HCMC, Vietnam D103-5: New Friends in Saigon

On our second afternoon in HCMC, we went to the park between Le Lai and Bui Vien in District 1. We watched extremely talented athletes play Da Cau, AKA shuttlecock. (Shuttlecock in Vietnam is similar to playing badminton with your feet. The shuttlecock has a spring on one end and feathers throughout the body.) It is clearly the sport of choice in HCMC. A woman approached us and asked if we would like to buy a shuttlecock of our own. Why not? We paid 40,000VD ($2).

We sucked. It is not an easy game.

The park in District 1 is full of Vietnamese students wanting to practice their English. We read that we might be approached by some students who would ask us a variety of stale questions: Where are you from? What is your profession? How many brothers and sisters do you have? etc. We were failing miserably at shuttlecock when two men approached us.

"Can we play with you?" they asked. Of course we let them, we're not monsters! They introduce themselves as Thao and Han.

Another shuttlecock vendor approached our group and said something in Vietnamese to our new friends. When he left, Thao tells us the vendor asked them not to discuss the price of the shuttlecock with us. We found out they usually sell for 10,000VD (50 cents)!

It was around 5PM and about 92 degrees outside... with 90% humidity. Our 'cock skills were nothing short of embarrassing and both Ian and I had completely sweat through our shirts. We played with Thao and Han for about 30 minutes until I finally said I was done.

Then, something beautiful and magical happened: Thao asked us if we would like to go have dinner with them. They offered to drive us on the back of their motorbikes to a district nearby.

I shot a look at Ian. How do we know these guys are cool? Will they take us somewhere and rob us? Or, worst of all, what if they don't know enough English to keep up with conversation?!?! Ian is a total yes-man, and said "YES!" before ever seeing my worried face.

In no time we were riding on the backs of their motorbikes, weaving in and out of traffic alongside thousands of other motorbikers. Traffic in the city is crazy, and our safety was in the hands of strangers! Total adrenalin rush!

Thao and Han took us to the Saigon Central Post Office and Notre Dame Cathedral- two landmarks in HCMC. There we met Thao's girlfriend, Thuy.

We soon found out that this group LOVES to take pictures. We took SO MANY pictures.

Next we walked towards the Turtle Pond, a local hangout. On the way, we saw hundreds of Vietnamese soldiers practicing for their Reunification Day parade performance.


Speaking frankly about the war, Thao told us that he grew up hating Americans. After all, his grandpa was killed in the American War. Over time and with education he was able to become a free-thinker, and he decided that he would not punish all the Americans he meets for the things their ancestors did. He sees people as people! I was extremely impressed with his candor and ability to form his own opinions as an educated individual. It's obvious he's a smart and compassionate human. 

Once at the Turtle Pond, we walked around on the odd structure that rose from the water. Apparently there are a bunch of turtles in the water but none were visible that night. A random Vietnamese man made me a balloon animal. We had heard we'd face some anti-American sentiment in HCMC, but between the local tour with Thao, Thuy and Han, and the man who gave me the balloon animal, I'm confident times have changed. Everyone was so nice!

We got a spicy crispy taco thing (no other way can I describe it) from a vendor there. Soon after, a police car pulled up and all the vendors ran. I got up and almost ran too, because, do as the locals do? Right? Han laughed and told me it was OK for us to be there, but the vendors were illegal. You're not allowed to sell food at the Turtle Pond, but people still do because it's a convenient snack for pond-goers like us.


We chatted a bit, exchanged Facebook information and Han and Thao dropped us off at our hotel. We had so much fun that we made plans to hang out next day.

At 5PM the following evening, we met Thao and Han to play more shuttlecock in the park. I think we were getting better! By the time we were drenched in sweat, Thuy met up with us and we went to get some street meat called bo la lot.

Bo la lot was my absolute favorite meal in Vietnam. It's basically tasty little sausages that are wrapped in leaves. You add the meat to rice paper and top it with lettuce, noodles, basil, mint, star fruit, and green banana, then you roll everything up like a giant spring roll and dip it in fish sauce. OH MY GOD my stomach is growling just remembering the taste.

We ate until we were way too full. The food and drinks totaled $2 per person. They even let me cook!

After dinner, Thao promised to take us to "the most beautiful street in Saigon." The city spent $20 million renovating Nguyen Hue Street into a gorgeous pedestrian walkway. There were newly planted trees lining the street and a color-changing fountain show synchronized to music. The street was supposed to have been done that night so hundreds of Vietnamese were there for the grand opening. Of course, Asia is on its own schedule, so it wasn't finished just yet. We hopped the caution tape to take this pic:


We thought our night would end here but Thao was eager to show us more of the city. They next took us to the Saigon Port, a busy container port that played an important part in developing HCMC. They told us that Ho Chi Minh himself left this harbor to "find the national liberation way."

Lastly, we were driven to a local eatery where everyone sat on little stools and enjoyed clams and beer. We had two types of clams: clam soup with lemongrass and spicy broth, and sticky-sweet clams. They call clams "oc" which literally means snail.

We shut the place down. It was a lovely end to the evening. We paid our tab and Ian popped open a moist towel on the table. Thuy started cracking up and we didn't understand why. Apparently the moist towels are not free, and it was funny that Ian opened one now, because we had already paid. We were such noobs!

We were dropped off at our hotel and promised to see each other the next day as well. We were just having too much fun!

The next night, we ate an amazing back-alley noodle dish. It was savory and spicy and it came complete with a bowl of fish balls and chicken lung. Only $1 per person! We needed a hearty meal before our main event of the evening: KARAOKE!

Karaoke is a favorite of mine, and I was ECSTATIC that everyone was game. We went to a place that had both English and Vietnamese songs, and thankfully our friends were courteous enough to only sing English songs.

The song choices were hilarious- from Lionel Richie's "Hello" to Backstreet Boys "Show Me The Meaning," the gang knew all the hits. They even knew some English songs that we hadn't heard of. We had a blast!


The room came with a platter of fruit and a jar of candied peanuts. We all noshed on the fruit, and I popped open the jar of candied peanuts which prompted Thuy to crack up again. Note to foreigners: just because it's on the table doesn't mean it's complimentary. Oh well!

We partied just short of midnight, then had to get some rest because Thao was graduating college in the morning! And who better to attend a graduation than your new American friends?

...to be continued.