Journey to Peace Village

One of the amazing things about Sai Gon is the incredible mix of traditional Vietnamese culture and all kinds of imports from the West. Last week I paid a visit to "Diamond Plaza" I high end shopping mall in downtown. The first three levels were all high end stores with the latest from Calvin Klein, Gucci, etc., and at Western prices to boot.
The third level consisted of a KFC, Pizza Hut and the Diamond Bowling alley. Diamond Bowl is a center with arcade games, pool tables, and all the bowling you would ever want, even in Milwaukee. The crowd there is not exactly Joe Lunchbucket, either. I saw a young Vietnamese woman sporting jeans and tattoos completing strike after strike. Young men in Mohawks and avante garde shirts despaired their spares. All to the ever present beat of techno music and a bar serving carrot juice and mango margaritas. (Sorry about the poor quality of this photo)
Then to top off the night, I went to the Star marks cafe near my guesthouse. This place is part coffee house, part nightclub and cocktail lounge from the 60s. The coors light dance team was there, Vietnamese breakdancers who do upside down spins while wearing motobike helmets and break dance moves that would be a hit on mtv. They gave me a free beer and filmed me cheering on the dancers and told me I may be on a commericial on tv soon!

Labels: culture, Viet Nam, Viet Nam and the West