SoJournaling Vietnam

Like a dead dude.

2013-05-17T15:45:00.001+07:00

The 67 has been acting up again. Once I installed larger pistons that resulted in about 120CCs the stock carburetor wasn't up to par. The result was a bike with a throttle that didn't seem very responsive and at times lagging. So back to my familiar mechanic it went... I'm starting to doubt my mechanic's ability, but I really like him and he's been fair and honest with me. The biggest struggles here for a foreigner is to find a mechanic that they can trust. There are too many arrogant or busy shops that won't give me the time to explain exactly what's wrong with my bike without trying to install more than what it potentially needs. Another reason why I always return to this same guy despite his lackluster skills at times, is the fact that his mother who manages the small shop in Binh Chanh, claims that I look exactly like her deceased son. This morning she reiterated this notion again.

The story goes something like this: The night before meeting me, she said that she had a dream about her son bringing me and telling that I'm his little brother. I was decked out in a checkered shirt with a black backpack. The very next day when she came to the shop with lunch and saw me sitting there she said she almost fainted. I looked exactly like how she had imagined in the dream. This was the first time I ever went there because I originally went to the shop next door to get an oil change a few months prior. The second time around I just confused it and went next door to their shop instead. It was surprising to say the least. She didn't say anything to me at that time. It wasn't until many months later did she bring it up. No wonder they're rather nice to me. They all call me teacher. They don't even know my name. They're just so honest with the prices that it pains me, so I always tip their apprentices. Nobody ever tips here. It's f'n Binh Chanh after all.

She claims that I absolutely look like her son who used to work at the shop too, but suddenly collapsed one day and died. Though she commented that I look leaner now and less like him, but everyone in the shop agrees that the resemblance is uncanny. I don't really see it. So today, she brought me across the street to her home and showed me his altar. I snapped a quick photo, and I want you guys to decide. I don't really see it. But she's animate about. Her energy touches me because she said that every day she waits for me to pass by. She misses her son, and she misses me. She pleaded with me that if I ever returned to America to let her know so she wouldn't wait. Wow, I'll never understand this feeling of a mother and a son like this. It's rather unique to me. It's rather interesting. I can't wrap my mink brain about this, simply because I don't think I look like him very much. My dad might look more like him, but then again, all Asians look alike.

You decide.

Dinner.

2013-05-15T21:14:00.001+07:00

I've said it before and I'll say it again, this blog is not meant to inform or tell you about things. I don't really care too much for that. But.. I have to make an exception today. This is one of the best restaurants in the city. It has an air-conditioned upstairs, that's why. The prices are affordable for the area, and the food is superb. Do try the grilled baby piglets or half of one.

Dinner for three adults and a child was under 50 dollars including some Irish whiskey. Be sure to get there early because this place was such a hustle and bustle. It was packed with people celebrating birthdays, night outs, and massive groups for special occasions. Old Boy thought that it was one of his favorite restaurants. I completely agree thanks to the air-conditioning.

New hobby.

2013-05-14T10:35:00.002+07:00

I love productive mornings. I have sleep issues that bother me tremendously. My natural body clock wakes me up at around 6 AM. Normally I just try my best to go back to sleep. This morning I woke up and cleaned the dishes, my room, and did laundry. I was living like a pig. Now I'm living like a bird. The dishes have been in the sink for over a week btw. I don't like that. I'm not okay with it. But it only took 30 minutes to do all those chores. I feel good, despite a busy day ahead.

Thanks to a user on YouTube, I was informed of the club of spotters here in Saigon. Spotters refer to people who like to capture airplanes as they land or take off. Naturally, these people congregate near airports so that's exactly where we headed. The taxi ride from Phu My Hung to Go Vap was insanely expensive. But being in Vietnam for as long as Old Boy has been, it didn't matter. I'm a big fan of aviation, but no where near the likes of some of the spotters that I met on top of the coffee shop that over looked the run away. The planes were a bit farther away than I thought, but they were still pretty close.

At first I wondered what the deal was with these people. They seemed to know every airplane, every airliner and when they were bound to arrive. Some guys even had radios to hear incoming flights. They would get excited over certain planes. Old Boy wondered if any of those guys had ever been on a plane.
I remember the excitement I felt when I flew when I was younger. It was such a rare occasion that it had to feel special. Now a days, the charm has transpired. I fly more often than I'd like. But it certainly doesn't feel routine each time I fly.

I thought it was kind of weird at first to spend all day sitting at a coffee shop checking out planes landing every 10 minutes apart. But after a few moments trying to shelter myself from the lingering rain, I realized it. This was amazing. It all starts off in the distance with a bright light. The light grows larger and larger as the plane gets nearer and nearer. Then as the plane arrives in view it's only there for a second. Then it lands and it's over. The anticipation as it heads down is riveting. My heart pounds like a jackhammer. Then it's over after hearing the loud engine noise. You know, that airport noise.
This is why those spotters were so addicted. It makes sense to me now. I'll be back for more.

Iron Man Revelations.

2013-05-13T22:40:00.002+07:00

Watching movies are a great way to escape the harsh realities of the fray. I find myself circa 1920s except its 2013, and I wish movies were as cheap as the beginning of the Talkies era. From time to time I do like to catch a movie. The Coke at the movies is a much higher quality than the normal stuff found everywhere else in Vietnam. I think it might be imported or something, it tastes much more like soda from America with that extra carbon. Name brand sodas like 7 Up or even Pepsi are definitely downgraded here in Southeast Asia. Once you open them up and leave them out for a bit the carbon is absolutely gone. I can pop open up and chug it down like they do on TV. In America, my throat would burn from all that fizz. But, I digress, recently, I had a chance to watch a movie with a local girl and this moment only reconfirmed what I've already confirmed:

I can't be with a girl here due to cultural barriers

Iron Man is not simply an action movie. There are subtle jokes embedded that simply get lost in translation. At times I was the only person laughing at certain remarks by Tony Starks. No one else laughed. The translation completely lost all of its humor. This is where I want to analogize me and my interactions here with how the people simply didn't appreciate those jokes. I'm not appreciated here for my sense of humor simply because I'm not funny in an intellectual way in Vietnam. I might be funny for not knowing certain things. I might be funny for doing risky things. I might be funny because I look funny. Nevertheless, witty humor isn't an attribute that girls look for here. Even if they did, they wouldn't understand me enough to know just how or who I am. As the movie raged on, more lines were uttered and laughed at by me. At the movie raged on, I realized that the person I was sitting next to only appreciated the movie for its action sequences. This is why the movie selection at theatres in Vietnam are so limited to kids stuff or action flicks. Anything worthy of an Oscar won't find its way here. It's not like the people are dumb, it's more like the lack of cultural experiences mean relative disinterest.

