First impressions

I'm still adjusting to Vietnam: the heat, the people staring at me (maybe they just think it's weird that I'm by myself), and the time change. I went to bed at 9 PM last night and woke up at 4 AM today. The mattress in my room is much firmer than I am used to, but I slept well. Luckily the TV has a wide variety of channels to entertain me, including programs in Vietnamese, English, Chinese, Chinese dubbed into Vietnamese, English dubbed into Vietnamese (e.g., an episode of "Charmed," The Dukes of Hazard movie, a Dirty Harry movie), and even a Mexican telenova dubbed and subtitled in Chinese, with Vietnamese dubbing on top of that.

My spa treatment yesterday at Spatropic was good. I thought I could walk the whole way there, but it was further than I thought, and the air is kind of polluted from all the motorbikes, so I took my first cyclo ride the last couple of blocks. There I had the "Pampering for Her" package, which included an herbal steam bath, flower body scrub, deep tissue massage, aromatherapy facial, and foot reflexology. Everything smelled great and they gave me glasses of yummy ice tea throughout. I think it was chrysanthemum tea. I couldn't stay in the steam bath for the full 15 minutes though. I thought I was going to pass out. I know it's good to sweat out the toxins, but it was like "surface of Venus" hot in there.

I had two nice meals yesterday, both at slightly upscale places, but still only paid $9 for each meal. For lunch I had barbequed eggplant with purple (wild) rice, and for dinner I had a lettuce roll (like a spring roll) and the house special soup: bits of chicken and shrimp with peas, carrots, green onion, and lotus root in a clear broth, served in a hollowed-out coconut. For beverages I've been sticking with (strong) ice coffee with milk, although I'm supposed to be avoiding ice. Oops.

The street scenes here are interesting. It looks like what I imagined or have seen in photos - there are a lot motorbikes, a few conical hats (but mostly people in modern dress), lots of tropical fresh fruits for sale, like dragonfruit and mangosteen, some people washing dishes on the sidewalk... There are a few beggars but for the most part everyone seems middle class or working class, at least in the areas I've seen so far.

Today I will walk around some more, try to take some pictures. This evening my Interpid tour starts. I'm looking forward to seeing who's in my group.

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I'm in Asia!!

It's midnight on a Friday here in Ho Chi Minh City (hereafter referred to as Saigon, because it's easier to type), and it's very hot. I'm using one of the computers at my hotel (cost is 20,000 dong per hour, about $1.33). I had no problems with my flights or connection in Tokyo. I was able to sleep a little bit on the planes, and the flights didn't seem that long (11 hours + 3-hr layover + 6 hours). But I couldn't get my card to work in the ATM at the Saigon airport, and the airport transfer that I paid too much for and arranged ahead of time through my tour company did not show up. I looked around the area just outside the doors where everyone was gathered waiting for international arrivals, but none of the signs held up had my name on it. I waited for 20 or 30 minutes, feeling tired, hot, and self-concious as a hundred Vietnamese people stared at me and various taxis drivers tried to recruit me as their passenger. (They weren't too bothersome, actually; they were kind of soft-spoken about it). Maybe I should have waited longer, but I decided that my ride wasn't coming, and I chose to go with the taxi driver who spoke the best English and had the best teeth. I paid him in US dollars, which meant that I ended up paying too much, but it was still only $10 including tip - not unreasonable (this type of thing is affectionately referred to as the "tourist tax").
I'm kind of hungry but will have to wait to eat until breakfast tomorrow morning (included at my hotel). The hotel seems OK so far... I think the location is good, from what I saw on the ride here. I don't think it has sunk in yet that I'm in SE Asia! I'm tired... time to sleep!