Saigon

Saigon, aka Ho Chi Minh City, was one big reunion! We ended up meeting back with 3 guys from Tazmania, 4 girls from Australia and 1 girl from Los Angeles, all of whom we had met somewhere along the line while traveling in Vietnam. We even met up with 2 guys from SDSU, one of which was teaching English there. Generally reunions mean rejoicing and lots of partying, this held true in Saigon no doubt!

Night 1- It turns out to be the Tazmanian's last night of their 4 month journey around Southeast Asia and naturally we feel obliged to send them off with a bang. We call our friend Ben who is teaching in Saigon, he tells us he is down to go out and he knows some cool clubs to go to. The pre-party takes place at the Tazzy boys hotel. It gets out of hand as they are not holding out by any means on their last night and we cant be downers so we of course join in on the chaos.



Preparty with the boys from Tazzy

To make a long story short, our night consisted of the following: going to a club infested with lady boys and middle-aged white men all over them, then heading to another not because we werent having fun, but more so because we were scared and disgusted at what we had witnessed. We went to another bar near our hotel and saw the Tazzy boys off around 3am as they had an early flight to catch back home. Everyone else went their separate ways and I go to the convenient store for some water. Completely randomly I see my Australian friend Phoebe whom I met in Hanoi and spent a good week or so with traveling! She is teaching English in Saigon and only has a few weeks left so she too in going out with a bang as well.

Its nearly 4am; we end up having beers on a stairwell until 6am and in that time her Vietnamese friend Huong and some random New Zealander with the biggest hair ever join us. Im extremely hungry at this point and ask if anyone is up for breakfast. We cruise across the street to a bar that serves breakfast and have some baguettes and eggs while the Cher-obsessed bar tender blasts that awful attempt at a comeback, “Do you believe in love?”.



Phoebe and I deciding what to order...6am

Biggest Hair ever!!!

Huong blurts out that she has some Mandarine Vodka at her apartment and invites us to go drink some with her. I look outside, the sun is beginning to rise, people are beginning their days; my night has not ended. I figure Im already in the red, may as well see how far this train goes right? Its kinda like when you wake up really late, think about how you have wasted your day and how much you suck; then go right back to sleep...haha!

We spill into the streets, shading our eyes like drunken vampires. Head down the adjacent street and walk a few blocks to Huong's apartment. The door creaks open as her sleeping cousins wiggle around on the floor which they sleep on. We tip toe to the balcony which doubles as the kitchen...weird. Huong whips up the interesting cocktail of apple juice and Mandarin vodka for us...there is nothing like a cocktail at 7am in Saigon let me tell you!

Absolute Manadarin and Apple juice on Huongs Balcony

Our delirious minds create the most random/hilarious conversation topics ever. We laugh for hours until our stomachs hurt and our livers cry; all the while watching the streets of Saigon come alive. 9am rolls around and Phoebe and I decide to call it quits. We thank Huong for the unexpectedly amazing morning at her apartment and for the delicious cocktails. I walk Phoebe back to her apartment and we end up talking on her door step for another two hours about lord knows what. 11 am rears its ugly head and I realize its an hour until noon! I say my farwells to Phoebe, try to orient myself in the city and head home. On the way I cant help but have a huge grin on my face. I cant really pinpoint what exactly made the night/morning so great and memorable, but it just was. I will never hear the phrase “Good Morning Vietnam!”, the same ever again.

We also went to the Cu Chi tunnels that were used by the Vietnamese during the war. It was an incredible experience being in these tiny tunnels that the Vietcong lived, breathed and fought from. Here is a little Wikipedia exert for ya on the tunnels...

The tunnels of Củ Chi are an immense network of connecting underground tunnels located in the Củ Chi district of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam, and are part of a much larger network of tunnels that underlie much of the country. The Củ Chi tunnels were the location of several military campaigns during the Vietnam War, and were the Viet Cong's base of operations for the Tết Offensive in 1968.

The tunnels were used by Viet Cong guerrillas as hiding spots during combat, as well as serving as communication and supply routes, hospitals, food and weapon caches and living quarters for numerous guerrilla fighters. The role of the tunnel systems should not be underestimated in its importance to the Viet Cong in resisting American operations and protracting the war, eventually persuading the weary Americans into withdrawal.

And now some pictures...


Inside the tunnels!!!



The Vietcong would hide these traps with leaves and such and the enemy would fall right into them unknowingly

Alice trying to fit into one of the secret holes the Vietcong used to pop out of

Bradon's last night- Two of the girls, Rumi + Lizzie, and I were the only ones up for going out for drinks. We headed for GO2 bar just down the street from our hotel, where we met Phoebe and Huong, whom I had called earlier in the day to invite out. It was 2 for 1 drinks on the rooftop so naturally we couldnt resist. We were having a great time until the rats decided to join the party around 2am. They were absolutely massive and were scurrying around like they owned the joint! Turns out Rumi is EXTREMELY scared of rats, so she had to get out of their, Lizzie was tired so they walked home together.

