26/07/13

I'm in Saigon! We arrived 2.5 hours later than expected and I'm couchsurfing with a couple of Vietnamese guys who own a café. This café is called 'English Rain' and is based on people coming to the café to speak and learn English. Here, I am treated like a minor celebrity. Let's start with when I arrived...

An picked me up at the bus stop, luckily he wasn't waiting for me the whole time, but when he arrived I knew instantly, this guy is a laugh. Trying to talk to me constantly when I'm on the back of his bike, laughing and I could hear he was smiling. This sort of thing, after a couple of s*** events lifts my heart. We arrive at the coffee shop and get offered a drink of whatever I want, because I am the owners guest. It's really not a big coffee shop but it has such a nice vibe, a piano against the wall, guitar learning next to it and it didn't take long for me to be playing either. I sit there, drinking my iced milk coffee and using my laptop when people started looking at me in a nervous giddy way. It wasn't long before An and Tri, when he arrived, to start introducing me to people saying "Come and talk to Steve, he's English!". Honestly, minor celebrity status. I sat there, chatting to people and then went for food with a few of them, a noodle fish soup dish, which... I liked. My taste is really broadening! We got back to the café, chatted more and eventually closed up at about 11pm. It was a really interesting evening, nobody I spoke to was particularly 'bad' at English, but hopefully I helped them. Oh yeh, and after we went out for a beer and the guys had the duck eggs I talked about in my blog from Hanoi. The duck eggs of which there is a baby duck inside, unhatched. I'm still not sold on the idea, so I just had a beer.

Yesterday, I woke up at about 9ish and went for a walk for breakfast, next door to the place we went to the night before, it did a noodle, veg and pork dish for 25000D, just what I wanted for breakfast. Literally, I'm turning Asian more and more every day! I went on a hunt to do my washing, taking all of my clothes and towel to reset my bag. You have no idea how good this feels, it's the travellers' equivalent of tidying your whole house, changing all the sheets and opening all the windows on a fresh spring morning. It feels magical. The rest of the day I uploaded pictures, learnt some guitar and chatted with a few people that came in. An took me out for lunch to another place which was only 25000D, but the cheap and 'normal' food was going to end once again. We went into town to meet up with Claudia and Whitney. This is the last time I'll see them until Claudia in the UK and Whitney maybe in Hong Kong next year or the year after. We had chicken...feet. Not bad, but there wasn't much meat on them.

27/07/13

The problem, I think, with couchsurfing, is this: When you put a request out, and leave it open, more and more people see that you're in the city. More and more people contact you wanting to meet up. This would be fine, you have lots of things to do, and people to meet. But you meet someone you get on with and want to see them again, but you have so many other people you should meet. So what would you do? Cancel others and spend time with someone you like, or say that it was nice to get on with someone and go for a different view of the city?

It's 9:50am and I'm meeting up with Linh, the girl I met yesterday. One thing her couchsurfing bio says is: "People say I'm a cute, crazy, "funny-little-tiny", adorable..." All of these things are true. But we were getting on so well last night that I forgot the time and that I should be back at the café for English club to talk to people! Steve Borland is never late. But it's not a major problem; they're not specifically waiting for me. We got back, went to English club and I had to talk more than I feel comfortable doing, in front of a large(ish) group of people. But once I was in the flow of things, it was okay. I found out that moving around makes it more interesting for me teaching and I think it was more interesting for them too. Of course I could be wrong, it might have been more difficult for them to keep track of me moving and talking s*** about rugby at the same time. English club finished at about 10 so me and Linh went to a café for a bit more food. Now, remember a couple of blogs ago when I said there's a line with food. I will eat a beating snake heart, but I won't eat the fertilised duck egg. Well, that line was crossed last night. I ate a unborn duck in an egg. -Just a side note, my mouth is currently on fire, I'm not going to let any Vietnamese buy me a breakfast sandwich again!- So the duck egg, I'm sure you're wondering what it tasted like, or what it felt like or how you even eat it. Well, to start with you crack the top of the egg, much like a normal boiled egg, you take the top off and try not to look inside. There is a lot of water which you initially need to get rid of, this water is full of goodness, so you drink it. This water tasted like egg white. You take your first spoonfull which will probably be the yolk, this tasted like egg yolk. Then you spoon out some dark, semi-mushy stuff. Identified by Linh as 'Probably the head' it tasted like... well... kinda, like nothing I've tasted before. It wasn't a strong taste, and it went down surprisingly easy. I didn't think about the fact that it was an unborn duck, it's just food. Yes, yes, I know... I'm a goddamn animal. We finished eating and drinking and Linh went home. It was a really nice evening, new people, new food and new experiences.

