An aging corporate dropouts views of expat living in Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia. A compilation of daily life and travel experiences,along with factual news events, personal opinions and ramblings.
One of the questions I'm most often asked is "when I visit Saigon - what attractions "are must see's" My reply is that the must see's is the daily life of the city and the daily life of the Vietnamese people. Grab yourself a street corner and watch what goes on around you, get bored take a walk, hire a cyclo or a motorbike to drive you around. Though, if you go for a cyclo or a motorbike make sure you negotiate a price before mounting up. My self I like walking but carry a business card from the place I'm staying and when I tire or get hopelessly lost I grab a taxi or a motorbike and hire them to take me to the address on the card.
Whatever, take your time and do a lot of gawking, Saigon is like unfolding an onion, it's multi-layers of things that some times are not what they seem or there's more to it than you thought. I still walk down street I thought I knew and make new discoveries.
The following photos and some examples.
Note: click on an image to expand it and at the bottom you will thumbnails of the photos -
streetside mechanics
Banana motorbiking
What a smile
Drive- in fruit market
Fresh fruit snacks on a roll
hem - Pham Nhu Lao backpackers area
Vietnamese girls bedecked in traditional ao dai's
quickly disappearing French colonial architecture
cyclo mounted tourist
hem
Add caption
vendor, peddling her wares
coconuts
low tech alley eatery - specializing in - you may have guessed it eggs
Ready or not, the holidays are around the corner, and it's time to start planning your travel. We analyzed hundreds of millions of queries performed on KAYAK last year to predict the cheapest times to book and travel for this year's holiday season. When to Book (Hint: Now)
For Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Eve travel, on average the cheapest airfares were found between September and mid-October. Procrastinators beware: after mid-October, airfares for Thanksgiving increased up to 17%, 51% for Christmas and 25% for New Year's Eve.
For those traveling abroad throughout the holiday season: try to book international travel as soon as possible. Last year, there was no low period for international airfare for Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Year's Eve; instead, airfare steadily increased closer to departure.
When to Travel ThanksgivingFor those traveling domestically, the best days to depart were Monday and Tuesday (15-23% below average). Try to return Thanksgiving Day, Friday or the following Tuesday; returning these days saved travelers more than 20%. International travelers should try leaving close to or on Thanksgiving Day or stay through the weekend to save as average airfares tended to be lower on these days. ChristmasFor domestic travelers, try departing as close to the 25th as possible - last year this saved travelers more than 20% on average. Try to avoid departing and returning during the weekends surrounding Christmas (fares were up to 24% above average). For international travel, trips 3-5 days in length centered around the holiday offered the best savings. New Year's EveFor domestic travel, shorter trips centered around New Year's Eve/New Year's Day displayed the cheapest fares (more than 15% below average). For example, travelers who departed the 29th-1st and returned the 31st-3rd found savings up to 30%. The same goes for international travelers, but be sure to avoid returning after the 1st as the airfares steadily increased daily up to 27% above average on the 5th.
You may be able to put off family plans and gift shipping until the last-minute, but booking your travel early could save you serious money. Happy Holiday travel planning.
So you're living in Saigon. followed by - Oh, ya, had a friend who
visited Vietnam and said it was very beautiful. I respond by
saying, ya that's true but mostly I am in a part of Vietnam, Saigon, that's not so
beautiful. This leads to the question, why - do you stay.
Funny, it's at this point I'm always a little stumped even after 13 years of
fending the question.
There is a line in the movie the "Quiet American" where he says
something about how the country gets to you, gaining
an unexplainable hold. That goes a long ways toward describing the
hold Vietnam (Saigon) has had on me.
However, as Vietnam rushes to embrace economic growth a lot of
old school Saigon
Saigon's character and mystic is in jeopardy as developers
move in, building high rise buildings and new modern shopping complexes
housing designer shops and chain stores like Gap, Body Works,
Levi and the like. The latest big deal to come along, strategically located on one
of Saigon's major roundabouts is the
largest Starbucks in the world. Okay, maybe not in
the world but very,very big - selling coffee at four times the cost of
Vietnamese ca phe (coffee). For guys like me these new developments, while
attractive, seem contrived and artificial, lacking the sole that was Saigon.
