Vietnamese families drive to see the Christmas lights

One of the most unusual sites I witnessed in my travels was experiencing Christmas in Asia. I had been living in Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam for 3 months when December 25th rolled around. In a country with no real religion, and no westernized consumerism (yet), Vietnam surprised me with their Christmas spirit.

Christmas in the western world seems to be more economic consumption than religion these days, so why should that be any different in Vietnam? The strange thing is that in Vietnam it seemed to be about neither. There was very little reference to anything religious about Christmas and there was really no one out shopping for gifts except for expats. So why do the Vietnamese care about Christmas? I never really knew, but my first guess was that they like any reason to drive their motorbikes around the city and get out of their homes! I may never understand the Vietnamese fascination with Christmas, but in the meantime, here’s what I was able to observe.

Merry Merry Christmas

Vietnamese referred to Christmas as “Merry Christmas”. For example, I frequently was asked, “Teacher, what are you going to do for Merry Christmas?” I found it kind of charming; it always reminded me that it was a merry holiday. And no matter how depressed I was about being on my own for Christmas, at least I could be doubly reminded that I should be merry.

Decking the Halls

On December 23rd I walked by a crew working at constructing yet another Christmas light display in District 1. In the US, the decorations start going up on November 1st, in Vietnam they go up on December 21st! As I saw the people frantically working to put their fake snowmen together and the reindeer carefully placed near the door, I wondered if they were going to all of this work to simply take it down again in a week. I’m assumed not. Why would anyone go to 2 weeks of work to set something up to simply tear it down again right away? Then again, nothing surprised me in Asia.

Vietnam was Surprisingly Lit Up for the Holidays

When you think of Christmas, you think of Heineken

In the center of HCMC near the market exists the pinnacle of all of Christmas displays; I called it the Heineken Snow Globe. No, it was not an actual snow globe, just a large light display shaped like a dome. I pass this monument to holiday beer (oops, I mean holiday cheer), every day on my way to work. I watched it go up piece by piece over the previous 3 weeks. Men dangled from the scaffolding, a giant disco ball was erected, and carefully placed ‘snow drifts’ were constructed. Then I finally saw it – the familiar green and white logo – a Heineken sign on the Christmas tree. There were Christmas light displays like this all over the city and many of them were sponsored by Heineken for some reason. I even saw a Christmas tree made of Heineken beer cans!

The Heinekin 'Snow Globe'

The Festive Smell of Pollution

I thought that the Heineken snow globe was rather impressive…or tacky….I couldn’t quite decide. That probably means I had been in Asia too long. However, I was not the only one who thought it was impressive, the other 7, 999,999 residents of HCMC also thought it was impressive. I believed this because the viewing of the snow globe was a family affair. Instead of hopping in the minivan, the Vietnamese put their family of 4 on a motorbike and took off to go view the holiday lights in District 1. There were lights hanging everywhere in the main part of the city. Displays of elves, reindeer, snowmen, Santa, and even a Winnie the Poo Santa littered the sidewalks. I supposed these lavish displays were in the same vein as window displays in NYC, but no one had a store front big enough to display their Holiday light extravaganza, so it spilled out into the streets; like most of life in HCMC.

The traffic was as unbelievable as seeing reindeer fly. I had never seen such a massive sea of motorbikes. They just slowly circled around and around looking at the light displays. I walked through the heart of Heineken Christmas Village to capture the absolute chaos and culture of the holiday. After an hour of walking around taking pictures of the traffic, families, kids dressed in Santa suits, and the street vendors; I realized that I couldn’t take it any longer. The pollution from the motorbikes was literally going to kill me.

Motorbikes circled the city center non-stop

Eat Papa, Eat!

At the snow globe, there weren’t only lights strung from all of the trees, and vendors selling little Santa, lollipops, and devil horns (not sure that those had to do with Christmas), but there was also St. Nick himself. Actually, there were about seven St. Nicks. They were all dressed up in their Santa outfits, shaking the kids hands and taking pictures with them. Of course in true Asian style there was no queue, that would be silly; there were just masses of people pushing and shoving to get to jolly old St. Nick. However I was a bit distraught when his belly didn’t jiggle like a bowl full of jelly. Instead, the belly was non-existent; this Christmasia Santa was a skinny Santa!

The Skinny Asian Santa

My ChristmAsia was eye opening, just as every day was living in HCMC. Merry Merry Christmas to all, and to all – let the lights and Heineken shine on. Merry Merry Christmasia!

A Vietnamese feast!

It’s Thanksgiving and that means Americans all over the world are giving thanks and stuffing their faces with turkey.  Every time Thanksgiving rolls around, I fondly reminisce about the time I was in Sydney Australia for Thanksgiving and was treated to an amazing turkey and stuffing feast.  Plus the strange and inexplicable dinner entertainment of a Dolly Pardon look-a-like chasing a guy in a chicken suit.  Those crazy Aussies!

This Thanksgiving I’m back in the US celebrating with family minus Dolly Pardon.  We are cooking up a big turkey with my dad’s special stuffing.  I am taking a break from work/blogging and simply going to enjoy the day and be thankful for family, health, friends, a place to sleep every night, and travel.

As we all sit down to eat turkey across America – I thought I would leave you with this Vietnamese treat…pig ears.

Yes, that’s right pig ears.

Lee and Tuyet

I had the opportunity to try this commonly found dish in Vietnam.  My dear friends Lee and Tuyet took me out for this eating experience.  When they mentioned that the restaurant was know for their pig ears, I was a bit tentative at first, but eventually said – ok – let’s try them!  I seldom had Vietnamese food I didn’t like.

However, when they came out to the table, they weren’t quite what I expected.  They were served with all of the normal greens and wraps; to be made up into a taco like meal.  But the pig ears were cold and cut into thin strips.  I was expecting something hot and sizzling; and something that looked much more appetizing.

Not quite what I expected!

Tuyet showed me step by step how to create the perfect pig ear ‘wrap’ and I took a bite.  Hmmm…crunchy…like eating cartilage.  Oh wait…I was eating cartilage!

Everything tastes better with greens!

Like most things in Vietnam, the fresh greens and the yummy sauce can make anything taste good…even crunchy cartilage.  I actually grew quite found of the texture after a few more bites.

Granted – I don’t think I”ll be substituting my turkey for pig ears this Thanksgiving – but I’m thankful I tried them!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving where-ever you are in the world!  And know that one of the things I’m most thankful for is that people actually do read this blog!  Thanks for all of your support for the last 4 years!

Still Hungry?  Then stop by Wanderfood Wednesday at Wanderlust and Lipstick and read about other foods around the world!

Floating Market in Halong Bay Vietnam

The beautiful watery world of Halong Bay Vietnam is a heavily visited tourist destination for the landscapes.  However I was able to capture this economic transaction depicting the unique water culture that has developed in this area for the locals.  The boat reminded me of a floating convenience store – it had everything you’d ever need and it came to you, instead of you going to it!

To see more photography from Vietnam, visit my Vietnam photo galleries

Eating in Vietnam

Going out to eat at a restaurant is easy, right?
…not always.

Often when you find yourself in other countries, even though there’s a waiter, a table, you are putting food in your mouth, and there’s a bill – there are many things that can be vastly different. As I lived in Vietnam there were many little differences I noticed every time I went out to eat. Most of these things confused me at first, but most all of them I grew to love….really love. Now as I’m back in the US for a while, I miss these Vietnamese restaurant oddities!

If you are traveling to Vietnam, here’s a few things you can expect when going to eat in a restaurant – consider this pre-travel preparation!

It's safe to drink!

Drink the Water!

Yes, you CAN have ice in your drinks; and most of the time you can drink the water in restaurants. I know this seems strange, as every guidebook tells you not to drink the water or have ice. However, I lived there for a year crunching on the ice cubes and drinking the water they put in my glass at restaurants and was never sick.

There’s more than just luck and a strong stomach involved…the ice in Vietnam is frozen at a central plant before being distributed to restaurants, bars and street stands. The water that is used for the ice is filtered and pure, meaning you can enjoy cold drinks and fruit juices (even from street vendors) without worry about your health.

In the restaurants which cater to expats (most all in District 1) filtered water is always used. No one is bringing you water straight from the tap. At least they never did while I was there. I know this can be a hard thing to believe – as all of the guidebooks say don’t drink the water (or ice), but they are referring to drinking water straight from the tap; not the ice or the restaurant water. Ultimately though, the choice is up to you.

May I take your Order?

Be prepared, the waiter will stand by you as you read the menu hovering over you until you tell them what you want. They don’t bring the menu and then walk away; they stay there… and wait. Don’t let this phase you, take your time. If you think they are annoyed by your indecision, then realize that it’s you projecting your concerns onto them. They don’t mind waiting, they aren’t in a hurry!

Eat while it's hot!

Can you spare a Square?

Napkins are seldom provided. Instead you get a ‘wet wipe’ that you end up paying for if you read the details of the bill. Don’t worry, the cost if minimal…a few pennies. For real fun be sure to pop your wet wipe baggy really loudly…it’s customary!

Cold Beer Here!

If you order a beer, it will come with ice….and yes, you can drink it (see the first point). If you don’t want ice in your beer, then you specifically need to ask for beer without ice. However, unless you like your beer warm…I suggest trying it with ice!

Ms. Manners Never Went to Vietnam

Food is delivered to your table as it’s ready. It doesn’t sit in the kitchen until the whole table’s food is ready and then brought out. If the food is ready, then it’s put in front of you. It doesn’t matter if the other people you’re with ordered something at the same time. This also means that it’s totally acceptable NOT to wait for everyone to get their food before you start eating. Else you may be waiting a long time! It’s customary for you to start eating when the food is put in front of you. Throw your manners out the window in Vietnam.

Bill Charades

You always have to ask for the bill. You can sit there for hours and hours, but until you actually ask for the bill (or in my case, motion for the bill as if you are playing charades), it will never come. You will not feel rushed, in fact many times you will think they completely forgot about you and you may have to find them to get your bill.

Table for 5?

Table for 6

You often get seated at what seems to be too small of a table for the amount of people in your party. There will be enough chairs – but you might not be able to all fit around the table. This is normal. It’s normal because in Vietnam you seldom get a plate; there are no place settings in front of you. Instead you get a small little rice bowl and a set up chopsticks. You take the rice bowl off the table and cup in your hand. The food you ordered is on a big plate placed in the middle of the table. You reach to the middle with your chopsticks and grab a bit of the food that you ordered and put it into the rice bowl on top of the rice. While holding the rice bowl underneath your chin, you shovel the food in with the chopsticks. Therefore you never really need to set down your rice bowl ON the table and don’t need much table space!

Put your calculator away

You absolutely don’t need to tip. Don’t let your western guilt take over.

Happy to share my food learnings, but if you want to read about other things I learned in Vietnam, check out my Vietnam Learnings post.

What have your experiences been with eating in Vietnam? Any great stories to share?

Still hungry?  Then stop on by WanderFood at Wanderlust and Lipstick for more great food stories!

Hard Hat – Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

While on a cyclo ride in HCMC, I encountered this guy hanging out of a little motorized tuk tuk in HCMC.  I found his choice of helmet funny – a throw back from the war.  Granted, sometimes I felt like driving in Saigon was similar to going into combat!

To see more travel photos, check out the Briefcase to Backpack Photo Friday!

