No point dwelling over money spent and lessons learned, it’s time to learn Saigon Survival 101. I have 48kD (4.5AUD) left in my wallet and decide that I can make a night out of it.
Walking past the closer restaurants due to the meal prices, I somehow stumble into the area I was looking for, Saigon’s backpacker district, a mere 500m from my hotel, where beds can be found for 15% of what I paid.
Empowered by this discovery, I decide to make the Pho trifecta for the day: Bo (beef) morning, Ga (chicken) lunch and Hai San(seafood) dinner. I decided against booking a tour to the Mekong Delta, instead opting to wing it by asking the locals.
For dinner, I meet an amazing expat couple. Working in American style schools (tieonline.com – qualified Aussie teachers accepted), they are travelling around the world, working for six-12 month blocks in different locations (Malawi is apparently a great place to visit). We laugh at how much I spent on a taxi and a guide, share some stories and I get directions to the bus stop for the trip tomorrow. Dinner price 30kD (2.5AUD).
Walking back from dinner, I stop by a cheap “pub” (collection of plastic chairs and tables on the footpath) for a beer. I meet more expats, couple of Philippinos, a Vietnamese man and a Romanian. From the conversations, I learn the following: motorbikes can fit six people, two people and a 42” TV or one person and a fridge. The driver can be making a call, playing video games, watching TV or drunk and still not crash. On the rare occasion that they do crash, hilarity ensues as it becomes a 10 bike pileup. Licenses are required but foreigners’ are never inspected. Most expats can live in country for 5+ years and still not have a license. Best place to pick up working girls is in clubs; If you get robbed while showering, you can return to the club the following day and get your things back. If you are robbed of valuables, visit the police, a 10% bribe can get you your item back.
Two beers is 10kD (0.90 AUD), change remaining, 8kD, mission accomplished :D. On the way home, an especially confident working girl decides to stroke my cheek as she rides off. Dede!
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Hi Ivan! Sounds like an intense albeit amazing experience. I am truly surprised you're not sick yet. Don't forget about sanitation in the future! I like the mention of the school! :)
Hey that teaching link looks interesting - thanks for the tip!
The schools here are an interesting experience, I went into a Vietnamese classroom in a Cambodian floating village yesterday, I'll put up some photos when I can get some faster internet.
I've been sick a couple of times, but it passes pretty quick.
As for working abroad options, you might want to check out http://www.aiesec.org/ I met a guy in Siem Reap who's been using it as a means of travelling abroad.