Monday, July 11, 2005
Born again in Saigon
Welcome to my first post from Vietnam. Today was my first day travelling alone. I began the new chapter this morning with a reasonably drastic haircut (but not drastic enough to warrant a photo - sorry!). It was a relaxing experience which included a surprise facial, that is, I was surprised when they started cleansing and massaging my face as well as my hair. So I now feel lighter and ready for my adventure. After the salon I confidently set out on foot, waving away cyclos, motos and taxis in the direction of some markets I wanted to visit. With the assistance of the map, I found what I was looking for. This was exciting for me since I have a particularly bad sense of direction and spent the last week following Jono around like a puppy while he lead with map and compass. A compass would just confuse me further so I was just going with the map. I detoured via a bank and managed to let them give me a cash advance for $100 using my advanced diving certification as ID, which incidentally has my name spelt incorrectly as Natlaie, (together with a photocopy of my passport). Normally you are meant to have your passport to get money but the hotels here hang on to your passport and show them to the police apparently - some communist keeping tabs on foreigners thing...
After the bank, I was walking through one of the pleasant Saigon parks, when a Vietnamese guy on a bicycle calls me over and says he's a student and asks if he could practise English with me. I thought why not - seems harmless and I'm in my new confident and open minded traveller mode. He signaled to a park bench close to the road. I made up a story that I couldn't talk for long because I was meeting a friend. The conversation starts relatively predictably.
'Where are you from?' Australia.
'Where in Australia?' Sydney.
'Are there a lot of Italians living in Sydney - you're Italian aren't you?' Well no.
'But your grandparents are Italian - am I right?' Yes my grandparents are Italian. (well....it was much easier to go along with it!!!!) 'Can I ask you a question?' Sure.
'Do you want to be brung again?' Sorry?
'Do you want to be brung - b-o-r-n - again - you know, recycled?' OK I know what you're trying to say (laughing by me).
'Don't be nervous, Jesus loves you and died for your sins.' etc etc etc etc.
I asked him some questions like Aren't Vietnamese people normally Buddhists? He said yes but he found God in 1990 when a New Zealand guy asked him 'Do you want to be born again?' and he said yes. Now he cruises the streets of Saigon on his bike with his black brief case using cunning means to 'spread the word'. I found it all quite amusing and just smiled said I wasn't interested and walked away to my 'lunch appointment' with him calling out to me that Jesus died for my sins. Sad now that if a Vietnamese student really wants to practise English with me I'll be a bit suspicious.
The week I spent with Jono travelling from Phnom Penh by boat to the Mekong Delta then through the Delta to Saigon was great. There are many stories from that week. I might let Jono tell them on his blog (link on the side of my blog page) and hopefully the photos will be on his blog also.
But just in brief... after our river border crossing which involved many hands 'borrowing' our passports and an order that before anything else can be done we must go to the toilet (a problem with our helper's lack of more subtle English words rather than a requirement to enter Vietnam we assumed), we boated along the canal into Chau Doc. There we visited some interesting temples and had a sauna and massage at what was certainly a brothel (very innocent, I assure you - but maybe keep an eye on Jono's blog for that one). The local mini bus we took from Chau Doc to Cantho was part of a cigarette smuggling operation. I was sitting next to a women who looked like the Michelin man with cigarette boxes strapped all over her body under her clothes. At one point she handed me one of her many bags full of cigarettes to hold but I maintain that I lacked the mens rea to be guilty of the smuggling. It was only confirmed to us after the trip what was really going on.
In Cantho we went to the floating markets at 5.30am. They were amazing so hopefully you will see photos soon. Another highlight of the Delta was a homestay we arranged by complete luck and fluke with a family on an Island in the middle of the Mekong River. The family was lovely, especially the gorgeous grandkids. They showed us around the lovely island and fed us well and we repayed them adequately for the damage done when Jono crashed their motorbike into a ditch. Those so inclined, don't panic. Jono only got a couple of scratches. RIP banana tree and papaya tree.
After the bank, I was walking through one of the pleasant Saigon parks, when a Vietnamese guy on a bicycle calls me over and says he's a student and asks if he could practise English with me. I thought why not - seems harmless and I'm in my new confident and open minded traveller mode. He signaled to a park bench close to the road. I made up a story that I couldn't talk for long because I was meeting a friend. The conversation starts relatively predictably.
'Where are you from?' Australia.
'Where in Australia?' Sydney.
'Are there a lot of Italians living in Sydney - you're Italian aren't you?' Well no.
'But your grandparents are Italian - am I right?' Yes my grandparents are Italian. (well....it was much easier to go along with it!!!!) 'Can I ask you a question?' Sure.
'Do you want to be brung again?' Sorry?
'Do you want to be brung - b-o-r-n - again - you know, recycled?' OK I know what you're trying to say (laughing by me).
'Don't be nervous, Jesus loves you and died for your sins.' etc etc etc etc.
I asked him some questions like Aren't Vietnamese people normally Buddhists? He said yes but he found God in 1990 when a New Zealand guy asked him 'Do you want to be born again?' and he said yes. Now he cruises the streets of Saigon on his bike with his black brief case using cunning means to 'spread the word'. I found it all quite amusing and just smiled said I wasn't interested and walked away to my 'lunch appointment' with him calling out to me that Jesus died for my sins. Sad now that if a Vietnamese student really wants to practise English with me I'll be a bit suspicious.
The week I spent with Jono travelling from Phnom Penh by boat to the Mekong Delta then through the Delta to Saigon was great. There are many stories from that week. I might let Jono tell them on his blog (link on the side of my blog page) and hopefully the photos will be on his blog also.
But just in brief... after our river border crossing which involved many hands 'borrowing' our passports and an order that before anything else can be done we must go to the toilet (a problem with our helper's lack of more subtle English words rather than a requirement to enter Vietnam we assumed), we boated along the canal into Chau Doc. There we visited some interesting temples and had a sauna and massage at what was certainly a brothel (very innocent, I assure you - but maybe keep an eye on Jono's blog for that one). The local mini bus we took from Chau Doc to Cantho was part of a cigarette smuggling operation. I was sitting next to a women who looked like the Michelin man with cigarette boxes strapped all over her body under her clothes. At one point she handed me one of her many bags full of cigarettes to hold but I maintain that I lacked the mens rea to be guilty of the smuggling. It was only confirmed to us after the trip what was really going on.
In Cantho we went to the floating markets at 5.30am. They were amazing so hopefully you will see photos soon. Another highlight of the Delta was a homestay we arranged by complete luck and fluke with a family on an Island in the middle of the Mekong River. The family was lovely, especially the gorgeous grandkids. They showed us around the lovely island and fed us well and we repayed them adequately for the damage done when Jono crashed their motorbike into a ditch. Those so inclined, don't panic. Jono only got a couple of scratches. RIP banana tree and papaya tree.
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Hello Natalie
Good to catch up with all your news. We are in UK at present dodging bombs - actually, none have been close so we're not personally concerned but awful for the people of London.
Hope you enjopy your travels. Love from us both Phil and Kelli
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Good to catch up with all your news. We are in UK at present dodging bombs - actually, none have been close so we're not personally concerned but awful for the people of London.
Hope you enjopy your travels. Love from us both Phil and Kelli
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