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bumpy apples: mang cau tamg

 I love Bumpy Apples!  The hard outer shells are peeled off and expose a firm apple/pear like fruit that’s very sweet.

apples: tao

Yes – they have apples everywhere!  Now, if I could just figure out how to bake a pie without a stove - I would be really happy!

rambutan: chom chom

Rambutan look a bit scarey, but they taste wonderful!  You break off the colorful, hairy outer shell and you get to sweet fruite inside!

water-coconut: dua-nuoc

 Water coconut is a relative to the standard coconut.  You find these in the Mekong Delta and they taste just like a regular coconut!  I have seen these around Saigon for a while now and never knew what they were!  They look quite menacing, but dont’ be afraid to give them a try!

tamarind: me

 Tamarind is used for many things, but it can also be eaten plain as a fruit.  You just peel off the hard shell and get to a soft, sticky, red fruit with a small pit in the middle. 

persimmons: hong

 Persimmons are filling the markets right now.  They come from Dalt and are juicy and yummy!  They have a few different varieties – soft or crunchy.  I prefer the soft – the texture of a tomato, but taste much sweeter!

longa: nhan

For some reason when I eat longa it reminds me of the fall in the US.  Peel off the thin outer shell and eat the fruit inside.  Good, small, sweet treat! 

durian: sau rieng

 Durian, the king of fruit.  You can read about my experience trying durian here.  You can find it everywhere in the markets now – or should I say – you can smell it everywhere in the markets now!  Eaten alone, in shakes or ice cream – the smelly and squishy fruit is an aquired taste for sure!

coconuts: dua

dragon-fruit: thanh-long

So – get out to those markets and start buying and trying some of this colorful, delicious fruit!

High Wires (aka a wire nest)

Every person who comes to Vietnam is either mesmerized or scared to death.  First they notice the traffic and motorbike culture; appearing as chaos.  However the second thing they notice is the mangled electrical wiring above their head; which leads to the question – how do they fix a wiring problem if something goes wrong?!

The electrical poles often look like a birds nest, thrown together with no real rhyme or reason.  As you stare at it you can’t help but wonder how they could ever work on this dizzying maze of wires with any success.  Then again, while living in Vietnam we would have power outages about twice a week which says quite a bit about the actual infrastrucutre in Vietnam; I guess that’s why they call it a ‘developing country’.

For those of you who haven’t yet been to Vietnam (what are you waiting for?!), here are a few photos of what you can expect when you look upwards.

If you’ve been missing the sound of my voice, or you can’t remember what I look like – then check out the video interview I did for a great new blog by Will Peach! Will has started a super new blog with a unique concept. He lives in Saigon and instead of writing about travel in Vietnam and surrounding areas, he instead interviews people as they travel through Vietnam. I just love this conept – it’s fresh and new; and lord knows there are many interesting people traveling through Saigon!

He recently contacted me to do an interview and I hopped at the chance to be a part of his concept. The interview is mainly about how to run a blog, and how Ottsworld was formed in addition to some tidbits about living and bloggining in Vietnam. Click on over and check out my video interview and enjoy some of his other great interviews!
http://d2point0.wordpress.com/2009/10/03/one-blog-at-a-time-sherry-ott/

I love to reflect upon my time in a place, so it’s fitting that after a year I’ve sat down and actually thought about what I’ve learned about Vietnam, Asia, and myself.  I realize that a year in Vietnam has taught me a many valuable lessons; things I will take with me for the rest of my life:

• Patience
• Stop lights are merely suggestions
• How to embrace chaos and find meaning (see the motorbike diaries)
• How to swing dance
• How to eat healthier, smaller portions and be happy about it
• Your type is impossible to change. My type A personality is here to stay no matter if I’m a corporate executive or an ESL teacher
• I know what present perfect simple tense, adverbs of frequency, and superlatives are; and I know when to use them
• Virtual relationships can be just as strong as face to face relationships
• Traveling somewhere and living somewhere are not the same
• I never want to be alone at Christmas again
• I don’t melt in the rain
• How to eat noodles with chopsticks
• How to embrace luke-warm showers
• How to cope with being invisible to the opposite sex
• Sweetened condensed milk is amazing in coffee
• How to drink and enjoy beer with ice
• Anything is possible
• Dessert doesn’t have to be thousands of calories
• The end of a meal is not dessert, it’s when the toothpicks are brought to the table
• All saran wrap in Asia sucks
• If people around you don’t react to things such as getting cut off in traffic, then you grow up thinking that there’s nothing wrong with cutting people off
• How to not be in a hurry
• How to sleep through crowing roosters at 5:30AM
• Don’t worry what’s behind you
• Geckos are my friends
• It’s acceptable to SMS someone at 6:30AM…on a Sunday
• It’s worth it to talk to strangers in restaurants and coffee shops – they may become your dearest friends

What and Where Next?

I’m on the move again. After one year of staying in one country and one city (yet many different apartments!); I’ve got itchy travel feet again. I’ve packed up my meager possessions in two suitcases, gave back my motorbike key, said my goodbyes, bought a one way ticket, and the wheels left the ground last Saturday in Vietnam.

I’m back to being nomadic; back to having no plan.

I called World Nomads Travel Insurance to find out how to change my country of residence since I was moving from Vietnam and I needed new travel insurance for my upcoming adventures.

They asked me, “What’s your home residence?”
Big pause by me….
“Um, I don’t really have one. I was living in Vietnam but I’m moving now and will be traveling to Nepal and Sri Lanka, then to the US for a few months. My residence is my two suitcases.” I said
“Will you live in the US?” the agent asked.
“No, not really, I’m visiting family and friends and haven’t decided where to go next. I don’t really have a home. In fact, I’m exactly what your name says – a world nomad.” I replied feeling a bit smug.

Basically this was a road block; the conversation ended as they told me I’d have to open a new account with a new email and home residence of the US and then I could purchase their insurance. A bit strange considering their insurance is for ‘world nomads’, and you can’t even edit your home country without creating a whole new account under a new identity! I ended the call by telling them their system wasn’t very ‘world nomadic’ of them! Their response…”sorry.”

This is the problem with being truly nomadic – you don’t belong anywhere and computer programs don’t even know how to handle you let alone people!

My brother-in-law asked me the other day, “Sherry, what exactly are you going to do with your life in the long term?”

“I don’t know, I don’t have any plan beyond these next few travel stops.” I replied.

This response visibly baffled him. It just doesn’t compute. Instead, it makes people nervous, and seeing their reaction makes me nervous! Should I be worried about my future?

Regardless, I intend on continuing this lifestyle a bit longer and see where it leads me. Yes, it goes against the norm; but as you know – I like that.

My itinerary for the next few months:
Oct. 10 – Oct. 16: Singapore (see family, meet up with my Dad)
Oct. 17 – Nov. 12: Nepal (going hiking with my Dad in Nepal. Doing the Annapurna circuit for 21 days!)
Nov. 13 – Nov. 18: Sri Lanka (staying in Galle at a villa on the beach – yeah – relaxation + a tan!)
Nov. 19 – Dec. 14th: Set foot back on US soil – NYC
Dec. 15 – Dec. 29: Midwest – South Dakota
Dec. 20 – Jan. 16: San Francisco
Jan. 17 to ?: Back to South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota – after that – who knows what country is next!

I know when I return to the US I will be bombarded with one question, “What’s your plan?” So – I guess my plan is to make a plan in Feb. As for right now I’m not going to worry about it and instead enjoy the feeling of being free, without a plan!

Full Circle in Vietnam

I spent the weekend going back to square one; back to where I started my life in Ho Chi Minh City. Let me back up a bit; I’ve been living out in a ‘suburb’ district for the last 6 months. Even though I have to come into the ‘city center’ (District 1) a few days a week, it’s not the same as living in District 1. Think Stanton Island vs. Manhattan. However, I started my time in Ho Chi Minh City exactly one year ago in the heart of the city; the backpacker district. I cowered in my little guest house hotel room a bit scared to go outside into the noise and chaos that was going to be my new home for the next year.

Purity in Chaos

I spent this last weekend back in the backpacker district hanging out with some of my friends, ESL teachers, whom I started this adventure with. It was a walk down memory lane…one where I realized just how far I had come.

Some things were the same – old men with beautiful Vietnamese young girls, chaotic traffic going every which way, people begging you to come into their bars, kids playing out in the street with toilet paper on a stick and toy guns. Tons of video stores selling the latest movies that came out last week for a dollar. Knock off everything – paintings, purses, clothing; all flanked by souvenir shops. Oh and how can I forget the familiar sound of men driving around on their bikes shaking a metal ‘rattle’ advertising ‘massage’

I went back to old restaurants that I ate every day in the beginning of my stay here. Lam’s Café is still my staple choice in the Backpacker area. Sure, it looks a bit questionable – but it’s the best food for the money that you’ll find on Bui Vien street. Lemon grass beef with veggies, and a mango shake for $2.

Kids Riding to School

However a year had gone by and you could also see the slow wheels of change in the Backpacker area. New western style dessert shops trying to fatten up the skinny Vietnamese. Cream Puffs, donuts, and yogurt – that should send the Vietnamese into sugar shock.

However one of the most shocking things happened while a friend and I crossed the street. We were going to cross a busy street, Pham Nu Lou; and we stood on the curb talking not in any hurry, when all of a sudden I saw a bright red narrow light coming towards me. As the figure came closer, I realized that it was some sort of security guard; he was carrying a light saber. Luke….I’m your Vietnamese father. The man with the light saber motioned towards us and started ushering us across the street with his light saber! He frantically waved it back and forth ensuring that the sea of motorbikes split with the magic light saber and we made it to the shore. We were tickled to get this ‘special foreigner service’ after year of living here, crossing the streets by ourselves and driving our own motorbikes! No matter how long you live here, I’ll always be a tourist in the local’s eyes.

When you are in the middle of change and chaos, you never think you’ll make it through; but you do. Sometimes you don’t realize how far you’ve come until you go back to the beginning.

Red in the Face

Rush Hour

Start from the Beginning - Motorbike Diaries Vol. 1

Resistance is Futile – Assimilation

I’m not sure how it happened, but I’ve become one of them. I wear a jacket (which I’m boiling in), a mask, a poncho, ….I’m a Vietnamese motorbike driver. I’ve become used to being squeezed into small places and driving through them. I can drive really slow and coast while keeping my balance. I can drive through flooded streets with my feet up on my seat so that my feet won’t get wet while still balancing the bike. I can dodge slow pedestrians. I can maneuver the bike into the narrowest parking spaces in alleys. I have learned how to honk to simply let someone know I’m ‘here’. In fact, I use my mirrors less and less and my horn more and more. Seriously – how the hell did this happen? I so vividly remember my first time I took the bike out of the living room and accelerated into this crazy motorbike culture scared to death.

I’m absolutely convinced I will have to retrain my brain to look left before turning right again as I don’t even get the urge to look left any longer. I’ve learned that you don’t wait for opportunities (for a lull in traffic) when driving in Vietnam, you make opportunities.

Me and my motorbike - and one flat tire...

