Better Know A District: District 7

Last Saturday I found myself in District 7, aka Saigon South aka Phu My Hung (for some reason every district has to have at least three names) to see a Christmas Concert. I never got to see the concert, but this gave me plenty of time to wander around.

District 7 is located south of the Saigon River, passing through District 4 from the city center. It is also known by yet another name, 'Koreatown', because of the high concentration of Koreans living there.

It is important, however, to realize that most of these Koreans are not simply people of Korean descent living in Vietnam. Most of them are expatriate businesspeople, and by the look of things they;re doing pretty well.

Because, you see, going to District 7 from my apartment I found myself transported out of Ho Chi Minh City into a Korean version of Bethesda, Maryland. Tall buildings, wide well-kept streets, expensive restaurants and a fair bit of greenery. It was pleasant enough but seemed rather unreal.

Stay HIV Free...

...and be happy.

Things That Go Bump in the Morning

Whoever lives in the apartment above me must be running a woodshop or something because from about 8 AM to 6 PM every day I hear sawing and hammering. I should complain, but I'm not sure getting into an argument with someone who probably doesn't speak English and owns alot of power tools is a good idea.

Also the weather has gotten much colder recently, as a result of which I have a persistent cold. Baaahh....

Dai Nam Park

If Walt Disney had been Vietnamese, he may very well have come up with Dai Nam Park. DNP is a huge complex, comprising a shopping center, hotel, movie theater, theme park, campground, water park, zoo, and numerous temples.

The park is so large that people get around it by bus and electric train. To give you an idea; here's the entrance:


Luckily I had a lovely and talented Vietnamese guide so I was able to make sense of most of it.

For me, the oddest party was the 'hells', temples which were basically haunted houses. They were scary enough at first, but after a little while you get used to them.

Trouble was, I had to be back in HCMC by a certain time and this cut my enjoyment short. I'll be back there one day...

Today was Teacher's Day, the national holiday in honor of educators across Vietnam. In return for my faithful service, I received:

- a day off from school
- a new notebook
- a card
- a rather ugly striped blue shirt
- A donut with the date and 'teacher's day' written in frosting
-Best of all, a conversation with a pack of Argentines in a pizzeria on Thai Van Lung St. Excellent pizza and I got to hear 'mira vos!' for the first time in over a year.