28/07/13

So yesterday I met up with Linh again, we went to the cinema because it was sunny. Haha, what? Seriously, sometimes the things are so backwards here it's just weird. We watched 'Turbo', the only film with tickets. It's a kids film, dreamworks maybe? I usually have a problem watching new kids films as an adult, but this was nice. Not having to think about every intricate detail in the film in order to get the ending or even notice the big twist. We went and got food in district 5, followed by relaxing at the café. This was all between 11am and 9pm. I kinda skimmed over a lot of it because of what's about to happen. Lars arrived.

Now, Lars was meant to arrive the day before, but his bus didn't turn up. In true European fashion, we showed the locals how to drink. We went to a street café and had some food. Lars, obviously having never tried the aforementioned duck egg before, got one put in front of him. It didn't take a lot of persuading, knowing that I had one the night before, but An ordered it and ordered himself and me one too. This one was different though, last time it was in the shell, this time, it had been boiled in the shell, taken out and deep fried. I'm sorry to say this, but it tasted really good. So good, infact, that after another 4 beers, we had more. This time, Lars had the 'in-shell' version. We kept drinking, allowing the German to set the pace, I did struggle to keep up some of the time. We got back about 1:30am and hit the hay.

This morning I woke up at 8:10. Now, I haven't mentioned this until now because I don't like to write about things which haven't happened yet. But I had a wedding to go to! A girl who visited the café invited me to her cousin's wedding. Ironically, having missed my own cousin's wedding, this too was the first wedding of her cousins. She picked me up at 8:30 (yeh, I got ready fast) and off we went. I won't be able to scrawl down all the wedding proceedings, but I'll do my best. We arrived at the parents of the bride's house, everybody already gathered around talking and drinking tea. I got introduced to a lot of people, and I sat down, in my hungover state, drinking tea with them. Eventually, the groom's family arrived. They waited down the alleyway, big gifts covered in red cloth to be presented to the bride's family. The father of the groom made his way ahead of the pack and into the bride's house. Asking permission for his son to marry their daughter. This was obviously accepted and they all made their way into the house. It was getting quite crowded now, and as with any wedding it is full of traditions, formalities and meaningful gestures. All of which are extremely difficult to endure on a hangover, even one with a low magnitude like mine. I felt worse at this point, as they unveiled the gifts of cake (I'll get to the cake), a tea set, more cake and some other gifts I couldn't see. I sat down and drank more tea, hoping it would help. They exchanged rings as the photographer snapped away and some guy videoed the whole event. It was extremely casual, lots of people sat outside, not paying attention to the exchanging of rings, drinking tea and smoking. People stood up and started leaving, I had no idea what was happening, I just followed. They walked out of the house, down an ally, onto the main road and down more alleyways. Apparently, we are all heading to the groom's family's house for lunch. Lunch, this is what I need, I hadn't had breakfast and my stomach was doing something down there, hopefully food will sort it out. Oh, and beer? God dammit, hair of the dog it is then! The house was set out like a small wedding reception; big round tables, seating about 8 people. I tried to talk with the people on my table, succeeding occasionally and using hand gestures to get my message across. I am so lucky to be part of this and experience the real life first hand. My luck extended too when I mentioned my German friend and inadvertently scored him an invite to the evening do. The lunch consisted of about 4 dishes which everybody shared. The weird food continues today, the hot pot dish was pork, kinda. Pig's stomach to be precise! I've eaten haggis, so I'm not too fussed about this and it did just taste like pork. Actually, really nice too! It was time to go (I assumed) when everybody started to stand up and leave. But I couldn't make an easy exit as there were hoards of Vietnamese men shaking my hand, smiling and giving me their beer for a sip. I felt like a minor celebrity once again, but loved it a little bit. We went back to the bride's house and as something was happening, I was dragged outside by another Vietnamese guy giving me beer. I'm starting to like Vietnamese weddings! This was short lived as I was taken home shortly after finishing the beer.

29/07/13

I'll give you a snapshot into how good our evening was, when me and Lars got in the taxi for the ride home we were on a high not even cocaine could produce (I would assume).

