Ho Chi Minh City – My First Week. June 8, 2008

Ho Chi Minh City – My First Week. June 8, 2008

During the week, before and after language classes I have had the opportunity to get to know quite a bit of central Ho Chi Minh as I make my way to and from the hotel. It is possible to take many different routes and there is always something interesting to see whichever way I go. I can now make my way through most of this area without using a map which is much more relaxing than when I have to refer to one for every step of the way.

On a couple of occasions I have taken a xe om (motor-bike taxi). This is much less stressful than my Hanoi experiences because there is a driver who other VSA volunteers have used before. He speaks very good English and charges a standard rate for each trip. He is a real character who proud, of his city, is happy to share his knowledge as we make our way through the streets. Traveling with him is an adventure – he is committed to getting me there on time and if this necessitates shortcuts such as using the footpath when there is a long line of traffic, he is happy to do so.

I am getting into the rhythm of the city and find crossing the road much easier most of the time now but there are still some roads where I have to take a big breath and steel myself for the ordeal of getting across. I still get a sense of achievement as I successfully get to the other side. I have also noticed that as my confidence grows that I am somewhat less of a target for the hawkers. They have a radar for identifying the bewildered new tourists and make a beeline for them in the crowd.

There are shops of all types here. A myriad of tiny family businesses, markets and exclusive shopping complexes cater for all types of shoppers but I have not taken much more than a cursory interest in most. There are certainly great bargains if you have the money and the inclination to spend. My only purchases to date have been bootleg CDs. Wicked I know but I have bought about twenty music CDs for eighty cents each. My weak excuse is that I am poor and desperate for some different music!

I thought that I was becoming pretty courageous about the local wildlife. Rats running in front of me hardly make an impression now. The other day when, as I sat eating banh xeo (a delicious pork and prawn pancake), in the Ben Thanh market a cockroach walked across the table beside me, I just moved my bag of bananas out of its way and casually kept on eating but tonight when I was having dinner in a French restaurant a big flying cockroach (who knew they could fly!!) landed on my neck and I was not anywhere near as cool – I can still feel it crawling there.

I am achieving my goal of becoming more familiar with the food and have tried out all sorts of establishments this week with some pleasant surprises and some disagreeable ones. There is an incredible number of eating places here. Within minutes of our hotel it is possible to eat many different types of food. I am enjoying have much more choice than in Quy Nhon, and as an undomesticated sort, it is great not having to cook at all, but I will be glad to go back and be able to prepare simple things at home. I have bought a recipe book of simple Vietnamese food so hopefully I will be able to prepare something edible by the time I have my first visitors.

The Vietnamese take a lot of interest in food. Most women buy fresh ingredients daily from the street markets and spend quite a bit of time preparing meals. Parents seem to be quite obsessed with getting their children to eat. Often on the street I see toddlers riding around on their little plastic bikes while their mothers or grandmothers follow behind enticing them to eat from a bowl of food. Almost all of the adults are tiny in stature and very thin but I have noticed that there are quite a few significantly overweight young children. There are many advertisements claiming nutritional values for manufactured foods. Interestingly these advertisements portray images of children who would be considered quite chubby at home – I suspect that the coming generation will experience weight problems that have not been a feature here before. It also found it interesting that in one of the supermarkets I visited every can of baby formula had a security tag on it; they were clearly considered a target for theft.

I have mixed impressions of the way children are treated here. On one hand I see that many children are clearly valued and loved with families, including very young children, socializing pleasurably together until late in the evening. In contrast with this I also see many children in shops and restaurants who appear to be ignored for long periods while the adults are busy making a living. The movements and activities of some of these children seem to be severely restricted.

When I was sitting in a park the other day I watched a little child who was clearly lost. Increasingly distressed he was walking about and calling for someone. The park was full of people including parents, grandparents and police, but no one took the slightest interest in this upset child. I felt that because I was a strange foreigner, unable to communicate with him, that I would distress him further if I approached him. I did not know what to do and indecisively watched him for some time, thinking that at least I could intervene if it looked like a stranger was trying to take advantage of the situation. Eventually he was happily reunited with an older girl who looked like a big sister. I still do not know why none of the locals responded to this child and I feel bad about my inaction but I am not sure what I should do if a similar situation arises in the future.

