June 9: Visiting the War Remnants Museum and Moving to Can Tho
I woke up at about 9 AM to the sound of other renters getting out of the room. The sleep was not bad, but it was not great either. After that, as usual, I looked for a coffee shop where I could update my blog. I found a local coffee shop with indoor seating and very few customers, so I decided to go in. The coffee was about 20,000 VND ($0.80), which is pretty cheap. I think the most expensive black coffee I had in Vietnam was 45,000 VND.
There were two women working there who looked to be around the same age, probably in their 40s. One of them quickly noticed that I was not Vietnamese, so she asked the other woman to take my order. I ordered a black coffee and settled into one of the seats. Just a few minutes after I received my coffee, a group of tourists came into the coffee shop, which surprised me because it did not look like a fancy place. They ordered their drinks to go and then left. I was glad that the quiet and calm atmosphere continued.
After finishing my blog entry, a few hours had already passed, so I left at around 12:30 PM. As I walked around, I looked for a place to have lunch. I found a food stall and went in. I always feel a little uncomfortable entering local food stalls because people often look at me like I am a complete stranger. I ordered a noodle dish and some rice. I had not planned to order rice, but one of the customers was eating a rice dish, which made me want some as well.
Using Google Translate, I asked a young staff member whether it was possible to order only rice, and he said yes. The noodle dish was 40,000 VND ($1.50), and the total bill was still 40,000 VND, so I assumed that I was not charged for the rice. The fish was okay, although I wished there had been more beef. Even though food stalls are very cheap, the portions are usually not very large, so I feel like I have lost weight in Vietnam.
After finishing the meal in about five minutes, I headed to the War Remnants Museum because I wanted to learn more about the Vietnam War. Unlike the Ho Chi Minh City Museum, which I had visited the day before, there were many people waiting in front of the entrance to buy tickets. Surprisingly, there were not only tourists but also many local visitors.
The entrance fee was 40,000 VND. There were far more people inside the museum than I had expected, which made me feel optimistic about the exhibits. On the first floor, there was a souvenir shop as well as several exhibitions. There was also a reconstructed jail that showed what the prisons where Vietnamese people were held during the war looked like.
The museum has three floors where visitors can learn about the war. To be honest, it made me feel scared, sad, and angry. I learned how the war affected people not only during the conflict but also long afterward. I was embarrassed that I had not really understood how terrible and horrifying this war had been. I think I spent more than two hours there.
By the end, I did not want to look at any more photographs of the victims because they were so brutal. I left the museum and headed to the bus station to catch a bus to Can Tho, a city in southern Vietnam.
The bus was scheduled to depart at 5 PM, but it left a little late. There were only five passengers, including me. Everyone looked Asian. The bus was surprisingly fancy even though the fare was not expensive. As far as I remember, it cost about $12. During the ride, I mostly slept.
After arriving in Can Tho, I took a motorbike taxi through Grab to the hotel I had booked. On the way, I was surprised by how developed the city seemed. In some ways, it even felt more modern than parts of Ho Chi Minh City.
After checking in, I found that although I had booked a private room, the interior looked quite old. The room cost only $6, so I could not really complain. If anything, I appreciated having a private room at that price, but it made me realize that I prefer a clean dormitory room to an old private room.
As I looked around the room, a small cockroach welcomed me while it struggled to flip itself over from its back. Since cockroaches have always been one of my biggest enemies, even though they have never actually harmed me, I gently placed a small basket over it so that it could not wander around the room.
I left the hotel and went to a very local food stall for dinner, where you cannot really expect anyone to speak English. In many cases, the staff look slightly annoyed when taking your order. However, as long as there is a menu with pictures, it is not a problem even if people give you strange looks. I have become used to being a stranger at local food stalls.
When there are no pictures and the menu is written only in the local language, I either point randomly at something or use a translation app to say, “Can I have the most popular dish, please?”
I think I used the second method at this particular food stall. The food came with rice and some fried pork ribs. The pork was excellent, but the rice was interesting. I had never eaten that type of rice before. Each grain was so small that it almost looked like a bean.
I ordered a few extra pieces of pork ribs and then left the food stall. After returning to the hotel on foot, I took a shower and went to bed.
June 10: A Local Gym and Sightseeing in Can Tho
I woke up at about 8 AM. I could not sleep very well, although the sleeping environment was quite comfortable. I guess the fact that there was a cockroach trapped under a small basket made me feel uncomfortable.
