Saigon Day 2 April 24, 2007

Good morning Vietnam (first time I actually get to say that, the Vietnamese think it’s really funny when foreigners say it). The breakfast was a feast of Vietnamese dumplings, steamed pork buns, soup, pastry (former french colony) and fruit. Sooooo good. After breakfast, we wandered down to Notre Dame Cathedral (yes, they have one in Saigon) then through several parks towards the War Remnants Museum, passing the Reunification Palace on the way. In Saigon, there are massive green parks in the middle of the street where people go to hang out and vendors sell fresh coconut juice.

We saw the War Museum in two installments because it closed for lunch. The first bit we looked at a section on war correspondents. Then we went to the Vietnamese equivalent of Starbucks. Vietnamese coffee is probably some of the best coffee I’ve ever tasted. It’s thick and syrupy like espresso, with a slight mocha aftertaste. If you order it with hot water you can dilute it to make it more drinkable.

After coffee, it was off to the Women’s Museum. This museum is dedicated to the women of Vietnam. It is amazing to see how the women fought just as much as the men did in the Vietnam war – there were many female Vietnamese platoons. Women played an extremely important part in all Vietnamese independence movements. In Saigon, many of the women allied themselves with the Buddhist monks. We were the only people at this museum. All the lights needed to be turned on throughout the museum for us. It’s not as popular as the War Remnants Museum, but is just as good.

Back at the War Remnants Museum we were able to work our way through the remaining exhibits – Vietnam War objectors (including a picture of John Kerry), the Tiger torture cages used against the Vietnamese, effects of Agent Orange, War Love (stories of Vietnamese couples separated by the war) and general photos of American brutality.

Having visited the Peace Park in Hiroshima last month, this museum was much more upsetting. It documented in great detail how American troops committed horrible acts on innocent people without batting an eyelid. In Hiroshima, it was easier to understand the suffering because they were faceless murders – a button simply needed to be pushed. In Vietnam, thousands of troops choose to repeatedly commit inhumane acts while correspondents photographed the violence and then walked away. There was something about this that felt much more chilling for me.

After a very somber day, we did some shopping at a Vietnamese shopping mall and supermarket near our hotel. Supermarkets in Saigon have tons of great clothes. Then we drank the night away at The Continental Hotel (the scene of Graham Greene’s The Quiet American) and again at the Rex.

Saigon Surprise April 23, 2007

I arrived mid-afternoon in Saigon (no one calls it Ho Chi Minh City) after nearly 6 hour flight from Osaka. The heat and humidity hit you as soon as you get off the plane. Smog hovers over a sea of palm trees surrounding the airport, welcome to Vietnam. Customs was surprisingly no problem, the Vietnamese are notorious for giving Americans a hard time. The airport is quite small, walking out of the arrivals gate you are instantly surrounded by taxi drivers. A thirty minute drive and 200,000 dong later we arrive at our hotel in central Saigon. That’s about $17, way more than we should have paid…. live and learn.

Saigon is defined by motorcycles. There are 10 million people living in the city and 5 million motorcycles. The Vietnamese government started importing cheap motorcycles from China in 2000, they cost about $300. People really pile onto them. Families – mom, dad and kid all fit on one motorcycle. The ladies wear hats, face masks and long silk gloves when they are on their motorcycles to protect their skin from the sun. In Vietnam, it is considered an insult to say someone is tan – it means you are poor and have been working in the fields. They sell all sorts of bleaching creams to keep their skins pale.

Crossing the street in Saigon is nothing short of insane. There are no traffic lights and motorcycles whizz past. The key to crossing the street is to wade across. You step out and walk slowly across, giving the motorcyclists time to weave around you. It sounds crazy but it totally works and doesn’t really feel dangerous after a while.

After checking into the hotel, the day was spent eating and wandering around district 1 (central Saigon). The amazing thing is that just by looking at the street signs, you’d think you were in Paris. The French, one of Vietnam’s colonizers, had a profound impact on the architecture and street signs. The building numbers and signs are the same little blue signs with white font that they use in France to number buildings.

After dinner, we stopped at a street vendor to buy some bottled water. There was one older woman and a young girl in her 20’s. We stopped to talk to them. I was having a conversation with the girl when all of a sudden she sprints forward a few feet, jumps on her motorcycle and jets it in the other direction – the wrong way on a one-way street. There is a flurry of activity along the street of people doing the same. I am more than a little confused but the old lady explains that the police were rounding the corner to give tickets to illegally parked motorcycles. Apparently this is very common in Saigon – just park your bike, keep your eyes open, and when you see the police drop everything and go. The whole thing was over in a matter of 3 seconds.

