Travel pains

Today was a rough one!

We started out having our second seating at the best pho vendor in Saigon. We were not let down!

Then we boarded a ride to can tho (Mekong delta). Luckily for me, the numerous experiences on the Chinatown bus from Philly to NYC prepared me for this day. People pushing and yelling, confusion all around, and being squeezed into spaces that most are not used to was just the beginning of the fun for the day.

We made it to our destination and took a stab at a hotel we had been referred to by no other than our cab driver in Saigon to the bus depot. This hotel was NOT in the center of the city and they had a very bad attitude towards foreigners. I was able to talk ngoc and his sister into trying another option (which I found using google on the hotels free wifi(thank you iPhone)).

The second hotel was no 4 seasons, but it is on the river and in the center of the city. We have a patio and a restaurant connected that over looks the river. We took full advantage of this tonight with drinks and food while ngoc and his sis harassed the young male servers. I can't lie, I enjoyed watching them work away for us.

The city here is home to over 1 million people. It is the center of the delta for many tourist attractions, but there seems to be some depression that comes with the lack of any other real options for industry. We walked through the markets and streets during the day to find a depressed culture and no one even trying to make us feel welcome. We even had a 1 toothed old lady follow us for about and hour once we declined her offers for river tours. This led too a pretty stressed and somber mood for the afternoon, but we came around and rallied.

The night brought us great laughs, good and cheap drinks, wonderful seafood (much needed after the pretty shitty street food we had during the day), and a great first experience of a night market.

The city seems to have come alive once the sun went down and we are feeling the energy that has come with it. We've booked a 530 am pick up with a local that will take the three of us to the floating markets. Ngoc sis was a hard bargainer and got us the trip for about $7 per person. To put this in perspective, most tourist would be paying $30+ per person for the same trip, but I've got the viet connection!

After the market tomorrow we head back to Saigon to take a bus to vung tau, a beach town a bit north. We will have some much needed quiet time lounging in the sand and playing in the ocean.

We took about 100 photos tonight, but have narrowed it down to these few. Maybe if you're lucky ngoc will post a few extra later tonight.

Happy Friday everybody!!

J

Snookie would be considered a peasant in VN

My apologies for the misspelling in the previous posts. As some of you might've guessed, they were posted by Jamie. With me, you'll only get bad grammar, especially w plurals and past/future tenses. :0p Also with me, you'll see more pictures of dogs. They're everywhere. Most, kinda mangy w ticks.

Yes, the diarrhea has settled in for one of us, I won't say which. Yet, we are not afraid because that just comes w/ the territory. We've been having amazing food in alley ways for about $1.50 ea. We also have been eating up to 4 times a day, with random snacking along the day. There are just so many things to eat and not enough time!

Today we ventured to a tourist area of Saigon. My sister was full of jokes and kept teasing Jamie whenever we see a white tourists, referring to them as his relatives. We went to this nice rooftop bar with amazing views of the city where my sister was in awe of the prices of the items on the menu. She enjoyed herself though, because she would never dare do something like that for herself.

We saw a very funny ad/infomercial on tv today. A whitening cream! It was offensive because the models just wore "blackface" makeup. Jamie and I both cracked up and talked about how we could spoof a jersey shore/viet nam thing, and only Vietnamese Americans would get it. People are afraid to be dark here, and they try to stay out of the sun as much as possible. We spent a lot of time walking today, and people thought we were crazy that we didn't want to ride a taxi to our destinations. But through walking and getting lost, we saw a lot of the city. Eventually, the crowd, pollution, heat, and honking got to us.

People so far have been very helpful and nice to us. Jamie gets the most stares everywhere we go while I fit in real well. Tomorrow, we are moving on down to Can Tho (Mekong delta). We are looking forward to it, escaping the busy, busy lifestyle of Saigon. We are still a bit jet lagged, waking up real early in the AM, and sluggish during mid-day. With the heat, humidity, and time difference, we are constantly tired. It's close to 10pm now, and Jamie is passed out!

Because we are posting through our email, we cannot attach as many pictures as we would like. :0( wish you were here to share in our fun! Sleepy time now, so tired and drunk.

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New York is for walking! Not Saigon...

Here are some quick shots from last night at this morning. We took a long walk around the city today and were told by numerous people that we were crazy not to take a taxi. Nobody walks here?? Yes, that is ice in my beer!

