Saigon And Bye-Gones

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The Vietnam chapter begins. I arrived in the town of Ha Tien with a light coating of red dust from head to toe (my guitar bag and beard got the worst of it) on the back of a moto with a Cambodian driver. Went to the hotel recommended by Laura (from my last blog) and was greeted by a language barrier. The staff speak no English, and I speak no Vietnamese. Luckily my driver spoke Vietnamese but little English, so some basic communication occurred. I got a room, my driver got paid. Smiles all around.

It's obvious from the moment you get your passport stamped and walk onto Vietnam soil, this place is much different then Cambodia. More developed, busier and very little English language is spoken. I ordered food by pointing to other peoples food. I met some unpleasant people in my first few hours in Ha Tien, got lost on foot, embarrassed myself at a few restaurants and had a bad sleep. My mind was still occupied with the adventures of the last few days and unfocused with the world in front of me. I did find great coffee and good street food. My second day I booked a bus to Ho Chi Minh City for the following day.

The bus ride proved to be a blessing as all us foreigners were seated at the back. This was where I met Ian (Australian), Taylor (American) and the Scottish couple Darren and Lindsey. The bus ride took about 9 hours through the Mekong Delta region and into the large city of Ho Chi Minh, formerly Saigon. I decided to join the guys on the taxi to their hotel. Taylor was just passing through but the rest of us decided to share a large room at a guesthouse in the city centre.

The city is big, it's busy and its has an endless supply of moto's cruising the streets. Crossing the street becomes a human game of Frogger. You walk slow, the bikes drive around you and you safely make it across. Easier said then done as sometimes it seems overwhelming with the number of bikes coming towards you., the beeping of horns, the bicycles plus the taxis, trucks and cars.

I hired a driver and took a moto around the city on my first morning. I visited the Notre Dame Cathedral (I even went inside) and the War Remnants Museum which was home to many off the tanks, planes and choppers used by the Americans during the war. The museum had many photos from the war days, information on the usage of chemical warfare, propaganda posters and even weapons used during the war. It was an interesting place, some of the photographs were disturbing, appropriate I guess in a war museum.

I did however find myself in trouble in this city. I have some travel experience and do some research on locations I go but I guess my curiosity got the best of me. I met an elderly man on the street, we started talking, his niece joined in, it seemed like a nice friendly chat. They invited me for a coffee, I had nothing to do so I agreed. Then they invited me to dinner at their nearby home. The flags did go up, I thought I really shouldn't but I was curious to what may happen. I had around $10 in my pocket so my fear of a big loss if robbed was low plus the promise of home cooked food carries some weight with me. I did receive a wonderful meal, the pork cooked in vinegar, chile and spices was delicious . The man invited me upstairs to show me some card tricks, I was suspicious but planned to just walk out the door if things went strange. He began showing me ways to cheat at blackjack, he hands me money, I hand it back then a man walks in sits down hauls out a stack of money and we are playing blackjack. It all happened fast, I went along with it planning to leave very soon. The stakes went up, the man who was the dealer, spotted me a bunch of money for chips. The competition, Mr Tonga, had kept increasing the bets. I needed to get out here, even though it was kind of fun playing along at first but the atmosphere was changing. I didn't sign up for this, I wanted out. I thought storming out the door might work or it could just escalate things very quickly. I didn't feel any physical threat but one does not know what may become of any situation. The final game got a huge bet in off around $26,000 each. The dealer was giving me cash to play, as he explained that we would rip this guy off and split the winnings. He told me this about just as the guy walked in the room. Arguments started once the stakes got high, I wanted to leave. I decided if I didn't get outside soon I was making a run for it. The old man was little and the younger man was my size. I could get to the street. But I was waiting for a more peaceful departure. They wanted to me to go collect some cash. I told them I had lots of cash but had to return to my guesthouse to collect my credit cards and such. That's what they wanted to hear. So I got to leave but they requested to hold something of value as a guarantee of my return. I had my camera in one pocket and my iPod touch in the other. I thought of saying no, but I needed to get out of here peacefully so I handed over my semi-broken iPod touch (I was planning to replace it once I return to Canada). I jumped in the taxi with the old man and his niece and they dropped me off downtown with plans to go get some money in the near future. I just agreed with them. I got out and away from them. So I was down my $10 and a semi-broken iPod. My curiosity got the best of me that day, I still haven’t figure out why I just didn’t walk out the door when it all started. It was an exciting day, the adrenaline of big illegal gambling, the shadiness of it all, the touch of danger, the excitement. I didn't feel any physical threat from the old man and later I met him in the busy park to tell him that I had no money and that he was a criminal. But if I actually won him money today he could met me at a busy restaurant with my iPod and some money. My friends Darren and Ian had shadowed me and were nearby reading a newspaper, keeping an eye on things plus it was a busy park. I felt safe. I did go to this restaurant at the time, I knew they were criminals but maybe they actually did rip this other guy off and I could get a cut. Somedays life is just a movie and that’s how I felt as I drank a beer knowing that I met some scam artists today, and thinking how cool it would be if someone did show up with an envelope for me. It was an exciting day of a strange concoction of emotions.. Adrenaline, confusion, danger, urgency and just that lovely old feeling of doing something seedy.

