The ultimate Vietnamese movie experience

an another one...

Visiting a cinema in Vietnam is a special experience. And an even more special experience when they show a Vietnamese movie. This years Tet-Blockbuster "Khi dan ong co bau" - "When man are pregnant" was the movie of our choice. So my friends and me went to a Cinema close to Le Loi Street for the ultimate Vietnamese movie experience.

The Cinema itself was nicely decorated with fake flowers in all thinkable colours in front of the canvas. The seats were incredible uncomfortable, at least for an average sized Westerner. So I was almost liying on two seats and changing position every few minutes.

Thinking of a longterm stay in Singapore, where they cool the cinemas down to fridge temperature, I brought a jacket, just in case. There was absolutely no need to do so. The only refreshment came from a small fan just above the entrance.

Long after the show already started, spectators still arrived to watch the movie. When all seats finally were occupied but still more visitors came, the staff of the theatre just conjured up some small plastic stools out of nothing. On the stairways between the seatrows was enough place for them.

Long before the show ended, whole families decided to leave. Due to this steady flow of people the cinema never got really silent. But as my Vietnamese was anyway not good enough to understand the movie I did not mind.

"When men are pregnant" is one of the movies, one does not need to know the language for in order to understand it. It's a comedy. And the gags lie in the mimics of the actors or are that kind of screwball, that is understood all over the world. Cohorts of pregnant men in maternity wear populate the Ben Than Market. Cyclos with jet propulsion fly around the city to rescue the poor men, who really suffer from their pregnancy.

The main story is a classical one. A boy and a girl are in love. They take their chance and go for a weekend trip to Dalat. The girl gets pregnant. But her boyfriend thinks that the timing is not allright, so he urges her to abort. When he tries to catch her, while she runs away from the illegal abortion doctor, he is overrun by a car and falls into coma. In his long sleep he has the strange dream that suddenly all the men are pregnant, instead of the women.

Partly surpisingly explicit in a smart way, the movie is a funny entertainment and for foreigners a quick guide to Vietnamese humor.

urban landscapes - view from appartment 3

urban landscapes - view from appartment 2

urban landscapes - view from appartment 1

the new appartment

Saigon traffic straight from within - going by Xe Om

another articel I published in the saigon times....

The real thing
The first thing that hits you when entering Ho Chi Minh City is the traffic. A traffic that cannot be compared to any other place in the world. Motorbikes. Wherever you look. Motorbikes, Motorbikes, Motorbikes. Honda, Daelim, Minsk. Vietnam has the highest motorbike per capita rate on earth. Around 3 million of them in Ho Chi Minh City alone. And it seems as if the Vietnamese ride their motorbikes 24/7. Not surprising at all, that Vietnamese traffic is considered to be one of the most dangerous worldwide. Eventhough the nicest way to explore the urban jungle of Saigon is still on a Motorbike. And the best solution, unless you are an experienced driver, is on the back of a Motorbike Taxi. In Vietnam these Taxis are called "Xe Om" and if translated litteraly this means "hugging vehicle" due to the fact that you sit very close to the driver, almost hugging him. Using a Xe Om has many advantages. It's not only the quickest solution but also one of the the cheapest. But an even better reason to take a Xe Om is the unique experience of Saigon traffic straight from within. As you don't have to care about driving, you can spend all the time in the world just looking around, gazing. You will see things which you never thought to be possible, a complete family on a single motorbike for instance, a Honda loaded with so many goods that the driver can barely see, or a live pig transported on the back of a bike. Riding through Ho Chi Minh City during rush hour is one of the Vietnam-experiences that are not to forget. And its a "real" one, as this insane traffic is an essential part of Vietnamese every day life.
Get in touch with the locals
Riding the Xe Om is also a good way to get in touch with the locals as most drivers speak good English and often French as well. After a day swallowing the dust of Ho Chi Minh City's streets, what could be nicer than enjoying a cold Bia Hoi (draft beer) with your driver in one of Saigon's innummerable eateries, chit-chatting. Many of the older drivers can tell you interesting stories about the war, which of course differ a lot, depending wether they fought for the north or the south. In fact there are several of them, who held higher positions within the southern regime, and so after 1975 they had to find another way to make a living. Many of the drivers have been doing the job for ages now, like Duc in Bui Vien Street, who has been driving a Xe Om for twelve years. Talking with them you can find out lots about how life and traffic changed in the city during the past decade.
How to hire a Xe Om
Normaly it should not be a big issue for you to hire a Xe Om, instead the driver will hire you. "You, motorbike?" That's the calling that sounds through Saigon's streets night and day. Especially in the Backpacker's Quarter, which means the streets around Pham Ngu Lao, Bui Vien and De Tham. But also downtown, in the area of Dong Khoi, it's more than easy to get a ride, as Xe Om are offering their services at almost every corner.
To avoid a rip-off it's important always to negotiate the price for a ride in advance. For a ride within the borders of District 1, you should not pay more than VN Dong 7.000 - 10.000, depending on the distance. If you pay by hour the average price is VN Dong 15.000 (1 US$). Xe Om is not only a good solution within the city but also for longer trips to the famous Cu Chi Tunnels (around 7 US$) or the beaches of Vung Tau (around 10 US$). Of course it's a little bit more than most travel agents in the Backpacker's Quarter charge for a bus ride, but it's worth it. As you don't have a fixed schedule for the trip, this is a unique way to discover the country.
The safety of your ride of course depends mostly on the skills of the driver, but you can also contribute your part. One important thing is to sit close to the driver, the closer you sit, the easier the bike is to balance. You also should not carry your belongings too openly, a backpack which you wear on both shoulders is a good solution.
Enjoy your ride!

