Ho Chi Min Days 1+2

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Wow, this city is incredible.

So after getting settled in my room I walked around the backpackers district and popped into some of the pub and such. Each of them has a lady out front beckoning you in. It’s no surprise that they see me and all the other expats walking around like living wallets but its not as bad as I expected. One “no” is usually sufficient and they don’t seem to get upset about it. In fact the people I have not had a single negative interaction yet. People here are generous with their smiles, and love seeing them in other people. The streets are dirty and get moreso as the day goes on but each little shop owner seems to take special pride in their little slice of the city. Being fresh off the plane I didn’t get to adventurous with my food the for dinner, but rather just sat on a patio and people watched.

After some more wandering and getting propositioned for a massage every 30 ft I thought “hell yes” and went in to get one. A one hour massage was 5 bucks. This could become a daily thing. They had to rearrange the table so I fit on them but I have to say, it was damn good. I gave her a nice tip because 5 bucks just seems too cheap.

At all the bars, I am getting asked if I have a girlfriend. Just to see what would happen I said “Yes” few times and it was immediately followed up with “yes but do you have Vietnamese girlfriend?” It’s nothing unexpected and honestly it doesn’t even feel that sleezy, most of them just want to drink for free and practice English, which is fine by me. The hookers are pretty obviously dressed and easy to avoid. I made it until about 9:30 and then I couldn’t keep my eyes open anymore. So I wandered back to hotel.

I woke up at 4:30. Not bad, not great as far as jetlag goes. It did give me an awesome opportunity to see the city as the sun rose. Now I will say, Vegas has NOTHING on HCM as far as the city that never sleeps. I walked by the park and saw people doing zoomba and playing badminton at 4:45 am!!! I saw the same girls in front of the bars on my morning walk as I did the previous afternoon. The odd person was slumped napping on their bike but even at 5:00 in the morning I was getting sold massages, marijuana, motorcycle trips and “boom boom.” I found a cute little place and grabbed a stool and had my first pho of the trip. It was awesome. I haven’t been a big fan of pho in the past but here it is sooo good.

I went back and showered up and started to think of what to do with the day. So I did what I usually do when I get to a new city. Find the tallest building you can and start heading towards it. I went through a larger park and more Zoomba. Calisthenics seems to be a big deal and people young and old come to the park to exercise. They have some strange exercises. Once I got out of the backpackers district, I could tell I was an anomaly. Now the stares were coming. Anytime I made eye contact though a big smile and “hello” was immediately to follow. I winded my way through the street and spotted the war museum across a hellish street. I wanted to check it out but the street I had to cross kind of made me want to cry. So I sat for probably 5 minutes to see how other were crossing but there was no discernible pattern or “trick”. So, I took my life in my hands and simply stepped out into traffic. Slowly and deliberately and eventually made it across. Motorbikes would with either side of me within and 6 inches. The museum was some wonderful propaganda. A giant gold bust of Uncle Ho (the cities namesake) was out front and incense burned in a shrine like fashion.

After this I was thoroughly lost in relation to my hotel. Fortunately there is no shortage of guys on bikes asking to give you a ride. So the next one that flagged me down, I just showed him a map, strapped on a helmet, and off we went, flying through the streets. It somehow felt totally safe. The bike ride cost me 2$.

I walked around some more and ran into a couple of guys from Canada who had just landed the day before so I went out and got some lunch with them. They were both cooks and one had been here before and he gave me some tips on what to look for from the street vendors. Being up so early, I had a pretty early night again but it was an incredible first day.

The next day I slept until about 7, so getting better. I resolved to walk to all the good sights today. So I hit the massive Ben Trahn Market where you can get anything you want. Designer shoes, watches all in tiny stalls jam packed into a massive building. The prices are crazy good and the stuff is actually pretty good quality. I was surprised. No shoes in my size though. I then walked to the cathedral, city hall, the reunification museum and more. I walked and walked. Bear in mind it’s like 32 degrees out and humid as hell. I went drank 4 litres of water and it was all just pouring straight back out of me. You just get used to being wet and for all the Viets to snicker at you. I made it until about 3:00 and went back to my room and showered. Then I slept. I crashed so hard. I slept until 4am this morning at time of writing. It just all caught up with me. I like to think that was my system rebooting and even though its early, I think I am on Nam time now.

Today I am taking the hydrofoil to Vung Tau which is a beach town about 2 hrs out of the city. Wish me luck!

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