Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam

Caleb and I couldn’t have been happier to see a small Vietnamese man holding a sign with our names on it as we walked off the tarmac at Ho Chi Minh Airport in Southern Vietnam.  We followed the gentlemen to a customs booth where he asked for our passports, skipped the long line of tourists and handed them to an immigration officer.  A few minutes later and our passports were stamped and we were free to enter the country.

As we were walking out of the airport, I heard a guy yell my name.  I turned around to find Jim, a 26 year old guy from Boston whom I’d met several weeks prior at a rooftop bar at our hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  Apparently we’d been on the same plane from Jakarta as well.  Crazy!  Jim asked us if we knew where we were staying for the evening and I told him we had no idea, other than the fact we wanted to stay in District 1 of the city, due to the guidebooks saying it was the hotspot for backpackers.  He said he’d already reserved a hotel room at a highly rated place in that same district for cheap and invited us to split a taxi and see if they had extra rooms.  A 20-minute, $3 taxi ride later, we arrived at the Saigon Mini Hotel.  While the city is shown on every map as Ho Chi Minh, the locals still call it Saigon (it’s former name).  We were fortunate that they had a room with two beds available and booked it for 3-nights.  We settled into our room, got changed and met Jim downstairs to head out for some food and drinks for the evening, as it was almost 9:00 PM. 

We walked down a main street before settling on a little roadside restaurant with outside seating.   A simple plate of chicken and rice could be had for a little over $1 and the local beer, BGI, costs less than 40 cents for a 20 ounce bottle and it was absolutely delicious!  I was in heaven!  We sat there and ate our food and hydrated with our drinks all the while fending off the relentless offer of street peddlers.

One thing that I’ve noticed throughout our travels is the constant pestering from people peddling merchandise.  Each country does this at a different level.  Some of the tourist areas in Thailand are pretty thick, Malaysia wasn’t bad at all, most places, it was non-existent.  I’m sure in Singapore, it’s probably an offense punishable by caning or death.  From cigarettes, bracelets, food, CD’s, DVD’s, and every kind of drug imaginable, the peddlers try to sell you absolutely everything.  I’m sure being American attracts more attention than average but it can really become an annoyance.  The most annoying of all however are “women of the night”.   Vietnam has been the worst.  It is EVERYWHERE.  It’s very common for someone to walk by with a fruit cart and say “You buy fruit”, I reply “No, thanks”.  Then the next thing out of their mouth is “You want woman and cocaine?”  It’s like, good God, how is that effective.  “You know I really wanted a Kiwi but since you don’t have it, I’ll take $300 of illicit drugs and 2 chicks”.  Everything comes with an offer of drugs and women.  You catch a ride on a moped, they ask you if you want drugs and women.   You buy a pack of cigarettes, they tell you if you buy one more, it comes with a woman (not really but it seems that way).  It’s an extremely unfortunate circumstance for these people and even though you couldn’t deny that this exists in the US, at least it’s not shoved down your throat while your trying to eat lunch.

We soon meandered another few blocks till we heard some loud music coming from a rooftop bar three stories above our heads.  Jim, Caleb, and I headed into the bar and to our surprise, it was filled with nothing but white people.  We grabbed a few beers and started mingling with the bar crowd.  We soon discovered that the group of 30 or so people were all in Saigon teaching English.  Apparently it was a big going away party for one of the guys that taught with them as he was heading back to the states after more than 2 years teaching abroad.  I mingled with a group of girls who were from Ireland and England and asked them what the must see places in Saigon were.  They told me I had to go to the War Relics Museum, it was the number one must see tourist attraction.  I ended the evening short leaving Caleb to fend for himself with the lovely foreign ladies.

I awoke the following morning, eager to explore the city we had heard so much about.  I forced Caleb to wake from his Ambien induced coma and we met up with Jim once again to go about our day.  Our first stop was the War Relics Museum.  Originally, it was called The American War Crimes Museum prior to Bill Clinton re-establishing relations with the country in the 1990’s.  It was a four-story building that enabled you to relive the tragic events of the American involvement in the Vietnam War.   The War Relics Museum painted America in a similar light as the Nazi involvement in the Holocaust.  The images depicted victims burned by the use of napalm as well as the more disturbing photos of the effects of the horrific results of our use of the chemical “Agent Orange”.  The museum, although I kept in mind it was bias, was very difficult to tour.  At one point, while looking at photographs of deformed children born from individuals present during the chemical warfare, I stood holding back my emotions as two Vietnamese women my age wept at the same sight I was staring at.  It was a stark reminder of the devastating tragedies that war brings and I soon had to step outside.

