So let's talk about Vietnam. My home is Bien Hoa, a small town on the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City. And when I say outskirts... wow? Even more so than Thailand, HCMC is city city city and then suddenly, like someone drew a line in the sand, suddenly not city. (Limited) Bus travel ends at 530, there are no stores aside from the mom and pop places (alright, there is a KFC but c'mon, this is Asia). Consequently getting around is pretty difficult without a personal vehicle. There are some good points though. The school looks great, and it's in walking distance. There are a number of mom and pop restaurants, serving up bowls of stuff for a pretty cheap rate. My house is more like a mansion, with a sprawling living room and kitchen, complete with a "garage"... for a motorbike.
Still, a garage. Look who's Mister 1%.
So, about HCMC. Roommate Chloe and I grabbed the bus into town, starting out at the Reunification Palace. The former home of the South Vietnamese President, the war basically ended when a tank crashed through the gate here. It's pretty much exactly the same as it was 40 years ago, complete with 70s era decor. It's like if your grandma was put in charge of interior decoration. There was also a bunker downstairs filled with old radio equipment, maps, and other random cool things. Also, the Vietnamese word for "bunker" is apparently "Ham", which made for some chuckles on the bilingual "Ham Bunker" signs.
After, it was onto the War Remnants Museum. Basically the "Hey. The Americans Were Dicks." Museum. I mean, it's like the Rape of Nanjing Museum (Actually no, nothing is as bad as that). It's a masochistic kind of curiosity, made a little more real because it's "my" country that's presented in a negative light. There was a bit of a propaganda tint to it, but that's not an excuse to make up for the fact that America messed up pretty bad there. I suppose war is never a clean affair, and you can always pick out examples to show what you want. But there are some horrible examples of "what not to do", because it's only going to cause people to hate you more. And there was a lot of that going on, especially with the chemical defoliants and their effects on the general population. And even if just 1% of the crazy preserved fetuses were caused by those chemicals, that's 1% too many. Oddly enough I didn't take any photos there, mostly because it would just be photos of photos. But there were some interesting physical things there, like some vintage military hardware and small arms.
After, it was a trip to Ben Thanh Market for some old fashioned Asian haggling. In particular I wanted some Oolong Tea, and there was no shortage. From a high of 250,000 VND ($11.50) down to 80,000, my haggling ability remains intact. Wanting to insert a bit of levity after the museum, I joked with one of the more persistent vendors I was looking for a Vietnamese wife. He pointed out this younger shopkeeper a few paces away, and they shot back and forth in Vietnamese about this crazy foreigner. At one point, a pregnant woman stood up and said "Hey! (gesturing to her baby) Buy one get one free!"
Now in fits of laughter, Chloe and I headed out to see the Post Office. An odd tourist sight, but a really impressive building across from another equally impressive Cathedral. It looks like this post office has not changed in over 100 years, but it is still active and working. There's not much more to say about it except it was like a step back in time and a pleasure to see.
Then back we went, and work orientation started. We learned about our classes, I quit my job, we found a nice coffee shop, yadda yadda.
Backing up, let me tell you about this coffee shop! Nah seriously, I quit my job and went back to Bangkok. I know this was quite a decision, and really nobody was as surprised as I was. Basically, I had a "chance" to stay in my room for 3 days straight with dodgy electricity. And instead of just browsing the internet endlessly (alright, I did do that on the first day), I uncharacteristically didn't feel like doing anything and just think. Just sit in the dark and think. And I thought about the way my life was going, and I decided it wasn't going exactly what I wanted. I think I just kept myself busy and doing stuff enough that I never let myself think. So I tried to think about the times I was happiest. Going to away to college was pretty high up there. Deciding to travel and teach was pretty high up there. Being with Ella was pretty high up there. Unfortunately I can't go back to being 20 anymore and I already left America. But maybe if I'm really lucky I could go back to being with Ella. And I got really lucky when she decided that she would take me back. And I've come back to Thailand with a fresh mind, with a new home, new job, I'm trying to shake things up to make things feel fresh. That time the taxi driver tried to steal my rice cooker? That time the taxi ran over my bike? That time that taxi driver tried to not use the meter? That time the taxi shortchanged me? That was Thailand 1.0, this is 2.0. And to top it all off, I still get to do all the things I wanted to do (live in Asia, travel the world, try new beers, sing karaoke, be an idiot), but I get to do it with my best friend. So right now, this is exactly where my travels should take me.
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