East Meets West

Thursday, October 25

Today was a day of travel, from Phnom Penh in Cambodia to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. I'm glad the trip was by bus, because it was great to see the Cambodian countryside - it was MUCH greener and more lush than the cities (including surrounding countryside) that we have been to already. Oddly, the bus driver was more apt to slow down for cows int he road than for people - go figure. There was a moment of interest at the border, when the Cambodian officials challenged the exit of a middle-aged, paunchy caucasian guy traveling with five young Cambodian girls (not too young, but probably 18 - 20). Who knows what that story was. Eventually, they were allowed to exit Cambodia and had no issues getting entry into Vietnam.

HCMC is huge - millions of people, and (I didn't think it was possible!) even more traffic than Phnom Penh had. The hotel here is iffy, only because the A/C only stays on for 3 minutes at a time. The front desk assured me that it will be fixed in an hour, and if it's not I'm leaving and finding another hotel - there are about a hundred within spitting distance, after all.

Now, on to the subject of the day...my lovely daughter is now making blog requests, and her latest is on the topic of westernization. Well, Sara, here's what I can tell you.

In Phnom Penh, almost EVERY sign (stored, restaurants, even street signs and government signs) were in Cambodian AND in English. The air pollution was in credible, due in large part to thousands of motorcycles all using tons of cheap, watered-down gas bought in Thailand (taxes are less there) and brought over the border to sell. Most places, even street vendors, take (and prefer!) American dollars to the local currency, which is riel. In fact, many menus list prices in dollars first. Most restaurants have taken to offering "western" or "English" food, although it's often an interesting variation. But, I still am totally hooked on pancakes with honey now! Almost all cars are Toyota Camrys or Lexus SUVs (with a few Honda CRVs and some Mercedes thrown in for good measure). Half of the Toyotas are from Brit-influenced Thailand, so are right-hand drive, and half are from French-influenced Vietnam, and are left-hand drive. Those right-hand drive cars make driving a truly frightening adventure, when a driver is trying to peer around a car to see if he can pass, but the driver is on the right-hand side to has to pull WAY out to just peek! We learned early on to get around, where possible, by tuk-tuk instead.

But by FAR the biggest evidence of Westernization is the cell phone. Everyone has one. I mean everyone. And every other shop seems to sell them. It gets truly interesting when your taxi driver is on his cell phone, whilst trying to peer around traffic from his right-hand driver's seat. This is the stuff that horror films are made of!

Most people speak some smattering of English, although the most commonly known words are "sir" and "madam."

Our initial experience in HCMC wasn't the best...and I already miss the lazier life of Cambodia. We got off the bus to the standard huge wave of taxi drivers assaulting us, and made a deal with one of them to be a driver for two solid days, for $40 total. We EACH asked him to repeat it, and clearly there was an understanding, However, while we were checking into the hotel, he called his boss, who apparently said it was too little. So, the boss said it was $40 per PERSON for the two days. Oh come on, as if anyone charges per person for taxi rides! Needless to say, we told him bye-bye. It turned out to be a good decision, since there are many attractions to see here that are all within a mile or so of the hotel, and I could use a good walk or two.

Sara, you can add 1 to my massage count (I got another one yesterday). I think I'll most likely not get one today, until we figure out where a good, clean place is. Oh, how sad - a day without a massage! :-)

I am much looking forward to having real Vietnamese food here - spring rolls, pho bac, you name it. But for now, I need to go check on the A/C and see if we can move our room if it's not working properly.

For anyone still reading my verbose musings, I'd like to request any positive thoughts, prayers, etc. Two days ago, my father had to be admitted to an ER and then moved to a convalescent hospital for up to a couple months, trying to get some sort of medication balance that will alleviate his anger enough to make him able to move to the residential care facility that my mother had picked out and signed him up for. This transition is going to be a rough haul for my mother. It's necessary, but still tragic. My mother is an incredibly woman, and I love her more than I could ever say. I pray for her to find peace in this time.

Thanks, and be happy. --Janine