning, we went to the beach early (mostly because Oliver woke up at 5am) and saw a gorgeous sunrise.  We splashed in the water a bit more and then got ready for a day of sightseeing.

We went to Ta Cu Mountain on Thursday to see Vietnam's largest lying down Buddha.  It was quite the adventure, so I'll save that story for its own blog post.  It deserves it.

On Friday we took a Jeep tour and saw a fishing village, white sand dunes, red sand dunes, and a beautiful little river called "Fairies Stream."  At the white sand dunes, we got to take a ride on a four-wheeler.  Owen loved zipping around the dunes, but Oliver was not a fan.  We got to see a lake full of lotus flowers too.  It was interesting to see the natural beauty of the area, but I am way more interested in the cultural experiences--like ancient temples and what not.  The Fairies Steam was very pretty too.  The boys loved walking in the water and splashing around.  Oh, and at one point, Derek and Owen got to ride an ostrich.  Seriously.

Friday night, we ate dinner at a German restaurant in Mui Ne and got to have real beer for the first time in nearly four weeks.  Apparently Mui Ne is a very popular destination for Russians and Germans.  All of the store fronts have their names in Vietnamese and Russian, and we are quite literally surrounded by Russians.  It's a very interesting experience.  At the pool Friday afternoon, we were able to pick up on Vietnamese, Russian, German, French, Korean, Hindi, and English (British version) all be spoken in the same area.  It was pretty cool.

On Saturday morning, we got to see the Poshanu Towers which were built by the Cham people around the 8th century and the remains of a castle built by a French prince around 1900 when the French occupied the area.  The castle was mostly destroyed, but one tower and several underground buildings remained.  The view was magnificent.  Then, from what I understand, the Poshanu Towers were built by the Cham people to worship a Shiva Genie.  The Cham people are still around, though their numbers are few.  They are known for their beautiful textiles.  We purchased a table cloth and scarf from the local tribe.  It was incredible to meet the woman who made the items we bought!  While Derek and I were admiring all the beautiful fabrics, Oliver and Owen hung out with a Cham guy.  Both guys instantly took to this man.  He showed them around their garden and let them feed some birds.  Their little garden and shop made the day incredibly memorable.

We spent Saturday afternoon at the beach and in the pool (and have the sunburns to prove it).  We headed back to Saigon early Sunday morning via the Reunification Express.  The return trip was significantly less enjoyable than the trip there due to a very full, very old coach.

PS: A sure fire way to get our boys to nap is to go on a bumpy jeep ride.  Every time we rode in a jeep for more than 15 minutes, the boys fell asleep.  (Carseats are not used here which seems absolutely crazy to me still.  I literally just hold on to my children on bumps.  Very few taxis even have seat belts in them.)

Tao Dan Park

We took a quick trip to Tao Dan Park in District 1 this afternoon.  It was a large park with lots of gardens, water features, and two separate play areas.  The boys have fun even though it was very humid.

There did not seem to be very many tourists around, but it was still quite busy.  The boys didn't mind.  They made some new friends--even though they didn't speak the same language.  It was fun to watch.
 

Finding a Home: Revisited

We have decided against living at The Vista.  We entered into negotiations with the landlord, and she was completely inflexible.  We really only wanted to sign a one year lease to give us some options next summer, but she was unwilling to budge--even if we paid more in rent.  The situation made us uncomfortable.

We happened to run into a veteran ISHCMC teacher on Monday when we were checking out the campus.  He suggested we look at his building which is a little further away, a little older, and a LOT less expensive.  Originally, Derek had wanted to stay within walking distance to the school, but now that we've been here a few weeks and are a bit more comfortable, a 12 minute bike ride does not sound bad at all.  So we went over to his flat to have a look.  It was wonderful!  It felt so much more "homey" than Vista did.

We also met a new realtor named Mr. Hien.  He is the most B.A. realtor I've ever met.  Seriously.  He's awesome.  And he raises chickens.