Some of you less westernized than others will argue that I can just teach a girl here about American culture. I'm sorry to say, but some things you can't teach. Some things you just have to experience it for yourselves from a young age. I've said it before and I've said it again, I'm highly selective with the women here because I don't want to waste time or money being near someone that I can't be myself with. Without understanding English in a culturally aware context and pronouncing words correctly, then what's the point? Why sit through dull conversations about repetitive things? How about if I just switch over to Vietnamese? Despite knowing the language really well, there are many things I can't express in Vietnamese. One of those things is a kind of perverted, crass, and passive/aggressive humor that I'm fond of. Give it up to the white dudes who can turn a blind eye towards their girlfriends or wife's relative lack of a meaningful relationship with them.

This issue was never relevant to me back home. The issue of language trumping every factor, including love rings true in my books. Culture is a by-product of that and sadly, I can't turn off America for Vietnam just because I happen to be in Vietnam. Many of you FOBs out there can. But at the end of the day you all know I'm right. I'll never settle for a girl here unless she was super cute with a good body, super wealthy, or went to international schools all her life. Then again, why would a girl with any of those three requirements want a guy like me? Hahaha. This doesn't mean my door is closed to meet girls in Vietnam. If it was, then I might as well shut this blog down. I'll play it safe and rather spend time with my English fluent homies. Now some of you will think this is pretty lame, but honestly, a truly Americanized Vietnamese American would find the local girls here repulsive. Do I have to start naming reasons? Make up? Clothes? Lack of English abilities? Oh well, this isn't about that. It's about me reminding you guys that being single in Vietnam is better than wasting precious time and money away on someone that won't give back. Laying stomach up like a starfish for two minutes isn't considered giving back.

Btw, the last few minutes of Iron Man 3 sucked big time.

www.facebook.com/KyleLe.net

Fast days, slow nights.

2013-05-11T18:08:00.002+07:00

There were moments in life when I wondered why time doesn't progress fast enough. Now, I wish I could slow things down. My days are full, my evenings are full, and my nights are spent recuperating. Something's gotta give. I have to have more leisure time. I can't take back my weekends. But I have to commit to Mondays being off days. Lately, I'm unable to do that.

Things with the Myanmar video has been a standstill because I'm actually looking for and awaiting approval from independent Myanmar rappers to feature as background music. I normally don't go out of my way to do this, but Myanmar music is awesome. I want the world to experience it as well. Trust me, long bus rides from Yangon to Bagon weren't that bad with pleasant music.

The internet here and with others around me, have been incredibly slow. I don't quite understand why. It's never been this bad. Going on Facebook has been a complete pain in the ass.

Speaking of Facebook, do check out and like the Facebook fan page. It'll be worth your time, trust me.

I recently went to the Cu Chi Tunnels the other day because Old Boy has never been there despite living in Vietnam for so long. The morning started off too early. With only three hours sleep, I actually overslept my alarm and rushed out without showering or brushing my teeth. Yikes!!! The bus ride was enjoyable. I always prefer riding in a tourist style bus because it makes me feel like a tourist. From time to time, I like to pretend that I'm a tourist in Vietnam and at the end of my excursion, I get to go home. There were plenty of British folks like always on board, and our tour guide was actually pretty pleasant this time around. It wasn't so bad.

Then we got to the tunnels, and it was hot and humid. Old Boy, despite his tattoos, isn't much of a nature person. He doesn't like physical activity. Crawling in the tunnels was pretty painful for him. It wasn't that pleasant. Many years ago during my first trip to Vietnam, the tunnels felt a lot bigger and it was definitely easy to crawl through them. Speaking of such, I can't help but comprehend how the times have changed. If you told me then that I would be one day living abroad like this, I would laugh out loud. I wish I could laugh out loud now. I can't help but be sentimental when I think back. I was so anxious to go to Vietnam for the first time, but I left with such disdain that kept me away from Vietnam for five years. Damn... those were the days.

I've decided that I'm going to check out Da Nang and Hoi An next month. It's totally worth it because I can film. Taking days off from my commitments is tremendously difficult. What's likely going to happen is that I'll be there for four days or so. I have a few connections in Da Nang, but being in Hoi An by myself will be unbearably sad. Hoi An was the reason why I decided to go come back to Vietnam two years ago. In fact, some of my fondest members of Vietnam were strolling through the streets with such a special girl. For those if you who know what I'm talking about and saw the original Vietnam By Myself video, then you'll know exactly who I'm referring. For those of you who don't then stay tuned. It's been many years since then, but I'm still here trying to recapture those moments. She's moved way on. I still haven't.

Help me decide.

2013-05-09T16:32:00.001+07:00

It's bound to happen. I want to get a tattoo and a big one at that.

Even though I'm a big fan of the Japanese style motifs, they are a bit played out. Plus, since I'm Vietnamese I want to do something Vietnamese, but nothing FOBby either.

I like landscapes and scenery. I'm leaning towards the lower two designs.
If you have any suggestions aside from koi fish and demons, please leave a comment.

Dear Vietnam part III: iPhoney

2013-05-08T01:50:00.000+07:00

Dear Vietnam,

Sorry I haven't written you in so long. Life has been throwing me lemons and other acidic fruit. This letter really goes out to the local ladies out there. Hey, do iPhones and other fruit company products make you feel powerful and rich? Just because a phone is worth as much if not more than a motorbike does not make you any part of an elite class, especially since you can't even use Siri. I really have no right to say whether or not you can show off your phones, but please don't look down on people who don't have the latest iPhones. So what if the next girl has an iPhone 3GS, does that make her less pretty? Well according to many of your "hot" girls out there, that seems to be the case. I guess some of you need your iPhone 5s to type out, "Where's my tip" for standing next to a poor sucker in a club right? I mean, how else would you be able to talk when you have no voice? When you open your mouth, only garbage and whining comes out. The saddest part is that most of you "hot" girls are incredibly ugly inside and outside. Don't look down on real girls with real phones. Do you have to put your phone on the table each time you sit down to eat a meal that someone else is paying for? I mean the other day, I saw for people with their iPhone 4s and 1 iPhone 5 all laid out on the table as if they were trying to let others know their status. Oh, this was at a Pizza Hut. So classy right? And the whole taking a self portrait in the mirror was so five years ago. Your phone should have a self timer, but too bad you probably don't know how to use it. Just because your legs are longer, your vagina is looser, and your phone was designed in California and MADE IN CHINA does not give you that right.

Thanks for reading,

your homie, Kyle.

Dear Kyle,

First, you stop being so jealous of ut. Since our mothers did not give us much in terms of self esteem and independence, we must force to be creatures of materialism. A phone can boost our low confidence. We go to the clubs to hide ourselves in the darkness and our phones give us light. Not our faaault we just look so good with phone made by hands of slave laborers. Who care. We dun care. You just be jealous. A little device can give us more confidence than our own self respect. We will take it. We don't mind being whores for what we believe in. We believe that having any other phone would make us feel like weakling losers even though Android is so much better. If only we could break from jail- the jail of our sorrow like our jail broken phones. It dun matter. We don't care about hardware or software- we just care about silverware. We know girl in Americas care about iPhone too. So what if we care a lot more? So what if we think the phone can raise our value? Americas rich.Everyone from Americas is rich. Even homeless people are rich. Don't hate on us for starving ourselves to buy a phone. It's our right. So what if we use loser Viet kieus to get what we want? Come on baby, bring a phone over for me, hide it in yo butt, then I'll let you see my butt. Just see okay? No touch, touch give me iPhone for my sister and young brother in school and for my old mutha who can not work either. Oh, and I want a phone for my pig that my mother can no longer raise too. iPhone for my village, then you can touch my butt. But no anal sex, because i dun no what that is because I do not know how to use Safari. Thank dollar, so we don't have to read the filth that goes on on this siiiite. bring back the old KyleLe.net. iPhones are a way of life. our life. Our life of material goods that replace inner substance. Don't fight it Kyle. go with it. Go with it.

