Sh*t , still only saigon

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i rolled into saigon with peter, my easy rider, around midday and he managed to get me a room with a bath for a nice discount. after saying our goodbyes, he headed off to the outskirts for a kip before heading back up to Dalat. my initial impression of Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City was not a good one. after spending the past 3 days tear-arsing it around the central highlands without any western influences readibly noticeable, it was quite the shock to once again be confronted with so many motos and the dense smog hanging in the air. some little prick even managed to steal some of my leg hair when we stopped for a red light. i decided i'd stay here for a few days before a border dash on the day my visa expired. luckily i met up with jude and rowan from nha trang and they were doing a two day tour round the delta to the border then a boat up to Lake Tonle Sap and Phnom Penh. i decided to embark on this journey with them and so we went to book our tickets.

i left the guys to go explore saigon and see why martin sheen was so eager to leave in Apocalypse Now (hence the title of the blog). my first stop was the war remanants museum, similar to the war museum in Hanoi. my initial plan was to head off on foot, but then i was quickly reminded that this was Saigon. if there are any traffic rules, even which side to drive on, nobody seems to be paying any attention. instead i got a ride off a moto driver for way too much up to the museum and headed in, unsure of what was awaiting me. the museum was interesting and had an especially good section on war photography. sadly the museum was heavily biased, especially the war crimes section. this is where things started to get a little stomach churning and i dont usually falter looking at this stuff. i wandered into a section predominantly based around the My Lai massacre. over 500 civilians, including women (some pregnant) and children (about 160 odd) were murdered in cold blood by an american unit sent to find VC in the village. this affected me quite a lot, mostly the photos of the dead bodies piled up, but moreso was reading about the US trying to cover the incident up and the photos of soldiers with smug grins on their faces. the second exhibit that really fucked me up was the chemical warfare section. in keeping with the rest of the museum, it made no reference of the NVA/VC uses of torture/inhumane traps but showed the effects of american air warfare. there were pictures of the herbicides used ie. agent orange and napalm and the complete devestation of the forest. i moved along to view the effects of these chemicals on the population. it was here that i was truely shocked by the pictures on display, nearly everyone showed a child or adult with some serious physical defect caused by the defoliants used. i then came across two jars sitting up in a little cove. inside each were the remains of either a foetus or a very young baby with physical defects pretty damn evident. i'm all for the truth, but pickled humans in jars doesnt sit comfortably with me. intended to shock no doubt, but maybe shock to much. i dedided at this point i'd had enough and headed out to see some prison cells and look at the armoury on display. i had quite a decent history lesson at this museum, certainly more anti-US than Hanoi ever was and definately worth seeing, but if you do ever go, make sure you're prepared for some horrific stuff.

over the next two days i didnt really do too much in saigon. saw some stuff, read some books and just enjoyed being in the sun. i met Danielle from Nha Trang while i was eating one night and took her along when i went to meet Rowan and Judi in Eden. we seem to have become somewhat of pool sharks (depsite being crap) and spend most of our time waiting for some bugger to walk through the door and give us a game. they introduced me to David from Inverness who turned out to be a really sound guy. met some crazy english people who were trying to break the 2million dong barrier in their drinks bill. (1 million would be 40 660ml bottles of tiger). i think they did it, so we joined them for a dance downstairs and showed saigon how we do it. well, maybe not. i showed Rowan the 'stirring the pot' dance and unfortunately picture evidence exists, so i may have to get a non-disclosure agreement signed somewhere along the line. (see mum, law came in handy). the next night was the same. Food, Eden, pool and the four of us having a good time. rowan got cornered by some wierd as hell aussie girl. maybe i shouldnt have laughed, she cornered me later that night and made me contemplate murder. she was simply a twat. by this time it was 1am and judi and rowan had left for bed, i promised them i would head off soon, we had to leave at 7.45 that morning to cambodia. so me, aussie girl (didnt even want to know her name) and david stayed up til an unknown time getting the tiger into us. i have no real recollection of anything after 3 when david said i should head to bed. my genius belief at that time was to stay awake all night. surely another 4 hours of beers should keep me awake. 9.30am. wake up. look at watch. 9.31 'óh fuck i was meant to be on a bus 2 hours ago'. (anyone surprised i missed it?)

