Sunday, March 6, 2016
VLOG: My trip to the Mekong Delta!
Hey all, here's a video of some of the things I saw during my trip to the Mekong! Hope you enjoy.
Sunday, February 21, 2016
GoPro Adventures and the last two days in Ho Chi Minh City
Ok, let's start from the beginning.
A few days ago, a Canadian guy named Ryan messaged me on Facebook to let me know he had a motorbike he was selling. He must have known I was in the market to buy. I went and took a look at it, seemed decent for the price he was asking for, and we made an arrangement to make the transaction on Saturday.
Fast forward to... later that day. Ryan messages me again to tell me that he and some friends were going out for food at 8 as a going-away of sorts for him since he was moving to Singapore on Sunday. I say, "Ok." He says, "Cool." I'm paraphrasing here but that's pretty much how it went.
So we meet up with some of his other friends at an American BBQ place about two hops and a half jump away from where I was staying. One is Nathan, an Illinoisian who's lived in VN for 5 years, and his wife Minh. Another was Brian, who's from DC and is a local MC/DJ at a few clubs around town. And also Chris, who has lived in VN for several years and is a teacher/recruiter.
After dinner we all head to the north side of D1 to a bar called Acoustic where Brian is performing for the second time that day. It's a cozy little place where the Budweiser flows like $6 Budwe... woah wait a second holy shit you want $6 for a BUDWEISER? But the music was pretty good, there was a Philipino guy that did a hell of a reggae accent, all good. Once Brian was done we left there for his next gig which was a place called Cargo.
Cargo is a rave/dubstep club that's semi indoor-outdoor, it's basically a gigantic tent. The beer was thankfully much cheaper there at 50k for a Tiger, but the cover to get in was 200k! Now back home a $9-10 cover is not unusual but for a place like Vietnam that's pretty steep. Luckily Brian pulled some strings for us since he was performing and got us in for free.
The show was good, definitely a counter-culture/skater/stoner vibe inside, which I got a kick out of since most of Vietnam is so conservative. Brian rapped over some dubstep/house, and there was a violinist that also accompanied them that gave it a really cool sound. I had a really good time (especially once I'd had a few beers and hit the dance floor), but it's one of those places I'd go once in a while, the super loud club vibe hasn't been my thing since about 22.
Since then I've been touring around D1/D2/Binh Thanh on my new motorbike and getting lost. Actually mostly getting lost. But I'm pretty proud of myself for not having ran over anyone yet, or broken a major traffic rule (not that there are any here). What's supposed to be a 15 minute drive in the city takes me 25-30 because I have to pull over every so often to re-check google maps, or take a u-turn when I go the wrong way.
I've met several new friends in the last few days. It's nice actually having someone to talk to rather than being alone in a sea of strangers. I'm still doing 95% of things by myself, but as I meet more people and get better about inviting new friends out to eat that should change. Tonight I went out and had some Japanese food then took my camera out to Saigon Times Square and Bui Vien for some photography. The photos from that will be up on a separate blog post.
Later ya'll.
Friday, February 19, 2016
Thursday, February 18, 2016
The Unease of Inaction
I sit and watch the motorbikes whizzing past like a swarm of insects. Were it not for the noise of their motors and the honking of horns, the analogy of a school of fish might be more apropos. As it is, the buzzing of the mid-day travelers reminds of a mass of mosquitos, all going different places, with different agendas.
The quiet cafe where I sit and reflect is a nice respite from the unrelenting heat and humidity. But it is unsatisfying. Perhaps because everyone else seems to be in a constant state of motion, my relative inactivity seems slothful. Many people here do the same; sit in a shady spot and watch the time and the people pass them by. But I am not from here, I feel like I have not earned the right to sit and watch. My purpose here is not to remain idle, to be a passive observer of the world around me. I came to Vietnam to explore, both the country and myself.
This city is a paradoxical place. On the one hand, many people have a relaxed attitude towards life; they are content to sit and wait for the day to come to them. Yet most people on the road have no patience for things like red lights, pedestrians, or even cars crossing their path. Their purpose is singular; to get to their destination as soon as possible, other drivers and traffic signals are a mere inconvenience.