Hope you have a G9 Anh.

Vietnam (Girls of Vietnam)

Half a day in pictures.

2013-05-08T00:32:00.001+07:00

Sunday morning was chuck full of work: intense sweating work.

The day really started at lunch time. Another day, another Korean meal in Saigon. I'm really getting a taste for the pickled veggies with that little kick of spice. The kimchi wasn't bad either. It's growing on me. Oh, the irony of living in Vietnam and eating more Korean food. Ask any Korean though, and they'll say the Korean food here isn't as good as in Korea. It's the exact same way how Vietnamese food is better in America.

A small side dish of some Korean ramen with seafood bits. Once again, incredibly spicy and left sores in my mouth a few days later, but worth it.

After a relatively satisfying meal, the Vincom Center was next on the list. Bumper cars are always fun. They're a little expensive, but it was Old Boy's treat. He wanted me to feel Fast and Furious like back home since I've been relatively down.

Then I went here. You already saw a video of it. If you haven't go over my YouTube page right now.
Cats were supposed to cheer me up. They helped, but they didn't hit the spot.

When things started to smell too much like cats, I opted to go back to more homely grounds. You'll see this video very soon. For those of you who don't know what this is, these are fried balls of protein. The sausage was pretty good though. The sugarcane juice was pleasant, and it cheered me a bit. Though, I miss eating hot dogs. I didn't even have time to go eat a Costco hot dog the last time I was back. Damn.

This was so enjoyable despite the fact that I wasn't very good at flying my kite. It's a great way to relieve stress. My kite did manage to fly for a bit until it got tangled with some other dude's kite. Oh well. This was fun. I was pretty happy. I have to do this more often, but the timetable to fly kites are pretty limited. The setting sun does so rather quickly, and the unset sun beats down on me with a burning vengeance. I'll do this again. I can't wait.

Then I had dinner at that familiar Binh Xuyen location. It was a pretty hot night and the lack of AC was a serious bother. For a Sunday night and for District 8 / Binh Chanh, this place was booming with guests. I was shocked to see how people were ordering seafood left and right. I ordered only peasant food like egg rolls and squid. The ballers next to me where doing the whole lobster and crab routine. Pretty intense. Coming here, you wouldn't dare say Vietnam is a poor country. Though, I felt pretty poor.

By 10 PM it was time to head back to PMH to catch the night's breeze at a friend's lavish apartment over looking the Starlight Bridge. For being someone I fully trust, I was surprised that I haven't been over to her pad before. I'm completely jealous of her. Just check out that view. There's the Crescent Mall and the Parkson Paragon in the back if you can make it out. By midnight I was at home and barely able to walk. I crawled into bed exhausted because of working early in the morning.

Special thanks to Old Boy for making this all possible. Without his generosity, the day would have turned out a lot different.

If you like what you see, please consider helping this continue.

http://www.facebook.com/KyleLe.net

The blog's not dead.

2013-05-07T02:38:00.000+07:00

But I am a little. But once I start admitting it, then I would have lost. Lost what? with who? There's no battle here. This is all for me. Nevertheless, I promise to write more. Lately, I've been busy living life. May is sort of my vacation month because day times are relatively free. So what do I do during the day? I sleep. I sleep because I need to make up for the past few months. I want to eat and eat. I want to eat as much as possible. How's the single life? Awesome. How's the video editing coming along? Terrible. I love it. I can't wait to really be serious about the Myanmar videos, but hell- it's a hassle. There's so much footage I gotta go through. I can't wait to edit it though. It's gonna be an exciting few days.

If I don't post here often it's because I'm busy living life. Follow me on YouTube and check the Facebook page often. That's where all the recent happenings are. If you don't see any activity from either one of those pages, then likely you should check all the hospitals in or near District 7.

Damn, I'm homesick.

Thank you so much.

Special thanks to Andrew H.
Thank you.

CM Punk and Oysters.

2013-05-04T21:03:00.002+07:00

Phases in life come and go for me. Different moments have meant different obsessions. For a while, I was so in love with the Amazing Race. I haven't seen the past two seasons even though I have access to them. New hobbies and trends trumps past ones. It's the way life is. But for me, my interests have remained relatively stagnant. They recycle as I rediscover them. I still like everything that I've liked before, but in lesser extents now, which is okay. One day I'll have time to sit down and go through recent seasons of the Amazing Race, yet I know I won't feel the same way as I once did. I used to be such a big fan that I bought tapes online from a guy way back in the day when I had dial up internet and torrents and YouTube didn't quite exist.

One thing though that hasn't changed over the years is that I've remained loyal to professional wrestling. Gone are the days of the Attitude Era where I would tune in excitingly off the top of my chair Thursday nights to see The Rock lay the smack'it down on everyone's candy asses. I've definitely matured as a wrestling fan just as Dwayne has evolved into a Hollywood star. Do I still respect and admire him as I once did back in the fifth grade? No. Not at all. In fact, I can't stand to watch a movie he's in, because whenever I see him, I hear, "IF YAAA SMELLLLLAALALAAA..." During the university years I didn't watch very much, but I still followed on news sites just to see what was up. And lately, I've been even more obsessed with wrestling.
My days and evenings are busy grinding in the heat. At night, lately, I've been uber depressed and watching wrestling lifts my spirits. I can't say the content now is as good as it once was. It really isn't. But there are wrestlers now that still inspire me. I'm a loyal fan of CM Punk. At the same time, I hate John Cena. Everyone in Vietnam knows John Cena. It's a little scary. So scary, that I've banned the words John and Cena in my classrooms.When wrestlers talk it tends to get quite boring. When CM Punk talks, I'm glued on the edge of my seat. Admiringly, I actually do the CM Punk's entrance ritual routine whenever I get the chance. It's kind of funny and kinda sad at the time. This sums up my life pretty well. Funny and sad. Oh well, here's to long lights ahead watching CM Punk's matches and waking up regretting not getting a decent night's sleep. If only I could "GTS" easier.

I love oysters. I sometimes get cravings for them out of the blue like a pregnant woman. Do you recall that scene from I Love Lucy when Ricky comes home late at night with a bunch of condiments for Lucy's nighttime ice cream cravings? That's exactly how I feel, except I don't have a Ricky in my life. On my weekend commute, there's a truck that sells oysters from Can Gio. I've been wanting to buy several kilograms because they're only a dollar a kilo. Driving the 67 means that I'm limited when it comes to buying certain things because there's no way to hook the bags. I'm not about to put oysters in my backpack. So on a rainy day I took the Dream out and had a blast buying as many things as I could. By the end of it, I felt like a delivery boy stacked full of goods. Now the problem with oysters is that I tend to get sick of them really fast. I don't like eating cooked oysters, but eating raw oysters in Vietnam might be a death sentence. Nevertheless I ate some raw because I was stupid like that. Oh well. If I don't die then I'll be sure to be a loyal customer.

