Day 1 - Dad woke me up
after three hours of sleep. Showered, ate breakfast (amazing fresh fruit and
french breads), and headed out to the Market. After an hour of being harassed
by the vendors grabbing our arms we were both covered in sweat and ready for a
nap. Slept for five more hours and went out for Vietnamese bbq. OMG! So
Amazing! Then we roamed around, met some college kids who wanted to practice
their English, and finally went to the Jazz Club. The music was fantastic and I can't wait to go back on Saturday when the rest
of our crew is here. Now we are going to find a beer store so we can have a few
cold ones waiting when the next three members of our crew show up in a half
hour or so.
So there is day one in a nutshell. We should be
over the jet lag now, but I'm still thinking naps in the afternoon may be
essential tomorrow. If nothing else than to get out of this horrendous humidity!
Day 2 - Went to bed at
4am again, and were woken up by our team leader at 6:30. Silly man only slept
for 15 minutes, and apparently thought we needed to suffer with him. Hung out
with Neal (our fearless leader), Jim from Chicago and Dave, our fellow Yooper,
most of the day. Then we found two new arrivals Kristen and Ezra (the guy who
made the amazing film about dad for the 2012 build), and found a new bar and
dinner. Now we are about to head down to the lobby with a few beers to perform
our duties as the unofficial welcoming committee for tonights newcomer's.
We are still dying from the humidity, but not from crossing the insane traffic
on the roads. I think I've got the hang of scooter dodging now!
Day 3 - If you are
paying attention you have seen the pics and video from today. More adventurers
came in tonight and after meeting them on the steps of the hotel we took a few
of them to our new favorite bar, Allez Boo. It is finally 3:20am and I am
hoping to not be woken up before 7am
Day 3 Part 2 - My
Finnish @$$ is officially the first victim of sunburn. Wear your sunscreen,
boys and girls!
Day 4 We went on a dinner boat cruise on the
Saigon River tonight. Nothing too exciting, but the traditional entertainment
was interesting. As Al said, "I have never seen someone play the cups
before". They used two tiny tea cups and clicked them together to make
music
Day 5 - Today we officially started the Habitat
portion of the trip with meetings this morning with the Vietnam Habitat
coordinator's and three NGO presentations about the status of the country, a
program for the disabled, and Save The Children Vietnam. They were interesting,
but also a bit of propaganda. After lunch with all those representatives a
group of us headed out to find a handmade goods store run by a non-prof that
helps women set up their own businesses. There were certainly many beautiful things, but the quilts were most
remarkable. If my budget allows at the end of the trip I will be going back.
While I did that, Dad found the Harley Davidson
dealership with another Harley rider in our group. Much drooling was involved.
Finally, since it is our last night in Saigon, and
we were tired and sweaty and didn't feel like walking, a bunch of us went to
the little restaurant next to the hotel for dinner. While most everyone ate
American food, Dad and I decided to eat foreign food and had Aussie Steak
Sandwiches.
Tomorrow we move on to My Tho, which is where we
will be building. I can't wait to finally get this build underway and do what
we came here to do. I don't know how good the internet connection will be
there, but I will do my best to continue posting every day.
