As most I have good and bad days wherever I am but my bad days in Saigon set a new bench mark for badness. If you have a minute I'll take you a long on my last and worst yet day.
It all starts yesterday morning when I trip, navigating my way down those black, narrow, spiral stairs from my room. Recovering from my misstep with no peril to myself or the stairs I stumbled over to change into my street shoes.
I’m rolling now with time to spare to get down to Pho 32 before they sell of their morning Pho and close. Pull open the iron security door to the alley and bang into a motorbike parked up close. Slide out the door and around him only to step out into the path of another motorbike on the move down the alley, he veers around me, with a passing dirty look.
“Sticks and stones may break my bones but dirty looks; well they’re just dirty” I try to imply with my reply look.
However, I’m starting to feel more, more uneasy with every step; it just seemed that I was out of step with the world around me. Maybe you've had that kind of feeling, you know when no matter how you try what ever you do just doesn't seem right.
I pass on down my alley and see the food selling is in full swing, which means tables set up on both side of the alley allowing about a 2 – 3 ft space for people and motor bikes to pass through.
Along with the tables on the sides you have the food prep going on, dirty dishes being washed in strategically placed metal and plastic tubs. The open middle is not just to allow people like me to pass through but for the customer’s coming to eat and the food servers. Then there are the ever present motor bikes forcing their way through the middle section, not just locale alley dwellers but the two way traffic variety tying to beat traffic of the main street.
Three times a motorbikes honked at me to get out of the way and all three time it scared the bajesus out of me and two of the three times I knocked into a dinners trying to eat. All responding with that look that says - “who the hell do you think you are”. Sometimes I’m a bit self-conscious anyway, as a 65 year old, grey haired stocky, white guy in the land of little dark haired, mostly young folk but I try hard to keep it in control but today it’s not working.
Now I’m around the corner, about 20 foot from my breakfast spot, Pho 32 and step out into the street to pass around some side of the road goings-on as the loud blast of a passing bus shakes me out of my sandals. It’s a slow day in Pho 31 so I slide into a corner table and hunker down to my noodles and coffee. For a change when I finish eating I actually offer up the correct amount of money for the bill, so as I step back on the street I’m thinking a little more positive.
After breakfest pho I’m on my way over to the riverside area to check on the boat service from HCM to Can Tho City. I cut across the park and around behind the Ben Than bus station, then down the back streets to Nguyen Hue and over to the riverside. In order to check on the boats I need to cross Ton Duc Thang. A four lane road with no crossing area and jam, chucked full with trucks hauling goods from the harbor, cross town buses, taxis and the ever present motorbikes. Close to a forty minute walk and I can’t get across the damn street, grumbling I start my walk back.
Get back to the room, take a nap and hang out till friends come by for dinner. That evening I decide to take a walk and de-stress myself. My walk has me feeling better so as I pass my favorite bar I decide to stop for a beer and peanuts.
Then on my way home, at about the half way point my stomach starts feeling bad and its getting progressively more uncomfortable as I walk along. I just make it up to my room, step in the john and everything comes up and out, not just once but at least 10 times. It was so bad I brought the stool from the room in to sit on because I was getting worn out from running back and forth.
Finely my system had pitched and flushed out all the bad stuff and I dropped into bed exhausted to dream of better days to come.
Since, I have recovered and took a couple days for my body and mind to regroup but all is fine now. Even made it across the busy street to the riverside and checked on the boat to Can Tho.