Six months have gone by and now I’m able to do what I previously thought was impossible; I zone out. I actually look at stuff around me, notice new restaurants, can read street signs, and most of all I use the driving time to think. I’ve even been able to zone out the horns that are constantly honking at me. Nor am I shocked or horrified by what I see around me any longer – 4 people on a motorbike, a guy carrying a refrigerator on the back of his bike, a dog on the bike, or a boy standing on a bike seat behind the driver – yes, standing. However a boy sleeping between his parents on a motorbike in the pouring rain did catch my attention for a bit the other day. I think I was simply jealous of his ability to sleep in a impossible environment.

Last week I was so zoned out that I didn’t notice the broken glass that I ran over until it was too late – 2 flat tires…yes, 2. I pushed my bike to a corner that had a tire tube propped up on it (the Vietnamese symbol for tire fixer nearby) and 10 minutes and 75 cents later the guy had fixed the holes and I was off.

I find that I still do have a couple of ‘limits’ on what I won’t do. I won’t drive on a sidewalk; it pisses me off when other people do it while I’m trying to walk down the street, so I won’t be one of those people. I won’t go the wrong way down a one way street. (My high school driver-ed teacher would be so proud of me) I won’t carry a refrigerator, a flat screen TV or a computer on the back of my bike! However just recently I did find myself carrying a 30 lb backpack on my bike driving through flooded streets praying that I wouldn’t lose my balance. Finally, I won’t wear flip flops while driving as I’m too scared to lose one of them! I can’t tell you how many flip flops and sandals I see in the middle of the street; deposited there accidentally, never to see it’s other half again.

The most stunning thing is that I know it is my motorbike that I will miss the most out of everything in Vietnam. It is the thing that scared me the most and the thing that I loved the most about my time in Vietnam; which goes to show you – I’m completely dysfunctional. Learning to ride in Saigon was one of my goals, and even though it took me 5 months to get up the nerve to try and then 2 more weeks to actually take it out of my living room and put the key in the ignition; I conquered the fear, and for that I’m immensely thankful.
Video of my taking off on my bike after my flat tire was fixed.

Follow my motorbike journey from the beginning with the Motorbike Diaries Vol. 1 – Learning How to Drive a Motorbike in Vietnam

Get your own Vietnam Motorbike License and get out on the streets!

Yup, that's a fridge strapped to his body...no special effects here!

Blankets - I have no idea how he can even turn the front wheel!

Bottled Up

A 7/11 on 2 Wheels

Line of Sight - How can this man see, let along turn?!

Tall and Flat - Let's hope they didn't have to go far as it looks rather uncomfortable!

Keyboards - You wondered where they all went...now you know...

Who's driving?

To see more Motorbike and Transportation photography from Vietnam, view my Global Photography Website!

Get your own Vietnam Motorbike License and get out on the streets!

Like what you read?  Then keep reading!

Motorbike Diaries vol. 17

You're humming the song now - aren't you?

Start from the Beginning - Motorbike Diaries Vol. 1

What’s in a Name?

I’m going to state the obvious – I’m a girl. What I mean by that is I can exhibit typical girl traits at times; especially when it comes to my knowledge of cars. As long as I can remember, I’ve never really been interested in cars (I mean really, aren’t shoes more interesting?). In fact the first car I bought was when I was 22 years old -  a Ford Escort GT (the GT is very important I’m sure).  I cared so little about cars that I kept it until I was 33 years old; when I finally donated it to charity since I was moving to NYC.

One of my first boyfriends in high school was a Mustang enthusiast. He had this cool old refurbished Mustang and I must admit, I liked riding around in it, but I never really understood his obsession with it. In fact, all I really knew about it was that it was an old Mustang; to me a Mustang was no different than a Honda Civic., it had four wheels and you used it to get from A to B. My boyfriend in college was also a car person, a Thunderbird owner. All I really remember about it was the color. It always amazed me when he would see a car on the street and know the make and model immediately and I would say…you mean that blue car over next to the red one? I have come to believe that all men are car people and I just never got that gene.

I’ve found the most interesting thing about cars isn’t the horsepower or even the color, but instead I’ve always been fascinated with the names. I wonder who comes up with all of those names that are supposed to invoke greatness, swiftness, efficiency, quality, power, and an element of cool; some marketing genius no doubt. Plus I was always fascinated with the chosen names and how they fit the personality of the car; Mustang vs. Escort…what more can I say.

Since motorbikes dominate in Vietnam, I’ve enjoyed being introduced to a whole new pack of names for vehicles which are also supposed to invoke swiftness, efficiency, quality, power, and an element of cool – all on two wheels. Here are a few of my favorites:

Honda Wave – the Toyota Corolla of motorbikes; the most seen model in town
Yamaha Nouvo (my motorbike!)
Honda Future
Honda Dream, DreamII, and Super Dream
Suzuki Best
Yamaha Sirius
Honda Airblade
Yamaha Jupiter
Honda Supercub
Kawasaki Max II
Honda Newfi
Suzuki Vivo

I personally think they should consider some new names such as the Honda Patience, or the Yamaha Wrong Way, or maybe the Suzuki Carry-Anything(and I mean ANYTHING). Then again, that might be a bit long…but hell, it’s accurate. Regardless, I’m sure that the various motorbike creative teams are working on the next exciting new set of names – I can hardly wait to see what they come up with next!

Get your own Vietnam Motorbike License and get out on the streets!

Like what you read?  Then keep reading!

Motorbike Diaries vol. 16

The densely packed city of Saigon

Last month I produced a Saigon City guide podcast for one of my favorite travel websites, The Indie Travel Podcast.  I love writing, and I wasn’t really sure how I would like researching and doing a podcast, but it proved ot be a lot of fun!  So – here’s everything you want to know about traveling to Saigon, from my perspective which of course is a bit more slanted to cultural travel rather than luxury travel or tours.  Please feel free to share your comments and questions and of course please feel free to pass this podcast along to anyone you know traveling to Vietnam!

Listen to the Saigon City Guide on the Indie Travel Podcast

LIsten to the Saigon City Guide on Itunes

A little teaser of what is to come...The Gobi Desert

After 17 days in Mongolia (12 of which were spent in the Gobi Desert being nomadic, smelly, hot, parched, and stared at), I’ve arrived back in HCMC.  I can’t say that I’m happy to be back, but that’s how life goes and I had to come back and finish work here before I could totally succumb to the nomadic life.  However, I did have at least two offers to stay in Mongolia and become a Mongolian herder wife which I considered for a bit and then decided that pizza delivery in the desert might be too hard for me!

After 2 1/2 weeks of being off the ‘grid’ completely I now have a mound of writing and photography editing to do in order to present to all of you the amazing country of Mongolia; you will be impressed – I can guaranteer that.  I can hardly wait to show you the Mongolia I saw; vast, strong, empty, and so peaceful that I could hear the sound of birds flying overhead.  In addition to the peacefulness, I was also able to experience the culture and stayed with local nomadic families.  This of course led to me eating lots of food that was not very enjoyable, being put to work milking goats and camels, running from sandstorms, and playing games with animal bones.  So – please be patient with me as I wade through thousands of pictures that need editing, many videos that need uploading, and 12 days of stories that need to be parred down.  In addition, I actually secured a paying magazine gig that I need to deliver on regarding my Mongolia travel so my to-do list is growing!

In the meantime, I’ll do some other posts to keep things interesting and until I can get the Mongolia info online!   I will also be dealing with my culture shock of going from the least populated country in Asia with the lowest population density in the world to the 9 million people crammed into HCMC.  My first big hurdle is to get back on my motorbike after 3 weeks of being out of the Vietnam traffic.  I feel like I’m starting back at square one and my maiden voyage is during rush hour tonight as I ride to work; of course it will probably start pouring rain at that time too just to give me the proper ‘welcome back’.

Thanks for all of the comments and well wishes while I was away!

Ahhhh - Fresh Air...

I often wonder how many months the pollution and dust in Saigon will take off my life.  For this reason, I can’t imagine living here long term.  Hell, I imagine that living here long term is akin to smoking a pack of cigarettes a day! That may be an exageration, however no one really knows what a toll this environment is taking on people’s lungs and life span. 

My old mask

As you have seen, I have a little mask that I picked up from a local street shop here.  In reality, it doesn’t do much to keep cargcinogins from getting into my lungs, which may be why I have developed a ‘smoker’s cough’.  However, it does help me fit in when I’m driving and people don’t stare quite as much.  Last week though I decided to invest in my health a bit more by purchasing a proper pollution mask. 

My Darth Vader look

I found it in a grocery store and the box said – “Pollution Mask” – followed by a bunch of Vietnamese.  It was enough to catch my eye.  It has a carbon filter and valves so that it has a tight fit against your mouth ensuring that the air you breath in is going through the filter.  Granted – I look like Darth Vader, and probably sound like him when I actually have to speak through the mask!  This kind of negates my quest to blend in, but I figure it’s all in the name of health!

One thing that amazes me here is the local’s tolerance to these harsh conditions.  You’ve seen my commute to work after it has rained and the road is like driving over a giant waffle!  However, when it doesn’t rain then it means that the little, heavily traveled dirt road is a giant Grapes of Wrath dust bowl!  

I stare out the window in amazement as the locals drive behind these dusty trucks inhaling the dust and pollution without much of a care.  In this vido the guy was so calm about the poor and dangerous driving conditions that he was chatting on his cell phone.

Just last week there was a fatal truck/motorbike accident on this road. I was coming home from work and was stopped by the mass of people that were trying to rush to see what happened. The accident was tragic, yet not surprising. Traffic was stopped for hours as the police tried to make their way out to the countryside to investigate. I ended up walking by foot for a while with my students until I could get another taxi. I was able to get a close up look at the family’s dusty lives and homes along this trecherous road.

My ‘Pollution Mask’ costs me 85,000 dong (roughly $5 USD). It’s not expensive, but certainly not cheap in local standards. However I often find myself staring out my car window in disbelief that more people don’t have proper masks – or masks at all for that matter. In fact, many times I see couples on a motorbike where the woman is on the back with a mask and the husband is driving with no mask. She consideratly places her hand on his face and cups it around his mouth as they drive down the dusty highway. Even though proper masks are seemingly cheap, I know that the answers as to why more people don’t have them are complicated. I only wish I could get one for everyone, but that of course doesn’t guarantee they would wear them.

The children’s helmet laws went into effect this month. I have seen a slight improvment in kids wearing helmets; however, the fact is that 50% of them still don’t wear anything. Something I will never understand.

This country will continue to baffle and confuse me, but it’s why I moved here to see a different way of life. Hopefully it won’t shave too many years off my life!

Fresh Meat!

I recently made a trip to a local market to purchase and eat durian for the first time.  While I was there, I was able to capture some photos of butchers of the market. I love this mixture of personalities, ages, and genders!  They were all working in the same market and all selling meat.  For those of you who are grossed out by the fact that the meat is sitting out in the open all day – don’t be.  That meat is usually sold out everyday as the locals buy their meat needs daily – so it’s always fresh unlike out Western grocery store chains!  So – before you judge, consider that this way to sell meat may be even better!

A big teddy bear with a knife!

A young apprentice!

Enjoying her work!

Just a quick update  – I’m on the move once again; I’m taking a vacation….yeah!  Ever since I made the decision a year ago to come back to Asia and live in the area, I knew that one of the things I wanted to accomplish was to round out my Asia travel experience.  There’s one Asian country that has eluded me to this point, but it has been very high on my ‘must see’ list – Mongolia! 

