giddy adventures.: Saigon Wrap Up - Paparazzi'd, Scammed, and Au'Revoir'ed

The one where I got free ice cream.

Last few days in Saigon were nothing short of memorable. My friend Son, Angela, and I hung out a couple days exploring the city by foot. We were in search of the infamous Lunch Lady many have told us about. Even though we used two different taxis to get there, we got lost. We gave up and enjoyed a bowl of Pho and walked around the city. Of course, Angela wanted ice cream to top off the afternoon. We stumbled across this fancy looking shop called N2 Heaven with a large crowd inside. Must be poppin' right?

As we step inside, we discover the business hasn't even opened yet and the crowd was really just preparing for their grand opening in a week. As we awkwardly back stepped towards the door, the owner's wife called out, "Vào thử kem!" A younger gentleman- who turned out to be the owner's son - invited us in to sit down. Cautiously, we sat down and smiled at the crowd of young men sitting across from us. Simultaneously, the owner's brought out varying flavors of ice cream - bowl after bowl after bowl after bowl. The young men all held fancy schmancy DSLRs. "So....you guys photographers?" I ask as I put a spoonful of sesame flavored ice cream in my mouth. "Amateurs," they respond. "Can we take pictures of you?"

"Sure," we say. Why not, they were offering us such deliciousness! It was the least we could do. I tried to smile the whole time - which isn't hard to do with a table full of ice cream in front of me.

It was such kind hospitality that you hear about when travelers speak of Vietnam. I was excited, grateful, and high from the experience. Lesson learned. You really can trust people.

The one where I got scammed.
Afterwards, Son, Angela, and I found our way towards the main area of District 1. We noticed a pretty temple across the street. Crossing the street like pros, we peered inside to see if we could get in. Vendors showed us incense and pointed inside. We all shook our heads and said, "No, thanks!" We continued to peer inside. The lady put the incense in our palms and closed our fingers around them. Then, she placed a precious bracelet made of flowers around our wrist. She led us inside and showed us where to put the incense and flowers. She nodded her head and smiled. "Oh...OK, it's free," we all thought.

So nice, right? We walked around the Hindu temple and placed incense in pots of sand. We enjoyed the experience and the high we were getting from the friendliness of Vietnam. It really is about the spread of knowledge and the exchange of culture.

After about twenty minutes of exploring the temples statues and images, we put our shoes back on and stepped out.

"100,000 vnd!" shouted the vendors who handed us the incense with sweet, religious smiles. "HUH!?" "100,000 vnd!" "FOR WHAT!" "You use incense, 100,000vnd!"

I have never been so confused in my life. Where did the friendliness go? We all had money out and the vendors just pulled the 100,000 vnd bill from our pile. "HUH?!"

The lady vendor shouted, "100,000 vnd!"

"HUH!?"

"Flowers! 100,000vnd! Same same! Everyone, 100,000vnd!"

In broken Vietnamese, Angela and I try to explain we said, "No," so many times and they pushed us in.

They decided 100,000 vnd for all three of us would suffice. "WHAT!"

We gave up. We gave up 100,000. We were so scammed. Our cherry had been popped. First scam in Vietnam. On the plus side, it did take us two weeks for it to happen.

Lesson learned. Vietnam really is friendly. But watch out for those who take advantage of that image.

The one where we leave Saigon.
The last few days in Saigon were great. Angela's boyfriend, Lynn, arrived. Undoubtedly, she was as giddy as a schoolgirl. I can use that metaphor now, since she recently graduated. We showed him around, tried to take advantage of the nightlife, and said our good-byes. It's been a good run! We will definitely return one day. The city is changing rapidly and I look forward to seeing how it's changed in a few years.

As bittersweet as goodbyes are, we are all excited to explore the rest of Vietnam. We have heard of it's beauty and food and we are excited to see it all!

Amazing crew of amatuer paparazzi at N2 Heaven who photographed us awkwardly trying every flavor of ice cream.

Angela and I in front of N2 Heaven with the owner. Please support this new tasty ice cream business!

Son working out all the calories from our 20 flavor ice cream bonanza. Parks in Ho Chi Minh city have workout machines all over! SO AWESOME!

Alongside the parks are pretty temples!

And old historic homes that belonged to famous individuals.

Wish I had more pictures of the coffee shops in Ho Chi Minh City. They were OUTSTANDING. The ones in SJ is street coffee in comparison. Here, Angela and I are enjoying our last fancy cup of joe.