Life Lessons

Things have been pretty good so far. I got in last night at about midnight local time. I slept on the floor outside the airport (in the apparent local custom) until 04:30 and then walked the four miles to the area where my hostel is located. This city seems to wake up around 04:00, so I felt pretty safe the entire time. I was hollered at by a lot of guys who wanted to be my motorbike taxi and I definitely walked through some parts of town that are unfamiliar with westerners wearing big backpacks coming through in the early morning, but it was nice. I saw some of Saigon that a lot of people probably miss. Tiny alleys where at dawn everyone is out in the street chopping meat and preparing vegetables for market--that sort of thing (the market picture is a different place. I didn't take any pictures on my early morning walk).

I got to the hostel around 06:00 and sat for a while people-watching with a $0.75 Bahn Mi. After that I decided to walk to the War Remnants museum. It's not very far, but on my way a guy rolled up on a cyclo (basically a Vietnamese pedicab) and offered me a really cheap ride. I felt a little bit absurd being biked around town by this guy, but he took me to see some sights I might've otherwise skipped and then we stopped someplace for a few beers and a bit of lunch. For the record, I was waiting for the time when this guy would try to fleece me, but I was lulled into thinking that this was actually just a really good deal from a friendly guy. The lunch ended up being fairly pricey, and I paid for his beers, so I thought that might be his angle. But then he asked me for $150 for the cyclo tour. We had an extended argument with a significant language barrier, which the waitress also weighed in on heavily, but he wouldn't go below $75. He started threatening to call the police, so I gave him $25 and walked away. And spent the entire walk back to the hostel fuming.

When I got back, another cyclo driver approached me and told me he'd seen me drinking beer with that guy and heard that I didn't pay him what he asked. I was not in the mood to deal with another guy getting on my case about this, but after a minute of talking it became clear that he was actually on my side. He kept asking me how much I paid Mr. Son, and when I told him $25, he was happy. Apparently that's how Mr. Son operates. He gives a very low price and then tries to fleece you at lunch, and I guess a lot of people pay it. This fellow, Bay, was very friendly. He talked a lot about how Mr. Son was a bad man, while also trying to defend that there are plenty of good people in Saigon. Based on Bay's rates, I underpaid him a smidge, but it was still a hell of a lot more than I was quoted.

Now it is time for a nap. Sleeping in fits and spurts on stone floors and planes has left me a bit fatigued.