The Tale of Two Cities.... The same and different.

I landed a day before B arrived and got settled and situated in the place we were staying.  After that, I set out to find a 7-11 and get the needed provisions for the place; water, snacks, and beer in the fridge.  Then I bumped around, explored my little part of the world, got to Om’s for a pint, and generally just had a night.  Nothing special or amazing; just a bachelor type night of food, drinks, and playing my Switch… Which was nice, because I hooked it up to the TV at the place and could just chill and game.

Waking the next day, it was B-Day and we messaged and coordinated so I could meet him at the airport.  He was quick thru immigration and luggage and was awaiting me approximately 15 min before I even arrived.  The fact that BKK was getting storms and rain unlike anything previously in their history, it made for slow going. 

Once I arrived, I found B and we headed off to get a Grab back to the city.  It was nice to see him and just talk face to face.  He marveled a bit at the humidity, but it wasn’t anything that was going to break his spirits.  He also marveled at the fact that the cars are backwards from America.  Wrong side of the street and driver on the “other” side of the car.  After three years, I was used to it.

We had a time of BKK.  We had to cancel the boat tour we had planned due to the storms, we lost time in the weather so we couldn’t make a movie (bummer on that, as seeing a film in a foreign cinema is always a treat, IMHO), but we did get some highlights.

We got to Om’s, which is a unique place in BKK.

We got to Rama 2 and got to show B the old stomping grounds, including the market and my produce lady was still there and she lit up when she saw me.  We did the hellos and all that.  While there, we popped over to noodle lady and I got an order of that… It was a favorite of ours when we lived there and the fact that she makes her own sauce and tofu makes it even better.  A clean and light meal.  We also picked up some Chicken by Pinkee (another old lunch favorite) and got to show B the 7-11 that we referred to as “the downstairs pantry” since it is LITERALLY downstairs from where we lived.  B even commented - There really IS a 7-11 just downstairs.  Yup!

Also while there, I took him over to GoodHands and that was a foot massage that he won’t soon forget.  It set a standard.  The night before, we popped by a place and got a foot massage, but the next day at GoodHands, B got to see the real experience of a Thai foot massage.  He compared all other foot and head, neck, shoulder massaged to what he got at GoodHands and nothing else came close.  They, also, were excited to see me back and it was many hellos and smiles.

We got to a rooftop bar and had a cocktail.  Bummer that the roof was closed, but they did let us out for a minute to get some pics.  The rooftop cocktail bar is, again, a very BKK experience and something J and I used to enjoy on date nights.  Just to see the city, have unique and interesting drinks, and relax.  

B, I will say, rolled with it well.  Eating at local markets.  Ladyboy doing his first foot massage and strangely flirting with both of us in a good natured, not serious but playful way, and then the rain.  The god awful, apocalyptic, never been like this in 1000 years rain.  The BTS and riding the trains.  B even got tix on a few occasions and always had good pronunciation and used his limited Thai for hellos and thank yous.  REALLY impressive.  He also got to experience the joy of the BTS and some of the announcements on the train.  Nana, in particular, is famous for how it is said and B wanted that as a ring or text tone for his phone, because IYKYK.

Last day in town, he got a tat and that was in a little market/club area, but we were there mid-day as things were getting set up.  We met a lady who seemed like the Mamasan of the area and she was a full trip.  I, at one point, headed out while B was getting inked and got a coffee.  Mamasan joked that she wanted one and, feeling puckish, I came back with a coffee for her.  She, in turn, offered to hook me up with a Lady of the Night and when I declined, she told me she could extend the offer to B.  Needless to say, we crept out the back way and disappeared.  After that, we hit The Commons at Sala Deang, a cool little chill spot with food and beer options and we just relaxed and reflected on the trip thus far.

After that it was off to Saigon and when I suffered my first casualty of the trip.  My water bottle got left behind in the rush to get our car and get to the airport for the flight.  It was a water bottle, not a Rembrandt, so it’s not a huge lose, but it had my stickers on it, damned it!

Landing in Saigon, we again got a car and this time, the driver was on the “correct” side for B.  Welcome to SEA!  LOL.

Getting to the place took an hour or so and we checked in, settled in, and then headed out for food.  It was less rainy and more just humid, but we walked and it was nice to stretch our legs and see a bit of the area we were in.  The Pho we were seeking I missed as they have a newish look now and, due to rain, didn’t have the outside tables set up, so we settled into another spot and tried them.  Not as good, but not awful.  I also got to introduce B to Salted Coffee.  If you’ve never been to Saigon or Vietnam, you won’t get it and think it strange, but once you try it (along with the ice tea that is always served) you will get it.