I messed up, disappointed myself, shot myself in the foot once again, but was fortunate enough to walk away unharmed. Travel is real life, we mess up, misjudge, disappoint ourselves, hurt others, make mistakes, learn and start again. It's just like real life but with an ever changing cast, props and backdrops. I was not as upset about the scam. I did feel a little stupid for not just walking away, but was impressed with my afternoon of acting and keeping the situation cool so I could exit safely. As I thought about it I knew I messed up, but am happy about the peaceful ending and minimal loss. The crazy experience was worth the loss of the iPod and I like that I have seen how I behave in a new situation. I am unimpressed I didn't walk away but content that I kept my cool and kept the scene peaceful, but there is plenty of room for improvement and lessons have been learned.

Each night Ian, Darren, Lindsey and I ventured out to a nearby bar to enjoy our $1 Saigon beers and laugh into the early morning. The gang had a few friends they met in Laos in town, Connor and Chris from Canada and the two English guys from Jersey. The daytime I spent enjoying great coffee, street food, bowls of pho and observing the chaos that makes Ho Chi Minh the buzzful city it is. One thing I must complement Vietnam on is the fact you can lose hours in a good chair or park bench watching the city move through it's rounds.

5 out of 6 of us got up in the morning for our tour to the Cu Chi Tunnels about 70km outside of Saigon. Most of us had drank til the early hours of the morning and were only shadows of ourselves . We tried to sleep on the crowded mini-bus that was trying to manoeuvre through the beehive of motorbikes of Saigon traffic. The mixture of traffic noise, the jerky bus motions plus the loud Chinese woman who just wouldn't shut her face, made the sleep mission impossible. By the time we reached our stop we were starting to come around. Our guide took us around showing us biased films about the war and explaining how great and crafty the Viet Cong actually were. We got to see tunnels, traps, land mines and all sorts of tricks used by the Viet Cong. The tunnel system is impressive. The highlight of the day came when we had the opportunity to play with guns. I choose not to as I have previous AK 47 experience in Phnom Penh. But my travel mates were loving their chance to fire some rounds. As I was watching them enjoy their gun time I noticed the smiles on everybodies faces after they had finished. I was particularly amused by the Aussie mother/daughter duo who were walking towards holding there sides and laughing. Playing with guns is good for the soul, I think. That evening, my last night in Saigon, we had a nice group gathering of our normal group plus the Norwegians (Edith, Mari, and Ida ) we met on the tour. I don't like guided tours but had a blast on this one. This Chinese woman caused a scene at the start and sang children songs to the little ones in her group. The rest of us used these funny scenes to laugh and make fun. By doing this most of us all bonded and had a great afternoon. I had fun social life in in that town, met some great people.

Vietnam brought the worst out in me. Maybe the love hangover from my Cambodian affair has something to do with my detest for Vietnam. The people are proud, conniving and phoney. I did meet some swell people in my week in Vietnam but not very many. People try to short change or overcharge you, people don't smile and it just seems to be a miserable place in general. I had no compassion and no time for them. I don't like to compare but my disappointment comes from the way Cambodia made me feel a range of emotions, both good and bad, while in Vietnam I retreated inside, became cold. After 6 days I disliked every last one of them. Maybe I'm to blame, maybe the shoe doesn't fit, maybe I expected more, all that I know when I noticed my detest with the place I purchased a flight out of the Socialist Republic Of Vietnam. I got places to go visit, smiles to share and real people to meet.

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Comments

[anonymous]

super another job well done enjoyed