Dusty Conclusions At Dusk

July 17, 2009

As we entered the Vietnamese street kitchen (authentic, no less), everyone stared at us most curiously. Fortunately, we were largely forgotten after a while and after saying an extra fervent grace, were left alone to navigate our way through the jungle of herbs compulsory in Vietnamese cuisine. The food was excellent, but really, I shouldn’t even be surprised. So far so good, no throwing up.

Later on,we realized that the staring was somehow inevitable. But then again, I suppose we were a curious sight, foreign Asians, female. A strange man tried to take a picture of us at one of the random temples that we ventured into and when he realized that he had been discovered, he grinned sheepishly and herded his friends away. We were rather amused, to say the least. Partly because we looked a sight (defeated by the humidity of Vietnamese air, sweating profusely; I think ‘mangy’ would be an appropriate descriptor) but mostly because the only reason why we discovered his secret attempt is because we spent most of our day secretly taking photos of old men. Old men sitting, old men smoking, old men fishing, old men in pajamas.

Because I am falling asleep, the following thoughts have to be captured in a most haphazard manner:

• Ellen thinks that we look lesbian since she is in a baggy polo and jeans (instructions from her mother to deter potential rapists: “No tight shirts!”) and I clutch her whenever we have to cross roads. And at this juncture, I will have to admit that whatever I may say, my heart rate rises dramatically whenever we cross the road.
• The Vietnamese people are very polite. Although travel websites always have people complaining about touts, the easiest way to get by is to shake your head and smile, and wait for them to smile back
• Vietnamese people dress rather well, although the curious fashion here is long-sleeved shirts and pants, with these universal slippers
• Overall, a fairly safe country
• Still debating whether to go to Ha Long Bay and Sa Pa. The prices are exhorbitant and this is one area where Ellen’s famous charm is not functioning very well
• Vietnamese men are all fairly good looking. Like Ellen said, the ugliest people we saw today were the Singaporeans. Maybe Ellen will find a hot Vietnamese boy to cook pho bo for her everyday afterall
• The giant tortoise is not real. Disappointed.