Tet has come and gone since my last post. I also spent a month back in the USA, my first trip there in almost 2 1/2 years. After only a few days of culture shock it felt like I had never left. I was especially nervous about getting behind the wheel of a car again but it came back quickly. I just had to remember to LOOK before pulling out into traffic, something that's not done so much in Vietnam. I also wore a jacket for the first time in over 2 years! I don't even have a jacket in Saigon. They're truly not needed here even though the Vietnamese will wear them if the temperature plunges below 25 degrees C (77 F) or, more likely, just to keep the sun off their arms.
I recently saw a real sign of the changing times in Vietnam. Water skiing in the river next to the Phu My Hung area in district 7! I'm mostly curious about where the boat they were using is kept and where they put in and out. I've seen them out there on 2 separate occasions on Sunday afternoons while doing my cycling exercise.
There are more and more golf equipment shops springing up in Saigon. I know golf is popular here and many of the Japanese and Korean businessmen like to play, but I only know of 3 courses in the Saigon area and a few practice ranges. I guess I'm wondering if there's enough of a market for golf equipment to keep so many of the shops in business.
Way back in October 2012 Vietnam ranked #2 in a list of the happiest countries on Earth! I don't think things have changed too much in that time. It was the only country in the top 10 not in the western hemisphere, 8 of them being in central or south America. And no, the USA is not on the list and neither is Canada or Mexico.
HappyHappy!
A few months back I did something I had long dreamed would be an experience beyond compare. I go through phases during which I get weekly 1-hour massages and had always thought that spas could increase their business by offering a 30 minute or 1-hour extension as a massage is ending. Many people I imagine are feeling so good and relaxed as the hour ends that they would opt for a little more and gladly pay extra. Well, it finally happened. I was asked if I wanted an additional hour as my hour was ending and I readily accepted. What I discovered is that the principle of too much of a good thing applies. Perhaps it was my frame of mind, but the second hour just didn't follow through and match the first. The fact that I received a cut and paste repeat of the first massage may have had something to do with that. So in the future I'll enjoy the 1 hour and stop.
One activity I do a lot of here is read. It's easy to find English language newspapers and magazines for sale in the tourist areas. Around the Pham Ngu Lao backpacker area, there are always vendors carting around their high stacks, often over 1 meter high, of paperback English (and sometimes other) language books for sale. Almost 100% of them are photocopied and technically illegal but it's such a tempting and needed business that it goes on. One of the popular types of books for sale are the Lonely Planet guide books, again mostly photocopied meaning Lonely Planet gets no royalties for the many copies sold not just in Vietnam but throughout Southeast Asia.
I am no saint and admit I've purchased many copies of books here knowing full well they were photocopied. It's easy to rationalise but I don't pretend that it's a good thing to be doing. The legal books here are expensive and the selection is very limited and of course it's easy to tell yourself you're helping out the locals by buying their 'products'. Legal books are available at bookshops and if you're looking for truly classic or quality literature it's your only option. There are no libraries in Vietnam like those available in the West. When I use the term 'the West' I mean the Americas, Europe, and Australia.
For example, I bought a legal copy of Cormac McCarthy's The Road at a book shop here and it cost me about $8 US and I'm sure that's well above the Western price. These legal books are all imported which just adds to their cost. I doubt the markets are large enough to warrant publication of foreign language books in Vietnam from a business point of view so that just adds another reason to rationalise buying photocopied books whenever possible. One could argue that if the publishing houses aren't going to serve the markets here then it's ok to buy illegally produced books. Ah, see how easy it is!
It almost seems like a dream but I could swear that 2 or so years ago Lonely Planet opened an office in the Pham Ngu Lao area. I was in one the the twin alleys that connect Pham Ngu Lau and Bui Vien streets and I looked up and saw it on the first (2nd for Americans) floor level and I thought 'Oh, so they're establishing an office here to combat the illegal production and sale of their books.' Sometime later I looked for it again and it wasn't there.
There is a definite downside for the buyer of photocopied books, regardless of legal and ethical issues, and that's the books' quality. 90% of the time the books are fine, meaning no missing or unreadable pages, but I have bought 2 that had pages missing, one with an annoyingly significant number of them so. Often a few pages are out of order even if not missing. If you buy a photocopied Lonely Planet guide, you won't get the full color and detail of any of the maps.
I hope to do an end around on this whole issue by using my new Kindle e-reader that I picked up when I was in the US. I'm willing to pay for legal downloaded material. I've seen many people using e-readers on airplanes and elsewhere and it looks small and light and readable enough to be enjoyable.
Reading content on my notebook computer just isn't as enjoyable as having a book or newspaper or magazine in my hand. I bought a 1-year subscription to National Geographic's digital magazine and ended up not reading a single issue of it. It was just too slow and cumbersome to try to view the content on my notebook screen. Instead I often pay 100,000 vnd (about $4.85 US) for copies from the street vendors. I imagine the copies they sell are salvaged from hotels and shops, but their condition is always very good. It's hard to replace the ease and comfort of lying in bed with a magazine in your hands.
Vietnam's first Starbucks opened in Saigon's District 1 behind the New World Hotel about 2 months ago. I've heard rumors of long lines and expensive cups of coffee. I will continue to find out about it via rumor only. Vietnam already has very good coffee and coffee shops. But, if Peet's decides to open here...
View from the Phu My Hung (Phú Mỹ Hưng) area of District 7 across the river. The water skiing I witnessed took place near here.
A classic image of Vietnam! This is at 23-9 park in district 1. I don't know how the Vietnamese manage to catch winks in almost any situation, but they're masters at it. Bus drivers will open up the baggage compartment and string up a hammock in there while they await their next departure.
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