Miss Saigon

I'm debating something. The longer I'm here, the more I realize what's important to me, where I go, what I do, etc. I can honestly say I could happily spend the rest of my 39 days in Saigon. I orginally wanted to hit every major city but the logistics are too crazy so I took stock of what I wanted to see. I wanted to go to Katum, which is going to be a Vietnam to Cambodia border crossing and there's nothing there. To get there I'd have to bus to Tay Ninh and Tay Ninh is off the tourist trail, meaning there's next to no english, no tourist offices and makes things a hell of a lot harder. The reason why I wanted to go was that it was the scene of Operation Junction City, an operation to trap North Vietnamese and form a giant "U" with the opening into Cambodia and the enemy would naturally run towards it. The "U" forms the anvil. The hammer was the 2d Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade would parachute into combat right on the Cambodian border and close off the "U" and make the enemy scramble and lost effectiveness while the allies tightened the noose around their necks. Once I'd get to Tay Ninh I'd have to hire a moto driver and on top of that one that knows what I want so I'd have to translate a message from english to vietnamese. Once the message was translated I'd have to make sure the driver knows where he's going as drivers have a bad habit of saying yes to everything. I should ask drivers if they don't know where something is, as I'm 90% sure they'd say yes haha. I'm kicking myself because if I had my license, I could rent my own moto and go all by myself, go where ever the fuck I want with nobody's help as I know where I'm going. Maybe next time.

I'd like to see the Mekong Delta, but my trip wouldn't be ruined if I missed it as I've seen the north of it on the hydrofoil to Vung Tau. I plan on doing the Delta and Cu Chi while I wait for my new debit card to arrive as each is a day trip. The other reason why I want to do them first is that I can't confirm or deny that the Northern part, Central Vietnam is still flooded from the tsunimi and the longer I wait, the better I figure to allow things to get back to normal there. At first in my planning I didn't want anything to do with guided group tours, but the more I think about it I rather pay the $10 to bus 8 hours, be fed and tour three towns in the delta than plan everything myself. just hop on a bus and follow 39 other people.

Making things worse, I'm comfortable in Saigon. I got a good place set up, I have a routine, I know where everything is and street names and such. I'm a little fearful to trade all that stuff up going to another town. The good thing is that I can do whatever I want but I can see myself closing myself off from the new and unfamiliar. Part of me almost wishes that I booked hotels in other places to give me a push to go there. Don't get me wrong I still want to go to Nha Trang, My Lai, Hoi An, Da Nang, Hue, the DMZ, Dak To, An Khe and Bong Son but I'm thinking I'm procrastinating on doing it. If there was someone here with me they could kick my butt and give me that push. I'm thinking it's the logistics of doing this stuff that's getting to me. Stuff on Highway 1, the main highway from Hanoi to Saigon running along the coast, that's not a problem as there's tons of trains and buses that do it. It's the remote parts, where I have no clue if I can find someone to take me to Dak To, if there's anything in An Khe and stuff like that. If I had a car or bike I'd feel better as I'm relying on myself instead of others. I hate to say it but I might stick to the tourist trail. I know tihs won't be my only trip to Vietnam, that's a guarentee for sure. Maybe it might be best to get a feel for it, stick my toe in the water before running, jumping and doing a triple sow-cow into the boiling hot or freezing water. I will regret missing stuff off the trail but I can do them another time when I can just jump in a car and go. That way I won't bite more off than I can chew and choke. Like I said I'm still debating.

