Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
on our way to Cambodia...

Not a whole lot has happened, just traveling through. Stopped in Saigon for a few days to get caught up on a bit of business and to take some time in the city to relax. Had plenty of good internet access, which was nice. Found a nice hotel in the crap-ass backpacker district where the Hanh Cafe tour bus dropped us off. The rates were reasonable, but a bit more than we were looking to spend, so we were going to move hotels. I guess the place we were staying needed to book out the room, so they came down to a rate that we were willing to spend. The room was great and probably worth the $15 they were asking, but we simply didn't want to spend it and there was a nice quiet room for $8 around the corner. So we got the big room and breakfast for $10.

We had read a lot of stories about how there is a lot of crime in Saigon, and we were quite concerned when we first showed up that we would get mugged or whatever so we were extra cautious. Maybe we just got lucky or we're naive, but it didn't seem to be that much worse than any other large city. I mean, there are poor people there, and they are somewhat desperate, but I never felt threatened or at risk. We of course took precautions to make sure that our valuables were safe, kept one hand on our wallets, all the usual stuff. But there was never a moment where I thought we might get mugged or anything.

I think there's something going on with backpackers that I don't quite understand. When I went to Lao for the first time in 2000 I remember checking the internet with Bobb, and we found a couple of bulletin boards (Lonely Planet was one, I think) where people would complain about the crime. Their stories were similar to:

"I took my moneybelt and my video camera and put them in the top of my backpack while standing next to the bus, then put my bag in the pile to go on top of the bus and got on the bus. When I got where I was going my money and camera were gone."
      and
"I went to the cave, and there was a young man at the door that told me cameras weren't allowed in the cave, and he offered to hold my camera until I got back. When we got out of the cave 2 hours later there was no sign of my camera or the young man."

Now, I'm not here to say that I'm not a gullible sucker myself at times (e.g. Guangzhou), but come on. There is a bit of simple common sense that can be employed to help protect yourself from getting your stuff stolen. And the thing that bugged me was the conclusion of these stories: "There is a lot of crime there: be careful!" WHATEVER!! How about, "The average wage is less than $3 a day. See how honest you are at that wage when you're tempted with thousands of dollars. Don't be a target."

The other thing that is different about the way that Kathy and I are traveling is that we're not drinking. We're generally back in the hotel by 8 or so, 10 at the latest, and the bars generally seem to be open till sunrise. And of course ALL the unsavory things that this region is famous for happen at night, and in the bars. So I imagine that alot of the crime is going on when we're safely locked away in the guest house and we're just not exposed to it.

Still, we take precautions when we walk around markets, or when we go to crowded places. It's just dumb not to, but I simply haven't felt threatened yet. Knock on wood. So now that I've thoroughly jinxed myself....

We had a couple of great experiences in Saigon, but for the most part we left the camera locked up at the guest house so we got minimal photography. Anyway, we mostly stayed in the internet bar and the hotel (they had HBO, you see...).

We did get to Com Nieu for a fantastic meal. This was recommended by Alice and Peter, and was also in Tony Bourdain's A Cook's Tour. It was FANTASTIC. We really splurged. For about $16 (I tipped) we got:

      Crab and Black Mushroom Soup
      Shallot Flowers with Squid
      Green Beans with Garlic
      Fried long-nosed Anchovies
      Fried Zucchini flowers with Pork Stuffing
      Catfish with Ginger Sauce
      Ginger Steamed Prawns
      Sizzling White Rice in a clay pot

One of Com Nieu's shticks is this Sizzling rice: they cook the rice in a small clay pot so that the rice glazes to the inside and gets very crusty and crispy and chewy. Sybille knows what I'm talking about.... So then when you order the rice two waiters bring it out, and one stands across the dining room and breaks the rice out by breaking the clay pot with a hammer, then throwing the remaining rice paddy to the other waiter 20 feet away. The second waiter catches the rice in a bowl and flips it around a few times before setting it on the table and dressing it with green onions, toasted sesame seeds (white and black), a delicious vinegar sauce and some spices. Fantastic!

   
We spent part of one day walking around the Ben Thanh market after we ate at Pho 2000 (Clinton ate there. Tony Bourdain ate there. It was expensive, small and bland... but clean restaurant with good service). I'm having a hard time with the market shots because the lighting is low and the action is fast, so they come out blurry or bright...

   
We looked up Alice's friend Phoung at her jewelry shop.  We had coffee with her and went to her house to meet her family.  They were all very nice.

Spaz relaxing at a Trung Nguyen Cafe...

l    Home    l    Journal    l    Top

l    Due to SPAM issues, my email address is my first initial and last name at this domain.
Sorry for being vague, I get 40+ spam a day for posting my actual address.    l

Copyright 2003, Dana M. Brash. All Rights Reserved.