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Published: September 11th 2006
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Ferry crowd
The crowd on the Neakloeung Ferry across the Mekong on the road from Phnom Penh to Vietnam Arriving back in Vietnam was sort of like coming home again. It is familiar, we know our way around the area, and I know the language. Crossing the border my Vietnamese ability came into some good use as we were steered around the “special fee” that others were paying to get their “health forms” issued. In reality, it was just a small amount of money milked from the non-Vietnamese at the border, but a bribe is a bribe and if you make a bit noise about they will let it slide.
Ho Chi Minh City is a very bustling place with lots of things going on. We decided to continue with the cheap accommodation and stay in the backpacker’s area of Pham Ngu Lau in district 1. I looked at a couple of rooms at a few hotels, but most of the small hotels in that area were not so clean or had rooms available on the fifth floor with no lift. After checking the third place, a tout invited me to have a look at a guest-house down the small alleyway behind the main road. The place was family run, clean and had a pretty good sized room for
Cambodian travellers
Two of our fellow ferry passengers across the Mekong only $15. They whizzed around on a motorbike to collect the luggage from where Jo and the kids were camped out on the curb waiting for me. Two girls working there hoisted our bags up to the fifth floor like tiny little energetic sherpas. It was a struggle for me to take my one bag, so I don’t know how they did it so easily.
We’re looking forward to getting back to Hanoi and settling down for a while. We just have to travel up the length of Vietnam before we can do that.
The Pham Ngu Lau area is a street with lots of cafes, bars, restaurants, tourist oriented shops selling cheap music, movies, and painting replicas. Jo and I stayed here back in 1996 when we were here and remember it as fun place. Food-wise you can find just about anything to eat, so we’ve been enjoying our meals. Things are so much cheaper compared to Cambodia because of the exchange rate. Prices in Cambodia seem to be higher, because the riel there is pegged 4,000 to the $US and the dollar is an unofficial currency, being used as easily as the riel. In Vietnam, it’s
Welcome to Vietnam
Moc Bai, the Vietnam-Cambodia border checkpoint about 16,000 dong to the dollar, and while the dollar can be used it’s not as prevalent as it was in Cambodia.
We met up with a friend of mine, Dung (pronounced ‘Zoom’), who is an art dealer/novice painter. She invited us to her house and then out to dinner at a restaurant that her friend owns. The restaurant was attached to a sort of country club and was in a nice quiet setting out in Go Vap district.
Our ride back to Pham Ngu Lau via motorbike was exciting it being a Saturday night and all, the roads were absolutely chocoblock full with joyriding motorbikes. Dung took Jo and Viv while Jo and I went by ‘xe om’ (motorbike taxi).
The next morning, Sunday, I woke up and went round the corner to check my e-mail. Little did I know that I would get a serious shock. I received an email from my oldest brother, Gary, telling me that my dad’s health had taken a serious turn for the worse and that he had passed away on Saturday July 22nd. Now, my dad’s health had been up and down over the pass few years, but never
Our alley
View from our guest house behind Pham Ngu Lau. Check out the electric lines! In Vietnam by law hotels with less than 10 rooms have to be called 'guest houses' was it as good as when my mom was still alive. After she died in 2001, his health started to go downhill. Therefore, when I started to make plans for my sabbatical in Vietnam, I had to face the possibility that he might die while I was away. With so much time to think about it, I was certain that I had steeled myself against the bad news should it come while I was away. In reality, the shock was deep and profound. My immediate reaction was one of tears and grief. After 15 minutes and a good cry, I found my reserves and collected myself. It wasn’t for a few more days that I would really feel the full grief of my dad’s death. I started thinking that maybe I should have returned for his funeral. However, there is nothing that I can do for him or the family at this point. I haven’t even started my sabbatical yet and I am faced with the possibility of leaving Southeast Asia. My dad would have encouraged me to stay and finish my work, so I have done just that. I got reports back from some friends and my brothers that
A lineman's nightmare
Close up of the electric lines outside our guest house in Ho Chi Minh City the funeral was very dignified and included a fire department honor guard, a military honor guard, and brother freemasons along with friends and family. My dad, as gruff as he could be sometimes, had years and years of service to the community; what better role model could I have? I’ll miss him deeply.
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Christy Hart
non-member comment
Thinking of you
Keith and family - We are enjoying your travels from afar. I am so sorry to hear about your father; I am sure that this has made the trip bittersweet. Lots of us are sending you kind thoughts - Christy