Tough choices: Lord of the Rings, or Chronicles of Narnia?These are the dilemmas I face in the confines of my nice (albeit cockroach-ridden) hotel room in Thu Dau Mot.
After venturing into Saigon today for my health check at the French hospital, I can definitively say that the suburb I live in is depressing. That should not be news to anyone, though suburbs in the developing world are different than in America because they look like a city that's been bombed: tall modern buildings separated by empty lots full of trash and chickens. Except of course it's the inverse of bombing, because these buildings were built amidst the rubble and no one seems to think this adversely affects the property value. Sure, Saigon is dirty too, but it's got charm and history that makes up for it.
Predictably, there is very little to do in this suburb. Compared with
Saigon, it's much like the Rabat-Casablanca dichotomy - it's safer and
quieter here, but dreadfully boring. There are exactly 2 places where
Westerners eat: JD's (my favorite), and Billy the Texan's place. For
all of you who were "jealous" that I get to eat Pho everyday, just
imagine ending a steamy hot day with a steamy hot bowl of soup. I don't
get how this could possibly be their national dish. I'm still looking
for banh-mi sandwiches like the type they have in the OC.
This is not to say that I'm miserable. It's almost exactly as I
expected. I just wish I could fast-forward to the part where I know all
the cool expats (very scarce so far) and some cool bilingual locals who
can take me to the cool spots.For now, I spend my evenings with satellite TV. Once the novelty wears off, I'll get back to my reading.
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