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December in Japan means incessant lights, snow, and best of all, time to travel! Jeff and I decided to continue our world tour and head to southern Vietnam and Cambodia for our winter vacation. Unlike last year’s trip to Thailand, NOTHING was planned. Beyond our flight and place to stay in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC and Saigon), we were going to take it as it comes. We ended up with a full non-stop itinerary and I wouldn’t change a moment of our trip. It was phenomenal! Read the next few blogs to see what adventures unfolded….

Moto, Moto, Everywhere

Casey Lary
2007-03-10 17:22:15

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We walked through the park to see various openings leading to the underground tunnels and saw numerous booby trap replicas. This was all just a constant reminder to me how much I hate war and death. I was tempted to shoot the AK47 for kicks, but realized I hate shooting guns, and for $1.6 a bullet was not so interested. No regrets NOT shooting the guns. They made a piercing noise every time they were fired that echoed throughout the place, and in the distance a faint soothing music was heard- weird mixture. Next we crawled through the replica tunnels. As I get older I am realizing I get more claustrophobic, so only made it through the first section. I was fine when I didn't think about where I was or when Jeff was not blocking the tiny lamp guiding us. When he did that I would scream and he would tell me to relax- typical Casey/Jeff behavior.

Back in HCMC I wandered the streets and braved crossing them alone. My technique was to follow an old lady with a walker- no one is going to hit an old lady with a walker! I
found my bootleg DVDs, got some suits made, and a killer pair of shades. Getting the suits was a fun experience. I asked the glasses place where I can get some suits made. They pointed me in the direction of the large Ben Thanh market- a large covered market selling everything. I start walking the aisles and find myself inthe fabric section. There were a cazillion stalls with rolls of fabric. I did not know where to begin. I walked up to one and said "Do you make suits?" and before I knew it I was picking out fabrics and heading to the tailor. They asked me what I wanted- man I had no idea! I gave them my order, said I would be back on January 7th and was off back to the house, unsure of what I would be getting on the 7th. At $80 a pop, it was a steal! That night the boys were having a huge Christmas Extravaganza- carols, food, and John even wore his Santa hat. Then he opened up Christmas presents with his family back home via Skype. It was great going back to their place knowing there were tons of people to play with. Adi bought a peculiar orange fruit for us to try, only to find out from the Vietnamese girls that it was poisonous. A crew of Aussie girls teaching in HCMC brought even more life to the party. My shining moment of the night was falling off the curb as I was waving to the Aussie girls. It was quite a scene trying to bandage my foot to stop the bleeding. In addition to the big gash on my right toe, I managed to sprain my left ankle and scrape up my left knee. Pure grace and class! I must say that I didn't think anything could rival last year's Christmas in Bangkok eating falafel, drinking Chang beer, popping wheelies during tuk tuk races, and making out in the Patpong District. But I must say this year in Saigon was one for the books. Definitely a fun experience and up there with Bangkok.

The next morning it was time for Jeff and I to leave 'Fratville' and head north. It was hard to leave- John and Andrew's seems like a black hole. Once there the fun never stops so you may never want to leave. They definitely made
Saigon a memorable place that was you know, kinda sorta fun ;-). We knew we would be seeing the again right before we left for Japan. Up next...DaLat.