That left the morning crew from the other night, minus the random New Zealand guy. We head downstairs to the street corner, share a few more drinks, while onlooking at the chaos of Saigon. Huong begins to fade around 4am, so we walk her home. She does have work in the morning, so it was a valiant effort on her part indeed. As we walk back to the bar, Phoebe comes up with the idea to grab some beers, head to the nearby park and watch the apparently hilarious Vietnamese people do their morning exercises. She has a great sense of humor so I know it will be funny; within 30 minutes we are on a park bench, eagerly awaiting the morning exercisers, beers in hand.

They begin to enter the park from all angles; spandex, sweatband, cross-trainer laced with the latest in 1980's exercise attire. Im already amused by, but in no way was I prepared for how hilarious this morning was going to be. Here are just a few characters I witnessed that legendary morning:

Exerciser #1- An old man, probably in his 70's, dressed in all shades of white and white only. He is laying on a bench, face up, doing imaginary pushups while riding an imaginary airbike with the lower portion of his body.
Exerciser #2- A younger Vietnamese girl, leaning up against a tree for balance. She is lifting her right knee up repeadedly for a good 50 repititions at a time, then she switches it to the other leg.
Exerciser #3- A middle-aged woman wearing my personal favorite, pink spandex. She is walking laps around the park; first with her hands at her sides, then thrusting them above her head, commencing with a clap and then repeating this ridiculous action.
Exerciser #4- One of the coolest guys on the planet for sure, a 60 something year old man with sweatbands and short shorts on. This guy is whimsical let me tell you; he has realized the nonsense of working out appendages and only works out what really matters, the pelvic area! I literally watched this guy thrust his pelvic area back and forth, left to right, up and out...for a solid 30 minutes at least. My jaw was open in amazement the entire time as Phoebe and I ate it up, laughing uncontrollably. I even caught this miracle in action on video. By far one of the funniest things I have witnessed in my life...WOW!!!

These are just a few of the people, imagine this going on all around the park; everyone doing some sort of ridiculous, non strenuous exercise. Im awestruck, confused and so happy at the same time. Im convinced that this has to be one of the best free forms of entertainment in the world today without a doubt. But one thing really puzzles me; why do all these people, with exception to the walker and joggers, have to go the park to do these comical exercises? One can do imaginary pushups, ride imaginary bicycles, lift there legs repeadtedly and pelvic thrust the morning away in the comfort of their own homes. Moreover, where did these people learn these exercises? Did they see a dude in the park one day trying to get some exercise and decide to follow suite? Are there just no gyms in Saigon? These questions and more race through my beer-saturated mind as I try to make sense of what I am seeing.

All of a sudden the sound of sweet-cheesy techno music fills my ears. I look to see where it is coming from, I scan the park and see to my right about 30 or so spandex-clad Vietnamese women doing synchronized techno aerobics! Oh my lord! I didnt think this morning could get any more ridiculous or histerical, but it just did! I love house music, but the music they are exercising to is awful; its hard techno beats with what sounds like a little girl singing over it. At home no one would be able to do group workouts to this music because everyone would be bursting out in laughter. Not in Vietnam, they are digging it and in serious workout mode.

Phoebe turns to me with a devious grin on her face and asks, “Do you want to join them?”. Once again, the day has already begun, my night has yet to end. Im drinking beer in a park in Saigon...why not? We cautiously join the back of the group, take a few seconds to catch the beat and begin to mimic the exercise moves they are doing. Im not gonna lie, within 5 minutes I was into it, I kind of understand why people do group exercise now...haha! Everytime I peered over at Phoebe I had to hold in my laughter due to the hilarious circumstances we had put ourselves under. Mind you, I am the only guy in the group, Im white, Im a head taller than everyone there and to top it off Im wearing the brightest t-shirt I own, an electric teal Zoo York shirt! Im standing out like a sore thumb, while Phoebe can kind of get away with it. But I could care less, Im having a great time, lauhing all the while on the inside AND Im getting some exercise!

And man was I getting some exercise, after about 10 minutes or so I was getting extremely winded...I dont get much exercise here on the road aside from the beer/vodka curls I do all too often. Luckily for me the music ends abruptly for break time; Phoebe and I realize its our opportunity to escape so we scurry away like we stole something. I realize I have a bus to catch in about an hour. I give my biggest thanks to Phoebe for the delightfully hilarious morning that I will never forget and I make my way back to the hotel...Ill be on the Mekong Delta enroute to Cambodia in a few hours time, life is crazy!!!