On a lighter note on the subject of children – who was the idiot who invented squeaky shoes for kids? Everywhere I go there are little ones running around in shoes designed to make an irritating squeak with every step. The inventor should be locked up and tortured with the sound of a thousand squeaking rats!

Women who are admirers of men in uniforms would be very happy here – provided that their taste is for little officious men in ill-fitting uniforms. They are everywhere. One group is the tourist security men. Apparently one of their jobs is to help people cross the streets but they seem to spend most of their time sitting around in groups smoking, only stirring themselves into action when a particularly attractive young woman in skimpy clothes requires their assistance. I did have a good chuckle to myself the other day when I watched about 30 of them on a morning drill. With their arms swinging from side to side in time with loud, jaunty music they marched in formation up and down the park. Perhaps it is good for their morale or perhaps it is the only bit of exercise they get in a day.

Whole contingents of men are employed as security guards outside official buildings, banks and businesses. In Hanoi the streets were littered with funny little velvet roped podiums for the guards to stand on but these are less apparent here. The guards outside the American embassy are particularly officious. With intimidating rifles slung over their shoulders they punctiliously enforce the no loitering rules. Anyone pausing for a moment, including aged grandmothers and young children, is treated as a security threat and is unceremoniously ordered to move on. Every day a mass of people stand on the opposite side of the road waiting to be allowed to enter the hallowed American soil (I presume that they are mostly applying for a visa).

Ho Chi Minh is not a beautiful city but there are some lovely tree lined streets and parks. The tall tamarind trees are particularly attractive. One of the parks I enjoy walking through has numerous statues some of which are very contemporary. Many of the parks feature bonsai trees and topiary in fantastic and amusing figures. I enjoy watching the many activities, including badminton, group exercises, martial arts and a type of hacky-sack game using a toy like a weighted shuttle cock, that take place in the parks. The other day I went to the botanical gardens which turned out to include the zoo. The Lonely Planet warns that this is not a pleasant place to visit but I foolishly ignored this advice. At first I thought that it was not too bad. There were lots of trees and some of the cages seemed fairly spacious but when I got to the primates, elephants and large cats I could see why a visit there is ill-advised. One of the chained elephants was clearly deranged from boredom and maltreatment. I was amazed to witness people taunting the animals under the indifferent gaze of the zoo keepers. I hurriedly left and would certainly counsel others to never go there.

Yesterday there was an incredible storm. For about an hour torrential rain was accompanied by lightening and almost continuous booming thunderclaps. The thunder was so loud that, even as a person who loves thunderstorms, I was shaken by the ferocity of it. The rain stopped as suddenly as it had begun but I was very glad of my ugly croc shoes and pants that could be fasted above my knees as I waded home.

Today I went to Cholon, the Chinatown district. I did not spend long in the hot, crowed market but I really enjoyed visiting several Buddhist pagodas. At first I lurked around the gate, uncertain about whether or not to enter but I was welcomed inside and even given an indication that it was fine to take photographs. The pagodas were very ornate inside and out. Elaborate gold statues were surrounded with decorations and offerings. The air was thick with the smoke from hanging coils and sticks of incense. Many people, including a significant number of teenagers, were engaged in earnest prayer. In several places I saw fireplaces where people burnt paper replicas of objects such as money, food, clothes, motorbikes and boats. I think that these are offerings for their dead relatives. On the streets almost every business had a small altar holding incense, flowers and statues built into the walls. There were even little offerings of food and incense in the gutters all along the street. I discovered later that today was some sort of festival day so this activity may have been more evident than normal.

The language classes have made this a challenging week but I am making a little progress and am enjoying the opportunity to get to know this complex city.