I met up with Caleb and Jim to make the trek to a famous market as well as The Reunification Palace and Notre Dame Cathedral.  Soon we headed back to our hotel where we took a nap (my favorite activity), got showered (again, separately), and readied ourselves for the evening.  We met Jim at a street side bar that served beers costing less than 25 cents!!!.  While I was filling my belly with booze for the cost of a US stamp, I heard a live band across the street playing incredible classics.  At this stage in the evening, I was at a level that required hearing music played by the greatest band in the history of music, The Eagles of course.  I had run out of cash so I forced The Bank of Caleb to sprint down the street and withdraw $1,000,000 Dong, an equivalent of $50 US for me.  I needed the money for bribing.  I have an affliction, a disease some might call it.  When there is a live performance going on, I have a compulsive need to stop at no cost to make them play some of my favorite Eagles tracks.  We scurried over to the bar, sat and listened while they played such incredible cuts as Cocaine, and Layla by Eric Clapton, Stairway to Heaven by Led Zepplin, Old Time Rock and Roll by Bob Seger, and Walk This Way by Aerosmith.  Absolutely incredible.

I approached the lead singer of the band and explained I wanted to hear the Eagles songs Hotel California, New York Minute, Desperado, and Life in the Fast Lane at any price his heart desired.  He told me $50,000, or less than $3 US and he’d play all of them!!  I paid him double and the next 15 minutes made up some of the most precious minutes of my life.

Shortly after witnessing the musical performance of a lifetime, Caleb hit a brick wall.  The exhaustion plus the inability to drink beer and only hard drinks took a toll on my Asian-American friend.  He requested that Jim and I excuse his presence as he wished to depart to his bed back at the hotel.  I agreed, thus allowing him to leave and Jim and I headed out to the street in search of the next great bar adventure. 

Jim and I meandered to the street and found a couple of Vietnamese moped drivers willing to take us anywhere our hearts desired.  I asked them where the biggest, most ostentatious bar in the 9 million person populated city of Saigon was.  They told me they knew just the place.  We jumped on the back of there mopeds, twisting and turning through the thick traffic along our 15-minute route to the bar called Two Thirteen.  We walked up the steps to the entryway and were greeted by a stiff cover and unfriendly looking bouncers.  I stepped into the bar and was welcomed by an absolutely packed house of more than 500 people.  I looked at Jim and told him my plan.  I wanted to seek out the wealthiest looking foreigner, introduce myself, and hang out for the rest of the night, as I was confident they’d enjoy an American counterpart at their table.  Minutes later I made friends with a Russian named Roman Petrovich, and mid thirties gentleman that owned a slew of metal factories in Vietnam.  The table he had ordered was filled with four 1-litre bottles of Belvedere Vodka as well as a giant 6-litre bottle of Grey Goose surrounded by a swath of women from various backgrounds all vying for a piece of the man’s fortune.  He took me under his wing like I was a trophy and insisted that I drink on his dime to my hearts content.  I obliged, not wanting to be rude of course.

The minutes turned to hours as I danced away with Roman and his group of gold digging friends before I reached a pinnacle and decided to head home for the evening.  I finally reached home at 4 AM and was eagerly awaiting my bed when I opened the door.  What came next was a surprise I could’ve never imagined in my wildest dreams.

I cracked the door to room 301 at the Saigon Mini Hotel to a loud SURPRISE!!!  Startled, I got my wits about me and focused in on the spectacle before me.  TWENTY-FIVE of my closest friends had flown in from the US to surprise me for St. Patrick’s Day!!!!  I couldn’t believe it.  All these people coordinated for a halfway around the world trip!  There is no way I’d have ever known this would’ve happened!!  Take a look at the pictures below!!!

Liz Zammit flew in from LA and Bissel came all the way from Namibia, Africa to be here!!!  Liz is giving Bissell the old stink eye!

Right as I walked in the door, Jeff was standing guard at the bathroom entrance.  I wasn't quite sure what the hell he was doing?!?!?!? 

I discovered Jonica and Josh inside looked sexy as always, both using my mirror to make sure they looked 100%!!!

I wasn't at all surprised to see Matt and Kevin sitting in the bathtub together!!!  Not sure what the sunscreen was all about!!!

Kevin's girlfriend Amanda pretending to not be upset over what she saw taking place!!

Teetu Meeta manning door duty tonight.  She was all set with a couple of Tiger beers, what a lush!!!

Couldn't believe Bryan and Jen made it out and even little Caleb managed to snag a flight!!!

Justin "Dragon"  Smith made his presence known with that incredible beard!!  Kate looked less than pleased!!!

T-Money looking for some hydration and even Justin Challain made the journey over!  Couldn't believe he put his lip ring back in for the occasion!!!

Ackerman was trying to get the group to do an 80's ski night, Monica was having none of it!!!  So great to see them both!!!

A beer for Tripp and a water for Danna, baby Grant can't have drinks yet!  Danna looking jealous as she clearly wants to partake in the festivities!!

Ryan "Baked Beans" Mcmeans droppin' the creep look as Julian and I enjoy the company of one Miss Katie Bookey Roberts (Ya, I said it) !!!

The night couldn't have possibly been complete without shots with Courtney and Emelie!!

After a long night of partying with friends, the 27 of us finally hit the hay in an overcrowded hotel room.  I honestly can’t wait for the next couple weeks to see what kind of shenanigans this group and I get into!