After packing everything quickly, I checked out and left the hotel. I walked toward the central area to find a place where I could settle down and update my blog. Once I fall behind, it is difficult to catch up on writing during a trip. I am currently a couple of days behind. That is why I usually like to spend my mornings in a coffee shop while traveling.
Also, if I start my day with sightseeing, I often have nothing to do by the evening, and it can be tiring. To be honest, as long as I can visit some judo dojos, enjoy local food, experience the cultural differences between countries and people, and become more curious about history, I am happy. It is not very important for me to visit famous tourist attractions.
I have realized that you have to give up on doing everything. Trying to see as many sightseeing spots as possible is exhausting and does not excite me. In the past, I wanted to visit as many major cities as possible in each country, but now I prefer staying in one place and relaxing. Constantly moving from place to place also wears you out.
Back to the journal.
It took quite a while to find a coffee shop where I could relax and use my laptop, but eventually I found an open-air coffee shop. I wish it had indoor seating, but there was nothing I could do about that. The place had a large open space with plenty of tables and chairs. I found a seat near an electrical outlet and ordered a coffee as usual.
I think it cost 19,000 VND ($0.70), making it the cheapest coffee I had bought in Vietnam. The reason I do not like staying outside for long periods is that I tend to get bitten by mosquitoes. I am not sure how many mosquito bites I have gotten in Southeast Asia, especially in Vietnam.
After finishing my work, I headed to the Cai Rang Floating Market because I had heard that Can Tho is famous for it. However, perhaps because of the time of day, I was disappointed. There were many vendors on land selling various things, but I did not see many of the boats that the market is known for.
So, I decided to have lunch nearby. I entered a random food stall and ordered something recommended by a young man working there. It was similar to what I had eaten the day before. The dish included the same type of rice I had tried previously, along with some meat on the bone and vegetables. Since the ratio of rice to meat seemed unbalanced, I ordered some extra pork. The meal ended up costing more than I expected, probably because of the additional pork.
After lunch, I relaxed for a while at a nice-looking coffee shop that I would never have expected to find in that area. It was located on a street lined mostly with old houses. Two young girls were working there. One of them politely took my order, and I settled down for a break.
There were only a few customers even though the coffee shop had plenty of seating. The two girls looked bored and spent most of their time on their phones, something I often noticed in Vietnam.
When I watch people selling things on the streets or working in shops in Vietnam, it feels very different from Japan. Many of the Vietnamese workers I saw looked relaxed and passed the time on their phones instead of actively trying to increase sales. They simply did what they needed to do and waited.
In contrast, Japanese workers usually try to stay busy rather than spending time on their phones. I do not think either approach is necessarily better. However, sometimes accepting reality and not constantly pushing yourself can be important. In Japan, many people seem overly stressed because of work. Life feels more relaxed in Vietnam.
Since I found a gym near the coffee shop and did not have anything else planned, I decided to work out. I am not sure if it is true, but based on the atmosphere of the city, I felt that fitness culture in Can Tho was more developed than I had expected.
When I entered the gym, nobody was at the front desk. I asked one of the trainers how I could use the gym. He did not speak English, but he understood what I meant and started looking for someone who I assumed was the manager.
Eventually, a young woman approached me and explained everything in English. She told me that a one-day pass cost 40,000 VND ($1.50). I also grabbed a bottle of Pocari Sweat from a refrigerator. Whether intentionally or not, she initially charged me more than the listed price, but I pointed out the correct price shown on the fridge.
There were quite a lot of people in the gym, mostly young men and women, although some looked to be in their 40s or 50s. I started training and immediately began sweating. I think the temperature inside was close to 40°C. There were only a few fans, but I liked the atmosphere.
I worked out for a little over an hour before leaving with completely soaked shorts and a wet tank top.
I then took a Grab motorbike taxi to another tourist area, Ninh Kieu Wharf, where there were more vendors, boats, and parks. At around 5 PM, the area had much more energy and far more people than Cai Rang Floating Market.
I bought a pair of shorts and some sandals because I needed them. As I walked around, I noticed quite a few tourists, which felt unusual because I had not seen many recently.
I entered an open-air restaurant and ordered a frog dish, which was delicious. The frog itself was not particularly special, but I really liked the flavoring. Although the portion size was generous, I was not very hungry after my workout.
I was tired, so I returned to the hotel where I had checked in earlier. I asked a friendly young man at the front desk about laundry service. At first, he told me that the laundry would be ready the next day. Since I had to leave early the following morning, I asked whether it could be finished that same day instead. He contacted the laundry shop, and they agreed.
A few hours later, I received my clean clothes.
For the rest of the evening, I relaxed in my room and went to bed at around 10 PM.
