Jet Set Zero // 2009 // December

Chinese Chess, or Xiangqi by Kris

So I try to get out every day and walk around a bit and every time I do I see people squatting on the sidewalks playing a game that looks like checkers. I’ve stood behind them, eager to try and learn how it works with no luck. Turns out the game is called Xiangqi, or Chinese Chess in English. It’s played on a grid-style board or cloth and each player has 16 pieces to play with. Like traditional chess, each piece serves a specific function, but the approach is different. It is perceived as two armies engaged in battle, with the goal to seize the enemy’s “general” piece. The other pieces have names like guards, cannons, elephants, horses, chariots, soldiers and advisors. The pieces don’t move like regular chess pieces and even the setup is different so it’s tough to figure out. It’s extremely popular in Vietnam and you can spot people playing all over the place.

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Karaoke! by Kris

I love going to karaoke at home, but karaoke here is a whole different animal. The Vietnamese love their music here and karaoke is a huge part of their culture. Each group gets their own private room, and the music is ear-bleedingly loud. But what fun it is! We sang for almost four hours and it cost us around $20 (divided by 6). In true Asian style, the words to the songs were often wrong (Neil Young singing 4 “days” in Ohio?). I was able to get a few shots of the action before my battery died for your viewing pleasure. Unfortunately, my epic rendition of “Total Eclipse of the Heart” did not make the cut but stayed tuned for it in an upcoming episode – one of my better performances if I do say so myself. I’m sure we’ll be back!

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You Can Buy Absolutely Anything From A Street Vendor by Kris

You see just about anything being sold on the street, from CD’s to hammocks to food to books. This guy was selling something a bit different:

Apparently there’s a big market out there for goldfish! Actually, being the nerd that I am, I checked into it and many Vietnamese people practice feng shui, the traditional Chinese art of designing buildings and rooms for good energy flow. In the feng shui system, the five elements (water, wood, metal, fire and earth) should be balanced. Live animals like goldfish represent fire and can add balance to the home, so fishtanks are quite common in the Vietnamese home.

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MY FRIEND MRS THY AND BUDDHISM by Laurene

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How Broke Is Kris This Week? (#5) by Kris

All righty. Things are pretty settled and established so week to week there hasn’t been much change. Items of interest this week include our accommodation going up by 20% (“high season”) and a motorbike rental which, even with buying gas, is actually cheaper than taking the very affordable xe oms (motorbike taxis). Then there was our karaoke night out and going to see Ratatat (again) at a new club which totally blew the budget.

For my fifth week (Dec 2-Dec 8), I spent an average of $20.22 per day (384,180 dong/day). Here’s a general breakdown of where it went:

lunch/dinner at restaurants: $29.00 for the week, average of $4.14/day

water/snacks/drinks/groceries for breakfast: $12.47 for the week, average of $1.78/day

beer: $9.74 for the week, average of $1.39/day

taxis and buses: $2.53 for the week

motorcycle rental and gas: $13.68 for the week, average of $1.95/day

accommodation: $47.60 for the week, or $6.80/night

manicures: $2.84

karaoke, cover charges: $23.68 for the week

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So, for my fifth week, I spent $141.54. My balance from the end of week four was $340.80, so that leaves me at $199.26. I don’t get paid until Jan 1st so hopefully it can stretch that far. Doubtful. But the Jan 1st cheque will be big so I’m not too worried. At this point, I am living very comfortably, have my own motorbike, and am eating pretty much whatever I want. You could definitely do it for cheaper but hovering at the $20/day mark is working perfect for me.

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Fast Food Craving by Serene

There comes a certain point where you’ve indulged in the local food for quite some time, and you get this sudden urge to eat a greasy burger with a huge side of french fries. Vietnam is surprisingly unscathed by Starbucks, Burger King, and McDonalds, so we decided to hit up the local fast food joint to soothe the craving. What did I discover there? The coolest thing ever!!!!!

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Chicken Coke at Lotteria (basically, its the Vietnamese equivalent of a McDonalds). It’s popcorn chicken, and coke. It gets better…They put the chicken container in the coke container! Amazing!

Why America has not come up with this yet, I do not know......

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SPOILED BY THE GROCERY STORE! by Laurene

(Version française plus bas)

Crispy, crunchy yet melting biscuit bits greeting me at the grocery store! Real dark chocolate and strawberry jam toppings! Mamma mia!

During my past two visits to the grocery store, a Vietnamese girl in a Christmas dress welcomed me with a tray of LU biscuit samples. LU is a famous French brand of delicious biscuits, founded in my hometown (Nantes) about 150 years ago.

Prince de Lu, barquettes, petits écoliers... Yum!

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Getting To Know One Of My Vietnamese Students by Kris

I decided to interview one of my students to give you a glimpse into Vietnamese attitudes. This is Linh, who is in my TOEIC class (preparation for an English equivalency test).

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A BUDDHIST CELEBRATION OF THE DEAD by Laurene

(Version française plus bas)

Mrs Thy, a co-worker of mine, takes us to her pagoda where a buddhist crowd is celebrating the dead. The three day long ceremony happens only once a year. We showed up at 7.00 AM on a Sunday, to be there right from the start on the first day of the celebration.

Mrs Thy, thank you so much for helping us understand what is going on in front of us!

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Déjà Vu In The Most Awesome Sense of the Word by Kris

I know what you’re thinking. “I’ve seen this photo already”. But you haven’t. Because not only did we see Ratatat last weekend at LoretoFest, but again this weekend at a small club in the Dong Khoi district. I couldn’t sneak into this one so it blew the budget a bit but was totally worth it. We recreated the previous photo with the band in the background partly to let you folks know what we’re up to and partly to rub it in Brian and Rob’s faces. Sorry guys, wish you were here.

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