What I'm also starting to wonder is how can I work here? My guide from the Aussie AO out of Vung Tau only took economics in school. Why can't I stay in an area, learn the history and details and guide others? I'm brainstorming too haha. While we were curising down the Saigon River and watching the waves and treeline zip by, I though "If I could get my hands on a PBR (Patrol Boat - River) I'd make a killing taking people on rides or tours!!!" Hit the engine, crank of the 60's music and toss the passengers a cold one haha. One thing I've noticed about Vietnam so far is they have some war tourism stuff like Cu Chi tunnels, War museum, etc but they don't use it to it's full potiential. Westerners here are mostly young adventurous Aussies or returning veterans to see this land again and finish the healing process. That's a couple million people a year visiting. Why not give them (and myself) what they want? Their own Vietnam Experience. There's not a bar in Saigon that caters to the war. Apocolypse Now has the name, inside it's shit. The Crazy Buffalo down the street from me opened last year and it plays classic rock music. Why not combine them? I honestly want to know how much it would cost to set up a bar here haha. Everything is currently just mental thinking, nothin on paper, but have a place where returning vets, relitives of vets, interested backpackers and the local population come by and drink? Have a place that's not huge but can fit maybe 50 people? Have some artifacts, pictures and flags on the walls like at the Hard Rock cafe. As Vietnam is united it would have to be balanced so not just allies but the other side, the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese supporters and have them mixed in so that it's not like NVA/VC on the left, Americans on the right kinda thing. Half the menu's in Saigon are half Vietnamese and half Western so that's already easy to cater to both. Most bars serve one American beer, sometimes an Aussie beer and others from inside Vietnam so that's alrady done. All you need is to mix the people together. Now I know that can be dangerous, even more so when booze is involved but that can be countered by security. Vietnam is slowly turning more to the Western world though and letting people from the West enter has started change. I don't want to transform vietnam but cater to the visitors and the local population.

There's places that organize tours. Before I came here I found a website that you pay and they'll work out a custom trip for you focusing on the war. The local tour is the Cu Chi Tunnels and a temple near Tay Ninh. Instead of the temple keep going to Black Lady/Virgin Mountain. Before leaving Cu Chi you can tour the old 25th Infantry Division base camp which was built right on the tunnels but nobody goes there as nobody knows about it. In Hue you can tour the city and learn about the history on the empouror. Skip that and show the bridge the Viet Cong blew up Feburary 7th, the fight to keep the citadel from being overran January 31st, the US Marine base at Phu Bai who sent troops to Hue for back up, the old MAC-V base which provided the first US troops fighting in the city as Vietnamese Advisors would sleep there in between operations. The only area that does cater to the military history is the De Militarized Zone (DMZ) where North and South were divided for 21 years and its only there for tourists as nothing else is haha. There's bars and restaurants that plan and book trips for people, why not do that?

There's hotels above restaurants and booking agents. Why not play up the tropical feel with bamboo and grass mats in each room? Play 60's music in the lobby and maybe play the occasional movie and discuss it afterwards? I'm just looking at the things I'd like to see in town and that are missing and I'm positive there would be some demand for it. People go to Apoc Now Bar to check it out, inside it's shit, but they cross town thinking it's a military bar or just a place for westerners to go and hang out. I'd love to start something here, considering the bars in my area are open 24/7. If I wake up at 5:17am and want a beer, I got two places to choose and they're across from each other haha.

Today I slept in until 2am, considering I went to bed at 7am haha. I hit the market and and got a good chunk of christmas shopping done for my sister, her boyfriend Connor, my Mom, Dad and Mitchell. I just have one or two people left to buy for and I'll ship that stuff home. I'll also ship off the Vietnam War stuff once I get payment from Sean, Kirshin and Sam. I also went out for supper to Alfresco's which is an italian/western restaurant with locations in Hong Kong, Hanoi and three in Saigon. It was good food but expensive, almost as if I went out back in Canada. I've realized I'm so cheap now haha. If something's over 100,000VND it's too much, but I forget it's only $5 CDN haha. Bartering in the market is still good. I asked how much something was and it was $30 US. I walked away with it for $5, but I had to walk away from the item first while the girl chased me down and said $5 haha. The other thing though is you can bargin hard, and if they don't budge and you really do want the item, you have to buy it anyways. Tomorrow I might record a video of myself running the gauntlet haha. Today I went down that aisle and eight arms snapped out trying to grab me, stop me and buy something. I had to burst out laughing haha as it was quiet and HI SIR! WHAT YOU LOOKING FOR? YOU LIKE? PLEASE STOP? SPECIAL DISCOUNT FOR YOU! from eight ladies at once haha. I also love the driver's tactics of trying to get me on their bike... HEY! HEY YOU! YES YOU! HEY! YOU WANT MOTO!? HEY, LOOK AT ME! YOU WANT MOTO? I SEE YOU! HEY! I ignore everyone now, I don't have to be the nice friendly tourist anymore, that was day one shit haha.

