Ho Chi Minh City- Pham Ngu Lao District AKA- Hustle & Bustle

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Here we are in Ho Chi Minh City!

Due to traveling for countless hours, and spending countless hours in airports in random destinations around the world, we turned Sept 5th, 6th, and 7th into just one long day. We parked our asses at LAX at 2pm on Sunday September 5th knowing full well that our flight was not going to depart until 12:10am September 6th. We pulled out the crib board and began our 6 month tournament of champions. We ate airport munchies. We bought over-priced books at the airport convenience store. We read, and ate, and played, and slept until finally it was time for the plane to depart. I decided that a nap was in order around 10:30pm and laid on the ground to do so... I was woken up by Tayler nudging me and telling me that it was time to board the plane. As we walked to the gate, both in a tired daze, it appeared to be as though there was not a single other person at the gate. This was greatly due to the fact that our gate had changed, and neither of us had noticed. We booked it to the correct gate and boarded just in time. After much travel and numerous issues that I will leave out, we finally arrived in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam at 1:45pm Tuesday, September 7th.

The airport in Ho Chi Minh is... interesting. Things moved quite fast, which is very beneficial, but the set up is a bit off kilter. We spent probably 2 hours trying to get out of the airport due to our own stupidity. We both knew that we needed 50USD to pay for our Visa stamping fee, but neither of us bothered to have any cash on us. So we attemped with Visa but they didn't take it. So we had to venture out, through customs with special permission, through security and out to the ATM. At the ATM we had to figure our how many Dongs 50USD would make. We got this wrong the first go, and had to run back downstairs, through customs again, and through security, back to the ATM to take out the appropriate amount. Finally, 2 million Dongs later, we managed to pay the kind man behind the glass and move on to our next destination. We had originally planned to take a bus to Pham Ngu Lao District (backpackers zone) but after this hastle and frustration, we said to hell with it, we will take a cab. We got ripped off, ofcourse but at this point we didn't care. We needed to find a home base, and we needed it quick. - As a side note, we were sharing one bag at this point and it was far to heavy to carry on our backs, so it was important that we find a place to drop it off before venturing out any further.
The population of Ho Chi Minh City is upwards of 6 Million, and as soon as you get out the doors of the airport, this becomes quite apparent. The businesses that line the street sides are so tightly packed together. They are all shapes and sizes and multicoloured. Like most other old countries, the buildings are proud, ancient colonial remains that once stood tall and architecturally spectacular and have now been converted into crumbling apartments and side street shops wearing hats of sheet metal and jewelled in laundry lines. The cab ride was a visual and auditory overload. The streets are overthrown by mopeds and scooters 10-1 with cars. At first, it seemed dangerous and crazy to watch all of these people packed onto scooters challenging the oncoming suvs, vans and cars. With the never ending symphony of varying types of honks, we were sure that not only were these people in danger, but so were we. After being in the cab for 30+ minutes, and observing this phenomenon, it became clear to us that the honks were not of road-raging Vietnamese commuters, but rather courteous honks reminding eachother that they were close, to the side, or behind.
When we arrived on Pham Ngu Lao D we didn't walk far and looked into the first hotel we saw. Duna Hotel. $20USD/night for a double room with TV, AC, hot showers, and a refridgerator. Can't beat that. We took it and up to room 504 we went... in the extravagent elevator (thank goodness). Our room is quaint but just the right size. It is clean and humid but once we got the A/C working (sometime on day 2) it seemed a pretty great fit. After talking to the lady at the front desk, we also learned that we got free breakfast at 7am. Perfecto. We dropped our goods and ventured out into the jungle that is Pham Ngu Lao.
We wandered up and down the streets in the hustle and bustle and humidity and just observed the way of life. I feel cynical in saying that I find this road to feel remarkably safe. At no point have I felt threatened or worried or anxious. The people are friendly and accomodating and definitely know how to take "no" for an answer. The street shows no sign of slowing down at any point of the day. The shops are set up on the street, between the streets, between the shops, between each and every tiny alley way someone everywhere is selling something to either tourists, or their fellow neighbours. There are fruit stands and bread stands and meat stands and bag stands and smoke stands and restaurants, massage parlours, and mopeds for rent and travel agencies galore. Not only does the Pham Ngu Lao lifestyle of the street provide a plethora of visual stimulus, part of what makes this street- perhaps this country- so memorable, are the smells. From one step to the next, you will experience a different scent. Some are pleasant and enticing, and others will make you gasp for air through your mouth and pray to god that the next step you take will remove you from this smell. One moment you can be smelling the various incense sticks burning at tree trunks and in shops or the fresh sliced guava, passionfruit and pineapple on the old vietnamese womans cart, and the next you will run face first into a brick wall of decaying meat hanging off the cart next to you. (Being 2 vegetarians, this is a devastatingly painful smell).

