Saigon 2

Now I will finish up with some more thoughts on Saigon. We traveled a significant distance up the Saigon River to dock in Saigon proper. It is very lush and tropical. I’ve noticed places do the tropics and jungle in different ways – Africa’s jungle is more bush, Borneo was different from Vietnam and from what you see on Mauritius, and Hong Kong even has its version. Then of course we will be able to compare all of them with Hawaii, as some have compared Vietnam with Hawaii (and the whole China Beach thing).

There was lots of hustle and bustle in Saigon, people constantly wanting you to buy their stuff from the stores and markets along the street. There was the big Ben Thanh market with hundreds of tiny stalls. They were very persistent. I ended up with a pair of “Nike” convertible pants (size XXXL, I think) plus Sheilagh’s Coach bag. Sturdy girls such as myself have had many reminders that we are not Asian size. Store clerks laughing, for one thing, and doing the international gesture for “boobs” (referring either to our anatomy, or noting that we were in facts boobs for going into the stores in the first place……..) However, even much smaller US women had the same experience there. Neener neener – welcome to our world. But the clothing and textiles were beautiful, as they were also in Hong Kong and Japan.

We did get to eat at the Pho 2000 where Bill Clinton had lunch on a recent visit. We heard about that many times; they were very proud to host him, Chelsea, and Hilary. We heard about where she shopped, too. All we had to do was ask where they ate and every taxi driver and person on the street knew exactly. Then at one point some guide said as an aside, “Oh by the way George W. Bush stayed in that hotel.” ‘Nuff said. Ha! The pho was good, and they had lots of fruit milkshakes. Yeah!

I walked to the zoo and the botanical garden for the afternoon. A little warm but doable. Unfortunately, the zoo was about 40 or more years behind what we are accustomed to in the US. I applaud their efforts and hope for progress. Pretty grounds, though. On the way back I stopped at the New York Diner for a burger (!). What a hoot – met the owner, a guy from Jersey, and his Vietnamese wife. Also there was a US faculty member from Saigon National U. there, an expert on SE Asia. We spoke a bit about the war – he had a very different perspective. I have never, and probably will never again, converse with so many strangers. Although when you see a Western or US person in these circumstances, it’s far more tempting than usual. In Japan, it was funny – we would all see one another, going to and from the ship, in front of the Portliner (elevated rail), and say hi or have a little chat. I mentioned that the Kobe folks must have thought that all Westerners knew each other.
The food was excellent in Saigon. We went out a lot and it was very reasonable, as were the costs in general, especially as people shopped. Many folks had clothing made, including one of our colleagues who had all her bridesmaids dresses and groomsmen’s shirts made during our stay. There were several Western-style restaurants, coffee places with a Viet twist, places available with menus in English, all very manageable. And if I haven’t asked you yet: what do you imagine to be the most prevalent US “restaurant” worldwide? No, not the ubiquitous McD’s – in fact it’s KFC, the Colonel himself, probably for reasons related to dietary laws in various places, the availability and cost of chicken everywhere, and so on. Near as I can remember 100% of the countries we visited had one. Seems that way.

We did, however, eat like millionaires as we spent a million dong (Viet money) on one of the dinners at the Rex. I did say that if I never hear the word “dong” ever again it would be too soon. You can imagine the jokes about dong: “I lost my dong in the Cu Chi tunnels.” “You can make your dong go a long way in Saigon.” “How did your dong get in my purse?” Yeah, yeah, yeah.

As so many places have been, Saigon was different and familiar at the same time. I enjoyed my time there. I may add to these narratives when I review the e-mails I’ve sent with even more details.