A haphazard chronicle of my inevitable misadventures during a year in Vietnam and points east.

p.s. I'll be pitifully grateful if you send me email during my exile: TravelerKaty@hotmail.com

October 2002 November 2002 December 2002 January 2003 February 2003 March 2003 April 2003 May 2003 June 2003 July 2003 August 2003 September 2003 October 2003 November 2003 February 2006 March 2006 May 2006

 
When I first arrived in Saigon I was very conscientious about my consumption habits. I didn't buy food or drinks from street vendors, I didn't eat fruit or uncooked vegetables, I rinsed my toothpasty mouth with bottled water, and I ordered all my drinks without ice.

After a very sort while I realized that living with ice in an insanely hot climate like this one was ridiculous. And if I had to sacrifice the bacterial well-being of my digestive system in return for cold drinks, so be it. Still, I was careful to get ice only in places where they served it in cues. Having seen street vendors drag huge chunks of ice down the street on dirty carts or just pulled on the sidewalk with rope, I had sincere doubts about the purity of the uncubed ice.

As most who know me could predict, however, sheer laziness eventually took over. Now I eat food from sidewalk vendors on a regular basis, rinse with tap water, consume any fruit that comes my way, and don't even blink when I see ice in my beer or soda that's clearly been hacked off an industrial sized block with a dirty pick and hammer.

And here's the thing -- I feel fabulous. No sign of the Tourista or whatever the Asian equivalent is called. As a result, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Mom and Dad for their generous genetic gift of an iron-clad constitution. Life in Saigon just wouldn't be the same without it!

© 2002 Katy Warren






posted by Katy at 8:09 PM