I found myself celebrating my 25th birthday in Nha Trang, a touristy beach town on the South China Sea 500kms outside of Saigon. 25?! Quarter of a century! I decided I had to go all out, so Kris and I headed over to Vinpearl Island aka Vietnamese Disneyland. For a mere 300,000 Dong (about $16), you take a 15 minute cable car ride from the mainland to the island where you can hit up a waterslide park, amusement park and an arcade which was all included in the entrance fee. Upon arrival, to our delight, the waterslide park was empty, the rides were empty and there was nobody in the arcade to fight me for the Time Crisis 3 machine (Time Crisis 4 was unfortunately out of order). I think I’ve spent more than $50 back home on Time Crisis 3 alone. To top it off, we saw a super cruel animal “circus” comprised of 4 dogs and 4 monkeys. Although it is nowhere near as spectacular as Disneyland, I still had a pretty rad day at Vinpearl.

(Version française plus bas)

Quite a lot has been going on in the past two weeks.
I’m now alone in Saigon. Serene went back home two weeks ago. Kris and Jen are on a mont-long trip in Vietnam. Our cameraman joined them about a week ago. Thus, I really am the only Jet Set Zero member remaining in the city named after uncle Ho.

My new $5.50/day bedroom.

(more…)

There are a few events that happen as we go that make me really feel like we’re in Asia. One of those things is when your bus dies. It’s not like at home where they’d send a new bus to pick up the passengers or have the bus repaired – they enlist the passengers to help out. Take a look for yourself:

While in Danang, Kris and I rented a motorbike and decided to cruise around through the city. On our way to Monkey Mountain, we went the completely wrong way and ended up at the biggest friggin Buddha statue I have ever seen in my entire life. The site is not officially open yet as there is still construction going on but we were still able to check it out. Words cannot describe how blown away by this I was.

To understand how big this is, I am a little speck on the bottom.

Most children of Ky Kuang orphanage were abandonned by their parents because they have a birth deffect. Some of them have body malformations, some are blind and others are mentally challenged.
Some of those children still are the victims of Agent orange a chemical weapon used during the Vietnam war with disastrous consequences on people’s health.

* * * * * * *

La plupart des orphelins de Ky Kuang ont été abandonnés par leurs parents parce qu’ils étaient anormaux à la naissance. Certains ont une malformation physique, d’autres sont aveugles et d’autres encore ont un handicap mental.
Certains d’entre eux sont encore les victimes de l’agent orange, une arme chimique utilisée pendant la guerre du Viêtnam, et qui a eu des conséquences dramatiques sur la santé des populations locales.

“Don’t eat at the food stalls! You’ll get sick!”

A common refrain heard from well-meaning folks back home. The reality is that you can get ill from eating anywhere here. Sure, you don’t help your chances when the meat they slice for your bánh mì has been sitting in the sun all afternoon. But quite often you will find delicious Vietnamese specialities at the food stalls at an absolute screaming deal. As part of Jet Set Zero, this is an important factor when making dining choices. And there’s something to be said for passing by the Western restaurants and sitting down at a local food stall to watch your food being made and sampling some amazing local fare. It hasn’t steered me wrong yet.

A typical food stall in Hội An selling cao lầu, a regional speciality which includes doughy noodles, bean sprouts, fresh herbs, fried croutons and grilled pork.

On Sunday a few friends and I visited an orphanage where children suffer from birth defects due to Agent Orange, a chemical weapon used during the Vietnam war. An emotional encounter for all of us. (Video about Ky Quang orphanage coming up soon.)

* * * * * * *

Dimanche, en compagnie de quelques amis, j’ai visité un orphelinat où les enfants souffrent de malformations de naissance dues  à une arme chimique utilisée pendant la guerre du Viêtnam: l’agent orange. Séquence émotion. (Vidéo sur l’orphelinat Ky Quang bientôt sur le site.)

The little girl with a big head.

(more…)

Just outside of Hoi An lie the beautiful Marble Mountains. Each of these mountains contain several caves and pagodas. We came across what is known as Hells Cave and it was extremely bizarre. When you walk into this massive cave, there are several Buddha statues and other religious figures. It’s dark and it’s creepy and you can hear bats. Gross. You can descend deeper into the cave into Hell. Down in this giant creepy hole, there are all sorts of statues of people getting tortured, eaten and beaten…. Be good! You don’t want to end up here….

The Cave Entrance

That is a rat having a feast of genitals....yup.

Throughout Southern and Central Vietnam, you can find many Cham towers still standing. The kingdom of Champa thrived between the 2nd and the 15th centuries, and the ancient site of Mỹ Sơn was once the most important centre of this kingdom. Set in a jungle valley near Hoi An, it was built in the 4th century. The French rediscovered it in the late 19th century and took on the task of restoration. At its peak, there stood 68 structures but heavy American bombing resulted in only 20 remaining today. While it is older than Ankor Wat in Cambodia (to which it is sometimes compared), it’s a much smaller site and not quite as awe-inspiring. But Mỹ Sơn is charming, quaint and interesting all the same.

In Vietnam, rodents and giant cockroaches are a way of life. But you can usually depend on the fact that when you come near, they will scurry away. When we visited the site of a giant reclining Buddha in Nha Trang, the rat pictured below was “guarding” the statue and held his ground when I tried to pass.