24 September 2005 – Vientiane and Saigon

Woke up around 6:30 and strolled down to breakfast. By 9:15 my camera and I have hit the streets. It is going to be a terribly hot day. I had to the large public market to see what’s happening.

The market is more orderly and cleaner than the other ones I have visited on this trip. As usual, I head to the food stalls to see what goodies are being sold and bought. Food is more carefully and artistically arranged here than at other markets in Southeast Asia. Perhaps due to the French influence?

Cashew nuts, larger than any I’ve seen before, are being sold along with beautiful, dainty pastries. Even at this hour people are feasting at the prepared food stands on noodles and savory-looking soups. The fresh produce is vibrant and looks as though it was just picked an hour before. We certainly don’t have this stuff in the U.S.

I stroll through the alleys surrounding the market until about 11:30. It is so terribly hot I opt for the hotel pool, a light lunch, and a short nap. By the pool I enjoying an ice cold beer and the best beef and chicken sate I’ve ever had. The sauce is thick, chunky, and already slathered on the skewers of meat. Sprinkled on top is a generous portion of portion of crispy fried garlic – delicious!

After a short nap, I stroll around a bit more and visit the Notre Dame church and other sites. I stop by for a wonderful ice cream treat consisting of a scoop of caramel ice cream filled with caramel sauce, frozen hard, covered with meringue, and browned (sort of like a lemon meringue pie). Beautiful and wonderful!

Back to the hotel to clean up and go to the executive lounge for afternoon cocktails. While enjoying a martini I meet a German couple on a six week vacation here to Saigon. They are loving the visit but I wonder how one would fill six days in Saigon let alone six weeks. Of course, the Germans know how to vacation much better than the Americans.

After cocktails with the charming couple I go out for more photos. Families are out enjoying the warm, clear weather.

Traffic in Saigon reminds me of Beijing. The difference is that most of the bikes here are motorized. Most intersections, including many main ones that have a round-about, have no crossing signals. Each time I cross the street is a life-threatening experience!

I dine at a small French-style café near the hotel. I order crab spring rolls and a French dish that sounds to be crab crepes.

The spring rolls are delightful. Today I watched the ladies making the fresh rice paper wrappers. A thin rice flour batter is ladled over a fine cloth stretched over a steamer. When the thin layer of batter is set the lady peals it off using long chopsticks.

My main course is nothing like the crepes I expected. It is more like a gratineed crab dip with no a vegetable to be seen. Hello cholesterol!

Later I plan to have a beer at a nearby German-style beer hall. They will be celebrating Oktoberfest, but after I depart Saigon. L

This city appears to be a party town. Unfortunately I am a 10PM in bed kind of guy…

The German-style beer house is named the Lion Brauhaus and is as authentic as I think you can get in Asia. I order a 400 cl mug of the pilsner and it much better than the microbrews I have had in the U.S. Supposidly this stuff is brewed on the premises and it looks like all the necessary is present.

The menu is a bit of a giggle. They have standard German fare – sausages, pork knuckle, and pomme friites. But there is a Vietnamese selection as well that includes Eel Porridge, Salmon Head Hot Pot, and Russian Caviar (the communist ties are still strong!). Also, there is a stage that suspiciously looks as though it is karaoke-capable. I’d better drink my beer quickly before it starts up!

The prices are cheap. If my calculations are correct, my beer is $1.50, champagne pork ribs are $3.75, and the Eel Porridge is an economical $2.00.

I think I could adjust to living in Saigon for a few years quite nicely. The environment is not as friendly as Cambodia, Laos, or Thailand but given the history that is understandable. HCMC, or Saigon, is struggling to be visitor friendly. I think that due to the government management visitor information is not laid out or presented very well. Even at my hoste, questions that I think are fairly simple, such as getting a recommendation for a good tailor, are met with surprise. Yet the street children speak perfect English – better than some U.S. southerners – when asking me to buy postcards and such. Today one little boy, perhaps six years old and wearing a Ralph Lauren Polo shirt, asked me to buy him milk. I told him if he could buy such a nice shirt then milk should not be a problem. I’m turning into such a mean old man…