Vietnam is a very interesting place for a black man

Oh my, my, my…the adventure started with the 12 hour bus ride from Sihanouk Ville, Cambodia which was pretty ok. Most of the busses in S.E. Asia are pretty much like Greyhound busses, not the most comfortable setup, but tolerable. The bus from Malaysia to Singapore was ultra comfortable, like flying first class, but I’ll tell you about that when the time comes for that post.

Sitting next to me on the bus was an American white guy from Oklahoma who left the USA in 2005, during the second reign of King George II, he traveled around the world and ended up in Viet Nam in 2007. The only reason I am mentioning him is because he said to me, “Brother, keep a low profile while in Viet Nam. You seem like you will anyway, but they don’t like the brothers.” This was not what I wanted to hear as I entered Viet Nam, but I have learned that my experiences are almost always different from everyone else’s, so what people say doesn’t really matter all that much to me. The best way to experience a place is to just get in there and get your hands dirty and if people have a problem with me, it is their problem and it has nothing to do with me, but I did ask why and he said, “I don’t know. They have color complex, they bleach their skin to look white.” I already knew about the skin bleaching and the HUGE desire to have white skin, but like I said, that is their issue. I was there to have a good time and no amount of stupidity was going to get in my way.

The first thing I will sa about Sai Gon is…I have never seen that many motorbikes in my life. There are about 8 million people in this city and I think there are about 8 million motorbikes. When one crosses they street, they don’t stop, so you just walk and they go around you like water. I will upload a video, so you can see for yourselves.

The bus finally arrived and let us out right on Pham Ngu Lao Street and I knew my hotel was located right off the main street in a little alley, so I looked at he numbers and I realized I really close, so I just walked. It took no longer than 7 minutes and I was there and all checked in and ready to hit the shower before heading out to forage for food. It was pretty late, so I figured I would eat and hit the sack eary, so I could head to the “American War” museum the following day. I found a little restaurant and I ordered some sweat and sour fish dish that was not very good, but I ate it anyway. I headed to an ATM to withdraw some cash, but I couldn’t figure out how much to withdraw because the exchange rate is something like 19,000:1. I think I withdrew 200,000 Dong and then I realized I would need at least million, so I had to withdraw more the following day, which meant getting another bank fee from Citibank, but there is really no way to avoid all those fees when traveling abroad. Last month I think I paid close to $60 in ATM fees, but it may be more because I have still not done the math.

The next afternoon I vowed to take it easy because my eyes were still yellow and I didn’t want to overexert myself, so I walked to the “American War” museum where I met a young Vietnamese girl who was looking for foreigners to speak English with. She said she looked at me and I seemed friendly, so she decided to come over and strike up a conversation. She asked if she could come into the museum with me and of course I said yes. Her English was pretty good, but it was obvious that she just needed to practice. Her grammar was good and she had a decent vocabulary, so we walked and talked for about an hour before I decided to head back to the hotel.

I must say that everywhere I went in Viet Nam people gawked and I have to say it did make me feel a little uncomfortable, but just a little. I made a point of projecting an abundance of confindence everywhere I went, but it was a little tiring. None of the stares seemed to be stares of disdain or disgust, but it was weird nonetheless. I think they were just very curious. By day 3 I decided that nobody was going to make me feel awkward, not even a little bit, so when I saw people staring, I called them on it, in a friendly way. I would look at them with the same look of curiosity then I would smile and say hi. Why should I be the only one feeling uncomfortable? Almost all of them smiled and said hi back, a few even came over to talk to me or to touch me. It was during my 3rd day in Viet Nam that a man and a woman approached me as I was taking pictures and asked me to go home with them to meet their mother and sister. I started to stutter a bit and I told them that I was a bit busy seeing the sites, so I would not be able to go with them. I thought they were swingers or some other kind of freaks, but when I asked how they were married they laughed and said, “We are brother and sister.” They weren’t even Vietnamese, they were from the Philipines visiting their brother who lives in Ho Chi Min City. The woman was very flirtatious and she kept touching my arms…LOL. She also told me that she was a masseuse. I asked why they wanted me to go with them and the guy said, “I had a black friend once in the Philipines, he was in the military, but he moved back to the states.” I am still scratching my head about this incident. Later that night while taking some pictures, I turned around and this guy had his cell phone out taking pictures of me. I could not let it go because he was only about 3 or 4 feet from me and he was so bold, so I figured if he was going to be that bold he needed to get embarrassed, so I said, “Have you never seen a black man before?” He looked scared and said, “Huh?” I said it again and his friend translated for him, then the friend apologized by saying, “Sorry, my friend stupid.” I continued and when I finished they were still there, so I walked over and put my arm around the guy and said, “If you’ve never seen a black man before, let’s take a picture together.” His face lit up like a Christmas tree and he handed his friend his cell phone and the friend took 2 pictures and I chatted with them for a bit before excusing myself…LOL. About 20 minutes later an entire group of people wanted to take pictures with me. I felt like a celebrity, it was strange, but I liked it. When I went back to the hotel I asked the receptionist about what had occurred and she told me that they may see 1 black person every six months, so they are just curious. I saw a few Africans there, but only a few, so I guess she was right.

I had a good time in Viet Nam and I feel like I should have stayed a few more days, but I had already booked a flight, so staying was not an option for me. I did not get the impression that race was an issue for them.

The next morning I caught a flight to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Here are some pictures from Sai Gon (Ho Chi Min City), Viet Nam.

Hasta la próxima vez mi gente bonita,

a1globetrotter