We got a taxi to the restaurant where the evening meal would take place. We saw the taxi meter going up and up, reaching 140k. When we arrived, our hearts sank, a place this posh, how much would the food cost? Do we have to pay? How much would the beer cost?! Oh, so many questions which were soon to be answered. The restaurant had about 6 reception rooms which were built specifically for weddings, 5 other wedding parties were around and I didn't know the name of the bride or groom. I vaguely knew what they looked like, and at running the risk of sounding racist, they all look very similar. Especially when wearing the wedding outfits! I eventually got hold of Thy, the girl who invited me and Lars, and we went into the wedding. There was a picture of the bride and groom on a table as you enter, with some ink sponges next to it. The picture had plenty of fingr prints on it, and it became apparent that you put your print on the picture as a signature. Such a cool idea! We sat down, near the stage and the waitresses came around with coke and beer. Lars and I were the only ones on our table who opted for beer. Did this stop us? No. We drank at our usual pace and talked with the cousins, all of the cousins spoke remarkable English and it wasn't long before we were invited to a few things. Lars, who is here for a while longer than I am, has been invited to a scout camp in the Vietnamese jungle, I am attending a Vovinam class tonight and staying at their house which is close to the airport. Lars is also going climbing with one of the guys and staying at the same house with me tonight! We kept drinking beer and before the glass was half empty, it was topped up again by the miserable waitress. As we proceeded to drink more, Lars stated his challenge for the night "Make that waitress smile!". Back to the experience though, there were professional dancers on stage who performed a beautiful Vietnamese dance, then the 'Gameshow host' as we called him appeared. He was wearing a black tux, had a microphone and was reading off of flash cards. The new couple arrived and the family were up on stage. It really did looke like they were about to win a new car. After the presentation and wishing them well with their marriage, the food was brought out. It was all pretty normal stuff, but then a chicken came out, the chicken was pretty much all there, the feet, small tail and head. It had been cooked, but was over some heat to warm it up. Lars and I saw the head and after eating the duck egg, we were up for anything! The meat around the head was obviously quite minimal, so we went for the brain, accidently popping out an eye, Lars ate it. I followed suit with the other one. I only need 1 word to describe it: Juicy. It didn't taste of much and it just popped like a grape in my mouth. We kept drinking and having an awesome time with great company and good food. There were lots of people getting on stage and singing. A few people getting escorted off stage due to bad singing or being too drunk. Meanwhile, me and Lars were sat there laughing, enjoying the company and fully loving the experience. The room started to empty and Lars still hadn't completed his goal. We were walking out and he said "There she is!" He ran over to her in what can only be described as a 'creepy manner'. He put his arm around her and achieved the picture. I can't tell, but at the end of the night, due to our good spirit and beer, I'm not sure if people were looking at us because we were acting up, because we were foreign, or because they were amused. 'm going with the latter to not take anything away from our experience. And Although we vacated the venue, this was not the end of the night, we were stood outside for a while chatting to the brothers (Ben & Ban) and their parents, eventually arranging to stay at theirs the next night after Vovinam and rock climbing. It was an amazing invitation, which we graciously accepted, exchanged details and got a taxi. This is where we join the snapshot. We were in such high spirits, just in complete awe of the evening's activities, how the night progressed and the plans which escalated from it! (But it gets better)

30/07/13

I woke up, not as hungover as the previous day and I took Lars to the 25,000 noodle place. I had checked y money at this point and realised I had 470,000 to last me until I leave Vietnam. If my wallet hadn't have been stolen, I wouldn't be in this situation. Oh, and I kinda thought I had an extra $60 in the bank, when it was actually closer to $20. After a facebook status to inform everyone that travelling isn't all rainbows and butterflies, that I will have to stay in the airport and only eat what I need to survive, my intention was shattered by Vietnamese hospitality once again. Nhung's boyfriend Jack, with whom I stayed with before, invited me to stay again. I wasn't sure if it would help because I'd still have to pay to get to the city and to get back to the airport, when Nhung invited me to dinner. I accepted their offer in exchange for a promise that one day I will return and treat them how they have treated me, or for them to come to Australia when I settle and likewise, treat them the same. This was done in the afternoon just before Ben's Dad picked me up and I left English Rain. I will just reiterate that An & Tri's café is such a good thing for the Vietnamese students who are learning English and their personalities are just fantastic. I get to Ben's place, gear up and head to the sports centre. I was expecting probably what your Kopftkino has now, a sports hall like the ones at home, yeh? Well you're half right, but it was the basketball court outside. 4 other martial arts taking place. I sat and watched Ben's class, occasionally practicing Tae Kwon Do myself. I was expecting to be flaky with my patterns, to have lost the sharpness of my moves and not be as fit. I was mostly right. My patterns were slightly off, and my fitness I'm unsure whether to put down to the heat and humidity, but my moves I even surprised myself with. I was executing them at grading standard and felt quite proud when I perfectly performed Chung Moo in front of a few spectators. After the lesson, I sparred a little with Ben, my heart beating double, this is the first time I have sparred with someone outside of Tae Kwon Do, and although it was for fun, I did feel like I had something to prove. After this, he asked a black belt if he would like to spar with me, and wow. This was intense. Tripple beating, heart in mouth, head in the game, focused. But he was quick. So quick, I couldn't get near him, but with that in mind, he didn't attack much. The only time would be when I went in for a double turning kick, which ended with a deadlock my knifehand strike to his neck and I think his fist to my stomach. Anyway, I've written too much about what made me excited and not what the marital art was like! They focussed a lot on kicks, like Tae Kwon Do, but also did take downs, very elaborate take downs including jumping up, chest height, wrapping your legs around someone's chest and taking them down. I want to try this. The courtyard, filled with the aforementioned 4 other martial arts was also filled with a variety of weapons and other skills. I watched a kung fu sparring match which was fascinating. We went home at around 9pm where we met Ban and Lars. We showered and were invited downstairs for food. Food?! These people are feeding us too! They gave us some traditional home cooking (I knew this thanks to Nhung) Spring rolls, some of the herb/vegetables I mentioned on my first night in Hanoi and lettuce, with a side of chicken feet. The spring rolls were incredible. Some of the best I have ever tasted, I will definitely try my best to make these when I get home. We were also fed beer, Ben's Dad not drinking because he was hungover from the wedding.