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From: Ngoc <nbnguyen1030@gmail.com>;
To: Jamie Gorton <jamiegorton@yahoo.com>;
Sent: Thu, Oct 20, 2011 5:22:12 AM

Day 1

We've made it to Saigon! After what seemed like an endless journey from New York, we dagged our selfs out of the airport last night only to walk into ngoc's sister's open arms. This was a relief to see because when exiting the airport all you see is a GIGANTIC crowd of people. I'm talking Beatles welcoming crowd... As you can imagine I was as smooth as ever and we quickly grabbed a cab with great help from his sister. I caught my first glimpses of the crazy motor bikes and lenient traffic rules. I am actually very impressed with the way everyone goes along. No yelling, no bumping, just a lot of horns and patience. The city is hot and humid. You see groups of people just hanging out sitting around the sidewalks eating, drinking, and having a good time. There is a sense of peace in the air that im not sure is my assumption based on my mood or what may be a very happy people. So, we dropped our things at the hotel ngocs sis had pre arranged for us ($15 a night for 2 queen beds). It is pretty low end, but there is a/c, hot water, and wifi. What else do you need? Though, there is no shower curtain and it's pretty dirty, ngoc has requested a step up for our next location :) We then went and had pho at a vendor on the street. Our mood was exausted, but the pho and beer went down happily. We made it back home and slept for about 4 hours. Waking up at 5 am this morning was rough. In new York it would have been 2 pm the afternoon before, which means our bodies actually felt as if they were having an afternoon nap. We were not too pleased, but we woke for our first big day. We grabbed me a coffee then went into the market to find someone to chane our us $$$. We found out that you actually get a better rate when you find a business person willing to do the transaction, so ngoc and I let his sister do her magic. After a very awkward and seemingly shady transaction, we had changed over most of our cash for vietnames dong, with the actual current exchange rate, and no fee! We then had pho and bun Bo hue for breakfast and took some great shots. After that we met a friend visiting from Oakland and walked around a very large market. I enjoyed being hassled and grabbed by the sales people, and did my best not to look like yet another dumb American. I thought I did well... After some leisure time in a park we hopped into a cab and made our way to the "lunch lady". We've heard great things from friends and seen her on Anthony bourdains tv show, so we gave it a shot. You will see a photo of her below. The curried chicken was amazing, finished off with a Saigon beer, it was a great way to end our morning. Now the 4 of us are back at the hotel keeping cool during the peak of the days heat. Later we will find dinner and check out the cities gay scene. We feel good and are starting out in style! So much more I could share, but I will leave something for ngoc! mệt qua!

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From: Ngoc <nbnguyen1030@gmail.com>;
To: Jamie Gorton <jamiegorton@yahoo.com>;
Subject: Day 1
Sent: Wed, Oct 19, 2011 6:12:51 AM

The white minority

The best cure for jet lag is genuine ramen, udon, and a side of asahi. We are wasted...not really.

Jamie

Fwd: With live from continental

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> We just boarded our plane in Newark intl airport! There was a minor problem of us not being able to sit together, but at the last minute the airline was able to swing it.
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> So if you haven't guess yet, the guest contributor of the blog will be Jamie!! Whooo!! Let's check in with him for our pre flight chat shall we?
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> N- hello Jamie, what are you feeling right now sitting here in seat 34c?
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> J- I'm feeling like I could start singing the new musical based on my life! What a great day to explore the world!
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> N- LOL. Well you definitely sound excited! So with all your travel experiences, what are you hoping to get out of this trip, and what will you contribute to the blog?
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> J- I am hoping to see the beauty of the world through its landscapes and people. I look forward to many hours of solitude as well as bonding with the ngoctor! My contributions will be minimal, but of noteworthy quality for sure...
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> N- Any last minutes comments? Anyone you miss yet?
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> J- I miss everyone already, but they know I am sitting in the most direct path of my ambitions and are always with my at heart. This is getting corny Ngoctor!
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> Ok you heard it here first people. I am glad to welcome this world traveller blogger to blog w us throughout the months. Please comment and send us love as you read our blog. Much love!
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> Ngoc
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We've Been Robbed!!

We did it! After a bit of procrastination we packed our lives into a few boxes to migrate across country. This morning, the movers came to break down the bed and loaded our things. We met a few people for a last-lunch, and came home to an empty apartment w only a blowup mattress and a couch. We put out our box of freebies on the curb and secretly watched people as they rummage through. I enjoyed hearing what people say during this process, and see what they choose to take. Our kite and baseball gloves went to a little boy, and this other woman scored all the hair products.

On the next post, I will be introducing a guest contributor to the blog. We will have an intimate chat over some water to see what his vision for the blog over the next 2.5 months. Guess who it is!! Stay tune