Second day in Sagon

got up at 8:30 after much too little sleep and too much partying... guess the only thing that really works against jetlag. Tonight I'll not have any problems going to bed early...

so the day started with an excursion to a history museum and to watch the famous water-puppet-show. it was great fun seeing 6 people submerged in the water letting the puppets fly around and telling the story of Vietnam in the following 20 minutes.

Then some Durian-fruit...


In Southeast Asia this is considered the king of fruits. So much so that in Thailand a worker will work all day to be able to buy one fruit. They are prized and quite expensive. Unfortunately in western culture they have gotten a bad reputation because of their strong odor. The fruit is almost the size of a basketball, light green, and very spiny. They are sweet with a custard like texture.

and Mangosteen...


Known as the queen of fruits, it is certainly a very delicious and sought after fruit. It is the size of a tennis ball, purple on the ouside and white on the inside. It has sections like a tangerine. The taste is difficult to describe as it is differet from other fruits. The texture is melting, and like the lychee, it is hard to stop eating them.

At 2 the fun started again and we went around the city on cyclos... though i would have much rather driven myself and give the driver a ride i surrendered to my fate and let me drive around like a king. we really saw a lot of the city...



then the rain finally came like a floodwave for 30 minutes and i walked around with my umbrella breathing the fresh air and enjoying a very short time of a lovely city without the dirt and loudness of the hated Hondas - maybe like it must have been 20 years ago when everybody had bycicles... a dream long lost.

At 7 we had dinner outside and lovely Jenny joined us trying in vain to teach me vietnamese and how to professionally handle the chopsticks... feels like i have been here a month really!

First day - the nightlife of HCMC aka Saigon

what a day yesterday... after having had a wonderful evening meeting lovely little Jenny from Saigon... we drove around for ages on her Honda and it was really fun during the night when there is not so much traffic and everything just looks soooo interesting and pretty...

she dropped me off at the wildest and oldest bar/disco the "Apocalypse Now".

And wild it was... though it was monday there were plenty of people around, mostly backpackers and nice looking vietnamese girls out for partying with the western crowd...

after a while of contemplation and shyness I joined the crowd on the dancefloor and got to know Judith and her gang. The Apo actually closed at 1:30 but we weren't done with the night yet and went to another favorite of the backpacker-crowd and soon lot's of familiar faces joined the dancefloor again... at 4 we called it a night and thus ended my first day in Asia - WOW!!!

 

arrived in Saigon...

and on the flight i got the chance to practice my spanish the whole night... which is surprisingly good. I also have a new friend in Madrid - so quite a good start ;)

Saigon shocked my though... 10 Million people and they all get on your nerves somehow. it's unbelievably loud, there are 3.5 Million Hondas always honking and polluting the air. Must have been a dream 10 years ago when everybody was going by bike... but now? At least it's still unbelievably cheap!

The air hangs over the city... here it's always the same 35 degrees year-round. It's supposed to be rain-season but we haven't gotten any of it in the last 2 days... i wish it comes sooner than later. It's a really humid heat and you sweat even while sitting around... i can imagine how the american soldiers must have hated that place.

In January/February I might go again to lead a group. Bernd said he doesn't have time and he'll show me everything... sounds great!

Tonight I organized a date with a Vietnamese girl that i found over the net. She speaks perfect english so that will be an eye-opener for getting into the local stuff and culture...

Also bought a used prepaid-card for 5 euros with 6 euros of credit - amazing!
So if you care to call me, it's...
0084 - 091 825 46 41