(Oops last email was for my Facebook post…here's the real update!!)
On the road again…headed to Ho Chi Minh City also called Saigon. Again we ride in comfortable lay back seats on the top tier. Almost at once it's obvious the road is better. Lanes, signage, guard rails appear as we get on a toll road where there's no motorcycles. Later when we get off the toll road, motorcycles have their own lane, there's fewer roadside stands & bigger store fronts. Even timed stop light! The HCM bus station was about 45 minutes from downtown but they have connecting van that we can take to the downtown. From there we used Grab to our hotel. HCM is a modern, clean, developed city with lots of sky scrappers & new construction. Motorcycles fill every spare inch of the lanes & can park anywhere. Dodging them keeps us on high alert when we cross streets. We found a city tour bus & rode it around town for 45 minutes. Great overview. Saw the opera house, post office and Independence Palace. We walked by an Eddy's New York Burger place on our way home so we were soon mowing down our first hamburger since we left home while listening to Elvis, Beach Boys & the Supremes. What an unexpected treat! They also had shakes but we were too full…so we went back the next night for shakes.
Back in the fall, my friend Aileen Clark (who works at the Dexter Library) asked me where we were headed this year. When I told her, she said she knew a young Vietnamese who visits the library often. She asked if she could give him my email. A few days later, Loc wrote giving me some suggestions & telling me he has family in HCM who might be willing to give us a tour. So a few days before we planned to arrive, I wrote to him & after a long group Messenger call whee I was mostly listening to him and his sister chat, we made a plan to meet Thai at 8 am in front of our hotel. And it happened! Thai is a 22 yrs old beautiful girl working in a hotel & going to school with dreams of getting a better job. She spoke good English & freely shared lots of her culture, customs, thoughts & feelings as well sat in a coffee shop for several hours. Later she took us to an authentic Vietnamese restaurant where she continues answering our questions while we shared the meal she had ordered; sour soup, spiced rice & flower buds. Here's a few of the things she shared with us:
-if you make under 11 million dongs ($440) per month, you pay no income taxes
-there are some homeless & they are given lottery tickets to sell
-homeless are all welcome to live free at the pagodas since monks are given many donations & will give the homeless jobs there
-Rich people feel peace and good karma when they give to the monks who pick up donations put in front of shrines which are in most businesses & homes
-HCM is the economical center of VN
- most watch little tv rather Instagram & you tube
- VN War is only memory of old and not thought about by youth
- Thoa's Mom swims everyday
-All Vietnamese love coffee shops & visit often
-Chinese & Korean's not as friendly as US
- Many older VN go to the temple almost daily for 1-2 hr mainly to repent
-cost $5 million dong ($200)per month to go to school
- $ 1 billion for 5 years to attend international school where you'll get best education and learn better English
-Women want to control all home issues
-Many young do not want to marry
-Older men had more affairs but fewer young men
-Thoa earns $300,000 ($12) for 8 hrs of work & gets one meal
-On holidays, many service workers get 3x their pay
-Gays not acceptable until recent show which was very informative
-Sweet soup is one of their favorites & it's made with peppermint, tamarin, pineapple, tomatoes, and flowers before bloom
-$5 million ($200) per month for a shared flat
-Motorcycles cost $20 - 40 million ($800-$1600)
It was certainly an informative & unique opportunity to spend time with Thoa…whose mom called to say hi to us! Thanks Aileen for the contact!
