Wandering Scotsman

On our second full day in Ho Chi Minh we went to organise a trip to the tunnels and one of the big temples quite a bit out of town. Instead we ended up booking a trip where you cycled through the city to the outskirts, joined a local family to help cook lunch, then went out fishing on a boat in the afternoon.

Ho Chi Minh traffic :

Cycling through the city was the best part – we headed across the mad roundabouts in the main part of the city during rush out traffic, which is mayhem. If you stop and start you’re more likely to end up roadkill, but if you move across slowly and confidently, you’re sorted. Unfortunately the rest of the tour fulfilled our doubts when booking. We met up with a local family, in their tenement house, went to the market with them (always interesting) and watched our snake head fish get battered on the head with a wooden stick (hey at least it was fresh), then went back to the apartment to cook lunch.

While lunch was cooking we ended up playing cards with the tour guides for the best part of an hour introducing them to cheat and various other games. It was quite a laugh but not really what you want to pay money on a tour for. In the afternoon we eventually left to go to some crappy restaurant place where we tried to catch fish which you can then cook. The setting was a really naff local’s restaurant with manmade pools of water, with eating platforms over the middle of them. We could hardly leave quick enough, but too late for me to make the post office to get rid of more of my gear! Not exactly the best use of $15 in Asia. I think the companies other tours of the Mekon g Delta would be quite good, they just didn’t seem to nail this one.

In the evening I spent most of the time drinking, eating, and trying desperately not to overload myself with a selection of the excellent counterfeit photocopied books….

Local kids in the park :

After the excitement of getting to a new place yesterday I couldn’t crash easily so decided to watch a very high quality copy of the film Inside Man until I fell asleep.
Ciara from home met me today in Ho Chi Minh City on her way back from her travels in NZ. I decided to take it easy heading to the airport and add a bit of excitment to it for once I answered ‘Yes’ to the oft repeated phrase ‘Moto Sir?’
No bags on my back for once, I needed to enjoy it. Yes I need to go to the airport. How quick can you do it?’ ‘Oh 20 minutes or less I think’.
This was more than ample time, but I said ‘Yes, fast as you can I’m in a hurry’.

What a ride! We were whizzing in and out of traffic, scooters etc like…well, like whatever weaves in and out of stuff quickly. We got there in 15 after cutting up sidestreets, across petrol stations etc.

I decided not to get a moto back – a bit harsh an introduction on your first day in Asia maybe. It was funny watching Ciara’s reaction of the hustle and bustle of Asian cities, this one being a cracking example. I realise how used I’ve got to life out here, handing out ‘advice’ here there and everywhere…. no, don’t stop when they honk, no don’t run across the road, do any of them you’ll be hit – walk across slowly and you’ll be fine (makes it sounds worse than it is, but there are just so many scooters around!).

We went to a couple of markets, but no live skinned frogs, turtles, fried cockroaches or anything at these ones so an easy intro.

Tomorrow we’re binning he tunnels and the war museums to cycle to the outskirts of a city and visit a family and have something to eat after visiting the markets, then I’ll start to head North through the country on Friday.

Again, new country, what’s the fuss? I got in to Ho Chi Minh City today, was looking at the map on the way into town (in that kinda anal way outdoors people do), then the bus man said, yeh you’re hotel’s back there, but we’re stopping just up here. 5 mins later after almost ignoring the guy touting a guesthouse (he was touting mine but I was wary of that scam of having three of the same guesthouse names on the same street), he walked me to the door, and within 10 minutes of getting off, I was checked into my room, admiring the hustle and bustle of a new city.

HCMC (as I’ll now call it – saves typing) is the most bustling city I’ve been to in SE Asia so far. Bustling, busy (some may say frantic) and alive. Crossing the road – no big deal, just look at the 1 billion oncoming scooters and stride confidently (but slowly) across the road. I’ve been walking around here like I’m walking on clouds – new city, new buzz. I rapdily overcame that new ‘fear’ of entering a new country. Like Cambodia, everyone warns…’oooh, you started in Laos, you may not like Vietnam’. Everything’s here, and all withing spitting distance.

Knock off DVDs and CD’s, great arts and handicrafts, camera shops willing to open your camera to see if they can fix it, tourist tat, moto drivers wanting to sell you anything, girls wanting to do the same (although I’m oblivious to this), and young teenagers walking around with a selection of the best ‘reproduction’ books. There’s sports shops, and even an electronics emporium that would blow some of Bangkok’s best out of the window. I can’t remember seeing a couple of hundred large screen plasmas, umpteen mobile phones, cameras and video camera on the same floor before.

I sat down at a very touristy restaurant, ordered up a Vietnamese dish, then sat there delighted by the vibe, and the fantastic selection of classic tunes ringing in my ear, every track saying to me ‘oh shit, who sang that one again?’. I started speaking to the waiters, who asked about Scotland, and my thoughts on Vietnam. I wish I had a copy of Culture Shock! Vietnam when the one of the waiters said ‘You have a nice body, do you go to the gym each day?’. He was only about 20 and I wasn’t sure if this was normal behaviour….

Yes, Vietnam will be way too rushed. In seventeen days I have to fly to Bangkok. I always get the rose tinted glasses in a new big city as well, but what a buzz.

Good Morning Vietnam! (I’ve been waiting to be able to say that!). Country number 36.