I recently sneezed and sprained a side muscle. It's getting to the point where I can't ride my motorbike without immense pain in my rib cage. Walking even hurts. I'm literally sweating in fear from having to walk down stairs. I need to go see a specialist about this. I'm always afraid to see doctors because things usually exacerbate to something on a larger scale. I rather not know ya know? But it's becoming a problem that's affecting my daily routine. I'll look into this.

If you like what you see, consider a small donation.

Solicitation

2013-05-03T09:40:00.000+07:00

I want to just simply cut the chase and leave out the wordiness like you've grown accustomed here. I have plans to purchase either a Samsung S4 or an HTC One because I want higher quality pictures and especially higher quality videos where I can capture more vibrant VietnaMoments daily videos. A friend of mine is coming back from America in one month's time, so I have one month to raise the funds. This is where you come in. For all of you who watch on a daily basis or enjoy my other series, please consider a small donation. Yes.. I know.. Kyle is soliciting again. Oh no, we thought these days were oooover. But the truth is, traveling is expensive and no matter what, I'm still poor. My refusal to put ads on my YouTube and on here because I don't want anything to distract you guys keeps me poor. If you appreciate what you see, especially without ads, then please consider any amount so I can continue to exceed the quality that you expect.

You know what to do here.

Oh, and some of you have been asking about what's the lineup for future SoJournaling Vietnam releases and I have yet to edit the following Myanmar, Cambodia, Tay Ninh/Cu Chi, and more recently, Cat Tien National Park. Sometime in May I am hoping to be able to return to Da Nang and produce a Da Nang and a Hoi An video. So stay tuned and stay generous.

Thank you.

- Kyle.

Princess of Cat Tien.

2013-05-02T07:15:00.001+07:00

I've been looking forward to Cat Tien for the longest time. Jungles and forests attract me. Movies like Rambo and Predator might have something to do with it. But, more recently, I think that essence of the Asian in a jungle pride has engulfed my mindset. I'm Asian and the jungle is my native habit. I think that's it. Cat Tien is the largest national park in South Vietnam. The problem with Vietnam's national parks is that their locations tend to be rather remote. Their accessibility is really limited to hiring your own motorbikes, private car, or tour. Cat Tien is certainly no exception to that.

Over the holiday break, I went out there with no set plans, no hotel reservations, no idea what was in stored. The original idea was to hit up Madagui Resort after Cat Tien, but that later didn't pan out. Largely, because Madagui was booked up and uber tacky. The drive from Saigon took about five hours because it got dark really fast. The roads were pitch black at times. Google Maps showed Nam Cat Tien and Cat Tien National Park. We weren't sure where to go, so we asked a few locals from time to time. Driving in Vietnam can be very confusing. The street signs aren't easily read, and the roads aren't for the faint of heart. Highway 1, which eventually leads to Highway 20 can be pretty difficult to maneuver, but for those of you coming from Da Lat, you'll take these roads.

When I finally got there, we relied on the local's directions instead of following Google Maps. Why? I don't know. It was about 8 at night and driving up didn't seem right. I had expected something perhaps more grand. The entry way reminded me of just a small little village setting with motorbikes everywhere. Some random dude approached us and asked us about hotels and all that. It was all a little sketchy because we had to go on a little boat that would take us over to the forest. I hadn't read this anywhere. They gave us a choice between a 700,000 Dong room or a 3 million dong room. We opted for the latter. After parking the car some place further out and heading back, we boarded a boat. We as in me and John. I'm sorry if I didn't establish that sooner. I'm in a big hurry as I type this.

On the other side, we walked up some dirt stair paths onto an open clearing with tents and teenagers camping about. It felt like we had stumbled upon some kind of hippie arena. The weather was definitely less humid than in Saigon. There was a gentle breeze around, and the yellow lights made things look really pleasant. We checked in and instantly asked about the night time safari, which was happening right away. After throwing our things to our room, which was pretty decent for the jungle, but the Cuc Phuong room was a lot better. There tons of bugs around and the foam mattress was actually awesome. Though, the room could have used a little bit of a touch up, but whatever. The price was a bit steep though for the quality. The AC also didn't work, so we were left with fans. We had to open up all the windows as we slept under mosquito nets. I always feel like a princess whenever I sleep under a mosquito net. Though, the mosquito net really did block bugs out, it also blocked the cool air as well. So, I slept in my own
sweat that night.

Back to the night time safari. I really wasn't hoping for much. I wasn't expecting to see a jaguar or something. A few deer would have been nice. The truck rolled up loudly, and the tour guide instantly asked us why we were here because there would be no animals. I let out a WTF, as the truck carried about 12 of us, all Vietnamese locals into the jungle.. if you could call it that. We spotted about six deer total in about thirty minutes. The way to they drove rather fast and the way back, they drove even faster. Participants were complaining about how fast the truck was driving. The tour guide didn't seem to really care. He just seemed like he wanted to go home. I was really expecting something more. In my mind, I had scenes of deeper jungle exploration. This was merely driving down a little road that was cleared for about fifteen minutes to and fro. I have to say that that night tour was a big disappointment... especially for 120,000 Dong a person. Oh, and I got smacked in the face and right eye with some leaves and branches on the way back. That was painful.

I slept early and woke up to the loudest and obnoxious bird calls I've ever heard. Roosters don't have anything on these birds. After a disappointing breakfast.. jungle food sucks.. what can I say? we went on a little walk where we checked out an old tree, some water/"rapids" area and we walked over to the Forest Floor Lodge. The latter is a famous hotel for white people. I really thought it would be deeper in the jungle, but it was merely about 1 or a little more from the more Vietnamese accommodation. In summation, this was awesome, I wish we had a little bit more time to explore the jungles deeper including Crocodile Lake, but having been here for so long and having seen plenty of lakes, the fees might not have been justifiable. Do I recommend this place? Yes if you got some cash. No, if you're a budget minded, simply because transportation might be a little difficult. I guess you could just hop on any bus to Da Lat and they'll throw you about 20 kilometers from the entrance, but then heading back is another story. It's still worth it though.. I guess.

Finally, lets do a breakdown of all the costs for a one day one night trip. Gas - $30, Accommodation - $33, Food/Water -$10
Night time "safari" - $6, All together, I spent like 70 bucks.
Travelogue will soon follow (like 6 months away)
meanwhile, I'll post up some VietnaMoments clips soon.

Dude, he's got a crowbar.