This morning we got up and went for breakfast, I can't remember what it was called, but it had everything in it. At least 2 types of noodles, beef, prawn, vegetables. It was quite a good breakfast as far as a balanced diet goes! I got my stuff sorted and around 11:15 was fed again. Ben's Mum had prepared what would be best described as an asian salad. I didn't think I could have any more weird food, but here it is, another one for the list; Jellyfish. Didn't tasted like fish, but was quite like jelly. Ben's Dad gave me a lift to the airport on the back of his bike again and when I left, he said "If you come back to Vietnam, make sure you remember my home". What a genuinely nice man and family! I had arranged to meet Linh for the last time at the complex opposite the airport before flying up to Hanoi, she bought me lunch in the form of a sandwich. She claimed it was the best sandwich she had tasted. She wasn't wrong. I think I've mentioned these sandwiches before, and this one was the best one I've had in Vietnam! We had a very fun and interesting conversation, she had bought an extra sandwich which she had bought and I ate it at the airport in departures. Another act of sheer kindness from someone who started out as a stranger and now I consider a friend.

01/08/13

What hospitality and treatment, I knew they did it before, but again? Jack and Nhung fed me, rode me into town on the back of the moped, everything. I am in their debt, without them, I would have spent 2 nights in the airport, and that's not fun for anybody! During the day when Jack and Nhung were at work, I spent the morning in a coffeeshop writing, chatting to people online and just wasting some time, then I went into town. The old quarter where I had been before. I went to find out the bus times, places and was pleasantly surprised! The bus I got in, is run by VietJet and costs 50,000 to get back. However, there is a bus which takes a bit longer, but costs 7,000. Well that's a no brainer! Tomorrow my flight leaves at 16:35, so I'll definitely get the cheap option tomorrow middayish. So, obviously after finding out where the bus stop was, I wanted to see it, make sure I knew how long it would take to get there and stuff so tomorrow I wouldn't rush. On my way back, I found a cheeky little café which did 5,000 Dong beer. Not one to pass on cheap beer, I dipped in for a quick one and whilst chatting to a British couple who had been travelling Asia for weeks, I had another 7. Now half cut, and cutting a conversation right when we started talking about British politics, I had to go. Jack picked me up and we headed to his house to get changed and then to the cinema complex. We ate and missed the start of the film, but the food was incredible, nothing weird this time though). The film was pretty terrible, but had enough laughs in it to make it seem like they knew it was terrible.

Tomorrow I leave Vietnam, and I'd just like to say that these people; Nhung, Jack, Ben, Ban, their parents, An & Tri, Linh, and the Vietnamese in general, do their country proud. The hospitality and kindness of virtual strangers who offer me into their home, who feed me and show me places I would not have otherwise seen is unmatched by any country I have ever been to. The consistency from the north to the south (let's ignore what happened in Dalat and Nha Trang for now), is incredible. I truly feel that Vietnam is the best country I have visited in south east asia. The varied landscapes from the beautiful beaches to the cooler mountains and winding passes give Vietnam a depth which I wasn't expecting. The food has been an adventure in itself! From the damn weird; Snake heart, chicken eyeball, pigs stomach, half developed duck in the egg & chicken feet, to the slightly unusual; jellyfish, octopus, snails, snake, frog & ostrich, I've loved it all. But let's not skim over the Phó and all the other types of noodle dishes which tasted fantastic! Finally, the other people that made this trip one of the best in the last 13 months were the other travellers experiencing it all with me. The 3 people I count as friends for life are; Lars, Claudia and Whitney. 3 people I hope will not be associated with Vietnam forever, but the place we will meet again. This all said, it shouldn't come as a surprise to you when I say I will visit again. To do the things I missed: Mui Ne, Sapa, Halong Bay & the Mekong delta. So instead of saying "Good Morning, Vietnam!" like the film, I will say "Goodbye, Vietnam!...and see you again!"