Tonight I leave for a 17 day adventure to Mongolia – solo of course.  I can hardly wait to get to the unpopulated, unpolluted, quiet, open spaces of Mongolia.  It will be such a change from Saigon – a much needed change!

So – I’m not sure what kind of internet access I will have – but I’ve schedule some posts to appear when I’m gone – so my blog will still be working, while I will be out having fun drinking fermented yak milk and learning how to wrestle Mongolian style.  I don’t have an itinerary yet – will figure that out when I get there, but it will include cultural experiences no doubt and hopefully some fabulous photography. 

See you in August!

This fish was alive not more than 5 minutes prior!

After 8 months here I finally found some Vietnamese friends who have taken me on as their ‘foreign friend project’. Meaning – they are helping me to see and experience the Vietnamese culture from a local perspective. It’s easy to experience the touristy side of Saigon, however I have found it hard to really integrate into the daily life here. I’ve desperately wanted to integrate in and talk to the locals, eat crazy street food, understand some of the cultural oddities that I encounter every day; but that’s hard to do when you don’t know the language. You don’t need to know Vietnamese to be able to simply get around, but you do need to know it to have and understand real day to day cultural experiences.

Lee and Tuyet - my hosts and translators!

That’s where my friends Lee and Tuyet come in. By chance I met them at a coffee café. There was a power cut in my neighborhood and it forced me out to a coffee shop. Lee, an American Vietnam Vet, and Tuyet, his wife from Dalat Vietnam are a lovely couple; I can’t stress this enough. Tuyet lost her sight when she was 7 years old. That alone fascinated me as I find Saigon a terribly difficult city to navigate with sight – I can’t imagine how she does it!

Ever since the day we met and exchanged pleasantries and phone numbers, they’ve been on a mission to show me the amazing food of Vietnam. They started this adventure by taking me to a local market and showing me how to cook up a Vietnamese seafood feast. They also introduced me to durian – the king of fruits.

This week, we went out to a night market on a rainy night and I tried more things that I never would have dreamed of being edible!

Inspecting the little snail shell (notice my drinks too!)

First we had yummy clams followed by baby snails in a coconut sauce. The coconut sauce was amazing; unexpectedly sweet. I was surprised though that the snails came out in their little homes – their shells. Tuyet demonstrated how I was to get the snails out of their home – by sucking…hard! Sure enough – with some effort – out they came and they tasted pretty good!

sucking the snail out of it's happy little home

Finally – after our fresh grilled fish – yum – we walked to a smoothie place. I let them order for me and they decided upon a durian/avocado smoothie. Hmmm – these are two things that I would never order in a smoothie alone – let alone mixed together! But I was game to try it. We sat out at a little table on the sidewalk and they brought us 3 smoothies – the durian smell was suddenly present in front of me; not very appetizing. I made a big sigh and though…ok – you gotta try it. I’ve decided that I’m one of those rare people that doesn’t have a strong reaction to durian. Most people love it or hate it…I don’t love or hate it. I find it to be a strange taste, but nothing that gives me the gag reflex. Then again durian burps aren’t very fun.

I survived the night and was stuffed afterwards! I look forward to our next adventure!

Tuyet and Lee dig into desert - durian/avocado smoothie!

Start from the Beginning - Motorbike Diaries Vol. 1

The Great Horn Divide

No matter how hard I try, I just can’t do it. I lose the mental battle every time. I tell myself to be calm, patient, understanding – but then it happens – BEEP, BEEP BEEEEEP, BEEP, BEEP; and after the 3rd time of being serenaded by this noise I just can’t be mentally strong any longer. My culture seeps in and I inevitably get angry.

Horns take on a whole new meaning in Asia. I am constantly struggling to remind myself of that. One interesting thing about living abroad is that you become much more acutely aware of your own cultural habits and actions. I realize that my American culture is impatient and loud, and we like to eat sweet things for breakfast. We value equality and freedom to choose, we believe that sidewalks are there to keep pedestrians safe, we like rules but we love to challenge them in an organized manner, we like the ease of having a price tag tell us how much things cost, we love our privacy and personal space, and finally – we think a horn on a vehicle is there for emergencies and becomes an extension of our voice when we want to say “Look out!”, or “You idiot!”, or “Are you an imbecile?”, or my personal favorite “Fuck you!”

Asians in general are quiet, save face, don’t mind having no personal space, think that sidewalks are there to park and drive motorbikes (ok – this just applies to Vietnamese), they like savory things for breakfast, they follow rules and don’t question authority, they don’t mind bartering for everything, and they think a horn is there to nicely announce their presence – “Hey, I’m here on your right…just wanted to let you know.”, or “Hello there, I’m going to go around you now, so please don’t make any sudden movements.”

I’ve been able to deal with all of the other differences; however the ‘Great Horn Divide’ eludes me.

You are even asked to blow your horn!

I have been unable to retrain my brain on the meaning of horns. Yesterday as I drove my motorbike to work in rush hour traffic, I found myself on a one way street. The street had two lanes; the rule of thumb is that the cars/buses have the left lane to use and the motorbikes have the right lane to use. This works pretty well and keeps traffic moving; a must when there are 5 million motorbikes in a city of approximately 7 million people. This ‘left lane cars, right lane motorbikes’ means that if you are on a motorbike, you can generally get around quicker than by car. Motorbikes can be maneuvered easier than a car, so we zip along a little faster. Even though the cars are slower, they have air conditioning and protection from the rain and pollution; it’s all about trade-offs I guess.

As I was zipping down the right lane with the rest of the motorbikes, I became aware of a horn behind me – 3 little fast beeps – it kept getting closer and closer. I looked in my mirror to see what the commotion was and saw a white Mercedes in our right lane beeping at the motorbikes. The Mercedes was parting the sea of motorbikes by ‘politely’ and continuously beeping letting people know that they were coming through.

The beeping was getting on my nerves since my brain was interpreting it as “MOVE YOUR IDIOTS!” I had a little mental conversation with myself and said – this doesn’t mean that he’s yelling at you Sherry, this is just a polite gesture, this is actually a nice thing that he is doing…very nice….just a little warning…no problem…he’s not ‘talking’ to me personally, he’s talking to everyone.

The honking continued as he was right behind me now. I looked in my mirror again and became upset that he was in my motorbike lane for no reason other than to get to his destination faster as the left hand ‘car lane’ was moving slowly. However, I told myself to remain calm; I was doing nothing wrong, I was just driving along in my lane being beeped at. No other motorbike seemed to be moving out of the way much, the drivers had tuned out the horn noise and kept on going. I tried to tune out the horn noise by thinking of the incessant horn as if I were being serenaded nicely. Even though I had decided that I wasn’t going to make an effort to move for this car, I still wanted to try to see the horn as someone giving me a pleasant reminder and not someone yelling at me. I spoke to myself – “Find your inner Asian – Calm, calm, calm.”

The horn continued. My mental wall eventually crumbled and the American culture started invading my brain as the honking continued and continued. I was mad, I wanted to turn around and scream “Fuck you!” at the car. I imagined doing just that.

But I refrained. I let the anger roll around in my brain for a bit and didn’t allow it to come out of my mouth.

After I arrived at my destination I chastised myself for allowing myself to break under the horn pressure and allow my old culture to seep back inside my brain. However at the same time, I looked at it positively; I didn’t actually turn around and yell. I restrained.

Maybe I haven’t lost the battle after all. This could be the first step to making the cultural horn adjustment; only time will tell.

Get your own Vietnam Motorbike License and get out on the streets!

Like what you read?  Then keep reading!

Motorbike Diaries vol. 15

Renewing is easier than you think!

I decided to start the process of getting my passport renewed as many countries won’t let you enter if you don’t have more than 6 months left on your passport validity. I certainly didn’t want to be turned away at the border of Mongolia! Plus, I’ve learned that working through the American consulate while you are abroad for things like passport services, is actually much quicker than doing the same thing in the US. First, I checked the American Consulate Services website for Vietnam and gathered what they said I needed (form, 2 passport photos, $75, and old passport) and headed off to the US Consulate in District1.

The motorbike drive into town was as infuriating as ever. After I showered and tried to look somewhat put together, I hopped on the motorbike and took off. As soon as I started to go over the bridge the skies opened up and poured. I pulled over next to all of the locals along the side of the narrow 10 ft. wide motorbike lane and quickly tried to put on my poncho as other bikes and carts whizzed past me…so much for safety. What a process; take off the helmet, put on the poncho, put the helmet back on over the poncho hood, snap up the arms and try to make sure it covers my backpack; all the while it’s pouring rain on me. Finally, I’m off again. Of course, once I got it all on and started again it had nearly stopped raining and I was already soaking wet. Worse, now I was on a bike, my poncho blowing in the wind as if I were a huge kite or that girl that ate too much blueberry gum at the Willy Wonka factory.

Realize that it's about 90 degrees out. Makes you sweat just looking at it!

There are many, many inconveniences about driving a motorbike, rain is just one of them. Helmet hair is another. Sweating like a pig wrapped in plastic poncho in 90 degree heat is another. Wearing a mask to avoid the pollution having beads of sweat form over your upper lip is another. Being stared at is another. Getting honked at constantly is another. Being squeezed out of the lane by cars is another. Shall I go on? I think I experienced all of these, so when I arrived at my destination, I was in a shit mood already.

Of course I knew that I had a 50/50 shot of actually having a successful trip to the American Consulate to get my passport renewed. After all, it’s still the US government…placed inside Vietnam. It’s kind of like dropping a shot of whiskey into a beer and guzzling it; the result could be volatile. As requested, I dropped every piece of electronics I had at the guard’s desk; laptop, phone, ipod, and camera. I went into to the fortress of the consulate building and made my way to the section for American citizens; the only area of the Consulate that is air conditioned. Thank God. I took special note of the new photos on the wall – Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton – this made me smile. I entered the air conditioned room and saw it was practically empty…quite odd for a government office, so I took a number and waited.

Of course the one other American in the office was screaming at the cashier about how it was completely idiotic that the US Embassy in Vietnam wouldn’t accept Vietnamese Dong as a payment. Ahhh…Americans, my home culture, we can get a bit fiesty! I wondered if this woman also got caught in the rain on her way here…lord knows that would put anyone in a bad mood! She couldn’t convince the cashier to see it her way – no surprise there. I opened my purse and looked for my credit card- just to make sure that it was there and I could actually pay for my passport renewal and not have to go through a yelling match like the woman ahead of me! Whew…it was there. Luckily a few seconds later my number was called…maybe my morning was turning around!

However ten seconds later I realized that I was going to fall on the wrong side of that 50% chance of a successful trip. The woman asked me for my two passport photos, I took 2 out of the little envelope that I keep a stack of copied passport photos in (always need extras for travel visas!) and handed them over. She looked at me and asked when the photo was taken. I said a year ago (ok – so it was really 3 years ago). She looked at me and shook her head and pushed the photos back. “They have to be within 6 months” she said. Damn…why didn’t I choose the right lie?!

Even after my short time inside in air conditioning I was still sweating like a pig, but I had to go back out there into the oven. After just about getting hit while crossing the street and yelling expletives at the truck who didn’t even attempt to slow down for me while I was in the cross walk – I decided that maybe my blood sugar was low and I needed some food. Or maybe that American woman in the consulate had rubbed off on me!