after legging it down the street i headed into te sinh cafe and proceeded to argue with them that i was meant to be on a bus and hurtling towards the mekong delta. after 10 minutes at least the man showed me his computer with all the reservations. the three of us weren't on it. it dawned on me that i was in the wrong friggin place and we'd booked with the Kim cafe a few doors down. i apologised, belted it down to the Kim and was greated by the desk jockeys laughing at me and reminding me that they told me not to drink. fortunately they said i could catch a minibus down to the delta and catch up with the group. it cost me another $30 extra. sometimes i should really learn from my lessons. quick dash to the hotel, pack my stuff, run back and head onto my minibus. luckily i was the only person stupid enough to get pissed and miss the border run, so i had it all to myself. after setting off for a three hour ride, it was time to sober up and enjoy the view. the delta was a pretty cool looking place. upon stopping at a petrol station a kid came to the driver and swapped a dvd. he then flashed them at me through the window and i saw the dvds were all porn. the thought raced through my mind about buying #6. i was alone in this bus, flip down dvd player on the ceiling and somewhat bored. then i worried whether it mattered that i'd already missed vietnamese porn dvds #1-5, after all, we wouldnt want to miss an important storyline. dilemma huh? but before i could get the window open and ask how much, the kid wandered off and we sped away to meet the others. finally at 1pm i pulled up next to a bus and was told that i;d arrived. wandered off, found jude getting her bag and then met rowan. another bus ride somewhere, only a chewing gum for food that morning. we picked up some other people, got crammed into the minibus, for a 3 hour ride up to our boat. thankfully i didnt seem to miss much on the tour that morning according to rowan. that evening was spent relaxing on a boat and watching the sune go down before we headed off to chau doc to get some rest.

next morning was spent leaving at the dumb time of 7am to head to a cham floating village. not the most exciting place to visit, but still an experience, despite the smell. chatted to some guys from donegal and tipp who were pretty cool. we headed down the river to cambodia. got our visas sorted and hopped onto another boat to ride to phnom penh. the difference a few miles up the river was immediate. houses were more ramshackle and the cows/horses on their last legs, but it was a cool place. the scenery had changed slightly from jungle to more of a european setting. kids would be swimming in the water and from the sides of the banks would all scream and shout for a wave back from the boat. people maybe poor as hell, but it doesn't stop them for one minute being happy. after a month in vietnam, i was now about to start my cambodian adventure.

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Photos

sunset
sunset on the mekong

Museum
war remenants museum

mekong kids
kids playing in the mekong

the posse
rowan and jude

sunset 2
more sunset from the mekong

mekong
shacks along the mekong

himself
the morning i missed the bus

ouch
used to nail Diem

lazy sod
lazy, lazy boy

My Other Middle Name Ladies ;)
yes i am that childish

Comments

[kate]

keeping it brief
Hi chick, not going to comment all this time for fear of sayin anything else that might shock the other readers, especially those in your family (though you seem to do a good enough job of it for yourself). In fact, the only safe thing to say is that the weather is yucky...freezing and can't see past the end of your nose!! Glad to see things are still going well for you out there and i am glad that you are feeling happier again...and there is NO need to thank me! Well gotta go now for my pre christmas chinese (???). Have a fantastic christmas and new year, hope you get the email! Speak soon, Kate (full of festive frivolity) xx

[me again]

ok im up to date now
You should be pleased, as you said i have read all your blogs, well most of them, maybe not from the very start but.. It makes me feel bad reading your blogs it just makes mine seem even shitter. Wanna start writing them for me? Or maybe i can just copy and paste them to mine, after all...you're the only one who's going to be reading both blogs! :P luv jude xxx