As the uniqueness of the city center disappears Saigon's hold is loosening
on me.
Ben Thanh Market and new Saigon skyline
Of course all this modernization makes a visit to the area much more costly
than before and probably why mostly what you see in the city center is foreigners and spiffy
looking Vietnamese. A view of this is what probably is at the core of
tourists comments exclaiming that communism is dead and capitalism is the new
norm in Vietnam and they report seeing an expanding the middle class.
Though, interesting enough just a few blocks away from this
modern upgrade you'll find the gritty
realities of Vietnam populated by mostly Vietnamese workers who live a hand to mouth, day to
day existence. Here it's not for show so the only Rolls, Bentley's,
BMW or Mercedes you will see are just the ones passing through on their way to
or from the Dong Khoi area of city center. According to data published by the Vietnamese government the
average Vietnamese worker is between 18
and 40 years old with 58% of these folks earning 2-3 million dong (95.00 -
140.00 US)a month. At 40
years old many are worn out and sick so if employed, are fired by their
employers. The government has an ongoing study to gain
an understanding of why these folks are
unhappy. Initial results of the study blame the cause of the unhappiness on *Social
evils * Government red tape and Environmental problems.
Anyway, in the eyes of a 13 year veteran of life in Vietnam (Saigon) the
city is gaining an unnatural feel, though still interesting. Thailand
calls itself "the land of smiles" and up until a few years
ace motorbike driver Vu, call - 01203724016
ago I thought the title fitted Vietnam even more than Thailand but
not now. People don't smile as much as they used too, maybe due to *Social evils * Government red tape and Environmental problems or they are just too tired.
All the changes aside, I'm still looking forward to my return to
Saigon but mourn the loss of what it originally held me. Vietnam still has a lot too offer but "the times they are a changin".
Seventy-four Chinese fishers are missing after a typhoon sunk three fishing boats in the South China Sea, as Thailand and Vietnam braced for torrential rain and flooding.
The ships were hit by Typhoon Wutip on Sunday as they navigated gales near the Paracel Islands, about 330 km from China's island province of Hainan, state news agency Xinhua said, citing sources with the Hainan maritime search and rescue centre.
Rescuers had rescued 14 survivors, the sources said. The boats were sailing from the southern province of Guangdong.
Rains from the storm were expected to reach Vietnam today before hitting Thailand tomorrow.
Thai officials warned that more heavy rains could inundate already flood-hit areas of the northeast. At least 22 people have been killed in this year's flooding.
"We're expecting more floods," Teerat Ratanasevi, a government spokesman, told reporters.
"Soldiers have been asked to help evacuate people trapped in flood zones."
Authorities in central Vietnam have moved children and elderly people to schools and other more solid buildings ahead of the storm.
In the central province of Quang Tri, an estimated 82,000 people would need to be evacuated if Wutip made a direct hit, a government statement said.
Typhoons gather strength from warm sea water and tend to dissipate after making landfall. They frequently hit Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, Hong Kong and southern China during a typhoon season that lasts from early summer to late autumn.Vietnam said heavy rain had been falling in several central provinces while flooding and landslides could strike the region later this week.