I retrieved my motorbike and drove over to a juice bar where I knew I could sit, have some juice and a sandwich, work on the internet and calm down a bit. After sitting in the air conditioning for a couple of hours working away in a very pleasant environment I decided that my mood had improved enough and I should try to get a new passport photo taken today. Granted, I did have to consider the fact that I was gross and sweaty from earlier in the morning AND I had terrible helmet hair, and this passport photo would be living with me for another 10 years. Then again, I never really look presentable here so what the hell, I might as well get the picture today.

I drove around to a local photo store and pulled up and asked about passport photos – they motioned upstairs…great! It was 25,000 dong for 4 pictures or 29,000 dong for 8 pictures. I opted for the 8 pictures for a total of $2USD. I smiled to myself thinking about the last time I had to have passport photos taken (3 years ago ) in NYC and it cost me $12USD for 2 photos. Some things really are better here.

I went back to the consulate and once again had to go through the process of handing over every piece of electronics. This time I convinced them to just keep my whole bag, I think they took pity on me as I was sweaty and annoyed about my second trip there in a day. Once again the room was nearly empty and I was able to get called to a window right away. I handed over the form, and my spankin’ new pictures and the process was set in motion.

One of the lovely things about getting your passport renewed while you are traveling outside of the US is that you don’t have to hand it over and be ‘passportless’ for weeks while they go through the process of renewing it. Instead, they simply take a copy and you keep your passport until the new one comes in. There are some advantages to living overseas!

Now I just wait for 3 weeks and I will be presented with my new key to the world!

The King of Fruit

There are many hard things about living by yourself overseas…I may write a book about it someday if I can ever force myself to slow down long enough. However, this July 4th weekend highlights one of those many challenges; missing family. It’s my mother’s birthday, and my parent’s pending 50th Wedding anniversary, and my family is all back in the States celebrating it and I’m here in HCMC. My sister and brother offered to help me come back for the occasion, but for many reasons (that I don’t need to get into) I chose to stay here. She said that she understood my decision and that it was my choice, but I couldn’t whine about missing out on the family celebration. A promise is a promise…

I decided to spend my American Independence day doing adventurous Asian things. I couldn’t shoot off fireworks, so I instead decided to do the next best thing; eat durian fruit. Durian, sometimes called the King of Fruit, is a mainly found in SE Asia, This soccer ball sized fruit is normally loved or hated; loved by the locals and hated by westerners! Durian has a reputation, a stinky one. The fruit is so stinky that it’s banned from public places in Singapore. However since Vietnam really has few rules, there’s no banning here – eat it, sell it, and transport it where-ever you want! It’s durian season here so the markets have the familiar smell of durian wafting through them. It’s not a pleasant smell; I think it smells of rotten eggs, however after prolonged exposure to the once foreign small, I’ve gotten used to it and can tolerate it now.

Durian is like the superhero of fruit. Not only does durian have a protective smell forcefield, but it also has a protective armor forcefield. Durian smells so terrible that no one in their right mind would want to eat it. Secondly it has a pointy hard outer layer making it hard to even simply carry. Luckily I had help on this adventure else I never would have made it on my own! I went with my good friends Lee and Tuyet, a lovely Vietnamese/American couple who has befriended me and agreed to show me the wonderful foods of Vietnam. I will write more on them later as they are a fabulous story on their own….but I will stay durian focused for now!

View photos of the trip to the market and durian eating!

We went to the local market to pick up food for a Vietnamese feast; including durian. The market trip was great; smelly, chaotic, motorbike flooded, and sweaty…a true local Vietnamese market. Lee and Tuyet had their regular stalls that they stopped at; the vegetable lady, the shrimp lady, the fish lady, and the fruit lady. Plus, we stopped and picked up a few lotus flowers too so they could have me try the seeds…yum! God I love to explore markets and new foods; and it’s even more fantastic when you have people with you that can speak the language! Lee had me pick out a fish and I proceeded to watch in awe how quickly the woman pulled out the live fish, killed it, cleaned and scaled it. Seriously – she could win an award – check out the video:

Our last stop in the market was at the fruit stand. That’s where we bought our prickly durian. We brought our stash of food home and before we started preparing and cooking the feast, we decided to have a snack to tide us over as the process of cooking a Vietnamese meal is longer than simply throwing some instant noodles on the stove. We decided to try the durian.

Tuyet showing me how to open it

Tuyet had to show me how to open the durian without getting impaled by its armor. Once I got the crack started, it pulled apart easily. Strangely I didn’t notice the repulsive smell that much; once again proving to me that over time you can get used to anything. Sure, it’s not lilacs, but it’s not a terrible smell to me any longer. Since I felt as if I had gotten past the smell issue, I thought the eating part would be a breeze – that is until we broke open the durian and exposed the fruit inside. I took one look and realized it looked like an internal organ of some kind, a yellow liver. Silence of the Lambs came to mind; fava beans anyone?. All of a sudden it didn’t look too terribly appetizing! I was once again reminded that the brain is such a powerful thing. Just seeing shape of the fruit gave me a negative reaction. Tuyet showed me how to gently get the fruit out of it’s protective armor without mushing the fruit; careful use of a spoon to scoop it out delicately. To my surprise it was then that I realized that the fruit did not have a solid consistency; instead if was delicate and mushy….kind of like really soft butter.

scooping the soft fruit out of it's shellPresenting my durian...yum?!

I tried a bite and was surprised as it wasn’t what I was expecting. The smell didn’t get me, but the consistency did. It was sort of like eating creamy frosting that had a vegetable and fruit taste at times. I saw one description of it on the internet as “French custard passed through a sewer”. That seems a little extreme, but I think you get the point. The taste seemed to change in my mouth as I ate it which I wasn’t too nuts about. I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t necessarily like it either. Lee and Tuyet laughed at me as I analyzed each bite. I eventually got through the liver sized creamy frosting concoction and it did seem to get better as I ate more. Maybe my brain just eventually switched off and I just ate instead of thinking about what I was eating.

The very fresh fish we bought as the market

The rest of the afternoon was spent cooking up a massive meal of fresh fish with mushrooms and chilis, shrimp cooked in coconut milk, and clams in lemon grass and coconut followed by more fresh fruit for dessert. It was a Vietnamese feast! It never ceases to amaze me what can be produced out of a small, simple Vietnamese kitchen with 2 gas burners. One of my favorite things about the Vietnamese culture is cooking and food is a social process; similar to cooking food in Italy. Everyone joins in, it takes hours of preparation, and it’s more of a social gathering. As I sat on the floor and cleaned vegetables and talked to Lee and Tuyet about their lives in Vietnam, it was no different than sitting in a bar with friends drinking a cosmopolitan in NYC. The process of spending a whole morning from 7AM to 1PM shopping for, preparing, and eating food is normal here. I have to admit, it’s much better than going to Starbucks and then sitting around watching tv for the morning!

So, even though I didn’t get to spend July 4th with family, instead I was able to spend it with new friends learning and trying new things. As for my durian experience, well, all I can say is that I’m glad that I tried it. I didn’t think that I could travel throughout Asia plus live here for a year and not try it! As I ate the creamy fruit I did have to remind myself that people actually LOVE this fruit in Asia. I think I’ll reserve my love for the mango instead.
Happy 4th of July!

Ready to take my first bite!

>

I was out with a friend today shopping for camera equipment for my upcoming trip to Mongolia. I went to a local little camera ‘stall’ near/in The Tax Department Store (I won’t even get into what a terrible name that is for a store…that could be a whole post on it’s own). I was looking for a cheap shutter release for my camera as I intend to take landscape shots on a tripod. The store clerk said yes they had some, but they weren’t Canon. I said no problem as I’m looking for something cheap that will work.

Actually remember, I’m in Vietnam, so the conversation was more like….

Me: “You have no camera shutter button for canon camera?” accompanied by charade type gesturing of a off camera shutter button.
Him: “Have. No Canon”
Me: “I see?”

A woman went over and got a small box out of a case and brought it over towards my friend and me. As she was doing so my friend happened to notice that as the female clerk was bringing over the small box, she was taking off the price sticker and throwing it away. He said to me, “She’s taking off the price, but I saw that it was 300,000.” I was impressed by his ‘spy-like’ ways. I expected him to then say “I’m Bond, James Bond…”

We inspected the off-brand shutter release and tested it on my friend’s camera…all good. Now, on to the fun part – negotiating. Everything is a negotiation in Asia. I asked the man “How much?”

He thought about it for a bit and then said $30USD. For those of you who aren’t intimately familiar with the Dong to Dollar exchange rates, $30Us is about 525,000Dong. Of course this pissed me off. My friend quickly said, We saw her take off the price tag, it was 300,000 Dong. Ahhh – Score: us 1, mean camera store man 0. He looked at us, smiled, gave a bit of a chuckle and said, “Ok – 300,000”. Sold.

Does that make your skin crawl? Five months ago I would have walked away and tried to make a point as I would have been so pissed that he was trying to take advantage of us. However, after living here for 9 months, I guess I’m used to it. My blood doesn’t boil any longer when things like this happen…but it does still get warm.

Vietnam hand signal

Start from the Beginning - Motorbike Diaries Vol. 1

The power of the hand…

I hopped on my motorbike tonight at 8:30 PM to find out that my headlight no longer worked. It would only work when I throttled the bike up – but after I slowed down, the light went out. This created an interesting strobe effect as I drove. So much for not trying to call attention to myself as a foreign driver! I shouldn’t be too surprised about the flukiness of the bike as the speedometer has never worked before, and I am convinced that that shocks are thee just for show.

Surprisingly one of the things that does work on my bike are the turn signals. However the locals don’t even use the signals on their bike. They opt instead to use their hand. I’m not talking about the ‘official’ hand turn signals that we use in the US; no, that would be way too organized! Instead they simply stick their hand out low and at an angle and normally wave it a bit as if they are ‘shooing’ off a fly.

Shortly after moving here, I was riding through a traffic circle the first time I saw this and had no idea what it meant. Little did I know that it was the universal sign for merging in Vietnam! Now as a motorbike driver I find that I naturally yield to the hand wave signal.

I haven’t quite figured out how to do the hand wave signal myself though. Granted, I know shaking your hand isn’t rocket science; it works pretty easily when you have a left hand turn as you right hand is always on the throttle. You can easily take your left hand off, do the hand shaking thing and turn. However I haven’t mastered this at all with the right hand – in fact, I have no idea how you would accomplish this!

Move over - I'm coming thru!

The hand turn signal clearly works best when there are two people on the motorbike. The driver doesn’t have to worry about signaling any turns, they just turn and leave the hand signaling to the passenger.  It’s the true definition of a back seat driver! After living here for about 2 months and riding on the back of a motorbike taxi as my main form of transportation (before I became a master motorbike driver myself!), I often found myself doing the hand signals for the driver. It’s one of those things that initially you look at and think “What the hell are they doing?!” Then all of a sudden you find yourself adopting the action while sitting on the back of a bike wildly shaking your hand as you merge through a traffic circle in front of a bus. How does this happen?! It’s the same feeling I have when I am wearing a coat when it’s 88 degrees out; wonder how this foreign, crazy culture has crept into you.

I think the hand wave signal has it’s origins in pedestrian crossing here. When the traffic is particularly heavy and pedestrians cross the street, they tend to put up their hand and wave it so that you’ll somehow miraculously see them among the mass of motorbikes speeding along. ‘Hey, hey – look at me, I’m crossing the street!”