One of the other strange things about this city that I still do not understand is how closely you can find wealth living alongside poverty. On a street where homeless women sell vegetables next to the cot they sleep on you'll see a brand new Mercedes or BMW. And to own a vehicle at all is a sign of wealth; there are huge tariffs on vehicles imported here, any vehicle costs 200% what it would cost in any other country. In America the classes are fairly segregated, you won't see any homeless wandering the streets of Beverly Hills, or find a Bentley cruising down a seedy street on the wrong side of the tracks.
I'm having a hard time trusting people. I think there are numerous reasons for this; my 2nd day here I was almost robbed, every block there is a motorbike taximan heckling me to let him take me to my destination, the communication barrier varies person to person but generally is prohibitive. Not to mention that before I came I was warned by several people and online blogs that many/most locals see my white skin and assume I'm a walking ATM and that with the right sales pitch they can get something out of me.
For example, last night I met up with two young Vietnamese, a boy and a girl, both seniors in university. They told me they'd take me to a really good BBQ place, and to hop on the back of the girl's bike. They seemed like very nice people (and they turned out to be), but for a while on the ride through the city to a fairly distant district, I wondered whether I was being led into a trap. And that's not fair to them, the fears stemmed only from my insecurity and the close call that I had shortly after arriving in the city.
They took me to an outdoor BBQ garden about 15 minutes from the area of town where I'm staying. I was glad to get out of the touristy area of town and get a first-hand experience in a very local area. I was several shades lighter than the second most pale person there; for some people that would be scary but I appreciated being let into their lives rather than have the situation altered to accommodate my western predilections.
We cooked beef, pork, goat breast, octopus, and okra over a makeshift table-top grill, sharing beers and stories about our home countries. Like most young Vietnamese these two were eager to get more experience speaking English with a native speaker; more and more the ability to converse in English is a deciding factor in one's success in today's global marketplace.
If you open yourself up to new experiences, allowing them to either be good, bad, or in-between, you'll learn much more than you would if you stuck to what was comfortable and familiar. You'll learn about other people, other perspectives, other cultures, and more importantly, about yourself.
Wherever you're reading this I hope you're doing well both physically and emotionally, and if you're not, I hope that you find the strength to change that.
The quiet cafe where I sit and reflect is a nice respite from the unrelenting heat and humidity. But it is unsatisfying. Perhaps because everyone else seems to be in a constant state of motion, my relative inactivity seems slothful. Many people here do the same; sit in a shady spot and watch the time and the people pass them by. But I am not from here, I feel like I have not earned the right to sit and watch. My purpose here is not to remain idle, to be a passive observer of the world around me. I came to Vietnam to explore, both the country and myself.
This city is a paradoxical place. On the one hand, many people have a relaxed attitude towards life; they are content to sit and wait for the day to come to them. Yet most people on the road have no patience for things like red lights, pedestrians, or even cars crossing their path. Their purpose is singular; to get to their destination as soon as possible, other drivers and traffic signals are a mere inconvenience.
One of the other strange things about this city that I still do not understand is how closely you can find wealth living alongside poverty. On a street where homeless women sell vegetables next to the cot they sleep on you'll see a brand new Mercedes or BMW. And to own a vehicle at all is a sign of wealth; there are huge tariffs on vehicles imported here, any vehicle costs 200% what it would cost in any other country. In America the classes are fairly segregated, you won't see any homeless wandering the streets of Beverly Hills, or find a Bentley cruising down a seedy street on the wrong side of the tracks.
I'm having a hard time trusting people. I think there are numerous reasons for this; my 2nd day here I was almost robbed, every block there is a motorbike taximan heckling me to let him take me to my destination, the communication barrier varies person to person but generally is prohibitive. Not to mention that before I came I was warned by several people and online blogs that many/most locals see my white skin and assume I'm a walking ATM and that with the right sales pitch they can get something out of me.
For example, last night I met up with two young Vietnamese, a boy and a girl, both seniors in university. They told me they'd take me to a really good BBQ place, and to hop on the back of the girl's bike. They seemed like very nice people (and they turned out to be), but for a while on the ride through the city to a fairly distant district, I wondered whether I was being led into a trap. And that's not fair to them, the fears stemmed only from my insecurity and the close call that I had shortly after arriving in the city.
They took me to an outdoor BBQ garden about 15 minutes from the area of town where I'm staying. I was glad to get out of the touristy area of town and get a first-hand experience in a very local area. I was several shades lighter than the second most pale person there; for some people that would be scary but I appreciated being let into their lives rather than have the situation altered to accommodate my western predilections.