Mr. Hien showed us several 4 bedroom places. We fell in love with one on the 22nd floor, but found out the evening it was already spoken for.  We went again the next day and found two units with similar floor plans.  They are 4 bedrooms, but the master bedroom has an extra space attached to it, so it is really more like 5 rooms.  One unit is on the 7th floor, has great furniture, an okay view, and is $850 per month.  The other is on the 11th floor, has okay furniture, great views, and is $1000 per month.  Both landlords are willing to sign a one year lease.

We are meeting with Mr. Hien again today, but I am 90% sure we are going to go with the unit on the 7th floor simply because it is cheaper and has better furniture.

Here't the thing:  if we hate it, we can lease another $1000 four bedroom unit and still be paying less than we would have at The Vista.  I can't get over the price fluctuation here.

(Sorry no photos.  I'll try to take a couple today when we go again.)

Petty Theft

We were warned.  Many times.  But I never thought someone would have the audacity to steal a phone out of my front pocket while I held my child up to see the hippo at the zoo.

There were so many people.  I have no idea who took it.  Derek was even watching Owen and me looking at the hippo, and he didn't notice a thing.

I'm so upset.  Beyond upset.  I'm angry.  And I feel completely exposed.  Some creeper out there can read my emails, see pictures of my children, and pretty much has a window into my entire life.  I, of course, used the the "Find my iPhone" app and put my phone in "Lost" mode.  As soon as someone tries to use wifi, I'll know about it.  And I changed all my passwords.  All of them.  Even silly things... like Pinterest.  So I know I'm covered.  But it doesn't make me feel any better.

If it doesn't connect to wifi by tonight, I'll wipe the thing.

I know it's just a "thing" and completely replaceable, but it feels like a part of me  was taken.

We were told to go to the police station to make a report.  We did. The nanny had to come to translate for us.  Poor lady.  We insisted she take the day off tomorrow to make up for bothering her on a Sunday, but she refused.  She is an incredible person.

Needless to say, I am having a rough day.  I'd have posted pictures from our trip to the Saigon Zoo and Botanical Gardens today, but I can't.  All the pictures were on my phone.  They were good too.  And I doubt we will go back there any time soon.

District 1

Our nanny and her husband took us on a quick tour of District 1 (downtown) today.  We got to see many of the popular sights of Saigon.  The French influence in the downtown area is quite evident, and the traffic is nauseating--thank goodness our nanny's husband is a professional driver!

The HCMC post office.  Beautiful.  There were people selling their wares all through the building.  The top right picture is of the nanny holding Oliver.  She is wonderful!

A replica of Notre Dame built when Viet Nam was a French colony.  Every single brick was brought from Marseilles, France.  The building opened in 1880 and even has beautiful stained glass windows (again imported from France).

Wandering around downtown.  There are many beautiful gardens amongst the chaos of the streets.

Left: Diving here is an adventure.  Oragnized chaos is the best description...  It's crazy.
Center: These girls asked to take a picture of us.  We had the nanny snap one too.  People love the boys' hair.
Right: Ben Thanh Market.  I was very overwhelmed, but it was exciting!  We'll have to go back without the kids.

Exploring

Part of the fun of moving to a new place is learning where everything is.  You can walk to a lot of places in Saigon, but it's friggin hot.  And humid.  So a bike is the way to go.  We bought bikes from a little shop here in D2 whose owner is a CC graduate.  Very nice guy.

Go faster, Daddy!

Now that we have bikes, we have been getting out a whole lot more.  We have seats for the boys, so they aren't getting nearly as tired (read: whiney).  It's been a lot more enjoyable.  

We have been able to get out a bit farther from the temporary apartment to try different places to eat.  So far, our absolute favorite place has been Snap Cafe. The food is good though not classic Vietnamese, but the atmosphere is incredible for children!  It's a full sized play park where the kids can run around safely while mom and dad have a bia (beer).  It's seriously the best kid-friendly restaurant I have ever been to.  The only downside is that your kids will be COVERED in sand.  But I'm cool with that.

