Sunday May 7: Arrived in Ho Chi Minh City, A.k.a. Saigon. I got a taxi to the hotel and wasn’t ripped off. Result! I am now resident in back packer land. “Pham Ngu Lao”.
It is even hotter and stickier than in Singapore. Monday I went out with the idea of walking around. I got to this rather wide street at a crossroads and just couldn’t cross. I tried to watch the pattern of the traffic but kept being interrupted by guys trying to get me to go on their bikes. Or tours. It was mayhem. Bikes coming from every angle and sometimes up the wrong side. So I scuttled off to the nearest internet café to check the lonely Planet (LP) site. I have never been defeated by a road. There is advice in the LP: Walk slowly and look the oncoming traffic straight in the eye. DON’T Run. So I booked on a tour for Tuesday. I just couldn’t face the traffic.
Tue 9: Went to see the Cu Chi tunnels and a Cao Dao temple. Tunnels were amazing. Tiny. To think there were 250km of these tunnels and the Cu Chi people lived here, to escape the bombing raids, Nepalm etc. or to ambush the S. Vietnamese or US troups. One of the entrances was barely a foot wide. We had a fab guide called Slim Jim who shouted Slainte, when we had our tea. Bless. He fought for the S. Vietnamese and was a English teacher for 25 yrs. Before giving it all up to set up a travel agency. I think he is doing well.
Met some nice people on the tour tho. Finally got to have some conversations. One guy from Singapore worked for GW and now works for Merck. Small world eh. Another guy (Eric from Paris) is staying in Saigon for 3 wks., with some Vietnamese friends who have moved back after years in Paris. They have opened a restaurant (Nomad: Fusion cooking). So Eric gave me the details and I ventured away from Pham Ngu Lao via taxi to the other side of the district. Lovely restaurant and great food. Eric joined me later outside the restaurant for iced tea and we had a good natter. I taught him a few new words which also tested my capacity to explain them. Try and define “glow” vs Sparkle. He gave up his job too. Through our discussions, we found out, we worked for a very similar type of company. It was funny to swap stories.

Wed 10. I decided I had to face the traffic. The challenge was set. So off I went, LP book in hand. At one stage the lights were red when I started walking but half way across a rather wide road, they turned green. There I was in the middle of a herd of rampaging, thunderous motorbikes. Over a 100 gunning for me. Boy did I mutter some choice expletives. The sweat didn’t just trickle, it ran rivers. The tourist policeman was blowing his whistle to help me. I think he heard. So after that it was more or less a piece of cake. Although you could have squeezed my t-shirt.

I headed to this tranquil park to wind my nerves down. It was lovely and cool and this elderly gentleman walking past, stopped to have a chat (and wasn’t selling anything). He apologized for not stopping for longer, but had to be elsewhere. How sweet was that!! It reminded me of this lovely lady in Singapore who, when I got caught in the rain whilst at a bus stop, offered me her umbrella knowing, she would not get it back. I declined but such generosity.
I walked around a good few streets today and got a better feel for the city. I ended up in the medical centre to have my 2nd Japanese Encephalitis vaccine, only to overhear this poor Aussie chap come in to arrange to see the Dr. re: a test for STDs. The Dr., much to my disappointment, was discreet enough to take the chap away to continue questioning.

Tonight I tried a traditional Vietnamese restaurant. I ordered beef boiled in coconut. A simple enough request you would think. Pah!
This burner comes out with a pot on top of it. Then raw beef, salad and rice noodles. I’m looking and thinking, I’m supposed to do what with this? So after some explanation from a few Vietnamese customers and 3 waiting staff, I realize I have a dish that is a cross between a fondue and fajitas. All this on a very public street table. So beef gets boiled in pot then lettuce, cucumber and mint leaves gets put on this round rice paper (similar to a tortilla) but actually looks like and tastes like plastic (until you roll all the ingredients, including the cooked beef in the rice paper and dip it into the chilli dressing. All very delicious but buggers up the advice to boil it, cook it, peel it or forget it.

So I await the next few hours with trepidation. Hence my predilection for ensuite bathrooms. I have refrained from organizing a tour on the off chance but also because I have to post some books and stuff home to dad as they wont fit in my bag if I buy even the slightest thing. Bad packing.

By the way am getting into Asian literature. Presently reading the Art of War, written only a few thousand years ago but used as the basis for many a military campaign, selling or management. “Shanghai Baby” set in 1990’s Shanghai strangely enough, and “The world of Suzie Wong” written and set in 1950’s Hong Kong.
Today I read a New York Times internet article about “The lover” which apparently was set in Saigon (a true story, filmed a few years ago. (http://travel2.nytimes.com/2006/04/30/travel/30footstep.html?pagewanted=1). The author tries to retrace the steps of a 15yr olds affair with a 27 yr old in 1950’s Saigon. So have printed this out to follow for tomorrow maybe. Another book I have to add to my collection.