We got our pho fix on Thursday, though my 100% veggie travel buddies were not thrilled when I suggested all pho in Asia is made with beef stock. Duh. Friday night we took our new layered Asian hipster haricuts to the upscale downtown area, Dong Khoi. We ate tasty fusion cuisine (you know, like wasabi mashed potatoes and mango margaritas), and found ourselves digesting and sipping our first 6 dollar drinks (no guff!) at the swank gay club down the street. Like any straight, underdressed gal in boyztown I could only justify my presence by dancing up a storm. To my great joy they played the dance version of Yes' "Owner of a Lonely Heart."
We shut the bar down there and headed to the famous/infamous HCMC nightclub Apocalypse Now. Did you really think there wasn't a cheesy backpacker/local/expat dancefloor makeout club in S. Vietnam called Apocalypse Now? You're so naive! It was all silly and fun until the inexplicably popular "I Will Survive" with all the lo-los and the line dancing at the end came on. I'm sorry, it's not seven years ago in Ibiza and I cannot take that shit anymore and it was bedtime.
In addition to the glories of orderliness, world-class cuisine, and expat/local mixing, Ho Chi Minh City has some fascinating touristy places on offer. I considered my responsibility as an American to go to the War Crimes Museum (to be honest, Vietnam's major beef continues to be with the Chinese; French and American atrocities are less resented, I guess because the West was eventually whupped.). I think my companions were less keen for more atrocity tourism, however, so we opted for the Museum of Ho Chi Minh City instead. Pictures will be posted as soon as I am able- of everything from a terrifying, poorly taxidermied tiger corpse, to a GI Joe-sized mock-up of the tunnels of Cu Chi, to a 2' model of the American Embassy in 1975 (nothing's going on in the replica, it's just the building...?) to the MiG parked in the front garden. Not to mention all the 80% scaled size mannequin protesters everywhere.
Just walking around was refreshing, despite the heat. Saigon has public parks and sidewalks (both lacking in PP) and a coconut vendor is never far if you get low on electrolytes. While enjoying crepes chocolats and veggie spring rolls one afternoon we were talked into some purchases from a book vendor (5 foot tall woman + 5 foot tall stack of illegally printed Lonely Planets and Life of Pi's on her shoulder). So now, naturally, I'm reading The Quiet American for the first time. I figure Graham Greene doesn't need my royalty dollars cause he's dead.
The reason I'm so bursting with happiness after the Vietnam trip is I finally felt like I was having an adventure. I was reaffirmed in my love of travel and my ability to be flexible and enjoy new things. I felt immediately like I could have a life in Saigon, like I could find a segment of the local scene to fit into. The brief smile I shared with a Vietnamese woman when I was almost killed by an onslaught of motorbikes as I crossed the road felt like a more significant cross-cultrual connection than I have experienced in 3 months in Phnom Penh. It's truly a bummer- the weird halfway between familiar and foreign, comfortable and uncomfortable that is life as an expat in PP - and I think it's unique to this city.
Speaking of the contrast between the comfortable and the hugely awkward, tonight I am being feted by my boss for working at WildAid for 3 months and quitting. I think she's still really excited that I figured out she almost screwed up her tax return. I don't think I deserve a party but cases of beer have been ordered and a Khmer party is happening on the far side of the river. I suppose I'll be asked to give a speech.
Coming soon - Best/Worst of, Top 5s, Highs/Lows and further debriefing.
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