Panoramic view of Snap Cafe

Balance beam

So messy!

Both boys had a blast, but Oliver was by far the dirtiest.  We had to hose them both down as soon as we got home.  Owen had a grilled cheese and tomato sandwich, and Oliver had pasta with fresh pesto.  I had a mushroom risotto, and Derek ordered vegetarian sausages!  He was so excited to find them, but he did say that they tasted a bit different than veggies sausages back home.  After dinner, we ordered ice cream to celebrate Owen's half birthday. I had passionfruit sorbet which was amazing.  Owen had mango sorbet, also very good, and Derek got vanilla.  This is definitely a place we will be frequenting.

 We have tried a lot of restaurants and cafes, but we haven't worked up the courage to try the street vendors yet.  The sacks of yellow fluid that people are drinking still creep me out a bit, and it's hard to know what you are getting from a vendor.  We want to stay a vegetarian as possible, but it's turning out to be quite difficult.  All of the local cuisine has pork, beef, or chicken in it.  We actually get looked a pretty oddly when we order an entire meal with no meat.  

Finding a Home

 On Thursday we went around District 2 with a realtor named David.  He's from Paris but has been living in Saigon for 10 years with a brief stint in Cambodia as well.  He was great.  We saw 14 different residences with everything from two bedroom apartments to six bedroom villas.

The biggest factors for us are:
1.  Safety.  We do have 2 young children after all.
2.   Location.  We would like a quick trip in to work each day.
3.  A place for the kids to play.

Optimally we wanted 4 bedrooms, a place to swim, and places to eat within walking distance.

I thought we'd get a house considering that that's what we are used to, but upon talking to people who have lived in Saigon before, apartment living started to sound more like what we needed to do... at least to start.  Apartment living is considerably more safe than a free standing house because there is 24 hour security.  We could hire a night time guard, but that would be an added expense.

We asked David to show us a few house and apartment units so we could really compare.  We ended up liking an apartment complex called The Vista best.  Our unit would be on the 18th floor and has an incredible view of the Saigon River and the skyline.  It's brand new, so we would get to help pick the furnishings to help it feel like our home.  It has 4 bedrooms and costs $2200 per month, but we may be able to negotiate that down a bit.  There are floor to ceiling windows, and I can't wait to watch the lightning from up there.

View of the pool

We do have to walk along the highway for a little bit, which is a bit sketchy with kids.  Derek and I tried the walk on Friday while the nanny was with the boys.  It wasn't too bad, but it will definitely be easier on bikes.

They are in the process of building several shoppes, cafes, and small eateries on the ground floors of the towers.  Already, there is a small grocery store and Shalom Cafe.  There is an incredible pool, children's play area, coi pond, gym, putting green, and constant security.  Plus, our nanny has a friend who works for a family there that has a little boy the same age as Owen.  She will be able to easily arrange play dates with so many other expat kids in close quarters.

We are going to check it out again tomorrow to be sure to be sure we like it.

The View

Putting Green

Checking out the view

Awesome bathrooms

Initial Observations

1.  Vietnamese people are incredibly friendly.
2.  So many smiles.
3.  The ladies like to touch the boys' hair.
4.  There are lots of lizards.
5.   I've never seen such beautiful flowers.
6.  It's green.  Very green.
7.  Humidity will take some getting used to.
8.  Construction workers don't wear helmets.  Or shoes.
9.  A lot of people go barefoot.
10.  There are chickens in the streets.
11.  Vietnamese is a difficult language to learn.
12.  The streets are flithy.
13.  There are not nearly as many bugs as I had expected.
14.  Kitchens are small.
15.  There are no rules on the roads.
16.  I don't need to use lotion.
17.  I'm ridiculously tall.
18.  It smells wonderful outside in the mornings.
19.  Vietnamese dong (the currency) have a see through window.
20.  Pedicures are a must... feet get dirty quickly and shoes are removed when going inside.
21.  Jet lag sucks.
22.  Vietnamese coffee is awesome.
23.  There are a lot of people here.
24.  Oliver is sleeping really well in a regular bed.  It might just be exhaustion.
25.  I can not believe we are actually here.