2013-05-01T12:49:00.000+07:00

Leaving Cat Tien National Park just after one night, John and I wanted to make our way towards Madagui Resort. We were lost around the narrow roads for a little bit and eventually found our way towards the main road. We approached a typical "xe do" or minivan designed to carry passengers from one province to another or usually from Saigon to the provinces and back. It had its blinker lights on and it was driving in the middle of the road of a relatively small road. It was going only about 5 miles an hour. At the time we didn't realize it was trying to pick up passengers along the way. John decided to pass and suddenly the driver got really mad.
For whatever reasons, the driver wanted to pass us, even though he was driving 5 miles and hour. Without any passengers on the sides he suddenly got crazy. At first I thought the driver just wanted to pass because we passed him. He kept driving really fast and tail gating us like crazy. By now, we were both going excessively fast for a countryside road. The driver kept honking at us all the while trying to pass. I didn't realize the severity of the event. When you watch in the video, which I start recording about 5 minutes after the whole incident started, my voice is relatively calm, until I see some dude hanging out of the van with a crowbar.

Then I started to realize that perhaps this was a little bit more serious. When I see a crowbar, I instantly tend to think someone's got something to pry. Then I thought about the glass hitting my face, then I was more aware of the situation. John knew right away. He wasn't going to stop. If they got in front of us, we would be in a world of hurt. This was serious road rage, and the dudes on board had nothing to lose. Remember, these are relatively uneducated country teens and backwards men who would easily have killed us because we had no weapons and there were four of them. The pack mentality meant that they would just take turns beating on us until something grave happened.

Out of no where a bottle of water came out. It was weakly thrown at us, barely grazing the rear of the car. Then I started feeling a lot more at eased, even though the crowbar came right back out again, waving in the air. I was more fearful about John's control of the vehicle. I probably couldn't have done what he did with all the winding roads and dodging motorbikes. We were really lucky that there weren't any other cars in front of us, because the driver was ready to run us off the road. Like I said, he had no reason to try to pass it. This were purely an act of idiotic aggression that could have gotten him and his passengers killed.
On board John and I wished we had a paintball gun to shoot out his wipers. I thought about sticking my head out with my camcorder, but that might have made them even more mad. We really needed some slick oil or something to slow them down. John requested that I help him navigate instead of film, so this was when I shut my camera off. As we approached the main road, their van disappeared out of no where. I instantly thought that they would try to cut us off somewhere down the road because they seemed to know the area pretty well. Well enough to drive that fast. So fast that people on motorbikes would actually stop and pull over. Then out of no where I spotted the van parked on the side of the road.
The dude with the crowbar was out. The driver was out with three other dudes in the middle of the road. As soon as they saw that John wasn't stopping. The driver instantly stepped back. The crowbar dude waved his crowbar in our direction as if he was going to throw it, but he didn't. I braced for impact and by then it was over. We were so angry that they probably felt like they had won. I kept telling John that we should just wait for them. But realistically speaking, we wouldn't have been able to take them on. They simply had nothing to lose. While John was carrying an insane amount of cash with him (around how much the driver would make in 5 years of working everyday), plus the cost of the car, plus our lives were far more valuable. Being rational about it, a fight wouldn't have been the smartest thing. One on one and we would have had a chance though, no doubt. Even if we had taken them on and won, someone would have to pay. Just let this be a lesson to you guys on vacation here or expats living here, be careful. You don't want to get in any scuffles with locals here. You can't win, either way. Like in America or anywhere else, when you give a powerful vehicle and a crowbar to any scumbag, they'll feel powerful.
Major props to John though for getting us out of there, especially since he hadn't slept for over 24 hours.

Not it.

2013-04-17T23:37:00.000+07:00

A few of you have sent me messages asking if those long ass Ben Thanh Market video was what I was talking about when I said I had a fourth series up my sleeves. Fortunately, no. This and two more long videos like it, were footage commissioned almost six months ago. Someone wanted to see Vietnam as if they were looking through a window. I accepted the challenge and helped achieved such a vision. I had forgotten about the footage until recently, and I decided that it was appropriate to share it with you guys too. I never watch other YouTube videos of Vietnam simply because I am surrounded by it, and my videos are far superior than anything that could come out of this place on a routine basis. When I do watch these videos however, I feel like I know how you guys feel when you're here. So take a moment off from your busy day and welcome in the chaos that you fondly left behind after your month long trips concluded. Here's to new trips in the future. In the mean time, check back the next two days for other highlights of the historic downtown area.

As for the fourth series, please stay tuned..!! You'll love it. It's something completely different than SoJournaling Vietnam, VietnaMoments, and POVietnam... Oh, it'll have Vietnam somewhere in its title and yes, two words will share one letter, in case you havent figured that out yet.

a Guest: 17 years.

2013-04-17T07:39:00.001+07:00

Meet Super Christopher. He emigrated to the United States at the age of 17 to live with his father in Wisconsin.

I had lived in vietnam for 17 years before i came to america. Ive seen the different between vn and us since i came here such as culture, lifestyle, and especially education.
Firstly, vn has very strick education and nobody like it. For most publish schools, it starts from 6:30Am until 5:30Pm and we have to wear uniform 6days a week, maybe some of private schools would be better than that but still have to wear uniform which i dislike. In America , most a schools start from 8:30 until 3:00 and at school i dont have to do a lot of works which is very easy and chill .
Secondly, people in both sides are different how they act. America People are very polite. In other word, they always say thank you whenever someone help them or they say sorry even they just on someone's way. Additionally, American people always line up whenever they buy something or waiting. As i can see , they like "following" the rule. However, I dont want to say this but it's true that vn is opposite from everything i said above.
Although I love America, if anyone ask me where do i prefer to have fun at then i would say vn. First of all, vn is my country and i used to everything in vn. Vn is a fun place and there are a lot entertainments. At night, every streets in vn are crowed, vietnamese people normally go out every night even they dont know where to go :)) , especially teenager. In the other side, nobody go out at night, most people stay at home.

------------------------------------------------------
Thanks Chris.
www.facebook.com/KyleLe.net

What I'll miss.

2013-04-16T13:15:00.000+07:00

My decision to defer my education and to return to Vietnam was incredibly tough. Some of you thought I threw in the towel and left without fanfare. Trust me, when I leave Vietnam, I'll leave with a bang. Choosing the stay option was the most difficult thing I've done.. Much harder than coming here to live in the first place. At the airport several friends called me, and we shared some promises. I cried a bit after I departed home. If you're reading this, don't wait for me Diane. Just find any successful white dude and go for him. Don't wait for me. You're too good for me. Writing this now in the midst of how busy my work load has become makes me kind of teary eyed. The first time around it wasn't hard to leave. The second time around it was pretty hard. But the third and FINAL time, was the most challenging decision I've ever made. A lot of tears followed.

I knew exactly what I was getting

into this time. At least now I have way more stability than I did last year. Last year I was just happy getting by. Now my goal is to rake and grind rake and grind. I'll travel, but I'll probably be able to travel less. I still want to see more of Vietnam. Before the end, I'll be sure to travel a crap load. That's a given. I won't forget about my responsibilities with you, but at the end of the day, my responsibilities with people feeding me trumps everything else. Never the less, the work effort isn't always ideal at times. Sometimes it's downright miserable. Other times, it's a blast. I'm having the time of my life. Other times, I wish time would just wind faster. The ups and downs are extreme.

