I fly out in the morning, so here’s a photo essay of my final hours in Saigon.

Still a few nighttime hours to fill. Plan is to see Alex and the boys play darts then say my goodbyes. Probably head over to In Sai Gong for a final cold beer as well. Then it’s off to the airport at 0630 for my 0930 flight to Manila.

I’m glad I finally made it to Saigon. And even more glad it wasn’t as a soldier.

UPDATE: Well, turns out I was also “wrapping it up” back in November, 2015. I also had no idea that Jee Yeun would be wrapping up the marriage just a month later. Still hurts.

Winding it down on my penultimate day in Vietnam. I’m still enjoying walking about and exploring my little part of the city during the day, and of course, the bars at night.

Speaking of walking, I intended to Hash yesterday with the local Saigon kennel. Walked over to the meeting place and arrived early. Then it started pouring down rain. Well, I had been on the fence about participating to begin with. I wasn’t comfortable being bused out of town and getting lost or something, then missing the ride back. Yeah, I’m a wimp. The rain gave me a good excuse to bail and I took it.

Here’s some random pictures from my journey I haven’t posted yet:

Life is good.

I’m going to say right up front that I’m no “foodie”. In fact, I’m not all that adventurous when it comes to exploring local cuisine in general and street food in particular. So, why am I doing a post about the food I’ve eaten thus far during my Vietnam adventure?

Let’s eat!

Last night, my pal Alex invited me out to his favorite restaurant for some leg of lamb.

The best meal I’ve had so far though was the lunch served during the Mekong river tour I took on Friday. It was also probably the most traditional Vietnamese fare I’ve had on this trip.

Now one Vietnamese diet staple is the bahn mi sandwich. I think I saw them featured on an old Anthony Bourdain episode and I’ve wanted to try one since I arrived. Oddly enough, when I asked hotel staff for a good bahn mi restaurant, I was told the best ones were from the street vendors. Go figure. Anyway, after my morning walk yesterday, I brought one home:

Here’s how Wikipedia describes the bahn mi:

A typical Vietnamese sandwich is a fusion of meats and vegetables from native Vietnamese cuisine such as chả lụa (pork sausage), coriander leaf (cilantro), cucumber, pickled carrots, and pickled daikon combined with condiments from French cuisine such as pâté, along with chili and mayonnaise.^[6] However, a wide variety of popular fillings are used, from xíu mại to ice cream. In Vietnam, sandwiches are typically eaten for breakfast or as a snack; they are considered too dry for lunch or dinner.^[7]

Here’s how mine looked:

Dining out has kind of been hit or miss. Usually drink until hungry, then either eat at the bar or pop into a nearby restaurant. Sometimes I’m not even sure what’s on offer. Stopped into this place the other night with some mates, and it was almost like being back in Korea, but without kimchi.

And about the only other Vietnamese delicacy I’ve had thus far is a soup called Pho.

Phở or pho^[) is a Vietnamese soup consisting of broth, rice noodles (bánh phở), herbs, and meat – usually beef (phở bò), sometimes chicken (phở gà).^[4][5] Pho is a popular street food in Vietnam^[6] and served in restaurants around the world.

And there you have it, a post about food. I’ve been a bit more adventurous in trying the local brews.

Did an all day tour yesterday, featuring the Cu Chi tunnels and the Mekong river delta area, both of which are about an hour and a half from Saigon. I do enjoy travel and seeing new places and things, but I don’t like being a tourist. Or to be more precise, I don’t enjoy guided tours much. Yesterday was a prime example of why.

Got picked up at the hotel as scheduled at 7:30, then drove a ways across town in heavy traffic to pick up more tourists. When everyone was on board a bit after 8:00 we headed south. Our tour guide was a 20-something Vietnamese man who said his name was “Laughing”. His English was almost understandable. He seemed very proud of his country and there is nothing wrong with that of course. But my first red flag of the day was when we pulled into a small factory where traditional Vietnam paintings made from eggshells and seashells were manufactured. Laughing told the government built the factory to enable area residents who had suffered birth defects after American use of poison gas during the war. I assumed he meant Agent Orange. Throughout the day, Laughing never missed an opportunity to regurgitate the anti-American propaganda he’d been fed his whole life.

Anyway, the factory was NOT part of the tour package and it was only mildly interesting to see the process used by the workers in creating their art. And surprise, surprise the guide led us into a large showroom full of completed objects available for our purchase. For the first of many times I muttered “this is bullshit”.

In due course we made on way onward to the Cu Chi tunnels that had been instrumental in the North’s attacks on the South throughout the war. It was a pretty impressive engineering fete, no question about it. Laughing’s commentary about the means and methods used to kill the American invaders got old pretty fast though. I found myself biting my tongue to avoid asking what about the South Vietnamese Army troops, who far outnumbered the Yanks, were as fun to kill as well. Anyway, you get the idea. And I acknowledge that the victor gets to write the history of the war in the manner of his choosing. Hell, I was a vocal opponent of the war back then, but something about Laughing’s gleeful stories about how the wise Viet Cong lured the foolish Americans into their gruesome traps was off-putting. I was glad to finally depart for the Mekong portion of the tour.