A Cambodian kid intent on taking a chicken, over looks a low hanging tree branch . The story goes, engrossed in snatching the chicken an overhead tree branch poked out one of his eyes and the kid was young Hun Sen, just re elected to his fourth them as Cambodia's Prime Minister. I liked that version of how Hen Sen came to have one glass eye, told to
me by a Cambodian/American so I stuck it in. Have no idea how true the story was as his official bio has him losing the eye while participating in the Khmer Rouge offensive against Phnom Penh in April 1975. Battalioncommander - Eastern region of Democratic Cambodia with the Khmer Rouge and during the purge in 1977 fled to Vietnam with his battalion.. To return as a rebel leader backed by the Vietnamese government as they beat back Pol Pot and took over Cambodia, as the Vietnamese withdrew he was appointed deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister to the Peoples Republic of Kampuchea (the Vietnamese's given name for Cambodia) in 1979. Giving the bases to Cambodia's Prince Norodom Sihanouk's referring to Hun Sen as "the one eyed lackey of the Vietnamese". As of yesterday it was confirmed by the NEC (Nation Election Committee) and the government that Hun Sen's party, the CCP (Cambodian Peoples Party) won the majority of the parliament's seats and once again he is Prime Minister. Meanwhile there's a strong movement by the CNRP ( Cambodian National Rescue Party) lead by Sam Rainsy protesting the legality of the election results. However, it appears all will be going on the same as usual in Cambodia, the rich get richer, the poor struggle on in the countryside and for foreigners it's still cheap, interesting and a fun place to visit.
PATTAYA, Thailand - Thailand's first tourist court will open tomorrow in the popular beach resort city of Pattaya as part of the government's move to reassure travellers of their safety while visiting the country.
From 4.30pm to 8.30pm, foreign tourists can come and lodge complaints, especially over unfair services and personal security. Consideration of cases will be cut to one day for uncomplicated disputes from the usual six months, Wirat Chinwinigkul, secretary-general of the Judiciary, said yesterday.
The specialised court will encourage negotiations between parties. Most of the cases are about consumer protection, so it is easier to reach a compromise. If it's a serious issue, the case will be transferred to the regular court. There will be capable officials speaking foreign languages to help.
Six more night courts are planned - Pathum Wan district for the Silom area and Dusit district for khao san in Bangkok, Krabi, Samui, Chiang Mai and Phuket. Those tourist destinations have faced various problems, especially cheating by operators.
The Pattaya court would be a pilot project. It is expected to take up speedboat services, which is one of the serious issues corroding the country's tourism image. It's also related to criminal cases.
Yesterday, four parties - police, prosecutors, the courts of justice and the Tourism Ministry - signed an agreement to set up the court and work together to help take care of foreign holidaymakers.
The court will also be responsible for looking after Thai tourists and scrutinising the role of tourism operators in providing fair services to tourists.
The ministry should set up a department to handle cases because some tourists have to go home before a ruling is handed down, he said.
In the future, Thailand should enact legislation to regulate the industry, like in France, because tourism is an important industry strengthening the national economy. It has grown rapidly, but existing laws cannot keep up, he added.
Tourism Minister Somsak Pureesrisak said it's a good sign for the country's tourism industry. The night court would help secure the industry's role in the long term, especially in achieving the target of Bt2 trillion in tourism revenue in 2015.
The ministry has made a big effort to standardise the industry, launching measures and regulations to crack down on scams. Especially Phuket needs a clean-up. The resort island is overrun by illegal services and gangsters.
Sorry about the lack of Southeast asia posts, I'm still in the states but do have things to write about Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia but it's been a full time job coping with the hip I damaged while working out and running at 9-13 park in Saigon the middle of February. While in Saigon I tried using traditional western doctors, the a course of acupuncture through a traditionally trained Chinese doctor. Hobbled back to the USA, first diagnoses was a hip flexor problem, couple weeks of therapy with no results, then an MRI. diagnosed it's cause asAvascular Necrosis ,irreparable other than cutting out the hip and transplanting a new man made one in it's place. THe surgery was done on 7/31/2013 and now I'm in the nist of recovery and relearning to walk on my left leg. Now it's Sunday, August 18, and things are improving, stopped the pain meds yesterday and the pain in tolerable but my stomach is queasy, guess it misses the narcotics. Making a couple trips a day up and down from my second floor apartment with minimal drama but very slowly.. Still using a walker, you know one of those things that mostly older people (hate to think of it but guess I'm one also) hang on too and push around but working on replacing it with a cane (Got this cool old antique cane that my great, grandfather brought with him from Europe) though hope be walking unassisted soon. Still fighting the anxiety of knowing my hip repair was done by cutting into my butt to reach inside and disassemble my left hip, then cutting off the ball on my femur and installing a metal and ceramic replacement, (drill and force fit) reassembling the hip and sewing me up, Good to go, yikes! Wish me luck and I'll do my damndest to get us from beyond but back to Southeast asia. Thanks for your interest - Doug
BANGKOK: Nineteen people were killed and 20 hurt Tuesday when a double decker coach collided with a truck in central Thailand and burst into flames, authorities said.