I'll miss speaking English without having to prove that I'm a native speaker. I'll miss speaking to people with confidence because I'm speaking in a language that I'm not always comfortable with. I'll miss wearing sweaters and jackets. I'll miss not waking up in a heap of sweat. I'll miss all the food. I'll miss my friends. I'll miss my family. I'll miss petting a dog without fear of mites and rabies. I'll miss soap in the bathrooms. I'll miss girls who can speak English. I'll miss girls who get me. I'll miss my car. I'll miss blasting music and cruising. I'll miss not sweating. I'll miss the chilly evenings. I'll miss not fucking up my hair with a helmet. I'll miss not having to reapply deodorant multiple times a day. I'll miss the quiet. I'll miss how the sun doesn't burn me. I'll miss non manufactured cold air. I'll miss California traffic. I'll miss big boobs on the streets. I'll miss home.

It's hawt.

2013-04-15T19:49:00.000+07:00

I can't stand out into my living room without breaking into a sweat. I can't take a shit without sweating. Damn the heat and damn constipation. Leaving the house midday is torture. My arms are so dark now, but wearing long sleeve shirts make me too hot. The tan line on my wrist where my watch sits remind me that at one time I wasn't so My Den. Come to think of it, I've been My Den since I was a kid. The whole AZN gangster Viet Pride movement blossomed in Southern California in the early 90s when I was growing up. I'm surprised I didn't join a gang or something. I grew up in a pretty seedy neighborhood full of blacks and Mexicans. My later years in Long Beach definitely influenced my contemporary self. Some say that I walk like a black dude. I don't see it, but it's alright. I mean, aiiiiiight. I definitely walk different than a local Vietnamese. That's for sure.

When I left Vietnam for a week the weather was pretty mild. When I came back the heat has been making my life miserable. I sweat more than the average person. My forehead is just drenched as soon as I'm out of AC. I come home with wet undershirts every day. The other day I mistakenly took a stroll in the middle of the night. I came home just dripping wet from head to toe. Do you know that feeling of sitting in a car in the middle of summer time? Just add a sauna to that and that's how I feel at times here. It's refreshing to step into air conditioning, but it's a smack in the face to step out. I applaud and bow down to those without AC. A fan is great. But without AC, I wouldn't live in Vietnam.

This makes me wonder how people used to live without modern amenities. Even without an electric fan, life would be pretty unbearable. I'm utterly shocked at how some people don't seem to sweat at all in this heat. The heat makes people lethargic. I don't sleep well at night to begin with nor do I take naps in the afternoon. This means I get exhausted really easily. Less nerves, more outbursts, more potentials at losing it thanks to the heat. Was that even a complete sentence? I DON'T @(*$(*$#*$# ()(@#)@(@ CARE>!>!!*!!). Just kidding. It's 11 PM.. and it's only 90 degrees or so. At least my shirts dry pretty quickly on the line.

On the positive aspects, I use less moisturizers in Vietnam, plus I piss a lot less because I lose most of my water through my skin. I do go through quite a bit of deodorant though. Degree baby. Degree.

In case you missed it...

2013-04-15T08:34:00.002+07:00

I love bettas. Please be sure to watch this in HD.

Flight.

2013-04-14T21:08:00.000+07:00

random baby flying alone.

I hate flying. The flight from Los Angeles to Vietnam tends to pound me with such misery that I might prefer to sit through a Maroon 5 concert instead.

For those of you who have never flown before, you should try short legs first before doing a cross Pacific trip that might ruin your life like it has ruined mine.

It's a severely dehydrating experience because the cabin air lacks humidity like a desert, and I'm constantly obligated to reapply Chapstick every hour. It's a tough balancing act between drinking liquids or not because I can't hold my urine very well on planes. It's not in my intentions to get up too often because I'm usually stuck between someone else, and they have to get up in order for me to get out. So I can't drink water when I'm thirsty. I have to plan and coordinate it out and that bothers me. I'm dried. My lips are cracking. My mouth quivers, and I'm getting poked and prodded from all sides because the seats are just too damn small. My body feels trapped like I'm locked up in a crate bound for Malaysia as a sex slave. My body is full of gasses even though I tried my best to rid myself of all crap before boarding. Then again, I'm full of shit, so... I feel unclean even though I'm not sweating. I just want to brush my teeth, wash my face, but it's hard to because the bathroom makes me feel claustrophobic, and the water pressure is too low to wash my face. The towels they give out are full of alcohol and fragrance that would dry me out even further. A fake sign of relief like a mirage in the dessert is what they are. I can't sleep because if I do, I might drool or lean into the stranger sitting next to me. My eyes ache with a sunken feeling because sleeping hour intervals at a time doesn't do them any justice. That same empty feeling occurs in my stomach. It's seriously the hunger games. As I try my best to cover my nose up as the food is brought out. Once inhaled, the odor will surely cause me to vomit. As people eat all around me, I put a finger over my nose. The proteins on the planes aren't real food. I try my best to forcefully eat the fruits and desserts. The stomach acids fight with my lactic acids as the two go to battle, my limbs and joints further ignite in soreness and thrusting pain. I'm a zombie. I'm a mummy. I'm like a corpse on a plane. I'm cold. The blankets smell. It's already uncomfortable enough trying to put the cheap head pillow underneath me. Whenever I get a chance to stand, I take full advantage. I linger about. I stretch a little. I've seen too many movies to know that being without a seat belt on a plane is dangerous. So I hurry back to be confined again. I'm hurting. More food comes out, and the pain lingers on.

In Taipei the flight to Vietnam picks up a ton of Vietnamese people connecting from all over the world. Suddenly, it felt a lot like Vietnam Airlines. Lots of old people that remind me of my parents (but much more nha khue) who didn't know how to transfer or anything. I love how some of them take advantage of the wheel chair services. Lots of children on board going to Vietnam with their parents. The little girl next to me on the second flight was wearing pink rubber boots. Childhood innocence; they probably don't know anything about the hot place that they have to go to every so often. I wouldn't take my children to this country until at least high school. They wouldn't appreciate it as much as they should. The thought of me having children is scary. It's funny how they put the most pathetic people in the emergency exits. Old foos who probably don't even know English to read the informational card. An elderly Vietnamese women forgets to lock the bathroom, and I walk in on her. This is the third time that this has happened. Remind your mothers to lock the airplane bathroom doors please. The noise on the plane is loud. There's a constant blowing noise with that metal seat belt clipping and un-clipping noise. When the plane lands and gets hauled in, with the fasten seat belt lights off, you hear this noise and it's unbearable. People start to get up and everyone seems frantic to return to Vietnam. Some people haven't been back for years. Some live there. Other's like me are just lost. The FOBs are the ones that dress up. A girl I noticed had on a full black lace dress and thick make up. She was beautiful, but the heat will melt her pretty face away. Other men wear ties and suits. Younger FOBs try to wear trendy clothes and name brands that the locals wouldn't even recognize. Real foreigners don't give a shit, and they're the ones wearing clothes hobos wear. People are standing up in the aisles even though they ain't going anywhere for a while. Their carry on luggage surely exceeding all policies. One carry on and one hand bag doesn't mean two carry ons full of trinkets and beads. My packs are all away from me because I tend to board the plane last to avoid other people. For a moment I thought someone stole my backpack. Traveling sucks. I hurry into the terminal, and walk the same path before immigration. I used to be really nervous and afraid. Now, it's like second nature.

