Day 4: Basketball

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Hieu (one of the AIESECers) asked for some help today designing the poster for the global village so we went to a nearby bakery/coffee shop. Nearly everywhere here has wifi and they made one of the best iced coffees I've ever tasted. Global Village is basically a fair for students where a range of different countries are represented with the aim of bringing about cultural exchange and mutual understanding.

Afterwards, we went to the local stadium where we played some 3 on 3 basketball to pass the time till the high school game we were going to see (Hieu's old high school). I didn't bring my camera as Hieu said it was very likely to be stolen when we drop our bags to play basketball. The ease with which we could start a game with some random people truly astounded me. I certainly couldn't imagine doing the same in Australia. The complex is quite large with a huge rock climbing wall and tennis courts. About a hundred girls in Milo basketball uniforms seemed to be practicing basketball (I presumed local teams) - yet Hieu informed me they were promotion girls. Sure enough, they brought around free Milo chocolate milk to everyone in the complex.

I thought it was strange that Milo would sponsor something at such a grassroots level - but then I suppose Vietnam is still slowly embracing more Western brands and those most likely to do so are the new generation.

Playing with Hieu and the others, I felt a bit out of my depth. Although they all played basketball for fun and no longer competitively, their shooting accuracy from all areas of the court was deadly and their strength in driving to the basket was unparalleled. Certainly a considerably step up from my high school.

We then went inside to watch the game which was very exciting. They play a very fast paced style and aren't afraid to shoot 3s more often than not (though the lack of rebounding was frustrating to all fans alike). The other side's supporters were very noisy, having brought along a large contingent from the younger years playing drums and other percussion type instruments. The players also don't drink sports drinks, but rather iced tea which they scoop out of a bucket. The game was very back and forth and gripping, right to the final minute, but Hieu's team came out on top by 2 points.

Giang, Tam (who both arrived during the game), Hieu and I decided to head out for a drink. We went to the street known to locals as the backpacker strip and sure enough it was the first time I'd seen locals outnumbered. Flashy bars and clubs line the street with many promoters trying to get you into their venues, but also low-key places where you could have a drink sitting on, again, plastic chairs. Food vendors are even more forceful around these places, yet the quintessential pizza and other fast food type places abound.

The drinks are stronger here, which I don't think was good for Tam and Giang. Both of them took gingerly sips before realising they didn't much like it. The drinks are great value with even the most extravagant only costing $3. Afterwards, we went to pizza hut which had all the usuals along with a few Vietnamese styled ones. We got some spicy chicken style pizzas. The waitresses are all really friendly and are never annoyed if you ask them to take a few photos.

The next several days will be my first bit of work as I contribute to the design of the logo for the Ichange camp (the project I'm doing).

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