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Published: August 8th 2007
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Rough Riders in Saigon
Do you wanna ride or die... lalalalalalalala... Morning rush hour The morning was rather chaotic. There were still pictures to be transferred to DVD for the folks in Manila, bags to be zipped and locked, showers to be taken, and a light lunch to be consumed two hours after breakfast was eaten so that we wouldn’t get hungry on the plane. Tita Reena had a fish omelet prepared for us to complement the oatmeal and fruit that became morning ritual since returning from Boracay. In between meals, Meli spent more time working on her presentation. I finished up Talladega Nights and got cracking on the picture transfer. It was mad hectic trying to be out of the house by 11:30am. I made it to the table at 11:25am for lunch. Oliver pointed out the dishes while Xandra told me not to let this meal ruin my memories of the delicious Filipino food I’ve enjoyed at The Table. Oli said “the chicken is tasteless, the veggie meat is too sour, the fish is too salty…the watermelon is good though.” Apparently, the maids were rushing as well. The quick turnaround after breakfast pushed them to the limit to boot. Kisses and hugs all around and we are out the door by 11:45am.
Hurry up and wait It took about 15 minutes to get to the first security checkpoint. The Filipino version of TSA is a carbon copy of their American siblings. No need to guess how we feel about TSA or its international derivatives. Philippine Airlines has a baggage limit of 20kg per person, unlike the American Airlines and the One World Alliance partners, that allows 25kg/person internationally. I’m loyal because of all the little perks that make traveling a hassle free, non-pain in the arse. Was it our frustrated look or our cadence that clearly reflected annoyance that caused to rep to up it to 25kg/person for us? Who knows, but she hooked us up. Salamat! On the other side of the great divide, we had P800 to spend. Can’t leave the ‘ppines without one more mango shake. With two hours to burn, one shake was not enough. And we still had leftover pesos. So I got a watermelon shake too. Meli bought two things of Pringles and siopao for our journey. We waited in the wrong line for boarding because there was a huge crowd already lined up for the flight departing from Gate 1 after us. Noticing that the line was not moving and the repeated overhead calls for flight 595 to Saigon, we proceeded to the right place. Saigon bound passengers were to skip the long line and board a bus to the plane.
Where is the love? The only thing to note about the 2 ½ hour flight over was the melodramatic, middle-aged Filipina purser who said everything over the intercom like she was trying to seduce you in English and Tagalog. Melissa thinks that she sounded like Lady Eloise from Boomerang. A dragon lady!
Customs appeared like it was gonna be no sweat, that is until we were next in line and their computers froze. Bummer! It took what seemed like hours for them t reboot. How about CTR+ALT+DEL. Meli put on her typical “deer in headlights” look when the female customs officer started speaking to her in Vietnamese. Ha! Our bags were already taken off the carousel by the time we made it through. With nothing to declare, we were out the door. Someone from Holiday Travel and Tours was to meet us. We exited looking for the sign with one of our names on it. Nope, that’s not it. Not that one either. Wait, um…they forgot about us. We go to the post office to call them. They hike the ball, saying Qantas did not forward our flight information and that someone would get us in 30 minutes. Once, just once, we’d like to arrive in a country and have someone at the airport waiting when they said they would be—Mamu and Jamie, this doesn’t apply to you, this is directed at non-family—ironically, the place where we did get picked up at the airport on time, Chile!
First Impression of ‘Nam It’s 33°C and rush hour. The population in Saigon is roughly 8 million people and I swear, 4 million of them are on motorcycles, scooters, and bikes on the road at any given time. The guide tells us that Vietnam has the largest bike riding population in the world. No on uses a helmet because “it would obscure the ability to see and hear, especially with the amount of traffic, and no one is going
that fast” he says. The speed limit in the city is 50Km/h. Despite the rationalizing about not wearing helmets, a law goes into effect next year mandating their usage. It is not unusual to see someone riding their motorcycle into on-coming traffic, especially if that is easier to make a left hand turn that way rather than waiting to the on-coming traffic to clear before making the left turn the “legal” way. At an intersection, when the light turns red from green, people keep going through. BUT…the people waiting at the red to turn green start going before their red actually changes. At some intersections, there is traffic coming from all directions, yet no one crashes. Amazing. Yet, the traffic does flow. I think the most number of people I’ve seen on a bike has been four. You also see nuclear families with two toddlers and two adults on a bike. This is against the law, but hey, you gotta get there man, what’cha gonna do? Many people wear cloth face masks to protect their lungs from the pollution. Makes them look a bit scary.
Not many skyscrapers here, but clothing stores up the wazoo. And motorcycle stores. And fruit stands. People do stare, but not in the “what the hell” way that they do in the Philippines. The glares are shorter and often with a smile, so it feels welcoming. When passing a bar or restaurant in the evening, sometimes you see lots of girls dressed up and calling at male passersby. Exploitation or simply catering to the stereotype? Overhead are wires galore, but the guide tells us that the city government is planning to put a lot of those lines underground. Oh, is that why the side walks are all dug up? The facades on the residential builds are impressively narrow and the rest of the building really long. Almost like the Vietnamese don’t have fat friends. Many people speak English, and I hear French here and there. It’s time to check-out Ho Chi Minh City.
We’re RICH At least that’s how we felt when we picked up the menu at Chao Thai, described as “probably the best Thai food in town; certainly the most Thai-style décor.” Someone right now is going, “but they’re in Vietnam, why are they eating Thai food. Because the travel guide further notes: most dishes around $3-4. Even on an around the world trip, the Roy Lee Sims in me lives on. The surreal moment of the meal was looking at the menu and seeing that they charge more for drinks without ice. Is it because they know the ice is made from suspect water sources? Or because gringos want to play it safe and they can turn a profit from our clenched butt-check uptightness? Who cares, I’ll pay the extra thirty cents for no ice. After all, I’m rich b….The chicken tamarind curry with gourd and the sautéed vegetables hit the spot. And when the bill comes, I almost ordered another meal on G.P.
Starlight, Star bright, Star (Sao) Hotel Our Philippine segment is over. Our Vietnam saga is beginning. We settle into our room at the Star Hotel, fit with wireless on the ground levels that barely reaches our room on the “2nd Floor.” The receptionist is on the ground floor (1st floor in my book), the bar is on the 2nd floor (2nd in my book), the first floor rooms are one floor up from the bar (3rd for me), and our room is one up from the 1st floor, which they call the 2nd floor (I don’t know who did the counting, but this is technically the 4th floor by my standard, even the 3rd floor by European standards). It’s a hotel room and not so special that it deserves any more blog time. Lets just say Mamu and Tita Reena definitely wouldn’t die here. Chuc ngu ngon (good night)!
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Oscar
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missing u in Southeast Asia...
Hey guys, so sad I could not join you in Vietnam. Sounds like you are continuing to have quite the adventures. I guess I will have to enjoy it through your eyes and prose... Keep up the good work!!