Cyclo Driver

Rushhour in Ho Chi Minh City

Bui Vien - Backpackers Quarter

Urban Landscapes - Saigon

Propaganda

Pham Ngu Lao

Living in Saigons Backpacker's Quarter

this is an article of me, published in last weeks saigon times...uncensored... enjoy!!!

"Motorbike, Massage, Marihuana," this is the calling, day and night whispering around the Backpacker's Quarter, to the local's better known as Pham Ngu Lao. It's the small but crowded area around Bui Vien, De Tham and Pham Ngu Lao streets, east of downtown in HCM City's District 1.
Even if the first impression of this area might be sleazy, and definitetly not all of the above mentioned three M's may be recommendable, they show one thing: Everything is possible in this part of town.
For travellers coming from Cambodia, Pham Ngu Lao is usually their entry gate to Vietnam, their first contact with this multifaceted country. To most people coming from the north it's their last contact with Vietnam.
Packed with almost 100 hotels to stay, the Backpacker's is an El Dorado for budget travellers.While at the beginning of the 1990s, prices for accomodation could easily go up to US$50, nowadays the average is at US$5 to US$15 a night, depending on if you want a double or single room, aircon or fan.
Very different from Bangkok's Khao San Road, a place well known to almost all backpackers as it is their main gate to Southeast Asia, Pham Ngu Lao managed to preserve its local charme, despite all the Western influence.
While in Khao San Road, fast food chains and symbols of Western imperialism like McDonalds, Burger King, Starbucks and SevenEleven are door to door, and kick out more and more local businesses, in Pham Ngu Lao all business is local.
In the early morning hours, just after sunrise, when most of the travellers still sleep, the atmosphere in Bui Vien Street is somehow a timeless one.
Shy sunbeams light the street and coat everything with golden colours. Everything seems peaceful. From near Tran Hung Dao Street, one of the city's main traffic routes, connecting District 1 and District 5, or Chinatown (Cholon), the horns of motorbikes announce the morning rushhour.
Gathered around small tables, sitting on plastic stools, old and young start the day with a chat over a delicious iced coffee. A cyclo driver carries his burden slowly but steadily down the street. The air is filled with various smells from grilled pork, coffee and fresh fruits.
One by one the first backpackers start to rise and leave their hotels, glimpsing sleepily into the sun, searching for a proper breakfast in one of the inummareble restaurants.
Santa Cafe in the middle of Bui Vien Street is always a good one. With a broad range of Vietnamese and Western food, it offers something for every taste. The "Ultimate Omelette" and the excellent iced coffee should not be missed.
After recharging your batteries with food and caffeine, it's time to explore the city or the surrounding areas. For tours through Saigon, motorbike taxis (xe om) are a good choice. A ride within District 1 usually should cost VND5,000 to VND10,000. For longer trips the average price is VND15,000 per hour.
If you want to leave the city, many travel agencies offer daytrips to the nearby Cu Chi Tunnels, the Cao Dai Temple in Tay Ninh or the Mekong Delta.
It's also very easy to spend the whole day in the backpacker's quarter. Just hanging out in one of the coffee shops, chatting with other travellers from all over the world and watching live in the streets, or going shopping in the dirtcheap CD and DVD stores are some of the tourists favourite activities.
When the sun sets and night begins, the area again changes its face. There are lots of options for dinner -- Indian, Italian and other Western restaurants, and traditional Vietnamese on-the-street eateries.
At the corner of Bui Vien and De Tham streets for example is a good eatery, which offers besides a nice atmosphere, seefood and cheap beer, a specialty called bot chien, which is fried flour with egg and green Mango.
If you feel more like Indian food, Snow Restaurant offers authentic cuisine from the subcontinent, including an excellent Aloo Massalla. For those who like Italian food, there are lots of places around, including well known Good Morning Vietnam.
But these are just some examples. Even if you stayed here for months, it would be almost impossible for you to check out all the restaurants.
After dinner it's time for music and a beer. And again there are many offers, such as superloud Go 2 Bar, Allez Boo, which has been a favorite for backpackers for years, and Guns N Roses Bar with good rock music and a pool table.
When the night gets late not only backpackers fill the quarter's streets but also many expats and Vietnamese partypeople. As most of the bars downtown close around 1 a.m., Pham Ngu Lao is HCM City's only choice to partying overnight.
So the crowd gathers in sleazy Lost in Saigon and Sahara in Pham Ngu Lao Street or the more relaxed Saigon Bar in De Tham Street.
But living in the Backpackers not only has its sunny sides. Simon Benedikter, a German intern who lived here for the last 10 weeks, says there is sometimes an agressive atmosphere between the Vietnamese and foreigners in this part of the city. While many foreigners always fear being ripped off, many Vietnamese see the tourists as living ATMs.
Even though, Pham Ngu Lao is an essential, charming and colourfull part of the city worth visiting. And if not every day at least once in a while.