Who are we? After going to bed at 2:30am, Rachel awakens at 7am- 1 hour earlier than we set our super duper cool voice-activated alarm clock- to start getting ready. I soon follow suit with ease...because who needs sleep when fresh food, massages, good photos and adventure are just outside our quaint hidden alleyway hostel?
We trekked past a bunch of touristy shops and then to the local market where we saw a ton of colorful fabrics, purses, etc. as well as brains, severed pig tails, maggots (to eat…yes Danielle- to eat) and strange fruits.
A picture is worth 1000 words…but is it worth $700? In a quick, sleuth attempt to retrieve her camera for an awesome shot of a local reclining on a motorbike, Rachel accidently dropped her lens on the ground and what followed was a string of obscenities (none of which I will list here) and sighs of frustration. Good thing a camera shop was right around the corner and our trusty new friend, Tran was there to help us out! Tran spoke only a few words of English and couldn’t understand what Rachel was saying when she asked what time they closed. As he’s inspecting the inside of the lens and twisting it around with increased difficulty, I say in a low voice to Rach- “it looks like it needs some sort of lube.” Tran begins laughing hysterically. What? He understood? I mean I wasn’t even trying to be dirty- just practical. He doesn’t understand the word “close” but somehow “lube” is one of the 3 English words he knows? As his laughter increases dramatically, so does the red in my face. Michelle 0, Embarrassment 1. For $40 Tran will fix Rachel’s lens and all will be well. It was at this point that I realized I had probably gotten some sort of H1N1 Airplane Monkey Pox Sars because I was extremely nauseas and started getting this funky unwell feeling.
In order to recuperate from the drama we decided that our first massage absolutely necessary. We went a nice salon and had an hour long massage for $15!! Apparently word of our matching backpacks had gotten out because after squeezing into tiny silk robes we were lead into one room for a couples massage. The women walked and literally climbed on all fours over our backs. It was amazing!!!
We finally find the opera house and Notre Dame, and successfully crossed the street without getting killed by crazy motorcyclists numerous times. If you haven’t been to Ho Chi Minh City, then you will have no idea what I mean…Italy does not even come close to comparing. Pedestrians do not have the right of way. You are supposed to just cross and keep the same predictable pace so the drivers know how to dodge you. In a small city of 7 million people, you can imagine how much fun that is! We got the best massage ever and then continued on our merry, merry way (and Merry is the choice term considering the plethora of X-mas decorations around the city). I feel much better…time for us to nap and rally for drinks and dinner and fun and….more stories.
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