rock candy brains

deery-lou.
and now for the final chapter…

vietnam, part 3
august 02, thursday
today i set off for a 1/2 tour of the cu chu tunnels. before catching the bus at 8:15 am, i stocked up on drinks and an avocado sandwich. have i mentioned how good the french bread is here. its amazing how the small things in life make me happy. i spent the trip staring out the window. there was so much to see. our first stop was at a handicap crafts market. most of the people working there were victims of the war. they actually make all the crafts there. it was quite fascinating watching them make all the goodies. there's also a shop where you can buy the merchandise. it was fairly inexpensive, however, i didn't buy anything. the cu chu tunnels were amazing. its so hard to fathom that they actually built these dwellings and lived there. tunnel entrances were all over the ground. most of them were quite tiny, so my fat ass couldn't fit in them. the did renovate one of the tunnels so that tourist could experience them. before heading into the tunnel the couple in front of me chickened out. by the time i entered there was no one in front of me which made it even scarier. the tunnel was quite small. you either had to crawl on your hands and knees or do a sort of squat walk through it. i opted for the squat walk since i was using my camera to light my way. did i mention it was freaking dark and hot. i broke out in a sweat within minutes of being in there. a couple of times i turned down a dead end. there was one point where i had a minor freak out. i kept thinking what if i get stuck, or lost, or trapped. i started sweating more. the only comforting thing was knowing that there were people behind me. eventually i heard the tour guide calling out "this way". i followed the sound of his voice and found my way to the ladder. i'm amazed that the vc were able to sustain such conditions of the tunnels. being in the tunnel made me think of the china beach episode where mcmurphy and kc were kidnapped by the vc and taken underground. don't you love how i relate everything to tv shows. hehe. i wanted to buy a pair of vc sandals that are made of rubber but they didn't have my size. the tour itself felt kind of rushed. we didn't even have time to check out the gift shop.

cu chi grounds

inside cu chi tunnel

vc sandals

altar at church, saigon

girl in doorway, saigon

when i got back to saigon i met up with jacky. we had coffee then went off to get something to eat. the restaurant we went to was really good. they had food from the different regions of vietnam. everything was quite tasty although i avoided the blood clot that was in the soup. been there done that. met up with joey later on in the evening. jumped on the motorbike and headed off to yet another cafe. there seems to be an abundance of giant cafes. at least it wasn't raining so we got to sit outside. they gave us some popcorn to nibble on. from there we went to the night market to grab a bit to eat. i only had some spring rolls. did i a little shopping afterwards. i got a white belt since my old one was completely trashed. rode around a little then headed back to the hotel.

august 03, friday
my last day in saigon. i was a bit sad seeing this day arrive. it felt like i had just arrived. it was still lots of things that i wanted to do. spent most of the morning being lazy. joey and i went to the market for food. then it was off to a cafe for my morning fix. we stayed at the cafe for two coffees. i'm telling you i can't get enough of that stuff. the rest of the day was spent shopping. there are benefits to having a motorbike. it definitely lets you get to all the different places. i ended up buying a pair of jeans that i tried on in the dark. for some reason the shop didn't have have power. since getting home i've tried them on again and they are a bit tight. oops. then again i'm so use to my jeans being too big that perhaps they actually fit. i also found a shirt that i liked. joey bought it for me. how sweet is that. we checked out the chinatown market but it was pretty dead. a lot of vacant shops. grabbed some refreshments at an outside cafe. i went for a lemonade. while sitting there a poor came by with his baby sister trying to get me to give him money. was very tempted but didn't. we spent hours riding around to various areas to shop. i was getting a bit tired. before heading back to the hotel we stopped at one final cafe. the place was smaller than the others and it was set up for live music. when we got to the hotel it was still too early to head to the airport. so we sat out on the front stoop chatting with the girls who work there. then it started to rain. it was a heavy rain. like the ones we got in florida during the summer. when the rain settled down we gathered my stuff and hailed a taxi. it poured the entire way to the airport. i said goodbye to joey then made my way inside. at 10 am on saturday morning i arrived in seoul. my vacation was officially over.

final thoughts
what can i really say except that i had a great time. i went on this trip with no expectations and was completely surprised. the people were friendly, the food was good, the coffee was out of this world, and i met someone. someone who means a lot to me. its these unexpected things in life that makes it all worth it. i feel like i left a small part of me there. hopefully i'll get that part back one of these days.

photos from cu chu tunnels are here
photos of saigon are here

stay gold & be well…

vertigo

deery-lou.
my trip to saigon has come and gone. it doesn't even feel like i went away. six days is definitely not enough time but i sure did enjoy it no matter how short it was. vietnam is an amazing place. i fell in love with the country, its people, and its coffee. its the top of my list of places i've visited. and its one that i will be going back to again to experience more it has to offer.

