David's Last Day in HCMC

We have had such a fun day -- running around town with Viet (Neo's brother).

First we went to the zoo... just as I was marveling at the fact that they have maintained such space in the midst of all the crowding -- Viet informed us that there are discussions about moving the zoo out of HCMC to the CuChi area... guess we shouldn't be surprised -- land is at such a premium. The zoo is old-fashioned in some ways -- still using bars for most of the animals -- still letting us feed the animals (a woman sold us bunches of carrots to give the goats and monkeys). We had a lot of fun -- and then the heat and humidity started to get to us...

Viet let us in on a little advice from his international travel. He told us that while he is in the US -- he occasionally needs to have food from home to keep him going ... we took this as the green light to seek out a little 'western' fare -- and found our way to a Pizza Hut. Will says it was the best pizza he has ever eaten.

After filling ourselves up in a very American way -- we headed off to take part in a favorite Vietnamese past-time -- Karaoke! Very fun, very weird ... to be belting out tunes at 2pm on a Friday afternoon on the 2nd floor of some building -- in a small living room with a stage and microphones. There are multiple rooms throughout the building. Viet tells us that these places are packed in the evening -- but as for 2pm -- let's just say, I know we weren't the only ones there... I am sure that I heard a questionable version of "I did it my way..." coming from another room.

After karaoke -- we went to a beautiful coffee shop. Very 'feng shui' according to Viet... incorporating gold, water, fire, wood and ... one more thing (anybody know feng shui??) Anyway -- it was built with the intent to relax the visitor. We had Vietnamese milk coffee (condensed milk mixed with strong coffee served over ice -- yum!) and the kids had coconut ice cream.

After that we strolled through some public areas -- a park and botanical garden. So many people out and enjoying the company of their neighbors... badminton, hacky-sack, soccer, a woman's aerobics class... everyone using the common space for exercise and visiting. We arrived at our final destination -- a traditional water puppet show. Viet tells us that the origins of the water puppets are from the North. When the rice harvest was over -- and they still had water filling the fields, the farmers created a way to entertain themselves by creating puppets that emerged from the water. Tonight, we listened to traditional music and watched the puppets tell short stories...

And then, David spent the remainder of his evening riding on the back of Viet's motorbike through the crowded Friday night streets and then to grab something to eat with Viet. I wish I could give you more detail (but David is fast asleep on the couch at present) -- Here's what I know -- he ate BBQ'd goat, squid and clams at some cool joint -- and here's more of what I know -- I'm glad I couldn't fit on that motorbike too. BBQ'd goat??

Tracy

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