At least I didn't barf.

Trifecta.

2013-04-12T10:58:00.001+07:00

SoJournaling Vietnam, VietnaMoments, and now... POVietnam. Stay tuned for more.

I'm not dead... yet

2013-04-10T20:42:00.000+07:00

Hey there internet people. What's happening in the neighborhood? I'm still alive. I'll be back before you know it. The past couple of days have been highly emotional since I've departed America for Vietnam... for my third tour of duty. I don't know what's up.
Check back soon!!

What's to come.

2013-04-06T16:08:00.000+07:00

For those of you who thought I moved back to California forever, please don't read my blog anymore. Don't watch my videos. Unsubscribe right now. Delete KyleLe.net from your history right after deleting all your nasty porno searches. Stay away from me.

For those of you who realized that this trip was merely a short term vacation, then I want you to stay tuned for my third tour of duty. This time, I'll introduce a new series to the line up following SoJournaling Vietnam, and VietnaMoments. It'll be called POVietnam and it takes a third camera to film.
This is what I have envisioned. A new SoJournaling Vietnam video once a month- (these take upwards of 40 hours to edit). A new VietnaMoments clip every weekday (That's 5 clips a week), and a new POVietnam video twice a month. Shit. That's a lot of work and made possible by contributions from viewers unlike you who never donate. I don't put any ads on my videos. I don't try to monetize anything because I know how annoying ads are. This is why I suggest you donate. The more you donate, the more places in Vietnam I'll go. SoJournaling Vietnam will see new clips from Myanmar, Tay Ninh, and Cambodia very soon. In the near future, I would like to visit Da Nang and Hoi An for two videos. Eventually, I would also like to do a video on Sapa. For those of you who complain about the quality of VietnaMoments then my only answer to that is for you to donate so I can buy an HTC One or something similar I'm pretty excited about the POVietnam series. You guys will like it.

Lastly, for more more frequent updates, do like my Facebook fan page. www.facebook.com/kylele.net
Not following that will surely cause you to miss out.

That's it for now. Sorry to the dumbasses who thought I left without making a big exit. You should have known me by now. I wouldn't leave Vietnam like that. My last entry wouldn't be that shitty. Jeeeze...

Everyone's favorite link.

I never left.

2013-04-04T07:47:00.000+07:00

The weather is amazing in California right now. Waking up could means that I get a chance to bundle up and wear jackets and sweaters that I never would dream about wearing unless I wanted to suffer from heat exhaustion. I haven't sweat yet. It's amazing not to go through two undershirts everyday. The air feels clean and crisp. My lungs are happy. My skin is softer and firmer. Fuck the humidity. The sun on my face warms my soul. The sun in Vietnam on my face would give me a sunburn within the matter of moments.

In Vietnam I would dread leaving the air conditioning and facing the heat of the bathroom. In America I dread leaving the warmth of my room and facing the chills of an unheated bathroom.

I'm still culturally shock. But things aren't a big deal to me anymore. I used to fret about going from tropics to the sub-desert or from Asia to America. It's just apart of life now. It's what I do. At the same time, I'm excited for the future.

I'm starting to become more and more aware of money and economic factors in America. Life seems relatively empty despite being surrounded by friends and trying to make appointments with people. I feel like a whore lately, seeing one friend to another. I'm a pretty awful friend, I didn't buy any gifts for anyone.

It's amazing to hear English spoken so perfectly by Asians here. I don't have to prove my English here. Average girls appear very hot to me simply because they can speak English. That's right, the best thing that Vietnam did for me was to make me more humble. The hottest girls are the girls that can understand me. The most attractive girls are girls who can pronounce English correctly. What a turn on to hear proper grammar and intonations. Subject / verb agreements used properly gets me all excited.

I've been spending a few moments at Teabo Lounge on McFadden, and I have to say that Vietnamese girls in the OC are fucken fine compared to Vietnamese girls in Saigon. It's the weather. It's the style of dress. It might be the make up and how the cake isn't running off in the heat. Maybe seeing a girl in a car just gives them more class than seeing a girl on a scooter. Vietnamese American girls are actually pretty damn amazing. Too bad, I'm a loser and can't get with any. Speaking of which, there's this one waitress at Teabo that was there a year ago when I came back last May. Her eye makeup was so beautiful that I can't help but by mesmerized. To put it, it was the simplicity of her complexity that was the catalyst of my infatuation. Coming back into reality, I didn't even get a good look at her, but the mere fact that her voice was flawless, inspired me to work even harder at improving my own self before I can pursue a girl like that.

It's interesting how the tides have turned. In Vietnam I was such a baller. I was way more confident about money. In America, I'm a part of the crowd. I blend in well. In other words, I'm not as special. This just fine because in America, there are way more women who would want to spend time with me because they simply like me, as opposed to liking my money or where I live. It's a trade off, but that's okay. I'm sure I can find a more meaningful relationship this way.

Typical day.

2013-04-01T03:10:00.002+07:00

This morning was special because my alarm woke me up once. Lately, despite the inability to sleep meaningfully, my body’s natural clocks have been causing me to stir exactly around 6 AM. The heat isn’t the issue because my room is rather chilled, and urination isn’t usually that necessarily because I try to empty my bladder as much as I can before bed time. I hurried out of bed, attempted to eat the remaining fried fish and rice com from last night that I half finished because I couldn’t finish from exhaustion. The previous night was full of surprises and miscalculations. I was busy up to the final moments and I’m paying for it right now.

Where am I? I’m sitting at Gate 16 at Tan Son Nhat next to the vents hiding from the setting sun’s glare. I’m embarrassed to say that my laptop is fricken dusty. This old Chinese woman next to me must be judging me. Damn you, sun. This was exactly what I thought when I was on the back of a xe om heading towards Bien Hoa. Normally, I’m not that stupid and would prefer to take the bus, however, lately I’ve established a decent relationship with this xe om man and I wanted to help him start his weekend off right. When we finally got to Bien Hoa, having passed all the northern districts like Tan Binh, and then towards Thu Duc, Di An, Binh Duong, and then finally to Dong Nai, my ass was extremely sore. Passing Binh Trieu reminded me of Emi for a moment. I wondered what she was doing in Hanoi. I still think about her from time to time. I remembered how she used to take the bus from Thu Duc to the city center to go to school. My last time on a bus to Bien Hoa was horrific with awful crowding and 90 minutes of standing amongst shady looking mofos. This was pure desperation. I was running low on time and wanted to help a friend as well. I don’t recommend this.