I guess the hand wave signals are just a way to call attention to yourself – and when you drive among 5 million motorbikes, trust me, you need to get their attention somehow!

Get your own Vietnam Motorbike License and get out on the streets!

Like what you read?  Then keep reading!

Motorbike Diaries vol. 14

Vietnamese Family Culture on Wheels

Love this family shot – so typically Vietnamese it makes me smile!

Starting on July 1st the helmet law for all children goes into effect – will images of helmetless kids be extinct soon?  Doubtful!

 
You can check out my other Vietnamese transportation photos here – I’m always adding to this gallery!

There's no Dr. McDreamy in Vietnam

I had been putting it off for as long as I could, but finally after 6 months I had to go visit the hospital. No, I wasn’t in an accident nor was I sick. I was required to have a physical in order to obtain a work permit in Vietnam. This wasn’t like when I was in grade school where you make an appointment with your doctor and you simply brought in a note from her/him saying you had passed a physical. No, that would be way too simple and democratic. Remember, I live in a socialist country now; I had to go to the government hospital to have my ‘physical’.

I was a bit annoyed and excited by this. Annoyed because I knew it would be a long, drawn out process with a bunch of needless steps. Excited because I was going to see the inner workings of the largest hospital in HCMC that serves locals. No doubt, this would be a cultural adventure!

Luckily the school where I worked is sponsoring my work permit and as part of that they make sure that I have a Vietnamese speaker accompany me to the physical. This is very important because I have no idea how I would have navigated the maze of events, doctors, floors, and people on my own. Especially when I was preoccupied; looking around in amazement as if I had just entered the lost world, expecting a doctor to come riding in on a dinosaur.

In addition to the Vietnamese assistant, I was accompanied by another ESL teacher who also had to go through this maze of medicine. At least I had someone to share my reactions and observations with as they occurred else I may have burst! As we stepped out of the cab we were hit by the thick, tropical air and a typically chaotic parking lot; motorbikes, bicycles, cars, buses, ambulances and cyclos going in every direction with people weaving in and out of the narrow seams of space.

The Government Run Hospital in HCMC

Since I’ve been living in HCMC I’ve never actually seen two important things – a hospital or a fire station. Needless to say, I was happy to find out they had a hospital! It was a large white sprawling building. It had some random fans on the walls to try to move the sticky air around, but there was no air conditioning to be found, not even in the doctor’s offices. Due to the lack of cooled air, the building had a very ‘open air’ design; there weren’t many windows, but just open spaces and corridors instead so that the air could circulate through the whole building; a typical architecture in balmy countries.

We followed our ‘guide’ into the hospital and sat in a little waiting area. It was clean and had many fans going full blast trying to circulate the air. I looked around and saw various other foreigners in the waiting room looking as if they had been there a while –haggard. God I hate hospitals, no matter where they are. There was also a splash of Vietnamese people, but it appeared that there were more foreigners than locals which I thought was strange.

Not my photo. I wasn't allowed to take pictures inside. But this is exactly what it looked like!

The next two hours were spent following our assistant around the huge building as if we were chicks following our mother blindly. We left the ‘check-in’ area and went off to another part of the hospital. As soon as we departed the check in area the whole environment seemed to change. Gone was the whir of the numerous fans moving the air around, and gone were the chairs and somewhat orderly waiting area with natural light. Now we entered areas of wide hallways where people lined up on every square inch of wall. Some were standing, some were doing the Asian ‘crouch’, and some were lying on the floor sleeping. There were people everywhere and I sort of felt as if I was in an area that I shouldn’t be, yet everyone was here looking miserable together.

I asked our assistant why the two areas were so different. She explained that the initial area we were in was for special ‘customers’. I tried to dig more into what ‘special customers’ meant and learned that some people/organizations pay special fees to have more prompt (and clean I guess) treatment at the hospitals. In addition they could see English speaking doctors and didn’t have to wait in what looked to be horrendously long lines. It was kind of a Business Class program in a way. Apparently our school was flying Business Class; for this I was thankful.

The first stop was a long hallway on the second floor where we were to get our chest x-rays done. The hallway was packed with people and the moment you stepped into it you felt its heaviness. The expressions on people’s faces, the exhaustion in their body, and their worry and pain – you could feel it all. There wasn’t a spare piece of wall to lean on as the hallway was at capacity. We tried to get out of the way of the moving traffic/gurneys and wheelchairs. As I took the whole scene of bleakness in I noticed that above all of the doors in this hallway there was a little sign that said “Operating”. There was a lightbulb inside it and it would light up the sign from the inside. It dawned on me that these doors lead to actual operating rooms, and not a surgery wing. That was shocking to me. Here all of these people were standing in a hallway while surgery was going on behind the door. I guess I was simply surprised by the mass of people just a door away from the ‘action’.

Soon they called me in to do the x-ray. The room looked like I had walked back into 1950. It was in bad need of paint, and the exposed fluorescent lightbulb added to the dreariness of it. There was a huge contraption/machine that looked like it took up half of the room. They gave me a gown, and made me change out of my clothes, stood me in front of the big, ancient machine and took the x-ray and shuffled me off back to my ‘assistant’.

Not my photo - but a cute one regardless!

She led us through another floor towards the ear doctor. As we were navigating through the maze a gurney came by us with a number of people following it. I looked at the scene and saw the body on the gurney was completely covered in a sheet and clearly had just passed away. The family followed somberly and I felt as if time had stopped for a moment as I took in the scene that was 1 foot away from me. I wasn’t really prepared for that. It appears as if there was little privacy in this hospital, then again there’s little privacy in Vietnam in general so I guess it shouldn’t surprise me. Life is lived out in the open in Vietnam; often families eat their meals out on the sidewalks, and they sit and socialize outside their homes. Apparently life’s also ended in the open too; it was being wheeled through the center of the hospital. Yes, I know I was in a hospital, but I wasn’t expecting to see that – maybe I was naive, unprepared, tired, but it certainly shook me.

The ear doctor was uneventful as he literally talked my ear off as it was his chance to use English. I don’t even think he looked at my ears. He just asked me questions about America. Next stop the eye doctor where they took my glasses from me and asked me to read. Even I knew that wouldn’t work. They kept trying different lenses without ever really getting it clear enough for me to read and eventually gave up and sent me on my way; I wondered if they put down that I was blind! I didn’t see a piece of modern equipment in any of the rooms I was in. I can only assume that it was located somewhere else; I hoped.

Finally we went back down to the ‘special’ entrance where we had entered about 75 minutes ago. All of the same people were still there waiting. I guess their Business Class was more like Coach class. In this area we had blood drawn, blood pressure taken, someone listened to our heart, and finally we saw a doctor and had a consultation. The female doctor asked me if I had ever been to a hospital. I used my English teaching skills to determine that she wasn’t asking me if I had ever been inside a hospital and instead took her question to mean ‘had ever been admitted to a hospital.’
“Nope.”
“How do you feel?”
“I feel fine.”
“Ok, thank you.”

That’s it – my hospital physical was over. As I walked back out into the craziness of the street scene with ambulances and motorbikes everywhere I couldn’t help but feel as if I had just experienced some weird time warp. In addition to the feeling of time travel, I couldn’t shake the feeling of sadness. I was deeply saddened that this was the best public hospital that HCMC had to offer its local residents.

Vietnam Cyclo

View photos from Cholon Cyclo Tour

I have been asked to produce a Saigon City guide for a travel website. At first this seemed rather simple, I’ve been living here for the past 8 months and have gotten to know the city very well. However, living in a city and visiting a city are very different experiences; I live here now and seldom do touristy things. In fact, as a resident in Saigon, I try to stay away from touristy things much like when I was a resident in NYC!

So in order to prepare for the city guide gig, I thought I better try to do a few more touristy things around Saigon. I traveled through Saigon 2 years ago and already did all of the standard tourist stops – the War Museum, the Reunification Palace, Ben Thanh Market, Backpacker district, the Zoo, Cu Chi Tunnels, Cao Dai Temple, Mekong Delta Tour; so I was determined to find a tourist activity I hadn’t already participated in. I decided upon the tour that oozed tourist – the cyclo tour. However since I live in District 1 near all of the typical tourist sites (as noted above), I felt like I wanted to see a different area so I chose a cyclo tour of District 5 (also called Cholon) and District 8. I grabbed my friend Josefin, who has only lived here 3 months, and she came with me early on Sunday morning.

We dressed the part – we had our cameras, hats (no, not the conical ones…I didn’t take the tourist role THAT far!), sunscreen, and bottles of water. I had been given the name of a good cyclo driver, Binh (or Ben for the Vietnamese challenged) and did tours through District 5 and 8. I called him earlier in the week to set up a meeting point and negotiate price. His English was certainly good enough and he seemed very organized and reliable, a rarity in Vietnam!

As requested we met Binh and his partner (he will bring as many other drivers as you have people in your group) at the Le Hong Phong high school in District 5. He was on time and off we went at 9:30AM.

Cyclo Tour Saigon

Let me first explain what a cyclo tour is; you sit in an old cyclo (3 wheeled bicycle contraption with a ‘bucket’ seat) and let a guy peddle you around the city. Ben and his friend didn’t provide any running commentary, nor did we stop often. They simply peddled us for 2 ½ hours. Now, I’m sure that if we had asked Binh to stop, he would have. Or if we had asked him questions about what we were seeing, he would have answered them; but since we were somewhat ‘locals’ we didn’t have a ton of questions – we just wanted to view some different surroundings.

What I absolutely loved about this tour was that it was one of the rare times that I could just sit and take it all in without having to be on guard. I didn’t have to worry about the traffic whizzing by me, the person cutting me off, the motorbike going the wrong way down the street, a pedestrian crossing the street, someone driving on the sidewalk, nor did I have to worry at which direction I was going. I was a complete passenger and I loved it. It reminded me of a simpler time when I was a tourist in this city, when you could simply sit back and watch what was going on around you and not necessarily have to interact with it. However now since I am a motorbike driver, it’s a completely different experience; there’s no relaxing. Hell, as a pedestrian just walking down the sidewalk I can’t ‘stroll’, else I’ll have a motorbike beeping at me to get out of the way, or I’ll run into the motorbikes being parked and maneuvered on the sidewalks. Living here and relaxing seems to be an impossible combination.

This was my time to relax and simply take photos and videos, something I had been dying to do for a while. The cyclo pace was perfect to take it all in and be able to do photography at the same time. The traffic flowed around us as we navigated the traffic circles, and small alleyways.

Since it was Sunday, the market streets were booming. Each of the streets that surround the main market building in Cholon are specialized. There was a bean street, a motorbike parts street, a pet street, a shoe street, a mechanic street, a temple street, and a meat street to name a few. The streets were bustling with activity and purchases. However what I enjoyed most was photographing the many motorbikes being loaded up and weighted down with goods from the market. Transport via motorbikes never cease to amaze me in this city.

So ful he had to strap one to the front wheel!

I saw some things that I had never seen before such as someone with a box of goods stacked so high that they even had a box strapped to the front wheel fender of the bike!