"Altogether there are 19 dead -- 18 died at the scene and another one died at the hospital," said an official from the national institute for emergency medicine in Bangkok, who asked not to be named.
She added that 20 people were injured in the early morning crash in central Saraburi province.
The inter-province bus, which was travelling from Bangkok to Roi Et in the northeast of the country, caught fire after the crash.
Images from Thai television news showed the extent of the damage to the vehicle, which appeared to have been completely incinerated and reduced to its metal shell.
Authorities said the crash was a head-on collision involving three vehicles.
Police have arrested the driver of the cement truck, who they said appeared to have lost control of his vehicle just before the incident.
"The truck crossed from the opposite lane of traffic and hit the bus," said local police officer Lieutenant Colonel Assavathep Janthanari, adding that a pickup truck behind the bus had also been involved in the crash.
He said the dead and injured were from the coach and the pickup truck.
It was not immediately clear how many people had been travelling in the coach.
Witthichart Kallayanamitr, director of the company under the ministry of transport which owns the bus, said its normal capacity would have been 32 people.
Safety standards are often poor in Thailand and transport accidents are relatively common.
Earlier this month an overnight sleeper train travelling from Bangkok to the northern city of Chiang Mai derailed injuring 23 people, including 18 foreign tourists.
In April, at least five people were killed, including a seven-month-old baby and a Belgian woman, and 53 were injured when a Thai tour bus plummeted off a hillside in northern Phitsanulok province after its brakes failed. (AFP)
Looks like I'll really will be in the states longer than my original plan. Got through the heart pre check up with my cardiologist and received his clearance for surgery to get my hip replaced. Though I'm also going to have a nuclear test on the effectiveness of my heart arteries but guess they think all is ok because they've scheduled for the surgery on the 31 of this month (July). Guess a total hip replacement is the only way to deal with AVN (avascular necrosis) the problem that causing all this trouble and pain Decided on dr Paul Sasaura of Summit Otho to do the job.. He seems like a pretty sharp cookie, using the new, up today, minimal invasive technique. A small incision about 2 inches square and then once inside he works to minimize the trauma induced to the tissue surrounding the bone with the help of a computer map. Still working on some new Vietnam stuff along with Cambodia and it's national election next week. Anyway,folks if you're anything like me (over 65) don't push too hard on those work outs. Doug
Okay,
acupuncture, physical therapy, stretching regimen,
light exercise and don't even think of moving were all
things recommended by Doctors to repair my damaged leg I hurt
while working out in Saigon. Meanwhile, I've been in pain and barely able to
walk for going on four months. Also to my consternation doctors
look at me and my white hair then seem to lose interest in doctoring, relegating
me to the group of over the hill guys not worth their time. They don't
really say that but since my injury the traditional Chinese herbal and
acupuncture doc was the only one that came up with a treatment plan except for the crutches
which Dr Shea sports medicine specialist at Mercy Medical Group prescribed to
keep my weight off the leg in the hope it would heal itself.
