Easy Rider (19-23/12/08)

FRIDAY 19TH DECEMBER

Went out to get some films and albums put on the ipod today. Absolute bargain, 21 films and 16 albums for $30 you can't say fairer than that. Who says piracy is killing the music industry. I can't see David Bowie sat on a street corner begging. Can you? Didn't do much else, sat on the beach again, not for long mind. My back's in bits. Had a look for some cheap tat to add to Louise's collection. Found some more magnets, there's a bloody surprise. Booked the trip to the mountain town of Da Lat and that was it really. Not my most productive day, but still, I'm in no rush.

SATURDAY 20TH DECEMBER

Up at 6:30a.m again. This is becoming an absolute nightmare, I slept more when i worked 15 hours a day!! Never mind, at least I've got a decent seat on the bus for a change. Listened intensely to Nebraska by Bruce Springsteen on the way, it is by far and away his most underrated album. Check it out. Arrived in Da Lat around 1:00p.m. It looks alright from what I've seen, except just like Grantham everywhere's up hill. It's also right in the middle of the mountains and approx. 5000ft above sea level, so should be good for my 18month old baby lungs. Got a cheap room at $6 a night, the cheapest so far with air-con, cable and hot water. Went for a wander in the afternoon, it was red-hot. We were told it was cold. Bought a guitar for $40 what a bargain. Went back to the hotel to wash up and change and headed out for the evening. Freezing fucking cold! I only had a t-shirt and shorts on (note: must listen to other people.). Went to bed to watch the football, full of snot.

SUNDAY 21ST DECEMBER

Woke up full of mucus and crap. Not the nicest feeling, and it didn't go away all day. Went to the local market today to see how much I could get ripped off. As it turned out it wasn't too bad. Had a delightful meal for less than a quid so no arguments there. Then went and had a few beers at 32p a bottle and it was surprisingly nice. I've been trying to explain to my Mam how to use Skype. It would be easier to teach a blind man how to fly an aeroplane. It took me 1h 30m in the afternoon to teach my Mam how to set it up using instant messenger as the only means of contact. 1 h 20m in she then told me she didn't have a mic. God give me strength. 3 hours later we were back after she'd been to woolworths, before it had closed down for good, and bought herself a proper Skype mic. Another hour and she'd just about sussed it then she went to get the web cam. Now the web cam didn't work properly*. We finally talked for 20 mins cos it was 10:40p.m Da Lat time when she eventually mastered it. Talked about nothing much and then went back to my hotel to watch Arsenal v Liverpool and went to sleep.
*Turns out she threw the web cam away cos she thought it was broke. My sister told her later on that it was just out of focus.

MONDAY 22ND DECEMBER

Today we went on an Easy Rider tour, which involves sitting on the back of a 150cc motorbike and riding round the hillside. It was a really good experience. We went to visit a couple of temples that turned out to be quite interesting, even though I've been to more than 30 since I've been away. Went to a silkworm factory and watched the greedy little fuckers demolish 4kg of leaves in less than 20 minutes; they get fed like this three times a day. Bought Louise a silk dressing gown (house coat if you're not from where I'm from.) and two silk scarves for 14 quid. Went to a place that that made local rice vodka. I thought it would be a big factory. It turned out to be a blokes back yard! Louise tried the vodka and said it was like lighter fluid. Well at 70% proof what do you expect. Also we visited a place called crazy house. This was a house designed by a renowned avante garde artist who happened to be the daughter of one of Ho Chi Minh's cabinet. It was a bit crazy, but it was also like something a few 7 year olds could come up with after a few hours. Finished the tour around 5:00p.m and went out for tea, wrapped up as I was still suffering with man-flu. There are loads of flowers and decorations up in the town. I thought they were mostly to do with Christmas but it was because there was a 150 year celebration of something or other. There was a big model snowman in the middle of the town, all the Japs were there with their fucking cameras again. FLASH, FLASH, FUCKING FLASH. Why don't they just piss off and leave me to enjoy my trip. Off to bed early ready for a long bus ride to Ho Chi Minh City (Sai Gon) in the morning.

TUESDAY 23RD DECEMBER

Welcome to Ho Chi Minh City. It's a big place with nearly 6 million people and about the same amount of scooters. It's very Christmassy looking but it's too hot. We booked our hotel before we arrived so we saved ourselves a bit of time and hassle. We settled in and had a look round the city. Where we stayed it must backpacker heaven cos there were a million bars all selling overpriced drinks; I say overpriced, 30000VND is overpriced when you've only been paying 9000VND for the same lager everywhere else. I blame the rich kids, and rightly so. How can anyone afford to go around the world when they've been studying for 5-8 years after they left school? Answer: Mummy and Daddy. After all the moaning I had no alternative but to pay the price, so I did end up having a few overpriced drinks, and the taste was sour. Met a passive, communist, vegetarian Australian. Haven't I got enough ammunition to hate them already without adding those three things to the list. He was only 19 so he'll have time to learn, plus he bought me a drink so I didn't hate him as much at the end of the night as I did at the beginning.