fun facts
# of motorbikes = too many to count
# of people who wanted to clean my sneakers = 3
# of people pissing outside = 13
# of times i was asked to buy a book = 7
# of ice coffees consumed = 20
# of times asked if i wanted a motorbike ride = too many to count
# of times it rained = 6

vietnam, part 1
july 28, saturday
joey met me at the airport. grabbed a taxi and headed for the hotel. got there around midnight. the gate was locked so we had to buzz. the girl showed me up to my room. there were no more medium rooms so they gave me a large for the night. hung out on the balcony for a bit looking at the city. noticed many bats flying overhead. i don't like bats.

july 29, sunday
booked tour for the mekong delta. went for breakfast at the cafe next door. ordered fried eggs with cheese and french bread. also ordered my first ice coffee. this began the coffee addiction. it freakin rocked. i also forgot how good real french bread tasted like. i was in heaven. spent the morning and early afternoon walking around the city aimlessly. spoke to numerous motorbike operators all wanting to give me a tour. they all showed me their comment books and photo albums to try to seal the deal. sometimes i think i'm too nice. walked down several alleys. saw a man breaking ice, people playing games, cooking, etc. while walking down the street [it was around noon] a boy approached me and asked me if i wanted to fuck him. i kept walking. then he asked if he could fuck me. politely i declined. minutes later a man flashed a picture of a naked lady and asked if i wanted her. this never happens in seoul. welcome to saigon. passed by a church and decided to go in and check it out. the streets of saigon are like mini mazes. i got lost on my way back to the hotel. usually i'm quite good at finding my way around. but it took me several days to get use to it. stopped in a store to asked directions. he pointed me the direction i needed to go. i literally took two steps and then found myself engaged in a conversation with the a motorbike driver. there was a cafe on the corner so after i finished talking i went in and had an ice coffee with sweet milk. its tasted like chocolate milk. eventually i found my way back to the hotel. they hadn't finished with my new room so i sat in the lobby til they were done.

motorbikes

city hall

rundown amusement park

girl & doorway

buildings in alley

took a bit of rest until 3pm. i met up with huy, a tour guide i had spoken with. he gave me a mini tour of the city on his motorbike. at first i was a bit reluctant. they scare me. plus the traffic here is crazy. crossing the streets is like playing frogger. you basically close your eyes and hope for the best. i must say after i got use to being on the motorbike i found it quite enjoyable. i got to see norte dame cathedral, city hall, the opera house, etc. we rode around until the rain started coming. we barely made it to covered ground before it started pouring. we picked up his bf at their apartment then hopped into a cab to met two of their friends for some bowling. yes, i went bowling in saigon. how funny is that. its been years since i last bowled so my game was quite bad. we played two games and i never broke 100. after bowling we met up with a couple from japan and went out to dinner. there was a lot of fish to be eaten. i tried a little but it was a bit too fishy. i ate veggies instead. after dinner i headed back to my hotel [kim hotel].

july 30, monday
woke up early to catch the tour bus. got lost trying to find the sinh cafe, which is basically right around the corner from my hotel. its a good thing i left early. i love taking bus rides. it gives you a chance to see parts of the countries that you normally wouldn't see. it also gives you a glimpse into the everyday lives of the people there. the streets were littered with motorbikes. along the road were many ma and pa kind of shops and cafes. it was very much like thailand and bali. i found myself lost in thought. wondering what it would be like to life their life. it took three hours to get to the mekong delta. once we arrived we made our way on foot through a little town to get on a river boat. the boat ride along the river was quite nice. the one bad thing about group tours is that at times you feel really alone. at least in a city you are surrounding by other people and it doesn't seem so bad. the lives of the people in the mekong delta revolves around the river. there are many floating markets, although on this particular day there weren't many out most likely due to the rain that was coming. we went down the river a bit then got out to walk around. we saw the locals making coconut candy, rice chips, rice crispies, and other things. i was a little wet from the rain so it was nice to be able to walk around and dry off. they had some banana candy that was awesome.

boat on river

looking down the river

steam from rice paper

pink house along river

grounds at rest area

i met a family from la. i chatted with the mom. i ate lunch with a couple from holland, who were very nice. they had the same feeling as i did about group tours. during lunch we got to hear some traditional music. i also met a girl from north vietnam, who now lives in saigon. she was traveling alone, too. i sat with her on the boat ride. we chatted a bit. before getting back on the bus we had some time at the market. i took off and walked around. nothing too exciting. it was like any other market. i ran into the girl from north vietnam. she asked if i'd go with her to find the fruit section. i did. she kept asking me to wait for her. as if i would just leave her. funny thing is that she speaks the language not me. after she got her fruit we went to a coffee shop where i ordered an ice coffee. halfway to saigon we stopped at a rest area. as rest areas go it was quite fancy. they had coffee there so i got yet another ice coffee and walked the peaceful grounds. i met joey that night for dinner and some drinks. drinks actually meant ice coffee. had some fried wanton, too. they were delicious.


to be continued…

pictures from mekong delta here

stay gold & be well…