Though it’s interesting that Dr Shea's strategy came to pass as a result of my complaints about the failure of physical therapy to improve my condition and was more of a shot from the hip (no pun intended) than a real plan. Waiting in one of those little exam rooms for an hour as they looked for the results of my MRI report, once found, minutes pass, he mumbles about the sad state of my hip and something about a hip replacement to fix it. I add that I had been running/walking 2 – 3 miles a day for as long as I can remember and this is my first problem but I add I'm still in pain but not as bad as it was. So the injury seems to be slowly improving but it’s so slow I'm getting depressed. All this as he is trying to slip out the door and over his shoulder he tells to keep my weight off of it and use crutches and would leave a note with the receptionist referring me to a surgeon and he was gone. His referrals first opening was months away but after I made a scene in the reception area they found another doc with a sooner opening but still a couple weeks away, not good but better.
Meanwhile, I'm conflicted over this whole deal, they are talking hip replacement and as I said I had never experienced any problem before until this latest injury. Even then the pain wasn't really in the hip but generally in the upper part of my leg. Nobody wants to hear my explanation of where it hurt when I injured it so have had an MRI and ex-ray of the hip and from this they all say my hip is warn, arthritis they say. They are probably correct about a warn hip and arthritis but up until the injury I had no problems with it. Doctors I fear have become just parts changers like auto mechanics and feel doctoring just takes too much time and time is money.
Meanwhile, I'm here in California but have a lot of stuff to write about on Vietnam. So please follow me and become a member.
Saigon is crowded, a little grimy around the edges, air is chocked
full of exhaust fumes and the noise of motorbikes, truck and bus horns along
with the ambient sound of 11 million or so people going about their lives.
At any one given time you'll see Rolls Royce’s, Bentley's, big, high end Mercedes and BMW's along with push carts, bicycles and so many motorbikes that
they overflow onto the sidewalks. Most piloted by steely eyed,expressionless drivers moving at such a sedate speed that it’s
not uncommon to see motorbike drivers chatting with each other between bikes.
Adding to the crazy, surreal traffic scene - pillion riders (passengers)
holding large panes of glass, plumbing pipe, animals, fish tanks including
water and fish, plants and trees, televisions and assorted computer components.
Often you will see solo motorbike guys balances all sorts of cargo on the bike,
propane gas tanks, bottled water, cases of beer, gallon containers of cooking
oil, bunches of bananas, of course refrigerators, fans and air-conditioning
units, mega bunches of empty plastic bottles for recycling, pigs
get your motor running
boutique motorbike shop
and chickens
and just pretty much anything that has to be transported.
An example of this was at one of the
places I stayed, they had a new refrigerator delivered and it arrived riding pillion, the driver steadying it with one hand and operating the bike with the other. As I've mentioned this is a common way of delivery but what I hope
isn't common is that when the driver got the frig inside he lost his grip,
recovered but ended up setting it down on his toe and I'm sure those standard issue flip flops weren't
much help against the impact. However, those Vietnamese are a tough folk, saw
him wince but no sound was uttered, just lifted it off his toe, pulled out the
old frig, slid the new one in, carried out the old one out and positioned it on
the back of the seat on
modern motorbike food vendor
old style food vendor
his bike, slid in front of it, all the time steadying
it with one hand and his free hand to drive off.
No matter how many times I see some of
these events I'm never failed to be amazed. The number one example is the bike carrying a large sheet of glass or mirror
steadied by the pillion rider and I'm talking large, like three foot wide by
four foot or so high. The sheet sitting on the passenger's lap with his outstretched,
bare hands holding the edges of the pane. Then you have the one where a pillion
passenger sitting in the seat backwards holding the handle of a two wheeler,
like used in warehouses to move freight, and strapped on it is tank filled with
welding gas as they move through traffic. Then there is the friend helping his
buddy with a non running motor bike by driving his bike and pushing the other
with his outstretched, flip flop sheathed foot and keeping up with traffic.
motorbike pickup
Yes, its mind boggling the kind of stuff motorbikes transport but even crazier is the way they have been modified to do special things, adding a trailer hitch to carry additional cargo in cargo trailer, the addition of two wheels in the back for handicapped drivers, racks built over the back part of the seat to hold bottled water or propane gas and only the imagination limits the modifications and uses of the commonly motorbike that is the USA are called scooters.