I found a Pizza Hut! Yes, Pizza Hut in Vietnam. I walked past a mall yesterday and hit it on my trek home after supper. The mall is for the rich so most Vietnamese won't go and I wouldn't be surprised if some Vietnamese were kicked out considering it sold rolex watches and other fancy pants stuff. On the 3rd floor is a KFC and Lotteria which is like Vietnam's MacDonalds or Burger King. On the 4th floor is bowling lanes, crazy videogames and a Pizza Hut so this is like a place to bring a date in Vietnam instead of park your moto on the sidewalk and hang out for a few hours as most people do.

Last night I explored another street going around the tourist centre instead of the street I'm on cutting through it. Found a bunch of little shops and a few bars but nothing great. Only reason why I stopped in the one was 10,000VND/$.52CDN for 450ml bottle of Saigon beer hahaha. Some places at midnight that same bottle suddenly costs 42,000VND/about $2.10CDN so I'll happily spend $.50 haha.

I met someone a few nights ago and met up with her last night. Good decent person and we talked for a few hours. I thought she worked at the bar serving drinks but she works at the bar. She's a prostitue hahahahahaha but I clued in last night, things made more sense. I told her we can hang out but I don't want to lead her on, I'm not using her services and I like Aussie ladies haha, but we talked how it all works and she told me about herself, so it was cool to get an in-depth look into that kind of life. 95% of asian girls at least in Saigon are working girls. If a girl likes you, you sance with them and chit chat, then you ask if they work at the bar or if they just like you. If they lie and say they like you, ask if you can go to their place. The area I'm in, Pham Ngu Lao is awesome, but you can't bring girls back to your hotel. The girl will tell you that you can go down the street and rent a hotel (that's the biggest sign as they don't want you in their home) and you can pay an hourly fee for the hotel and girl, or spend the night with them and if they haven't robbed you, you'll owe them one million dong or your legs will be broken by their pimp haha. Soooooooo not worth it haha. She told me that she's 31, her mom is sick and to support her, she works the streets. She doesn't work every night but only if she needs money. She lives kinda out of town so she's downtown from 7pm to 7am but if she does have a customer and made her money she goes home, has a nice long shower and takes care of her mom. Her mom knows what she does and isn't proud and tells her to go meet a nice man to take care of her, because once she (the mom) dies, her daughter will have nobody so it's a sad story and I generally buy into it as most girls get done with one customer and 15 minutes later is on another guy, then another until they've finished their shift (sounds funny saying shift haha). But making $150 a night is awfully tempting when most Vietnamese don't make $50 a month. My friend (I suck at names, worse with Vietnamese names so lets call her Miss Saigon) at least does something good with it and has some class. If you're not interested in using her, she'll still hang out and talk with you while other girls go off to find the next wad of cash. So let me repeat. I, Will Not Ever Use Her Services. Iwant the Vietnam Experience, but not the pissing needles experience and after I figured out what she was I didn't want to get too close to her haha. Still neat to kinda ask all the questions you've wondered about openly too haha. So I'm thinking I'll do Cu Chi and the Tay Ninh chapel that way I've been to Tay Ninh and can get some dirt without trucking it to middle of no where Katum and still be on a guided tour. I also think I'll do a one day tour of the Delta as it involves curising the river which is one thing I'd love to do, the tight twists and turns being surrounded by jungle and nature, looking to see if someone is starring back at you, waiting to strike, the hairs on your neck standing on end and your brain screams something is wrong... probably won't happen haha, but I can only imagine and I might stick to the tourist trail unless I change my mind. There's a few people wanting to go to Vietnam and maybe we can focus on the 173rd then when logistics are better and I'm not completely up to the challenge, mind you I could change my mind later though so who knows. I just might be thinking out loud haha. Take care