Freakish White Skins invade Pleiku

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Well ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, we have been able to continue our coverage here in Pleiku despite being unsure if there would be internet access. More on that as this entry develops.

An early rise had us rushing to eat, shower and pack so we could check out of the Oscar Saigon Hotel where we had been staying in Ho Chi Minh City and grab a taxi to Saigon's Domestic Air Port. A little less flash than the international airport but we were able to get through with very little hassle, though the staff seemed a little surprised when we said we were heading to Pleiku. After only a short wait we were herded out onto a bus that took us across the tarmac to our plane, this time it was a much smaller twin prop plane, a fact which vexed both Sam and Paul none too little but which had me grinning like an idiot. My first time on a prop aircraft was a new experience as it was much rougher and you could feel the movement of the aircraft a lot more. Much of the take of and landing felt similar to a mild roller coaster experience with dips that made you feel weightless and as if you'd lost your stomach. This was of great amusement to me but had the other two refusing to look out the window much of the time, which was a pity as the view of Vietnam was a good one, showing the different types of terrain the country had. From cities to small towns and from huge river systems to jungle covered mountain ranges. Finally we landed in Pleiku which was a very small affair as the airport only sees one or two flights a day, but once again there was very little hassle.

Then the day truly began as Paul's friend and his family set upon us which much excitement and energy. Once again I apologise for any incorrect spelling of the Vietnamese names to follow and those that will show up in this post and the next few (also, the other friend of Paul's I mentioned is named Hoa). There to greet us was Paul's good friend Thy (pronounced like Tee) his wife Sua (Swah), Thy's older brother and a relative of Thy's named Sang (Sung) who is the son of An Sin (An Sing) who is a wealthy and influential businessman who Paul says is great fun and a real character. Sang was there to drive us from the airport and sort out a lot of things for us and has been extremely helpful and generous and has been lots of fun, the fact he is pretty fluent in English is a big help as he has helped to translate many things for us. He and Sam especially have hit it off quite well.

The greeting itself was quite strange, but also very cool. They were overjoyed to see us and were amazed by the height and size of Sam and I, as well as the paleness of our skin in relation to their own (if its anything like what I know of some Asian cultures its that both light skin and extra weight are good things, as light skin is a desired trait and considered beautiful while extra weight means you are wealthy enough to provide very well for yourself). Many times over the course of the day we were told how handsome everyone thought we were, which was quite flattering but I think we managed to avoid getting big heads from it still, we're just that modest and humble. After the initial greeting Sang drove us to this hotel the Hoang Anh Gia Lai Hotel, which is quite fancy and not what Paul was expecting, its a huge four star hotel with fantastic rooms and a whole host of services (such as this free wireless in all the rooms and others such as massage, sauna, spa, karaoke, nightclub, restaurant, cafe, etc) and only costs about $50AU a night per room, which is pricey in Vietnam but for the quality is amazingly cheap as it seems the sort of place you'd easily pay over $100AU a night back home. Once we had sorted out or rooms and dropped off our luggage we went for lunch in the hotels restaurant with Thy and his family, with a menu that offered a huge array of strange things. A sampling was Ferret, Snake, Porcupine, Dove and Wild Boar (which is what I ended up ordering) and though we didn't end up ordering anything all that strange the meal was very nice with the same great service we've come to expect from most places in Vietnam.

After lunch we headed to Chu Se, the province in which Thy and his family live which is the equivalent of a small country town back home roughly. On the way we quickly toured Sang's property which includes roughly 300 hectares of rubber tree plantations, with another 200 hectares of Coffee and Pepper trees, which Sang exports to a number of countries in Asia with plans to expand further.

When we eventually got to Thy's house we got to meet... well about half the village really. Our arrival was quite the event, even more so since the people here don't see many westerners at all (and once again due to the light skin and our size) with random people wanting to take our photo and touch our skin. Many were Thy's family and friends including his two daughters Ni and Mi and his son Hung, who's ages range from 8 to 15 and his mother, who's name I did not catch. More and more people kept arriving and I think by the time we sat down to dinner a good 20 or so people were there to marvel in the spectacle and to enjoy the huge feast Thy and his family had put on for the party celebrating our visit. I feel bad knowing how much it must have cost them as they are not a wealthy family, but in Vietnam it is very rude to turn down offered things, so the customs here make it quite hard for us at times. Not least in that we have been giving about 4kgs of fresh pepper by Thy and another 2kgs of coffee beans, so many of you can expect some Vietnamese pepper and coffee coming your way soon.

Dinner in all its wonder and splendor was fantastic! A huge range and large amount of dishes were prepared as we all sat around on mats on the floor to enjoy it and the banter that accompanied it. Conversing was a little difficult as only Sang, Thy, Ni and Mi spoke any real English and only Sang and the girls very fluently at all, Sang once again was very nice to translate many things for us which made things easier. After having drink after drink poured down our throats and piles of food forced into our bowls we were incredibly full and had to beg off from eating any more, feeling guilty once again as different people ate at different times and as the guests of honour we had to go first (all the women who cooked all the food had to wait right till the end to begin eating and even to come and sit down with the rest of us) which made us feel terrible, but was just how things work here. After everyone had eaten we spent time conversing and joking around before exchanging gifts and both showing photos from back home and taking dozens with the various people that were there. Slowly we made our way out, which took quite a while as a number of formalities held us up and many wanted to keep us there for longer to marvel at the foreigners longer. Sang however had to go to a meeting back in Pleiku and we were pretty damn tired by this time, so we excused ourselves and drove the 40mins back to Pleiku and our hotel.

Sang left for his meeting while Thy stayed for a while to join us in a coffee at the roof of the hotel which gave us a great view of the city of Pleiku. I normally don't drink coffee, but due to the language barrier one was ordered for me and once again it would have been an insult to turn it down, so I had my first real coffee ever. What an introduction! The coffee here is served very strong (Uncle Danny would love the way coffee is served here I suspect) and if you order milk expect to get a small layer of condensed milk at the bottom of the coffee which you then stir into it making it a very sweet drink. As we drank we were given complimentary watermelon seeds and postachios which seem to be a bit of a thing here. Eventually we said good night to Thy as we were all exhausted from the last few days and from this one in particular.

All in all today has been nothing short of an experience that will stay with us for the rest of our lives, it was bizarre and amazing. Tomorrow proves to be just as interesting, so stay tuned!

To Be Continued...

Your correspondent in the field:
-Benji

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Comments

[Adam (Slick)]

From what I hear, there's similar to a tanning salon, there's actually places people in those sort of countries go to, to actually (artificially) give you fairer skin. Not joking. Any case, I've never been on one of those smaller planes- I reckon it'd be pretty awesome in some ways, but the benefit of a rollercoaster is that it's secured to rails, rather than unsecured, high in the sky. x_x Glad to hear you're having fun so far nonetheless!