Drago

(PICTURE: Drago.)

Everyone we went to the lighthouse with spoke Russian and worked in the Mui Ne/Phan Thiet tourism industry which caters to 80% Russian clients. Well, in a perfect moment of timing, after we went to the lighthouse we went back to Ngan's house for lunch and Rocky IV was on. Naturally I was drawn to the tv and couldn't stop watching. Well, as soon as the Russian speakers heard some Russian they too were drawn in.

Shockingly NOBODY had ever seen any of the Rocky movies or heard of them. How this is possible, I don't know. Weirder though is something I learned a long time ago out here -- people naturally assume movies are based on real people and events. I've had to explain to multiple people that characters like Forrest Gump are not real. Anyway, these tour guides were all highly impressed with how small Rocky was compared to Drago and how he came out on top. When Rocky and Drago were punching the hell out of each other they were "oohing" and "ahhing" with each ridiculous hit.

On a side note, have you watched that movie recently? As a kid it was one of my favorites but watching it now is kind of weird. For one, Ivan Drago never does anything bad except take steroids. I mean, what professional athlete doesn't do that these days. Oh sure he kills Apollo Creed but they were boxing and he punched him hard. Furthermore, the Americans come off as arrogant a-holes throughout the beginning of the movie. Specifically, Apollo Creed is just a jerk. At the news conference he was talking so much smack and as soon as Drago's trainer says that Drago will win, Apollo goes ape shit. Seriously, if you haven't watched it in a while check it out. The other thing that bothers me as a want-to-be screenwriter is there's only like five scenes with plot in the whole movie. The rest of the movie is just montage after montage. Heck , the whole beginning of the movie is the end of Rocky III!

Okay, that was a tangent I hadn't planned on going on. The point is watching Rocky IV with Vietnamese Russian speakers was interesting.

Visiting An Old Friend

(PICTURE: Huyen and Ngan.)

Besides family, we got to meet up with some friends along the way. While in Da Lat, we met up with Huyen's high school classmate Ngan who is now a tour guide for Russian tourists. Huyen told me that Ngan was the second best Russian student in their class. The best? Well, Huyen of course!

Ngan was just in Da Lat for the day because she's based out of Phan Thiet. When we got to Mui Ne (which is next to Phan Thiet), we met up with Ngan and her boyfriend Hai a bunch of times. They took us to the best local seafood shop which was basically a make-shift restaurant next to some public picnic benches. The food though was as good as promised.

(PICTURE: Ngan and Hai eating seafood.)

A couple of days later, Ngan organized a trip to the oldest lighthouse in Vietnam. We went to the lighthouse with about ten other people. To get there we drove along a beautiful beachside road lined with all new four and five star resorts. Then we had to take a little boat to the lighthouse and then obviously climb up. It was actually quite a trip to get there (we woke up at 4AM!) but worth it. The views from the top were very cool:


(PICTURE: Huyen on top of the lighthouse.)


(PICTURE: Getting ready for the boat to the lighthouse...which you can see in the background.)

Visiting Family

(PICTURE: 2 out of 3 Nguyen sisters with Nhat Minh.)

One of the best parts of our trip was that we got to visit some family along the way. At nearly the halfway point of our travels, we stopped in Hue to visit Huyen's sister and her in-laws. We also got to spend a lot of time with Nhat Minh who is now six months old.
(PICTURE: Tan and Nhat Minh.)


(PICTURE: Add a bigger nose and this could be us in two years.)

Hue is one of my favorite cities and in my opinion has perhaps the best food in Vietnam. That is, if you can get it not totally covered in chili peppers. My absolute favorite restaurant is a goat BBQ/hot pot place on the outskirts of the city. Every time we go to Hue we eat there on our first night...and sometimes last night too.

On the tail end of our trip we visited Huyen's uncle and cousins outside of Ho Chi Minh City:

(PICTURE: The cousins, uncle and me.)

The pretty obvious reason for our trip is to say goodbye to Vietnam. However, even more important is saying goodbye to family. After our trip finishes we're going to be spending at least ten days with the in-laws before we take off on the second leg of our honeymoon.

Frontier Zones

(PICTURE: A border belt.)

