Guest Blogger: Richard Lam

With Saigon being such a transient town, we're blessed with the opportunity to come across all kinds of people from all walks of life. There's a bond that develops here; a kinship that becomes evident from being non-local Vietnamese residents that really bring a lot of people together very quickly. Also, there's a lot of time allotted for coffee get-togethers where friendships burgeon.

Even though people come in and out all the time, we really do appreciate all the stories we're able to add to our lives and very hopeful that the friendships we've made here are long-lasting. The guys here at 8000 Miles Later are overall very eclectic and fun to be around and although we're open to meet and hang out with just about everyone, it's not always the case that we "add" people to our group. However, sometimes, there are special people that have come and gone but still remain our friends and we wanted to lend our blog as an outlet for those people to talk about their experiences with us. First up is Richard Lam...

It is my honor and privilege to be the blog's first guest blogger. For a short time, I was a guest and member of the house of 8000 Miles Later. I've recently returned to my native land after spending a year in Saigon and have been asked to share my experience.

Being born and raised in Canada, last year was my first time overseas and the return to my parents' homeland was quite a bit of an eye opener. Many things that have previously challenged the understanding of my parents suddenly became crystal clear.

At first Saigon is somewhat of a sensory overload. The humid temperature hits your face as soon as you step out the automatic glass doors of the air-conditioned airport. Take the the taxi ride into the city you see scooters moving like a school of fish. Take a more careful look and you will see families of five on some. Step out on the street and you will immediately notice the smell of exhaust. The sounds of the city are made up of hundreds of Honda motorbikes revving, terrible techno music coming from some cafe or clothing store, and people talking obnoxiously loud.

I used to wonder why my parents always yelled at me but now I understand; indoor voices don't exist in Vietnam. In order to successfully communicate in the city you will need to turn it up a few decibels when you talk. I will be the first to testify that Vietnamese is a far cry away from the more sensual spoken languages that are easy on the ears such as French, Italian, or Spanish.

Meeting the guys from 8000 Miles Later definitely added a different dimension to my experience in Saigon. I got to see what the night life and game was really about. Partying and observing what locals my age were doing gave me new perspective. There were many great nights in the city: singing New Order at a karaoke bar, grabbing some late night bun bo hue by Ben Thanh Market, or just chilling at the usual fruit shake stand on a busy stretch of street.

I was the youngest amongst these guys and they took me in as their little brother, and for that I'm grateful. They brought my stay in the city to another level. I have come to love and miss Saigon and look forward to the day when I return.

Richard Lam

Our favorite time with Richard

We're very fond of the time we spent with Richard in this house.  But there is one particular night that we still vividly recall whenever we think of Richard; a night we like named "Training Day."  Much like the movie, Richard, playing the part of Ethane Hawke, was still innocently naive to the whole Saigon way of life.  We, in the Denzel Washington role, put it upon ourselves to show him the ropes.  One night, we were all celebrating a friend's birthday when Richard started getting texts from a girl he was gaming that worked at the Seventeen Saloon.  Obviously, we had to step in and aid him with this process since his Vietnamese texting wasn't up to par.  Eventually we worked it out where two of us plus Richard were going to meet her and her friend at her house.  Keep in mind, it's past 3AM and you know no decent girl is going to invite guys over to the house at that hour.  Richard was undeniably anxious but we were already hardened by previous experiences knowing that this evening would most likely end up with us going home with blue balls.

So, we get to the house, which happens to double as a salon/spa.  Saloon chick and her friend (4-5s without their makeup on) took us upstairs to their room, which was about the same size as my bathroom.  There's five of us cramped inside a sardine can listening to crap techno music when saloon chick starts subliminally mentioning ecstasy and crack. It was evident that these two cracked up bitches brought us here so we could buy them drugs.  Somehow Ugly Friend separates us from Richard and takes us into "her room," which was basically a room used for facials complete with massage beds and all.  We give Richard time alone just in case he can weasel his way into Saloon Chick's graces while we plot our escape plan.  After half an hour of inactivity, Richard comes into room with begging eyes.  We knew he wanted to get the fuck out of here as much as we did.  At this point it's five in the morning and the senior citizens were already doing morning jogs and Tai Chi.

Saloon Chick disappeared somewhere and we let her friend know that we're just going to leave.  She tries to persuade us to stay, telling us to wait for her absent friend.  We're having none of this and we go downstairs and start putting on our shoes when Richard notices that his shoes are missing.  Apparently, Saloon Chick had used them so she could walk out and meet her drug dealer.  After 15 minutes of impatiently waiting, Richard starts wanting to leave without his shoes.  Luckily she suddenly appears from the shadowy alleyway and contemptuously wonders why we're all outside.  Richard quickly grabs his shoes and we hightail it out of there.

Now, its almost 6 AM, and instead of going home, we ended up at a Pham Ngu Lao bar to bond over popcorn and drinks all the while rehashing the events that transpired that night.  We can proudly say Richard handled the whole deal with a certain aplomb usually reserved for wily veterans.  He opened up to us about his life story and we shared war stories.  After "Training Day," we could call Richard part of our group.