I went over to a cousin’s house, and she had crap for my mother waiting in a suitcase I left behind there. My aunts In America love that dried fish shit. Another cousin over there likes the dried onions. She claims that the ones sold in America aren’t as good. I think she just likes to torture me. So with a full suitcase I headed back to Saigon via taxi, which was about 500,000 Dong. The ride only took about 45 minutes as opposed to 90 minutes, but a bus would have cost 15,000 Dong. Lifestyles of the rich and famous right there. Do I feel guilty? Hell ya. What can I do about it? Not much. Coming home, I realized that I was suddenly starving. The beef with vinegar they treated me with was delicious. The slab of beef was the largest I’ve seen and might have easily been a million Dong. I felt bad for letting them pay, but they insisted, and I wasn’t about to get into a fight over it.

I grabbed some lunch after arriving home and while watching Dragon’s Den I mentally packed . With a few moments left, the packing began. I had an hour, and I used up every last bit. I hate packing. Before each trip, I keep thinking I’m forgetting something major. I run through the room a few dozen times just to make sure. I make sure I made sure. Today was no exception. In fact, today was a royal pain in the ass because my room was and still is messy. I just cleaned it a few days ago. How the hell did it get so messy again?

I’m resuming this on the airplane now. I’m seated in the very back row on the far corner. I asked for the exit row, but they thought an old man was stronger than me so they opted to give it to him. Nevertheless, I’m trying to fight off sleep here. If I sleep now, I won’t be able to sleep when it really counts on my next flight. I’m squished to the right next to a massive Chinaman and there’s virtually no leg room at all. I can’t believe I paid three dollars for bottled water at the airport. I haven’t been able to hold my urine in for whatever reasons today. It started with drinking a gigantic coconut in Bien Hoa. I would go every 15 minutes for whatever reasons. Now, I have to go again even though I already went twice before departure. This isn’t normal. I didn’t even drink that much water. Speaking of which, now I’m kind of thirsty, but my water is in my bag, which is out of reach. The turbulence right is pretty awful. The plane is shaking, and I feel like I’m about to barf because they are bringing out the food. Oh god, why do the Vietnamese flight attendants seem so submissive and get easily dominated by the Taiwanese one. Why do the Taiwanese ones always yell at me to switch off my phone, and then get the Vietnamese one to translate even though I replied back in English, “It’s in airplane mode.” My God, the turbulence is awful. This is borderline scary. The jittering isn’t help my bladder either. I wonder how the flight attendants feel about their jobs.

Back at the airport, after bidding farewell to my checked in bags, I had to wait a bit for the additional screening. One look at me and they gestured me in. There were three men in the room. My parents would have been very scared. I had a smile on my face because I knew what was happening. The older man asked me about some speakers I had, and I recited a story about how I bought them for my friends as gifts. He asked me if I had the receipt and of course I didn’t. Then he asked to see my passport and where I was going. He flipped through the visa pages and noted Cambodia, Thailand, and claimed that I was very rich. I told him that I only go to poor countries. All three of them laughed. I started laughing too. Then they let me go after discussing Thailand for a bit. It was a merry time. It could have ended much worst, but it didn’t.

Man, I’m exhausted. I hate flying. The first ten minutes have been hellish. Three more hours, then 12 more hours.

I’m sitting at home now. It’s the day after. I feel fine. Not jet laggin’ at all, yet I feel somewhat anxious. This is a quick trip to sort a few personal things out. But let’s take you back through the flight via Silver Linings Playbook, Tai Chi Zero and Tai Chi Hero. I sat through three movies in the middle of a relatively uneventful flight. Taipei to Los Angeles was grueling to say the least. The flight was crowded with Cambodians heading to Florida. Tao Yuan International Airport is amazingly modern. I was on the lookout for some G-Shocks but the selection was limited. I didn’t really eat any food on the airplane except for crackers and fruit. I don’t understand why all airplane food smells the same. One whiff of it often makes me want to gag. I think I have some kind of inner ear disorder. It’s very easy for me to get motion sickness. I can get it almost instantly without much effort. I’m realizing how scattered and disorganized this paragraph has been. But it’s okay, I’m trying to recall as much information as possible and there’s really no organization behind it, which kind of bothers me.

Taiwan was raining, and it was cold. I was shivering upon landing, but I didn’t want to go right away for my jacket because I wanted to be trendy in a t-shirt. Priorities, Kyle. Priorities. At LAX, I found out that they lost a luggage of mine as I waited and waited. The suitcase with crap for my aunts made it safely, but all my clothes and essentials were gone. I hope China Airlines calls me back soon because that suitcase had some irreplaceable valuables. I’d be heartbroken if I didn’t get it back. California is colder than I last remembered. I shivered some more as soon as I got out of LAX. The terminal entrances with cars whizzing by always excites me. The loud rumble of the jets and buses remind me that I’m in relatively modern city. The lack of honking also is pleasant on the ears everywhere I’ve gone. I haven’t gone anywhere yet. Asians speaking perfect English also intimidated me at first. I felt foreign. I felt out of place. Strangely, I felt at eased when I heard Spanish being spoken. Life’s strange. It’s weird to hear Vietnamese people who don’t sound like people from the countryside here. It’s kind of cool.

America is vast. It’s empty. I feel empty. I can’t wait to see friends. The next week is going to be awesome as I ultimately have to make a decision about my immediate future.

That feeling / 700

2013-03-29T07:47:00.001+07:00

I hate that feeling of waking up early and not being full rested. You know, that feeling where your arms are tired and your body feels like it's hollow inside. Whenever you blink your eyes get heavy and you just want to rest them. Your mouth parts a little bit as your breath through it to ease your exhaustion. I hate this feeling of being drained and having to things to do and places to go. Why can't it just be a little simpler in the grand scheme of things? People say that living in Vietnam is full of leisure. I think these are the dumb backpackers talking or locals without drive speaking. Every foreigner I know who works here works like crazy. Is 24 hours in a day really enough to accomplish every task on the table? Napoleon thought sleep was a waste of time. I tend to agree with his antics, especially the whole putting the hand in the shirt thing, but I have to admit that it seems redundant to keep writing about how tired I am. I'm sure you all in America are tired. Maybe, not so much physically, but mentally. I guess mentally I'm more tired than I am physically. I had some live oysters last night that isn't agreeing with my stomach this morning.

I can't believe this plate was 15 dollars.

The point of this post was to say thanks to all the subscribers out there who not only subscribed, but kept their subscription. 700 is a huge number and I never thought I would get there on my own. I'm glad I didn't have to resort to cheap tactics like sucking up to other more well established YouTubers just so I can get more viewers, nor do I whore my shit on other people's popular videos. Everything that I've established has been a result of your searches or friendly word of mouth. For that, I'm thankful that I didn't sell out. You won't see ads or banners on my videos. I will never ever do that for a few measly dollars. This is why your donations are appreciated. As long as I'm here, I'll continue to post videos. It's up to you to watch them and to tell your friends. Now it's time for you to like the facebook fan page www.facebook.com/kylele.net But only tell your friends to like it if they really like my product. I don't want anyone to forcefully like it. There are exciting times ahead. Check back soon and you'll see. The future is very bright. In the mean time, please excuse the lack of updates for the next eight to ten days or so. I'll be traveling to a top secret location.