After a day of wandering the streets of Saigon – we spent the evening at the bar on the roof of the Rex Hotel. The Rex was a very famous hotel during the war – it’s where all the correspondents and American generals went. It affords a wonderful night time view of neon-lit Saigon. Lovely.

Earthquake!!! April 15, 2007

We had a decent size earthquake yesterday – 5.4. I was peeing at the time. It is very strange to experience an earthquake while sitting on the toilet. My door slammed shut and started rattling. It kind of felt like a wave….. good times. Off to Vietnam this morning.

Earth Intruders April 12, 2007

Hi guys,  so the new Bjork single, earth intruders, is SOOOOO good. It’s more dance-infused and very groovy…. her new album comes out in a few weeks – on my birthday! Only a few more days until vacation……

Hanami at Osaka Castle April 10, 2007

Hi all, so tonight I did hanami at Osaka castle. There are a bunch of cherry blossom trees there and people go there after work, sit under the trees, eat and drink. It was SO much fun. People go in large groups. Some have BBQs and some have hired people that cook for them on portable grills. There are even pizza delivery boys wandering the crowd taking people’s orders and delivering the pizza right back to their picnic spot. At first it’s kind of quiet, then after people get a few drinks in them, it gets a lot louder. It was really cool to see the typically reserved Japanese really letting their hair down in a traditional outing. There’s porta potties too There are lanterns in some of the trees and they get lit up at night. The castle moat has lights trained on the walls which bounce off of the water and cherry blossom trees.

There was a group of salarymen in front of us (and three office lady workers). The girls got really drunk and one of them started stumbling around. Then there was a group to our left that were serious hanami-goers. They brought portable generators that were used to run heaters and lights for the group. They had cases and cases of booze. They didn’t finish it, so when they were leaving they went around and gave all the other hanami-goers their beer. We kindly accepted the beer from our drunken neighbors.

Some families were there, little kids running around stopping to stare at the strange looking foreigners. Late in the night an older couple came and sat at a cherry blossom tree next to the moat. The wife was wearing a full kimono and they brought a proper packed-meal with little sake cups, ate and drank in the moonlight underneath the cherry tree. I feel so lucky to have seen that, very authentic experience.

You haven’t done hanami until you’ve drunk chu-hi (cheap, fruity, fizzy strong boozy drink available at all convenience stores) and wandered around Osaka Castle’s cherry blossoms, wondering which drunk salaryman is going to be the first to piss in the moat

Happy Easter! April 8, 2007

Happy Easter everybody…. it’s strange because in Japan there are holidays that you can just forget about. Easter is one of them, just kind of snuck up on me. I celebrated by eating some miniture kit-kats and watching the South Park Easter special, the way Jesus wants us to celebrate Easter

Am sore from yoga yesterday Counting down the days until Vietnam. Reading American Pyscho at the moment, am thoroughly disturbed but still finding it a very funny read. Am really enjoying being single at the moment, celibacy has its drawbacks, but I don’t have to share my duvet with anyone or put up with snoring. I get to be very selfish… it’s nice

There aren’t enough emoticons to describe all my feelings! I need more!!!! hahaha

Sakura April 7, 2007

Yesterday, I went to see the sakura (cherry blossoms) at Osaka Castle. In Japan, when the sakura bloom, it is traditional to do hanami. Hanami is when you have a picnic underneath the cherry blossom trees. So, you go to the parks and gardens and there are hundreds of people sitting beneath the trees eating Japanese food and drinking sake. I am going to do hanami on Tuesday, but because I was afraid that the blossoms wouldn’t be out, I went on my own yesterday. The blossoms stay out for about 2 weeks before falling, sometimes less and sometimes more. I took a bento (japanese lunch) box with me and sat underneath the trees with a gorgeous view of the castle rising out of a sea of cherry blossom trees in full bloom. It was so so so beautiful. I hope the blossoms are still out in a few days when I go with friends.

Am getting really excited because just over week to go until my trip to Vietnam….. and less than a month until Kate Moss’ clothing line launches at TopShop. Thank god for online shopping And then after that my birthday. Yay!