The Journey

We have been in Saigon for a bit over 24 hours.  The process of getting here was not without complication, but it wasn't as bas as it could have been.  The worst part was that United in COS cancelled our flight to DIA (apparently not enough crew bothered to come to work that day) and had no way of re-routing us or bumping people on other flights so that we could make our connection to Tokyo.  The only solutions she could come up with were "Wait to go until tomorrow" or "We can put you on a shuttle." Neither worked for us because we had people waiting for us in Saigon and would have had to bring carseats to ride the shuttle.

Thankfully, Steve and Melissa volunteered to drive us up to DIA.  We got there around 9:30 and had a bit under 3 hours to get through international security.  Only one of our checked bags was over 50 pounds, so I was able to pull a couple items to ensure all 8 bags could fly.  Our carry-ons all passed through security without a hitch. We were not asked to remove our laptops, take off our shoes, or even remove the liquids from the bags.  It was a little weird.  All said and done, we got to the gate about an hour before they started boarding.  The airline was unable to sit us all together, so Oliver and I were in one pat of the plane and Derek and Owen were in a different part.  It was lame, but not the end of the world.

Oliver had his own seat, but he insisted on being held the ENTIRE flight.  There was another little boy the same age in the seats next to us, and Oliver cried WAY less than he did.  I guess that means he did pretty well despite a few freak outs.  My arms are still stiff today from holding him while he slept in those uncomfortable chairs.

Owen was a trooper.  He was chill the entire flight for Derek, happily playing on the iPad mini or watching a show on screen on the back of the seat.  All the snacks they kept serving didn't hurt either.

Our flight arrived in Tokyo about a half hour early.  We had to go through security again which I found odd considering we had just gotten off a plane.  But I guess not all incoming flights are coming from countries with as tight of security standards as Japan and the US.  We had to pull out all of our electronic equipment (external hard drives, AppleTV, baby monitor, ect) this time, but otherwise it went smoothly.  Fortunately, both time we went through security, it was not very busy, so we were not rushed at all.

The Tokyo airport was very interesting simply because it is so different than anything in the States.  We were especially interested in the different bathrooms.  Oh!  And they had special rooms just for nursing moms all throughout the airport.  It was so cool to feel such support for breast feeding even without talking to anyone.  The rooms had comfy chairs, changing tables, sinks with soap to wash bottles/pumping parts, and even outlet adapters to accommodate different pumps.  It was awesome.  And really clean.  They also had a sweet play area near the gate that the boys loved.

The plane ride to HCMC was a completely different experience than the ride to Tokyo.  The plane was smaller, yes, but there were many other differences.  The food was healthier.  They brought around hot towels before meals.  They had toys and books for the boys to play with.  Even the apple juice was different.  It was very clear that the Japanese are incredibly supportive of moms and children.  It was an incredible feeling.

We got into HCMC about 40 minutes early.  We picked up our visas which took about an hour.  Then we went to collect our 8 suitcases.  They told us to go to the wrong baggage claim area.  We waited for another 45 minutes while panicing a bit (okay, a lot) waiting for our bags to come out.  They never came.  So we went over to lost baggage.  On the way, we passed another carrousel   All 8 of our bags were piled up next to it.  I don't think I've ever been so relived.

Next, we went through customs which was not a big deal.  We just had to pass all the bags through another xray.  No biggy.  Then we left the airport.  The humidity hit us instantly.  The school's bus driver was there to collect us.  We went on an exciting drive at midnight to get to the apartment.  We got checked in without a hitch and were helped to get all our baggage upstairs.

We showered and bathed the boys, got jammies on, and went to bed.  We only slept for about 4 hours and woke at about 5 am Wednesday morning.

I'll update more later abut our first day.  We need to get ready to meet the realtor now...