As I've mentioned many many times, a couple years ago my friends Long, Nicky and I were detained overnight for accidentally motorbiking into a "Frontier Zone." A frontier zone is basically anywhere close to another country's border. In the case of our detainment we were apparently very very close to Laos.

On our motorbike trip, Huyen and I spent A LOT of time near frontier zones. One of the few places we didn't need to have a permit was to visit the cave where Ho Chi Minh's snuck back into Vietnam from China. Ho Chi Minh specifically chose this cave because of its proximity to China in case the French found out where he was he could sneak back across the border.

Well, at the cave, there's a few signs pointing to different sites. The signs were slightly confusing and apparently Huyen and I went on the wrong path. As we were walking, we bumped into this lady:


(PICTURE: We were very close to China...and birthplace of those sweet blue rain pants Huyen is wearing.)

The lady told us that we were pretty darn close to crossing into China and should turn around. She added that "there should be someone at the border to stop you" but she wasn't sure.

Anyway, the cave was mildly interesting. More interesting to me was Ho Chi Minh's desk where he wrote poetry next to "Lenin Stream." I'm pretty sure there is no cooler desk in the world:
(PICTURE: The seat is on the left, the table on the right.)

Funny Signs

It's impossible not to have a post every few months with funny translated signs. Here's a couple that I liked in a cave we went to:


I've said for a long time that I'd like to start a company which gets contracted out by Asian governments to fix public signs. For example, there's a huge billboard on Highway 1 about ten miles outside of Hanoi. The sign is from the office of tourism and it says, "Welcome to Hanoi. A beautiful and safety city."

Drunk Assholes

(PICTURE: The big waterfall we went to see.)

I think most people can agree that there are few worse things in the world than drunk assholes. Whether it's at a sporting event, a bar, a wedding or a waterfall, drunk assholes always find a way to make something fun into something much less fun.

On my birthday, Huyen and I went to a waterfall outside of Buon Me Thuot. The waterfall was beautiful and there was another smaller waterfall nearby where people could swim. When we got to the smaller waterfall there were about fifteen teens (I'd say around 15-18 years old) swimming and picnicking/drinking. Out of those teens there were probably six guys who were pretty drunk and yes, acting like assholes.


(PICTURE: The swimming area/apparent outdoor bar.)

It was hot as hell out and all I wanted to do was swim. However, this one guy in particular was giving me a very bad vibe. He seemed like the kind of dickhead who would start a fight to impress his friends. And his friends seemed like the kind of dickheads who would be impressed and then join in the fun. My rationale side perked up (with a solid push from Huyen who quickly didn't want to swim anymore) and we got out of there in about five minutes. Yes, I'm man enough to admit that a teenager intimidated me.

I also must confess that I have a fear of dying on my birthday. You see, as a high school kid I went on a field trip to the New Jersey Vietnam War Memorial. I distinctly remember seeing two names on the wall of soldiers who died on their birthday. I remember thinking how terrible that would be and it has always stuck with me. Being in Vietnam, and this situation happening on my birthday, was a little extra incentive not to get into a fight with a gang of drunken teens.

I'm happy to report though that in three years, this was the first time I ever actually felt uncomfortable and in possible danger. Anyway, I hope that my loyal Ahoy Hanoi readers never act like these guys:

(PICTURE: Ironically it's the guy with the peace sign who seemed to want to stir trouble.)

The Best Coffee in Vietnam

(PICTURE: Huyen inside the store. Notice the trophies in back.)

Huyen and I met up with Hien's cousin Yen in Buon Me Thuot. Yen took us around the city and showed us where to buy the "best coffee in Vietnam." The next day, Huyen and I went to the coffee store and watched as the owner made his secret blend of coffee using four different beans. On the wall of his shop was a trophy saying that indeed his coffee was the best in Vietnam. Even cooler though was a large plaque on the wall with a letter from General Giap congratulating the owner on being a former soldier who has excelled in business.

You can't actually try any coffee at the shop as it's not a cafe. We bought some bags of the coffee but haven't tried it yet as we're waiting to share them with Huyen's family. While we were in the store though, a cafe owner was also there buying big bags of the coffee. The owner explained to us that most good cafes in BMT use Huong Giang coffee and mix it with cheaper Trung Nguyen coffee, the most famous coffee brand in Vietnam.


(PICTURE: Grinding the secret mix.)