As we passed through the motorbike street I saw every feasible part of a motorbike there was; headlight, wheel, rims, side panels, handle bars, engine parts, and seats. After seeing all of this I’m more convinced than ever that my little Yamaha Nuovo motorbike which I rent has been put together piece by piece with super glue. Seriously, I think they simply stuck the Yamaha logo on it. One thing about the Vietnamese is that they can fix anything; they are super mechanics. As we drove around the market streets I saw bikes that looked as if they were simply skeleton bikes, yet they ran as if they were shiny and new.

All eyes were on us!

All of my daily living inconveniences melted away and I soaked up the attention in a good way. The Vietnamese all seemed so friendly and excited to see us. I thought to myself, this is why I’m here; this is why I loved Vietnam so much enough to come back and live here. In day to day life here, this feeling is often forgotten as you get caught up in the difficulties of living abroad and they can overshadow the joy of living abroad at times. For these 2 ½ hours, I felt as if I had my travel mojo back!

We moved from the crowded market streets of Cholon, through some massive, bumpy construction (view the video below for my commentary on the infrastructure construction) and through to the quieter District 8 along the river. The whole feeling changed. Gone were the horns and the big buses and in place of it were more bicycles, and boats tied up along the river bank unloading bricks, bananas, and coal. All of a sudden you felt as if you were getting a small taste of the Mekong Delta within HCMC. In addition, out in District 8 we seemed like even more of an oddity as I doubt many tourists get out there on a regular basis. Binh and the other driver stopped near the ferry and sat us in the shade, supplied us with water and fresh pineapple from the nearby fruit lady and they took a much needed rest!

We hopped back in the cyclo and continued for another hour of cylo’ing around small alley ways and river fronts. Right at noon, we pulled up to a main corner and Binh told us our tour was complete. We paid him 200,000 VN Dong each (12 USD) for their 2 ½ hours of hard work. I felt that it was a decent bargain for the amount of time spent. Plus, I was able to see a whole new part of the city in slow motion without the stress of having to navigate it myself for once – I would have paid double the amount for that!

Itinerary:
Nguyen Nam Binh (Ben)
Cyclo Leader
Mobile +84 0958760273
Email: nambinh53@yahoo.com.vn
Nambinh53@hotmail.com

Motorbike Mirrors...what are they good for?

Start from the Beginning - Motorbike Diaries Vol. 1

Mirror Mirror on the motorbike, what is your purpose; are you just there for decoration? Unfortunately after driving a motorbike in HCMC for the last 3 months, I feel as if I’m the only person here who uses my motorbike mirrors for their intended purpose; to see things behind you and in your blind spot. Yes, that’s right; the poor motorbike mirror is seldom used. Why you ask? I don’t know if I have an answer for that. It goes on my list of “Unexplained Oddities in Vietnam” with things like:

Why is there always a shower curtain rod but no shower curtain in bathrooms in Vietnam?
Why do parents put mosquito nets on children’s heads in place of a helmet?
Why does everyone use short little chairs and tables that look like they are for kids?
Why are there tons of brothels, but I never see anyone going in them?

Back to mirrors, I suppose it has something to do with the fact that the locals driving responsibility is determined by angles. Imagine you are on a motorbike looking straight in front of you. There are other motorbikes all around you weaving in and out…yes…be scared, be very scared. However for the locals there is no reason to ever be scared because you are technically responsible for about 45degrees to either side of you…46 degrees…who cares…not your responsibility.

That big truck bearing down behind you – don’t worry. If you want to move to the right of the road while you on currently on the left, don’t worry, just take a steady 45 degree angle and the motorbike seas will part as if you are Moses and you will get to the right side. Actually, I once heard someone describe driving in Vietnam akin to being in a school of fish. I honestly think that’s quite accurate. Fish don’t turn their head and look behind them, they just move in this weird flowing unison. That’s how traffic here works – we are all fish.

Mirrors turned inward

After driving in the US for 16 years, it’s ingrained in me to be responsible for more than 45 degrees…hence – why I use mirrors. I like knowing what’s behind me, call me old fashioned or a stupid foreigner; I don’t want to give up my mirrors! I must admit though, when I’m in heavy traffic – I sometimes talk to myself and tell myself  “I’m a fish, just swimming here with my friends, we all move as one. I’m a fish, I’m a fish.” I know it’s strange, but it does seem to help keep me calm in times where any normal westerner would be quite tense and nervous!

Most of the people that I see driving don’t have mirrors, or maybe they only have one mirror that looks like it’s pointed at the sky. Then there are the drivers that actually have mirrors, but they choose to point them towards each other so they don’t get in the way of their driving; the mirrors seem to be considered a nuisance most of the time.

The part that I don’t get is that there are many, many vendors along the side of the road selling motorbike mirrors. Simply stop, pay a couple of bucks and screw in your new mirror…presto. But I don’t really understand the supply and demand here, who’s buying them?!

Motorbike accessories for sale

Regardless, every day when I get on my bike, I turn the key, press the break, hit the automatic start button, give it throttle, and check the mirrors and put them in position. This is the point where my neighbors laugh at me….up until then it actually appeared as if I knew what I was doing! With a big sigh…I hit the roads again, always keeping an eye on what’s behind me, but trying to tell myself to ‘forget it’ and just swim with the fishes!

Get your own Vietnam Motorbike License and get out on the streets!

Like what you read?  Then keep reading!

Motorbike Diaries – vol. 13

See more crazy photos in the album!

Ok – so it’s not just one photo – it’s a collection of photos!  I thought I would give you more for your time!  This is a album of photos I’ve been taking over the last few months inspired by the book Bikes of Burden by Hans Kemp.  A photo book about what people carry on their motorbikes in Vietnam; the motorbike culture is one of my favorite things about Vietnam, so I had to share these with you!  Enjoy!

View Sherry’s Bikes of Burden Photos

Pecking Order

One of the disadvantages of living a solo life is that when you have one of those experiences that you just want to tell someone about – there’s normally no one around to listen. So, instead of bottling it all in, I blog; which makes me feel as if I’m telling someone the story, yet it does kind of lack a conversational feel if I can’t see or hear people’s reaction. Hell, it’s the best thing I got though – so here goes.

While driving from District 2 to District 1, I was caught in a horrendous traffic mess today. This is kind of the norm for here, but it seemed to be particularly bad today. Maybe I was just in a shit mood because I was short on sleep, hadn’t had any coffee, and had missed my yoga class due to a schedule change. Not a good start, but when I came upon the mess of traffic near the construction zone, I immediately knew that my day was going to get worse.

This particular stretch of road (if you can call it that) is always a problem as it’s all torn up from construction and there are only two ‘lanes’ that wind around the construction. The potholes are large and feel like they will swallow my little motorbike tire. It probably only lasts for ¼ of a mile, however when you are on a little motorbike surrounded by huge semi trucks and beeping buses with no regard for you – it feels like a 5 mile stretch.

The ‘lanes’ are supposed to provide a place for cars and motorbikes – however during rush hour it appears that whomever has the most mass wins…which normally means that the bikes get squeezed out to the small, narrow space between lanes/vehicles, effectively making the bikes single file while the big, fat cars and trucks take up all of the lanes.

As a side note, I have found that the more I drive here the more upset I get when a car/bus is in the bike lane; it drives me crazy. I think most of the private cars and taxis are being driven by drivers toting around business people.  The passengers sit back and read their papers while their drivers are encroaching on my space. I wonder what they would think if they were in my position – on a bike getting squeezed out of their rightful space by an oversized SUV or taxi. Then again – the concept of ‘rights’ doesn’t exist here.

As I sat in this big traffic mess of semis, buses, private cars/SUV’s, motorbikes, bicycles, cement trucks, and the random pedestrian, I had a lot of time to think. In addition, I had a lot of time to inhale way too much exhaust fumes. I thought about how in most countries there is a traffic pecking order regarding rights. The rules generally go that if you come across a vehicle that is smaller or has less power than you, you give them right of way. This is how it works in sailing…the sailboat has right of way to boats with motors. Pedestrians and bikes tend to have right of way to other vehicles as they are weaker and slower and can’t maneuver as quickly. This makes sense. Give the little guy a break.

However the pecking order of right-of-way is generally lost in most of Asia. In the land where there are no queues, there are also no rights for the ‘little guy’. In fact – it’s kind of opposite here. The trucks with the loudest horns and presence simply move right on through a traffic situation without slowing down and the sea parts for them – mainly due to fear on my part. The same for pedestrians – they are the lowest in the pecking order here. They are like ants, just scurrying for cover when the big ‘foot’ comes through.

So I sit, sucking in exhaust fumes, pissed that a car is in my lane backing everything up; I want to scream at them…but I know that will get me nowhere..so I try to stay calm. The rest of the motorbike drivers have taken to driving up on the sidewalk – the only real place left to go as we are squeezed out by the cars. The pedestrians on the sidewalk scurry and the motorbikes eventually get all jammed up on the sidewalk.

The picture looks like this: 2 ‘lanes’ of beat up pot-holed road filled with big trucks and suvs, a few scattered motorbikes between the rows of vehicles (that’s where I am), a sea of motorbikes driving on the sidewalk, and the pedestrians pushed up against the store fronts with no where to go. The pedestrians are the low man in the pecking order and they ultimately loose out.

Deep breath…calm…patience; this is the mantra that I’m trying to force through my mind. Yet I feel like screaming at everyone – I try to find my ‘inner-Asian’ and be calm.   I’d like to think that my patience level is better than average after living here for 8 months, however my patience is lost when I feel like my own personal safety is at risk.  After 20 minutes of trying to get through the ¼ mile without getting flattened like a pancake and with the incessant honking of horns, the construction area ends, the road opens up and we are all freed to take off.

As I throttle up to speed, I try to suck some fresh air into my lungs. I think, it’s only 9:30 in the morning, but I could really use a martini right now.

If you have a rant to share about traffic in Vietnam, please leave a comment and get it off your chest!

You may want to pop a Dramamine before watching this video of my commute to work. I teach at a manufacturing plant outside of HCMC and have to commute an hour each way to get there. Luckily they provide the transportation else I would have been one of those people on the motorbikes that you see in the video among the huge trucks and potholes. The road is a mess, and getting worse during rainy season. Actually there isn’t really much of a road, it’s mainly crumbling and falling apart. It’s heavily traveled by big trucks, private company cars (like mine), and the locals on motorbikes with a death-wish.

Enjoy the bumpy ride, it’s taken from the back seat and the best I could do!

Plan A, B, or C?

Life is full of turns, twists, and curves. I recently listened to one of my favorite podcasts, This American Life, they did a show on Plan B. They explored the idea of what we thought we were going to do and what we actually did; plan B, or C, or D. It gave me a lot to think about. In fact, I started to mentally go through my alphabet of plans trying to understand how I ended up here; in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam teaching English, writing, doing various computer consulting, and practicing photography.

When I was a young girl, my plan was to be the Abominable Snowman, you know the one from the classic Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer special. My plan B was to be a grocery store check out clerk. As I entered my teen years my plan was to become an interior designer and live in a NYC penthouse.

Hmmm – maybe I’m starting too far back. Sure, as children we all had some crazy plans I suppose. However I think the real interesting plans lie in our adult life. The exuberant plans, the dashed plans, the changes, the realization that you never achieved plan A, and the acceptance of plan G in it’s place. Life is a wild ride and if you can be open to change then you never know what plan you will end up on. Here’s a rundown of my adult plans to the best of my memory!

