Living the high life in Vung Tau!

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6 days of Japanese translating had been as much as I could endure. I said goodbye to Yusuke as he left on his Mekong Delta trip and I departed for the Southern coast of Vung Tau, aboard a local mini bus.

In Japan, honking your horn is polite. Ie, thank you for letting me in the lane, thank you for backing up to let me through the small alleyway etc. However, in Vietnam the horn is used as a battle cry. Up and down each and every road, the one commonality is the sound of perpetual honking. “I’m coming! You better get out of my way!!!” “Hey! Watch it! I’m driving here!” (and those are my polite interpretations!)

You would think that a 3 hour bus trip wouldn’t be that painful, after all, I’ve ridden across Canada on a bus, what’s 3 hours going to do to me?!”

Rightttttttt……in the mini van, I was shoved into one of the middle-rows next to the window and secured safely against said window, by a small bony Vietnamese teenager whose irritatingly loud earphones polluted my ‘personal space’. She was in turn secured-in by two old grannies that seemed to be competing for who could pick their teeth the loudest. I tried to focus on my book, but with each passing second, the honking, music and teeth picking were sending me further and further into an early grave. Thus, I resorted to my own headphones for sanity.

Each passenger told the driver where they wanted to be dropped off and I just sat quietly, figuring that as long as the bus ended in Vung Tau, I’d be fine. I had 4 hours from when we arrived until I was to meet my host Antony, so surely I could find our designated meeting place by then! Fortunately I was right (as I usually am;). The bus ended it’s horrifyingly loud and obnoxious drive close to Front beach, which was in fact the street I would be looking for by 10pm.

After fending off countless moto drivers and their offers to drive me to a guesthouse, I bought myself a map of Vung Tau and started walking. Like many other countries and cities I’ve visited, the locals don’t really understand why you just want to walk sometimes. “You want to walk? But why? I take you… cheap cheap! Only 15,000 dong! ($1 U.S.)” So I walked through the markets and the small streets for a couple hours, day-dreaming about the meaning of signs, and how to pronounce them. (Quite a feat if you’ve ever tried to learn Vietnamese!)

As my host Antony worked until later in the evening, I met him at a bar on Front Street named “Tom’s Bar”. Yes, I know, original. But alas no, I did not meet Tom.

I learned rather quickly that Vung Tau is a haven for expat Australian men, some returning to Vietnam after a long absence from the Vietnam War, some venturing here for the first time upon hearing of the sights to be seen. And by sights, I mean the Vietnamese women. Everywhere I went, I saw older white men (predominantly Australian) with beautiful locals. Whether these observed relationships were marriages, girlfriends or just a companion for the night, one could never really tell, but after seeing the same surroundings in Thailand last March, the ‘women for hire’ title never strayed from my mind. It’s hard to get that idea OUT of your head, once it’s there.

Antony’s house was a palace compared to the guesthouses I’d been staying in! He and his roommate Craig shared the upstairs and I had the whole 2nd level all to myself. Bedroom, bathroom and even a kitchen (not that I used it though). I was jealous that the English teachers in Vietnam lived so much better then we did in Japan. And have I mentioned the roof top view of the ocean?! Yeah…not bitter in the slightest!

That first night was the first of many nights on the town. We hit the Sea View Brewery, then downed a couple cocktails at the Dick Star Disco and then to Labyrinth where I met Antony’s cute-as-hell Vietnamese girlfriend, Duk. Yet again, another reason why I need to forget the stereotypes I picked up in Thailand. They were a very cute couple together.

One of the most fun parts of the evening was when we were leaving Dick Star, the motorbike ‘valet’ guy brought Antony’s bike over, and he was the HOTTEST Vietnamese guy I’d seen yet, so of course, I asked Antony to translate for me! And wouldn’t ya know it, the hottie blushed like you’d never believe possible! Hahahaha, it was great. Antony explained that to get such a compliment from a Western woman was unheard of and that I probably made his month. I like that power! (Needless to say when we went back two nights later, he remembered who I was ;)

My next night out, we headed to the race track! I’ve seen horses race in Canada (but was too young at the time to care), but I had never seen greyhounds chase a stuffed sock before! I was told before hand that the races would be a ‘giggle’, and they were! Before each race, each attendant walked out with a dog, showed them off and the spectators could see the condition of each dog before they placed their bets. (I just chose the dog with the best coloured racing jersey) Surprise surprise, I didn’t win any money, but Antony won back enough to pretty much cover what he bet. An excellent time!

On one of our motor bike rides around town, I realized that I hadn’t seen any other foreign women around. None! In a town with a population of 200,000! Turns out that in the whole town, there’s only 2 other Western women and I would be meeting one of them that night. With all the male attention focused on the local women, I can FULLY understand why Vung Tau wouldn’t be hotspot for girls like me.

We went to a birthday party for John that night, who was turning the big 3-0. And I don’t know why it keeps happening, but each house I see is nicer then the next! Pamela and John’s mansion was 4 stories high with a lookout on the roof. With plenty of extra space I was thinking I should just move in! And the kicker is, no one pays more then $2-300/month! Pamela and I instantly bonded with each other, as she hadn’t had much female company in AWHILE and although I liked hangin’ with the guys, it was nice to do the whole girly conversation thing. After the house party and some strange monkey-like dancing from the birthday boy (which I got on video), we danced the night away at Dick Star again. (yes, I got to see my motor bike valet guy).

After half the crowd dropped away, about ten boys and I went to a bar called ‘Tequila Sunrise’. I walked in first and saw the 30 or so Vietnamese girls all lined up on the couch looking bored and picking their nails. When I walked in they weren’t all too enthused, but when the men started trickling in behind me, BOY did they move fast! I couldn’t help but laugh a little. They each knew their role and out came the drinks, peanuts, pool cues and conversation topics. Think I felt out of place at all? You betcha! A couple guys did still talk to me, but the majority of the attention was paid to the working girls, and Pamela had vanished somewhere. I didn’t mind though, it was entertaining in its own right. We’ll call this, ‘culture observing’.

I had a couple more days of eating and drinking and being driven around Vung Tau on the back of Antony’s motor bike, but then it was time to take that gruelling local bus back to Saigon. But not before I flew a kite! I know! Fun eh?!

I had so much fun in Vung Tau! Antony and his roommates/friends were great and always an energetic bunch. I whole heartedly doubt I would have had this much fun had I NOT been staying with these guys. They showed me everything to see in Vung Tau!



Upcoming blogs (not yet named):
Dalat
Saigon
Mekong Delta

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