We went to Banh Mi at a spot J and I know and that was great as always.  B did have an incident where the chair he was in broke on him as he sat and he took a tumble.  Tweaked his leg a bit, but nothing major.  The shop was apologetic and made sure he was OK and got him a fresh chair.  After that, we got a massage, to help relax B’s leg and to kill the time before B was getting Vietnam ink (jealous as hell, dude) at the same spot I got my ink last year.  Mix is a great shop, if anyone needs a tat parlor in VN.

The massage house we went was recommended by my old co-worker and Vietnamese native, Ngoc Minh.  Firstly, the massage was trash.  Nothing compared to BKK and Thai massage.  Second, we asked for foot and added head, neck, shoulder.  My woman spent more time on my back then feet or legs and in a way that left me in MORE pain than before.  There was no style or skill to it.  For B’s part, she spent most of the time on his legs, but when it came to head, neck, shoulder, she ignored that and braided his hair instead.  After that, as we headed back down to change and leave, there were 4 massage ladies in the lift and the two that worked on us in tow.  Getting on the lift, I was front and center and as I stepped off, the ladies kidnapped B.  I turned around to a closing lift and no B in sight.  Problem was, he had the key to the locker.  So, he also had the key to where I could access my phone and use a translator to let the locker room attendants know that I needed the key.  Took about 5 minutes to get that sorted.  B told me that the ladies were nice, they more just wanted selfies with him, but he had the key, damned it!

B got his ink and we spent the rest of the day chilling.  Ate some local food, hit up FamilyMart and got a local sampling of beers, but nothing really out of the ordinary.  The following day, again on recs from Ngoc Minh, we headed out for banh mi at and I’ll quote NM here, “The best banh mi place in Vietnam.”  Much like the massage, it was utter trash.  Corporate.  A chain.  Out of half the menu.  Full of tourists and not locals.  Overly processed.  Not good at all.  We got to Tao Dan Park and saw the statue that inspired my tattoo, from there we headed to the Imperial Palace and that was a cool step back in history.  Lots of stories and plaques telling about the history of the building and the surrender and end of the Vietnamese/American war and how it changed Vietnam.  It was cool to see, but sobering in it’s gravity.  From there, it was a short walk to Book Street, which is touristy, but why not.  After a quick walk down BookStreet, we walked over to Heart of Darkness Brewery for a mid-day pint (or two) and to just chill since the day was hot and sunny.

We ate a ton of local food, ignoring the big places in favor of the small places.  Twice we had meals at a home restaurant; literally a home that is open with a few tables or tables out front that cook and serve out of the home.  One of the places was down a twisting series of alleyways.  

We got rain that is unique to Saigon.  Heavy, sudden, flood the street rain that left water ankle deep and left us with wet shoes and a story to tell.  3B, a small, hole in the wall, bar that serves up local craft beers was a fun stop for a pint or two, even with wet feet and it was great to see those folks again.  I make a point to always stop in at least once when I’m in Saigon and it was fun to take B and show him the place.

We got to the roof of the building and took some snaps of the city around us.  It’s such a unique place with some cool views and with the canal there, it’s like a ribbon cutting thru the city.  We went out, one rainy afternoon, and sat at a local cafe and had salted coffees and played Cribbage (more like I taught B cribbage, but he picked it up quick) and he taught me Golf, which was fun.

It was, I will say, a lot of fun and two unique cities and experiences, but also very much the same.  BKK had MORE rain, but Saigon had enough rain to flood the streets one day.  We ate locally in both places, exploring and discovering food and what was around us.  We had massages and coffees, met some wacky locals, and stayed up way too late way too many times.  We saw.  Explored.  Enjoyed.  All while I got to show off some of the things I love about both places, but also see new places and discovered new things.

It was a great trip with B.  I’m missing a million tiny things.  The security guards at the building wanting pics with B and pulling his beard up to his own face.  Random meat on a stick.  Random encounters with locals or just the day to day who, what’s, and where’s.  I could never do it full justice, instead I can just post this and my previous and hope that we can do it again one day.  Maybe next time we can do Korea, Cambodia, Laos, Japan, or somewhere else.  Who knows and time will tell, but B was an amazing travel partner and it was great to reconnect with him and to see my friend.

A huge Thanks to B for making it out.  Let’s do it again.