We stopped for lunch along the way and I’ll have to give credit where it is due, it was a damn fine meal. I’m going to do a “foodie” post tomorrow, so I’ll save that story and photos until then.

The Mekong was disappointing as well, or to be fair, not what I expected. I was envisioning a river cruise, instead we boarded a derelict river boat and went to the other side. Upon arrival, we were served a honey tea and some banana chips. Both were quite good. Then Laughing came around with a beehive and talked about how the honey was used in several “miracle” products to improve health and skin. And wouldn’t you know it? Those products just happened to be available for purchase. I thought now that is real B.S. (bee shit). I did buy some overpriced banana chips which were quite tasty.

Next we walked a bit up the river to a place where we were treated to some traditional Vietnamese music. I’m sorry, the Vietnamese spoken language is even more grating on the ears than Chinese. At least to me. And when sung it sounds like high pitched screeching. The instruments were twangy but not unpleasant however. Tip boxes were conveniently brought around to our tables and of course I contributed. After all, the did stop singing and that was a behavior worth rewarding!

We then walked some more, boarded golf carts for a bit, then walked through some yards (felt like Hashing almost), and then boarded some canoe like things for a ride down a canal and back to the riverside. We were encouraged to tip the boat rowers, and hell, they deserved it managing to move our fat asses downstream.

Once back on the river shore we were given a demonstration of how coconut candy was made. Didn’t much care about that, although the sample was tasty enough. And of course, they had some for sale. No thanks!

Back on the boat at last and we were provided some coconut juice (still in the shell) to enjoy. Then we boarded the van for the two hour ride back to Saigon, where we arrived at 6:00 p.m. It was a long day of touring and it took several hours of beer drinking last night to wash the taste out of my mouth. Here’s the photos:

Alright, dinner plans tonight and hopefully something worthwhile to add to my foodie post tomorrow. Stay tuned!

So far, so good. Still feeling my way around Saigon/HCMC, but I rather like it. In fact, Vietnam is now ahead of Cambodia as a “Plan B” option should life in the Philippines not work out. Saigon (I prefer that name and will use it henceforth) is comparatively clean (isn’t everywhere compared to the PI?), modern, and bustling. I have never in my life seen so many damn motor scooters! I’m pressed for time this afternoon, so let’s let the photos do the talking.

DAY 1: Nice airport, only hold up was the visa process took about 30 minutes, but sailed through immigration/customs. Hotel transportation was there waiting and whisked us to the Lotus Central hotel.

I did a quick walk around the neighborhood, then had to get ready for a meetup with some old friends from my Seoul days who live here now. I had an address and a Grab driver dropped me off at said address. But there was no bar to be seen there. So I walked over to the bar district and started asking other bar patrons where Shooters bar might be. Most didn’t know or gave me wrong directions. Finally, an American in a bar was able to give me specific detailed guidance on reaching my destination. Which took me right back to where the Grab car had left me. What the hell? About that time my friend Alex arrived.

He apologized for the confusion and pointed up to the 3rd floor. I still didn’t see it as the bar has absolutely no signage. We walked into what looked like an office lobby and took an elevator upstairs.

I got drafted to play with Alex’s team in a league match against the top rated team in Saigon. We got our asses kicked, but I did manage to win a best of 5 singles match 3-1. So, I can add Vietnam to the countries in which I’ve played competitive darts (USA, Korea, Japan, Thailand, Cambodia, Philippines).

Day 2: Took a good long walk in the city to see what I could see. Saw the Ho Chi Minh museum with some captured American tanks and planes out front and thought about having a looksee, but changed my mind thinking I’d find the actual war museum I’d heard about. I didn’t though.

I guess snapping that photo tagged me as a tourist because the vendors descended upon me. One guy actually started “repairing” my shoes with glue. I’m like WTF, no thanks! But he kept right on. Then he untied my shoe and that was enough, I just walked away.

Met an American couple from California enjoying their honeymoon and shared some beers with them. I’m now Facebook friends with the wife! It started raining hard about the time I was planning to leave, so what could I do? Stay for more beer of course! Hey, I’m on vacation!

It was back to Sai Gon that night where I expected to meet some Hashers. I didn’t see any. Later as one guy was leaving he saw my Hash attire and said I could join them for a run on Sunday. Meet up at the Caravelle hotel. Let’s see if I can find it.

Very drunk end to the day, but once again I successfully found my way back home to the hotel. Day 3 report will have to wait as I have plans for more explorations in the bar district tonight and need to prepare.

Peace out!

Arrived safely and without incident. Got checked into my hotel room, which is quite nice for the price. Now I’m going to hit the mean streets of Saigon and do some exploring.

First impressions: It’s a comparatively clean city. I haven’t seen anything like the poverty that is rampant back home in the Philippines. Traffic is crazy but somehow it works, like a mad dance or something. Oh, and the women are quite gorgeous. They appear sweet and innocent, at least from a distance. Of course, I’ll need to investigate further.

I heard about the great food choices here in Vietnam. And they were right! Right outside baggage claim I find this:

Just kidding, I’m holding out for some real food. Okay, time to get out there and have a look see.