VUNG TAU

this weekend i took a hydrofoil to vung tau. i met a nice australian guy who'd served on the base at vung tau in 1965 and we drank a beer at a beachfront bar when we arrived. i checked into a hotel and was feeling kind of cheap so i didn't rent a motorbike. i went to the beach for a swim but it was too late so i went back to my hotel.


for some reason i checked under my mattress and i found two million dong there in a roll. someone was probably hiding it from a prostitute. that covered all my expenses for the rest of the weekend, so i took myself out for a nice dinner and rented a scooter the next day.


the beaches in vung tau are sandy and covered in seashells. the water is warm. i met a vietnamese family on a secluded beach and played soccer and went swimming with them until nighttime.


i'm back in saigon now. it's nice to have an apartment to come home to. the view from my bedroom is bitchin'. i live on the fifteenth floor of a famous old communist building. it's drab but interesting. my roommate and i are probably the only white guys in the neighborhood. everyone stares at me like i'm an alien. i guess i am an alien.


one last thing before i go: you know those email scams from nigerian kings and benefactors that you get all the time?
i see those dudes every day. there are a ton of sketchy nigerians here who hang out with too-young girls at internet cafes and send out those emails. they all make me think of akon and now i don't think i like akon anymore.