Plan A: Go to college, get an accounting degree, become a CPA. Eventually get married in my late 20’s, have kids in my 30’s, and own a house; white picket fence, happily ever after.

Achieved? Ummm, partially…I did graduate in Accounting. No CPA though…the rest…well, read on.

Plan B: Take my recent MBA and minimal computer experience gained working as an Accountant and move to Minneapolis to become a computer consultant. Serious relationship getting more serious and moving towards marriage, kids, and house (see plan A).

Achieved? From a work standpoint that was all achieved, but the relationship fell through after a long ride of 6 ½ years sending me into a bit of a spiral of “what now?”

Plan C: I made a promise to myself that I would only work at companies where I was really interested in what they did/produced. I wanted to enjoyed my single status and make up for my lost 20’s singledome. The marriage/kids/house goal was starting to fade. I honestly just didn’t think about it any longer. At that point my social goals were to try everything that I had missed out in while being in a relationship. You can read into that whatever you want…basically my goal was to have fun.

Achieved? Yes! I left consulting and started working for retailers in Information Technology taking a job at Best Buy. I bought a new tv and a first generation tivo. On the social front this is when I came out of my shell and started my life of clubbing, hanging out with gay men, and traveling around the US. I escaped Minneapolis in the winter frequently to go to Vegas baby!

Golden Gate Sunrise

Plan D:

Leave my Midwestern roots and start to explore the world. I’ve always had an unexplainable draw to newness and change. I knew that I wanted to remain in Information Technology, not because I loved it, but because it was a lucrative career. I still had the same goal to work for a company which I liked what they did. Finally, my social goals hadn’t really changed – have fun.

Achieved? Yes! I moved to San Francisco and took a job at another large retailer and loved what they sold. I found that as I climbed the IT ladder, it became less and less enjoyable for me and more of a management task. However, this is the plan where I finally got a passport and left the country for the first time. In addition, I established a really fun life for myself in San Francisco, including a sporty one as I not only kept on clubbing, but I also was constantly training for marathons.

The Big Apple

Plan E:

The next plan wasn’t really planned out by me, it actually fell into my lap and I followed it and adopted it as my plan. On the career front the plan that was ‘given’ to me was to climb the corporate ladder so I moved to NYC to take a job in the same field at another retailer. As a side note – in some weird way I was kind of achieving that childhood plan of becoming a grocery store checkout clerk as my new job was responsible for POS (point-of-sale) systems. Social plan hadn’t really changed except that I needed to build a new network of friends in NYC, easily achieved for a social person like myself. However by this time I was 34 years old and the idea of marriage still wasn’t that terribly appealing to me and kids and home were becoming even less and less appealing.

Achieved? Sort of. I arrived in NY and immediately went – “holy crap…what have I done?” Work was all consuming and I wondered why I had moved across the country to do something I wasn’t nuts about. I was starting to resent IT.

Plan F: Finally confront what I have knew for the last 6 years, I don’t really like working in Information Technology. I don’t like climbing the ladder. I don’t want to have kids. Marriage – I can take it or leave it, but it certainly wasn’t a goal.  This was the time in my life I realized I couldn’t do this for the rest of my life.  I was tired of being scared of finances and social pressures.  I guess my plan was to have a mid-life career crises at 36 years old.

Achieved? Yes! My life took a drastic change here at F…I quit corporate America and took off to see the world for 1 year. I consider this the “Oh shit, I’m 35 years old and I don’t like what I do” phase of my life. Still no relationship, but I was traveling around the world…who cared about a relationship?!

Plan.....Z

Plan G:

One year turned into 1 ½ years of travel. My plan now was to try to not really make any more plans. I wasn’t ready to go back to a corporate job, so I explored the idea of living abroad and teaching.

Achieved: Well, I’m sitting here writing this from Vietnam…nuff said.

Plan H, I, J, K, L: Yes, I think I’ve had about 5 plans here while in Ho Chi Minh City, they change daily now. Maybe that just means that I’m in a state of flux. Hopefully I will figure it out soon.

What about you? What was your plan A and plan B….and plan H?! Life is a wonderful journey, so share it!

The law...

Start from the Beginning - Motorbike Diaries Vol. 1

Patience and the Law
I drove over to my favorite cheap eats restaurant in the Backpacker Area in District 1, Lam Café on Bui Vien Street. When I say cheap eats…I mean it…I can get lemon grass beef with rice and a mango smoothie for $2 US. Change that smoothie to a beer and it’s $2.25…hooray! My driving route to Lam’s takes me through one of the busiest intersections in District 1 – Tran Hung Dao Ave and Nguyen Thai Hoc St.

As I was coming upon this ultra busy intersection, I looked ahead and saw that it was much more of a mess than it normally was. Bikes and cars were backed up everywhere; but it was too late to turn around now. Actually, I lie, you can always turn around in HCMC, there are no rules about flipping a U-turn or driving the wrong way down a street, or driving down a sidewalk for that matter. But I try to avoid these things whenever possible. I feel like I’m doing my good deed to Vietnamese society by following driving rules and setting a good example. Considering the fact that I seem to be a spectacle out on the road as everyone can’t help but stare at me, it seems as if at least I should do something good if I have their attention…right? Ok – back to the intersection, trouble is looming ahead and I have kept you hanging…

As I slow down and assess the situation I realize that the traffic signal light is out, no power, another common situation here. So, here’s the ingredients – one cup cars, one quart of motorbikes, ½ cup of bicycles, a tablespoon of bus, mixed with a bowl of no electricity, spread across the busiest intersection in HCMC District 1. Don’t forget to throw in a dash of the standard Asian culture of no personal space or queuing, and a pinch of horns…and you have a recipe for disaster.

Bikes, cars, and motorbikes intermingle

I walked my way through this clusterfuck (sorry, I really have no other word for it) with my bike. I don’t mean that I got off my bike and walked…no, no…that’s not how you do it here. Instead you walk the bike while still on the bike; this basically means that you inch along with both feet on the ground taking little, slow steps getting nowhere fast. You provide a little throttle when you see a 12 inch space in front of you, and then continue to walk. It took me 15 solid minutes to get through the mess. Of course there wasn’t a cop to be seen anywhere, and of course no one was being reasonable about letting people through, instead we all sat there for 5 minutes at 90 degree angles with no one budging. Of course in true form I seemed to be the only person that was annoyed by this mess and by the inhalation of way too much exhaust. The locals…they just slowly inched along taking every centimeter of space they could when it opened up.

After getting through the intersection completely stressed out, I moved on to Lam Cafe. I was sort of trying to decide if $2 lunch was really worth this or not. I happily pulled up to Lam Café, parked my bike out in front on the street as everyone does and went to sit at a table (there are only 3, so it’s pretty quaint). I go to Lam Café quite often, so they do know me and welcome me kindly as usual. I order my usual, and start grading papers…my usual routine.

I look up and a few more people pull up and park their bikes and come inside. Thirty seconds later I look up from my coconut smoothie and English papers to see that 6 cops have pulled up on motorbikes and are looking at the motorbikes in front of Lam’s. Hmmm – I decide not to get alarmed, after all, I just made it through the intersection from hell; really, could anything else be that bad? The owners of Lam came out and started talking to the police. This quickly turned to shouting (or at least it seemed as if they were shouting – but it’s hard to decipher when it’s in another language!) Everyone huddled around the 3 motorbikes, yelling, motioning…I kept grading papers keeping one eye on my bike and trying to be calm about whatever was happening that clearly had to do with the bikes. The other two customers came out to see what was happening and they ended up leaving….not a good sign.

Motorbikes parked on the street

A part of me was really pissed off. Why weren’t these cops out directing the clusterfuck intersection that I just walked through? The intersection was only 2 blocks from Lam Café. After all, there were 6 of them, did they all need to be here harassing the people of Lam Café? Then again, harassing people would be much easier than trying to clear up the mess I suppose. As the yelling continued, the law eventually won and I saw the mother bring out money and pay the cops. I tried to ask one of the daughters what was happening. She explained in broken English that it’s illegal to park along the street, so they were fined. I felt terrible. But seriously…everyone parks on the street on Bui Vien. It’s as common as having rice with a meal, or ants in your kitchen. I absolutely couldn’t believe that the police were deciding to enforce this instead of all of the other true ‘wrongs’ that happen in the city – such as driving on the sidewalk, running stop lights, not giving pedestrians the right of way, people driving without helmets, driving the wrong way down streets, turning right from the left lane…seriously – I could go on and on.

The owners of Lam moved one of their 3 tables off the sidewalk and place it inside, then they moved my bike up on the sidewalk, where it’s apparently legal to park. Yup, you read that right. Sidewalks aren’t there for pedestrians to walk, they are for parking motorbikes; this makes complete sense. Then again, not many things make sense here, it’s Vietnam after all. It doesn’t pay to waste effort on trying to make sense of some of it, you just have to accept. This is one of the greatest skills I have learned in all of my worldly travels and living abroad in Vietnam; don’t question, don’t get upset – just accept. Patience is not something that we Americans have; yet it’s required here to survive. I think this is one of the reasons why I blog…to let out all of the frustrations that build up in my patience bank during the week!

I finished my yummy lunch and paid my $2. I tried to give the owners some money for the fine, but they wouldn’t think of accepting it. The young boy just said “Just come back again.” Done.

Get your own Vietnam Motorbike License and get out on the streets!

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The Motorbike Diaries – vol. 11

Start from the Beginning - Motorbike Diaries Vol. 1

View photography of motorbikes in rainy season!

Poncho Fashion

Move over Project Runway, Vietnam has Project Poncho!  Ok, I am joking, however it would be a great idea for a show here!  There is one thing that I like about the rainy season , the ponchos. There is a whole poncho industry here that’s I’ve never seen before. I myself own 3 ponchos; something I never thought I would say.

Get in touch with your inner stripper:
These are the cheap, one time use ponchos. Normally purchased because you forgot your good poncho and just got caught in a downpour. They are basically flimsy pull-apart plastic bags. I imagine that when it gets done raining you rip it off as if you were a Chippendale dancer ripping off your pants.

Flimsy Poncho

See the light:
They have ponchos that are specifically for motorbikes with a little clear square area in front that is for your motorbike headlight. This way you can drape your poncho over the front of your motorbike and still have the headlight shine through…isn’t that safety-minded?! Actually it’s the only thing I’ve seen here that’s safety-minded.

Headlight Poncho

Two heads are better than one:
This is my favorite poncho; the two-headed poncho. This is used when two people are riding a motorbike in the rain. That way you can both sit on the bike and easily share the same poncho because it has two holes for two heads…ingenious!

Siamese Twins!

Suit up:
If you are feeling rather well-off and have money to burn, then you’ll want to look into the rain suit. This is by far the best, driest alternative! A full jacket and pants, complete with reflective tape!

A proper rain suit

Huddle Up:
If you don’t have the money to invest in the two headed poncho, then you must have one poncho and have the person in back huddle underneath the driver’s poncho. Seriously – I don’t know one single American that would ever do this; it’s a bit insane. However of course I found myself doing this here. As if riding a motorbike in the rain isn’t scary enough, now imagine huddling underneath someone’s poncho being forced to simply look at the wet pavement underneath you as you drive down the road weaving in and out of traffic…hello…most people would be puking from motion sickness. I have $100 my sister-in-law would be vomiting in 4 minutes!

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Motorbike Diaries vol – 10