Vietnam Part 2

The third day in the morning I went back to the market to buy this painting I had decided not to get the day before because I wanted to sleep on it. I decided for $15 it was worth it and the lady knocked it down to $12.  I had also seen the most amazing carry-on suitcase the day before that I wanted to get but couldn’t find it ANYWHERE. I should have known not to sleep on something I loved, I ended up looking for it the rest of the week and couldn’t find it so maybe in China. It was a tan color with maps of different parts of the world all over it, it was perfect.  Perhaps next time.

In the afternoon I decided to get a mani/pedi.  Everyone says this is what you do in Vietnam.  I was stupid and didn’t come outside with the name of the place, I just asked the driver to take me there which I should have been smarter than to do in Vietnam. In India that’s fine, they may try to overcharge you but they’re honest and good-hearted (at least in my experience) but in Vietnam not so much. The guy took me to this broken down salon with construction being done on the whole front. The lady told me it would be 400,000 ($20) dong for a manicure and pedicure which I KNEW wasn’t right, that’s more than I pay at home at my Vietnamese salon, it shouldn’t have been more than 200,00 and I said so. We agreed on 300,000. I knew I was overpaying but thought it was still pretty cheap and it would be worth it. She made me pay immediately which I did and assumed she would take me into the back and into the salon part. Nope… she takes out a fold out table, a bucket of water, some nail polish remover, five colors and a nail file. She literally dipped my hands in water, filed one of them and started to paint them this ugly pink color.  All the while she kept stopping to go outside and talk to the construction guys. I told her it was taking too long and I had to go and wanted to cancel the pedicure but she said a manicure was the same price as a manicure/pedicure and I couldn’t have my money back.  Damn.  As much as I wanted to book it out of there I wanted my moneys worth and I wanted that stupid lady to touch my feet so I took the pedicure.  I finally got out of there hot and exhausted and pissed off with the worst manicure of my life but once again, learning experience.

It turns out that a lot of people in Vietnam scam foreigners by offering services that are known to be good in Vietnam, but by being pushy and confusing and with the language barrier people get confused and they end up getting ripped off. My friend Tatiana tried to get an hour massage but had a lady rub her back for 20 minutes, leave for 10, come back for 10 and then leave to give some other people pedicures.

I got back to the boat to take a nap but Andrew called and wanted to hang out so I put my stuff down, changed and went back to the Rex to meet him. We jumped into a cab and asked the driver to take us to a “nice Vietnamese restaurant” and luckily this guy pulled through. We went somewhere that appeared really nice and got the most delicious chicken, duck, appetizers and cocktails for around $20 altogether.  Afterwards we noticed a sign for massages across the street.  It was in a nice building so we determined it was safe and not a scam.  We each got 1 hour massages for 139,000 dong… about $7.25.  And they were GREAT!  I haven’t been able to crack my back since, it was definitely one of the best massages I have ever gotten, I fell asleep halfway through, and when I left the girl a 50,000 dong tip, or $2.50, she just about fell over. Andrews girl did offer him a “happy ending” although he turned it down, I’m pretty sure he’s the only American guy to ever do that, but he has very strong views about prostitution and I respect him for that.

After our massages we headed back to the boat and changed and went to one of the port bars with everyone to wait for Hassan and Whitney to come back from Cambodia. Eventually they got back and I went out to Apolacylpse with some friends. What was supposed to be a fun night was still fun I guess but was once again ruined for me by people who can’t hold themselves together.  A girl got too drunk and I ended up babysitting her all night which is fine, I don’t mind being there for my friends, but eventually  when endearing stumbling turned into barging out of a hotel room and walking alone down alleys I was not happy anymore. I literally chased this girl barefoot and dragged her back to the hotel and spent two hours trying to reason with her. At around 4:30 am she was being irrational and making phone calls to go home and I couldn’t deal with it anymore so I tagged Hassan in and went to the room to try and get some sleep. That was the first and last time I will get a hotel room in port. It’s elaborate, a liability, dramatic and I really like my own bed. At least when we go back to the ship people contain themselves but when they know they have a hotel room they tend to get way too drunk.

Maybe I’m being too high and mighty because I know that everyone drinks, that I drink, that I have been too drunk and it’s a normal part of college and adult life but I have standards and I wish other people did too, this isn’t freshmen year, we’re not 18.  I got too drunk the first night in Dominica and promised myself right there it wouldn’t happen again and I would not have to be taken care of again on this trip and I have held to that. I am more than happy to take care of someone once, twice, but the same girl shouldn’t have to be taken care of every night in the same port, it’s not fair to everyone else.  Several people in Vietnam didn’t show up for their commitments with me or other people or their FDPs because they were too hungover and I’m not ok with that.  You need to at least show up to cancel and not leave people hanging.  Anyway, that’s my rant. To clarify, I am not against drinking or my friends drinking or anything like that, I just  think we’re at an age where it needs to be done responsibly.  Especially when we have so little time. If someone wants to waste 1 of 5 days in a country hungover, 20% of their time that’s their thing but I’m not going to waste my time.

