The ‘Kenn Factor’ caught us again on Friday, how does it still astound us every time? We thought he was dropping us at Changi airport, but no. He drove us west out to Jurong at the Malaysian border to pick up an anchor. Rodney felt like he was going back to work……bit of a shock for him……! We couldn’t have been further from the airport and still have been in Singapore! Luckily we had plenty of time before our flight and we saw bits of Singapore that I’ve never seen before. Relaxing with Kenn is definitely an oxymoron.
When we landed at Tan Son Nhat airport in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), we were met by our friend Rick and his eight-year old daughter, Carmen. Neither of us has been to Vietnam before, so it was really nice to have friends to help introduce us to this crazy country. Our first shock was the traffic; it was absolutely mad, beyond belief. Their driver, Vinh, somehow weaved through the extraordinarily busy roads to their home in District 2. There were thousands of motor bikes and scooters mingling amongst cars and trucks which were going in all directions; it was mind boggling. I kept looking at Rodney who couldn’t take his eyes off the road. He looked like he was loving it, but at the same time looked scared at what he was seeing. I had to stop looking out of the window. I was overly relieved to arrive in one piece and we were greeted at the gate by Go Chin (Miss Chin), their nanny/maid. We dropped off our bags and then the four of us walked (no, one of us roller skated) around to The Boathouse for cocktails (and one mocktail) before dinner. When we got back, Lan was home from work and Go Chin had cooked us a beautiful meal, the first of many yummy meals in Vietnam.
On Saturday morning we all went for breakfast back at The Boathouse, before Lan popped in to her office and Rick and Carmen gave us a short introduction to the centre of Ho Chi Minh City, District 1.
Carmen quotes for the day:
1) “Mummy has a cool toilet with chickens”. We were given a tour of Lan’s magazine publishing office and yes, there were chickens, but they weren’t in the toilet, they were outside on a roof next door, phew.
2) “They put oysters on the flag and that ended the Vietnam war?”. “No” said Rick, “they hoisted the flag” at the Independence Palace, signalling the end of the war.
After a ‘Wrap and Roll’ lunch, they dropped us off at their club for a swim, while they played tennis in 33°c heat. It was far more relaxing for us; dozing on a sun bed, under an umbrella and palm trees next to the swimming pool, whilst watching ships and barges travel up and down the river right in front of us.
We ended the day with a sensational buffet dinner at the Caravelle Hotel, which, during the 1960s, was home to the Australian Embassy, the New Zealand Embassy, and the Saigon bureaus of NBC, ABC and CBS. As a hub of communication, it became a noted location and was bombed in theVietnam War.
The Craiks were starting Sunday by participating in a charity fun run, so we did the opposite with a lie in and then, feeling guilty at being so slovenly, we strolled to the local supermarket and pharmacy. Rodney needed the extra sleep having caught a snotty cold. We all lunched together at a lovely local French restaurant and then the boys visited a city bar for a three-hour ‘happy hour’, where you could drink as much Tiger beer as you wanted for only $5. Not being a beer lover, Lan insisted that I use one of her vouchers for a massage at a very stylish spa in the city, thank you so much Lan, it was wonderful. Our third evening was spent at home with the boys reminiscing and me creating origami boxes, boats, animals, etc with Carmen. Go Chin whipped up a tasty pasta and the dessert involved origami boxes and chocolate bars; I won’t go in to detail, but Carmen and I had a lot of fun and a rather late night……
On Monday morning, very early, a very sleepy Carmen didn’t want to have her shower before school for fear that she would miss saying goodbye to us; she was so funny. She was finally packed off to school, with a bag of origami creations and Vinh took us four grown-ups to Lan and Rick’s offices; they both have offices in the same building, which must make life a lot easier for transport in this city.
So on another blue sky day, we sat waiting in the open air at the base of their building for a tour company pick-up. We were fascinated by the continual stream of traffic trailing past us. Every so often, one of the scooters or motorbikes would drive up the pavement and in through the foyer, not cutting their engine until they were way past us. The cheery security man on reception would greet each of them and sometimes plonk a newspaper from his desk onto their handlebars as they passed him. There must have been a massive parking place somewhere out the back. One bike pulled up outside on the pavement and the driver proceeded to unload huge bags of tomatoes, cucumbers and various greens. Another arrived with six sacks of ice which were slowly melting all over his bike. So many of the riders wore face masks and, with all the fumes around us, I was wishing I had one too. Sometimes a scooter or a bicycle would travel against the flow of the traffic and yet everyone seemed oblivious to the fact and the traffic would continue to flow at the same steady pace, accompanied by the never-ending tooting and honking of horns.
Apparently, for the last three years it has been compulsory to wear a crash helmet…….unless you are under 16 years of age! And the rule does seem to be adhered to; apart from one very old and completely bald lady riding pillion behind a younger woman. I guess having always ridden with no helmet, she wasn’t starting now. She probably liked to feel the wind in her (lack of) hair !!!
