27th March 2010
This was the day we had marked out for our initiation into motorcycle life in Vietnam. Karen’s friend Jane often goes out of the city a little way to some quieter parks and gardens to enjoy some peace and respite from hectic Saigon. She has a xe om driver (motorbike taxi) who she uses and Karen has one called Mr Tinh who was going to take Ed, while I would ride pillion on Karen’s bike with her.
So, off we set, with Ed and Mr Tinh in the lead on Saigon’s roads out to Mango Tree Park. The first part of the journey through the city was fascinating - if a little scary at first! You get a completely different perspective being in among the mopeds as opposed to observing them from the side of the road. It is very much a feeling of being part of a crowd with safety in numbers, especially when turning left across a junction. In the end the sheer number of mopeds wins out and gets across.
After passing through the city, we hit the highway where we started to encounter the large trucks and buses. They drive along behind you just honking their horns to let you know they are there. The horn is used quite liberally here, but not generally in anger, just as a warning to say ’toot toot’ I’m behind you.
A good hour later when my bum was starting to feel a bit numb we turned off the highway onto a smaller road. Here the scenary changed quite dramatically from the continual shop fronts of Saigon to occasional shop fronts, interspersed with houses with areas of land in between.
Finally we got to our destination. A lovely, very kitsch park with pleasant paths to wander around surrounded by fountains, statues and a whole area devoted to bonsai trees, complete with little figures to make interesting scenes.
Jane had very kindly packed a lunch for us with delicious vietnamese buns filled with laughing cow cheese and ham. We sat in a shaded seated area in the centre of a lake. The park was being used by quite a few school groups and they were having great fun messing about in boats on the lake. Surprisingly for Vietnam they all had life jackets on, although apparently people here are absolutely petrified of the water and few can swim, so they always make sure they will be safe.
Having sat and chatted and enjoyed our lunch we went for a wander around the park. We passed the ostrich farm with birds ranging from very young and very cute, to very large and very weird looking.
They also have a crocodile farm here, which means lots and lots of large crocs in one pen and lots and lots of small crocs in another. I doubt Steve Irwin would have been impressed with their living conditions, but their animal husbandry here is severely lacking. There are lots of things in Vietnam (and I suspect, other Asian countries), where you just have to accept things. You can try and avoid things as much as possible, but you will eventually be confronted with things you don’t like and/or don’t agree with.
We stopped in another seated area for a cool drink and more chatting before heading back out to the main gates to find our respective drivers.
Back on the bikes and we headed for home. By now the coaches with the school parties were starting to leave, so as we drove away from the park we periodically had a honk, then a great big bus would whoosh past. At one point, we saw a cart being pulled by two oxen, reinforcing the image of past and present living side by side that has become quite a symbol of this country for me.
On our way home, Karen forgot to make a turn on one of the roads, so we ended up being split up from the others. We arrived back before the others so realised they had stopped to wait for us somewhere, but we had missed them. I was so grubby when we got back, my legs were covered in black grime from being around the bike exhausts and my face felt as if it had a layer of grease on it. I headed straight for the shower for a good scrub.
Karen was going out this evening and leaving us to fend for ourselves so we had decided to visit the cocktail bar on the 23rd floor of the Sheraton Hotel. They have 2 for 1 on cocktails between 4.30 and 6.30, so we headed straight out with Jane to make sure we didn’t miss it. Not only is the hotel wonderfully ornate, but the view from the bar was superb. Saigon doesn’t have very many high rises (presently) so although the bar isn’t very high up you still get some wonderful vistas from it. Hopefully, the city won’t ever become a forest of high rises like other places around the world.
Two cocktails each later and having thoroughly enjoyed the view we decided to head off for the banh xe pancakes and a lotus salad like we had the first night here with Karen. While we were there it began to rain very heavily, so we decided to stay put for a while (you can get VERY wet when it rains here). We sat watching the children playing and laughing in the rain. Then we noticed some people being served with some custard apples. I watched the woman peeling it apart and eating it and when she caught my eye we shared a super smile. She asked if we would like to try and came over and showed us how to eat it. Sweet and delicious. I find the people here so warm and welcoming, it’s a truly lovely place to be.