We cooked beef, pork, goat breast, octopus, and okra over a makeshift table-top grill, sharing beers and stories about our home countries. Like most young Vietnamese these two were eager to get more experience speaking English with a native speaker; more and more the ability to converse in English is a deciding factor in one's success in today's global marketplace.
If you open yourself up to new experiences, allowing them to either be good, bad, or in-between, you'll learn much more than you would if you stuck to what was comfortable and familiar. You'll learn about other people, other perspectives, other cultures, and more importantly, about yourself.
Wherever you're reading this I hope you're doing well both physically and emotionally, and if you're not, I hope that you find the strength to change that.
Wednesday, February 17, 2016
Tuesday, February 16, 2016
Monday, February 15, 2016
Possible new apartment?
So. I went and looked at a potential new apartment tonight. It was sort of an expensive trip as well, I had to taxi over to the place ($2) as it was about a 40 min walk, then afterwards I was really hungry so I stopped at a Japanese restaurant and had a beer and some pork + noodles ($5), then had to taxi back again ($2). It was so exhausting that I had to stop and get another beer ($0.60) at the small mart in my building. But anyways, here's my thoughts on the apartment.
Pros: Cheap, roommates seem decent, I get a bathroom to myself, decent terrace, in a back alley so it's quiet, fairly upscale neighborhood/good location.
Cons: Tons of "spas" nearby (which means getting heckled by pretty women every time I walk to/from the place)(which is only kind of a con), upscale area means food is much more expensive ($3-4 minimum instead of $1-2) and there's not much street food, person moving out can't move until the weekend, so I'd have to find alternate lodgings until then.
Pros: Cheap, roommates seem decent, I get a bathroom to myself, decent terrace, in a back alley so it's quiet, fairly upscale neighborhood/good location.
Cons: Tons of "spas" nearby (which means getting heckled by pretty women every time I walk to/from the place)(which is only kind of a con), upscale area means food is much more expensive ($3-4 minimum instead of $1-2) and there's not much street food, person moving out can't move until the weekend, so I'd have to find alternate lodgings until then.
I think I'm gonna take it. The location is pretty good and so is the price. The roommates are all expats, from various countries, though I haven't met two of them. It's a little nerve-wracking, though, as I have a large suitcase that complicates the whole "temporary lodging" thing. If it was just me and my backpack I could bounce from place to place; that gets much harder when you have two additional suitcases.
The apartment I looked at was a fair sight better than the last one I checked out. My friend Lam took me to one in an alley a few blocks away, the neighborhood had a nice patina of dirt to pretty much the whole thing. I really appreciate Lam trying to help me out, but the place was pretty bad. It was with a Vietnamese family, none of whom appeared to speak English, it had virtually no windows as most were bricked up, the terrace was microscopic as most of the floor room was taken up by chicken cages (yea), the room was tiny, and to top it all off it was $90 more per month than the other place, before utilities.
I'm starting to realize just how much I overpacked; I usually wear shirts 2+ days and shorts 3+ days, and that's just so far. Even if I stunk, I'm not sure anyone could smell me unless we were in a fancy enclosed restaurant. Clothing is so cheap, laundry services are everywhere, I could have brought 1/3 of the stuff I brought. But as they say, you live and you learn.I hope that wherever you're reading this from, that you are happy and healthy.
The apartment I looked at was a fair sight better than the last one I checked out. My friend Lam took me to one in an alley a few blocks away, the neighborhood had a nice patina of dirt to pretty much the whole thing. I really appreciate Lam trying to help me out, but the place was pretty bad. It was with a Vietnamese family, none of whom appeared to speak English, it had virtually no windows as most were bricked up, the terrace was microscopic as most of the floor room was taken up by chicken cages (yea), the room was tiny, and to top it all off it was $90 more per month than the other place, before utilities.
I'm starting to realize just how much I overpacked; I usually wear shirts 2+ days and shorts 3+ days, and that's just so far. Even if I stunk, I'm not sure anyone could smell me unless we were in a fancy enclosed restaurant. Clothing is so cheap, laundry services are everywhere, I could have brought 1/3 of the stuff I brought. But as they say, you live and you learn.I hope that wherever you're reading this from, that you are happy and healthy.
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