Good Morning Viet Nam

Friday, October 29, 2004

Delinquent Blogger

All right. I have been hemming and hawing as to how to actually blog my adventures to my electic group of fans. So fuck it, here it goes. Have had a wonderful week thus far and have already made some friends with the natives. Talk about luck, I usually never talk to anyone on the plane, but thank goodness I had someone chatting my ear off on all three flights, quality peace of mind at a time when I was really wondering what the hell I had gotten myself into. The last leg of the flight, I sat next to a gent originally from VM who has lived for 10 years in AZ. He is on a vaca from his job in the nail salon. At touch down in HCMC, Them, pronounced "Tim", kindly invited me to his house for lunch with his family. I couldn't have asked for a better introduction to such a foreign culture and graciously accepted.

When I walked out of the airport I was confronted with a heat that is beyond damn hot. Indescribable yet always present. We were out in the heat for only a minute before catching a cab. But as you all know, I am an instant sweater, thanks dad!, and already had a speckled shirt. The taxi ride was absolutely surreal. First I couldn't get over the number of bikes that swarm around the streets. Then I couldn't get over how there is some method to the madness of traffic here. I said an instant prayer for a million bikers who I thought were going to run into our cab. But miracously, not one did. I could literally reach out and touch people two bikes deep from the cab. That is how close they ride here. And the motorbike is the SUV of Vietnam. I've seen families of 4 or 5 all along for a Sunday ride. Talk about tetris or holding on for dear life. And the drivers only look straight, expecting whoever is behind to not run into them when they veer right or left. So insane.

And this is just the beginning of it all. Hope you all are well.

1 Comments:

At 6:27 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Sounds like you have been enjoying yourself. The weather here is startig to cool and stop raining. I will send pictures of Halloween parties. They should be funny. Have a good weekend in VN.
JKS

 

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