When getting to know Vietnam, as with anywhere, the weird stuff always stands out. Obviously the umbrella term ‘weird stuff’ can encompass a wide range of things, from foods, to museums, to road signs. It’s the little weird things on your travels that really breathe life into the experiences you have along the way. Here are just a handful of the things you might notice on your way through Nam.
Snakes in bottles, or jars
Not just snakes but it seems, specifically cobras in whiskey can be found in many places including at the airports in Vietnam. The cobras are bred on farms before being put into whiskey with things like ginseng. The resulting cobra infused whiskey is purported to not only be an aphrodisiac (always a strong selling point for products like this) but a reliever of back and muscle pain.
The embalmed body of Ho Chi Minh in Hanoi
Next on the list is Ho Chi Minh. He was leader of the Vietnamese people for many years and throughout the Vietnam War. Saigon has been renamed Ho Chi Minh City following his death. His is, for those with a morbid fascination, one of the best dead bodies you’ll see on display. You may have seen parts of saints of beatified monks in churches or mummies in museums, or even the stuffed auto icon of Jeremy Bentham at University College London – but most of these are incomplete or withered. In Hanoi, if you get up early enough, you can join the queue to get your turn shuffling past Ho Chi Minh’s body behind a glass case in a mausoleum based on that of Lenin’s tomb. Although pale, he looks almost as he did when alive.
One of many signs
It’s worth noting the sign outside the mausoleum cloakroom which reads, ‘take luggage of foreigner, no charge.’ Make your own decision about what to leave in there.
Insect-based snacks
Something that at first seems odd but very quickly becomes so normal you might stop noticing it, is the availability of insects as food. Coming in many varieties, one of the most popular is fried crickets. This is probably because in a country covered by so many lush green rice paddies, there are rather a lot of crickets here. Although, they are also bred for consumption, as the snakes are, on farms. You’ll likely see vendors at service stops on roads in Vietnam selling polythene bags filled with crickets. If you’re travelling by bus, when everyone gets on after a stop you’ll hear the sounds of the insects being munched like crisps.
Another popular snack, which some may find harder to stomach than the crickets, are fertilised duck eggs. These are served hard-boiled and are more solid than a regular egg, having the embryo of a duck inside.
A trip to the chemist
Chemists are always a fun experience in South East Asia. With open displays of apparatus to give enemas with, a worrying amount of skin lighteners, various strong over the counter pills and hilariously packaged condoms make they are worth a visit, particularly if you’re not here because you’re actually ill.
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This is a guest post from John Hutchinson who has enjoyed travelling since he was a young boy when his parents first took him to visit family overseas. Since leaving home, John has tracked down family all over the world and regularly jets off to faraway lands to see distant relatives.
