Final Stretch

Not to sound too much like Andy Rooney, but I really don't understand some nightclubs. I went out to "ladies night" at this club called Lush, which I actually went to last year when I was here. Clubs with a dance floor at least offer an opportunity for the attractive and well-coordinated people to go through an accelerated courtship process. Places like Lush, with just retarded loud music and people crammed into a dark space, seem to be merely feeding troughs for alcohol. We went because "ladies night" meant drinks are free for girls, perpetuating this feeling. One of Hien's friends, Annie, had invited me, telling me that she would just get free drinks, hand them under the table to me, and that everything would be cool. I agreed, and headed over there with Chad and his friend Charlie from England. We get there, and Charlie and Chad realize that they should probably just buy their drinks, but seeing as the only reason we came to this awful place was for free booze, I asked Annie and her friend Amy if they can score me free hooch. Annie and Amy were at the bar, and I suggested maybe we order the drinks further away to be discrete, but Annie seemed confident that this wasn't necessary. Well, drink number one got the attention of a bartender, and drink number two got me chewed out by her. The bartender and then a manager came out and demanded I pay. I just acted really stupid and nice, as if I had done nothing wrong and I'm having a hard time understanding what they're saying, hoping they would just leave me alone. Believe it or not, it actually worked. We left soon after, and did I yet another night at a karaoke bar, two in a row for me, and the fourth time in one week.

This morning, me and Hien went around town buying crap. I got Phi this plastic knock-off Jenga game, since I couldn't find the real wooden one. I got Hien this rubber ice tray that makes ice cubes in the shape of a fish, not knowing what else to get her. Later, I met up with Le Anne who took me to place that does rock climbing. It was in a sports complex, but outdoors. It went crazy high, but at first I was really gung ho about it. They give you a harness, and secure you with rope, and the people running it seemed pretty knowledgeable and attentive. I start climbing and get about maybe ten feet up, when I realize, "Oh my god, what the hell am I doing." I'm holding onto the side of this rock climbing wall, and now realize that, despite the place looking professional and legit, it's still Vietnam, where safety is hardly ever a concern, let alone a priority. I start to really wonder how much I really trust this rope that's the only thing from keeping me from plummeting down to the concrete below (no safety cushion, no helmets either) I look down, and realize that the only thing it's anchored to is just this guy, who probably should be paying attention, ready to brace himself and pull on the rope in case I fall, but he seems to be having a nice chat with the guy next to him, who is holding Le Anne's rope. I kinda realize that slipping off this thing may mean instant death, (or worse yet, a long stay at a Vietnamese hospital) so I made extra damn sure I didn't test out how secure the safety system was. I keep climbing as panic is setting in more and more, and I look over to Le Anne, who seems to be just calmly making her way up. I ask her, "Hey, Le Anne, what happens if you fall." She replies, "Oh, don't worry, you won't fall." Not really being 100% happy with that response at the moment, I then ask her something I probably should not have waited until I was 30 feet up on on the 60 foot wall to ask; "I mean, this rope will hold me if I do fall, right?" She just kinda giggled and said "Yeah."

At the half way point, I realize I'm getting a little tired. The guy securing my rope suggests I just let go and dangle there, to rest my arms. Very, very reluctantly, I slowly let go, and am now hanging in mid air. I figure at least I know the rope works now. Le Anne asks me how I'm doing. "Really scared," I reply. I tell her I think I'm just gonna go back from here, but seeing her casually go up, I stubbornly decide looking like a wuss is a worse fate than death, so I decide to march on. Next thing I know, I make it to the top of the damn thing. Now I gotta get down. The guy holding the rope earlier gave me a tutorial of what to do that was very informative, just very brief. He mentioned something about letting go of the wall, and holding the rope. I do this, again reluctantly. This ends up being the funnest part of the whole climb, since you repel down like some special forces training. Back on Earth, my heart was still racing, but now I was absolutely relieved to be alive. Le Anne asks how was it, I tell her I feel like I just drove through Saigon traffic for the first time, with the relief of living through something truly frightening (and probably legitimately dangerous) I felt now being very close to the one I felt the first time I rode a motorbike in Vietnam. I ended up climbing the wall again after about ten minutes, still kinda scarred, although significantly less so.

After that, went with Le Anne to get dinner with Phi and her friends. We went to this place called Lac Thai, an upscale Thai restaurant. Really great food, better than anything I got in Thailand. It being my last night, I tried to convince everybody to go out for - what else - karaoke, but most people were tired. Me, Phi and Thieu just ended up going to her dad's restaurant to hang out for a bit. Got home early. Honestly, I actually felt good about this, since all the lack of slep that I've had throughout this whole trip finally caught up to me. I was out by eleven, and woke up 8:30 this morning. The whole trip was just such a blast, that one giant last day send-off didn't seem necessary. Now I pack, and get ready for my flight to LA. I have nine hours in Tokyo for a layover, so I may go out to the city for a bit to check it out.