Anyway, Hassan took over and talked some sense into her which as good. I fell asleep around 5 and woke up around 6:30 with the sun. I had barely slept but didn’t really feel comfortable in the room so I decided to try and skype Rollie. I packed up my computer into my industrial protection strength pacsafe backpack, put on my fanny pack and was off.  This was the first time I had to cross a road in Vietnam by myself. The roads are CRAZY. Cyclists back and forth constantly. You have to just walk across the street very slowly at a steady pace and they’ll go around you or so I’m told.  I never quite figured it out and was terrified so I developed my own method. Find an old Vietnamese person, stand shoulder to shoulder with them, do whatever they do and no matter what don’t look at the bikes an inch away from your stomach. 

Even though I only walked about 10 minutes away from the hotel I ended up in the least touristy place possible. Everyone was staring at me, no one spoke any English and normal life was just going about. It was cool to see it without the influence of people trying to sell things or get me on their bike or cab or whatever, to just exist in the environment and see how it worked. Eventually I found an outdoor café with a sign that said “wifi” so I went in and sat down. After a lot of gesturing I managed to get what I think was iced coffee although it was very strong and I could barely drink it.  They did have a sweet wifi connection though and I got to skype for close to an hour with no problems which is very rare. 

After the skype date I wanted to cry at the thought of trying to cross the street again so I just grabbed a motorbike back to the hotel and woke everyone up. We walked around for awhile and ended up stumbling into a really expensive mall where I wouldn’t touch anything although I did buy a delicious homemade donut.  The hard thing about Ho Chi Minh is that literally all there is to do is party and shop. To do anything cultural aside from the War museum you have to go at least 3 hours outside the city and I just wasn’t in the mood to do that, I wanted to relax, I have traveled out of every port so far and just wanted to kick it. 

I went back to the boat for lunch and all of a sudden my exhaustion from only sleeping three hours the night before hit me and I decided to take a nap. I passed out until about 6 when my friend Amy called me so we could go pick up our dresses. I woke up still delirious but we made it to the tailor.  My dress is cute and fits well but the tailor took a lot of creative liberties in toning down how elaborate the dress was so it really looks nothing like the picture.  It’s still cute, but it’s kind of low cut but also kind of long so I’m not sure what to do with it yet. I’m sure it will be a nice spring in Seattle dress and I’m excited to wear it when I get home.

We walked around the market for a bit but at around 9 I was exhausted so I just went back to the boat.  I had missed dinner so I went up to the 7th deck to get a pizza and Bill Cuff, who directs a lot of the surface trips on the boat, was up there.  I went on my service trip in India with him and have talked to him a few times since. He asked what I was getting and I said a pizza and he said “You know what, I’m going to buy it for you, just for being the kind of person you are.”  Skipping out on going out and going back to the boat turned out to be one of my best decisions. I sat on the deck talking to Bill for over an hour all about people on the boat, relationships, personal growth, decisions, service work and all sorts of things and it was really great. I’ve never really had a “mentor” before but I really respect him and he’s definitely becoming someone I trust and is helping me process some of the things I’m seeing and doing on this trip.  At around 10:30 we said goodnight and I went back to my room and passed out.

I woke up pretty early on our fifth and last day in Vietnam. I called Whitney to see if she wanted me to take her to the market since she had just gotten back from Cambodia. She wanted to sleep awhile longer, so we agreed to meet at 10:45 and I watched my 50 cent “Easy A” and cleaned my room.  At 11 her, D and I left to wander and shop. We got some really good sandwiches, bought some snacks for the boat and got some last minute gifts. After an hour Whitney left to go to the War museum and D and I decided to try again at mani/pedis. She had a brochure for somewhere so we thought it would be more legitimate. Oh BOY it was!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hands down the most awesome mani/pedi I have ever gotten. You could get the basics for under $10, but for $34 I got the hand/foot spa package and it was soooo wonderful.  I had one girl doing my manicure while another did my feet and they did all of the scraping and washing and those little scrubby beads and dipped my everything in wax, it was awesome and MORE than worth it.  My feet have never looked better.

Afterwards we headed back to the boat. D was tired and got right on but I decided to head to the port bar to do some last minute internet and youtubing and hang out with some friends.  I got back on the boat at 5:30, exhausted, and was passed out in my bed by 7.

Some people loved Vietnam and can’t wait to go back. I would like to see more cultural aspects of it but I did more than enough going out/shopping and was sick of it by the end.  I don’t think Vietnam is on the top of my list for places to return to and that’s ok.  India and Cape Town are still my favorites, but we’ll be in China tomorrow and I’m excited for that.