Anyways... after our adventure out into the "real" vietnamese world, we found an internet cafe, wrote e-mails to those important people, and went back to our home base for some R&R. We had planned to go out and get some chow before bed, but both managed to crash hard by 7pm. Jet lag will do that to ya. Unfortunately, falling asleep at 7pm also means waking up at 3am. So thats what I did.. woke up at 3am, moist from head to toe- I prefer to refer to it as "glistening" from head to toe. I couldn't figure out what time it was and I was starving, so I noshed hard on the bag of mini oreos we had bought at LAX, drank some water, and watched Disney channel until Tayler woke up.. at 4:30am. I desperately needed a smoke so she agreed to venture downstairs with me and check out the early morning life. However, when the elevator stopped on ground level, and we walked out into the front entrance, the lights were off, the door was closed and there were people sleeping on the floor. So back up stairs we went. We both attempted to shower in our bathtub with no shower curtain, and managed to clean ourselves off well enough to feel refreshed. At this point, I decided to just smoke in the room. The window opened up nicely and there was no smoke alarm and no signs saying otherwise, so I guess I am just that badass. We took some time to write in our journals and fill out a few post cards, and then ventured back downstairs around 6:00am... Same thing. So back up we went. Sat around and chatted, when it got closer to 7am we decided to go down as we knew they must be up if breakfast is served at 7am. We took a walk around the streets and the ones behind Pham Ngu Lao, and everything maintained the hustle and bustle that had been going on at 6pm the previous night. Parents on mopeds with their three children off to school, shop keepers setting up shop, fruit stands and carts in full swing, this place does not sleep. We went back to our hotel at 710am and enjoyed our breakfast- eggs and bread. Wonderfully, fluffy, crusty vietnamese bread 😊. Also included was a beverage- I chose Fanta. Cold, dusty glass bottle of orange Fanta. There is nothing more refreshing in this world when you have been drinking warm bottled water for 24 hours. After breakfast we wandered around again looking for something to do. We went to this wonderful intensely air conditioned coffee shop that we had discovered the previous day and had frappacinos and made a game plan. We decided to venture to Ben Thanh Market and find new packs so that we wouldn't have to pack around everything in one. Tayler had heard from a friend that this is a great idea as you can find high quality hiking and travelling packs for next to nothing around here. We wandered around this insanely busy and tightly packed market for about a half an hour, constantly switching from breathing in our noses to our mouths due to the vast food market section with meat of all kinds decaying along side decomposing fruits. (I tell you what, the heat, the humidity and the various food products hanging dead and dying is something to see and smell. A picture says a thousand words, but this smell is something else.) Annnyways, we eventually got on the right track after 30 minutes and Tayler only having her voluptuous ass grabbed by one woman, we found a stand with North Face bags... EXCELLLLLLENT! So we bargained (and when I say "we" I mean Tayler.. I am the shits at bargaining) and managed to get two massive and high tech North Face backpacks for about 25$ a piece. What a steal. These packs are amazing. The front even zips right off into its own little backpack. Incredibly handy. We were so proud of our selves and decided that we would drop them off at the hotel and treat ourselves to a little massage. And so we did. Right beside our hotel happened to be a lovely little massage place with an assortment of treatments and so we each got a 90 minute hot stone massage for a whopping 14$. Pretty pricey, but we are in the capital city.
After our massages, we cruised around in search of more grub, and after walking up and down every single street and weighing out our options, we settled on "The New Pearl"- I must confess, this place is very modern and western like, with glorious A/C and indoor smoking- but as I felt my sweat-stache dripping onto my lip, I decided it was okay to enjoy a bit of AC. The food was excellent, and the Orangina was cold. Exactly what we wanted, all for 7$.
We are now really getting the hang of the money situation. We figure that 1CAD=20,000VND. Technically we are rounding up, but this is saving us money. This place really is extremely cheap when you consider that a pack of Marlboro Lighs is 22,000VND- so just over 1CAD. Can't complain.
This has been our eye-opening experience thus far, and we have not yet been here 24 hours. Tomorrow we are heading on a tour of the Cao Dai Temple for some religious insight and Cu Chi Tunnels for a history lesson about guerilla warfare.

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