A street named Bui Vien & Birdy

a street named Bui Vien & Birdy
By Aly Abaquin

It was half past 11 when i and a friend decidely go to the backpackers area to
see the vast neon billboards, zooming in with our crazy cyclo driver cruising past the haute couture Dong Khoi St to the foreigner housed backpackers in Pham Ngu Lao. Welcome to Ho Chi Minh City -- Vietnam's largest and most exciting city. I told my friend as he was a first timer in this Paris of the orient.

That neon Crazy eyed Buffalo greeted as in Bui Vien... just infront of the equally bright rainbow colored NEON lighted GO Go disco tecnoh sounding bar with so many foreigners enjoying a cold drink of either with a 333 or tiger beer on hand.

Everything not sleepy here...how things have change as this district is more alive as its neighboring district who we've seen snorringly loudly in its dreamstate unaffected by this two streets in the heart of HCMC...
Great things to see in this night as it appears a lot of foreigners do their stuff. drink and be merry . Booze and be looze sort of thing here. For me it considered a tourist spot as well.....we see a lot of action .... if you are suffering insomia this is the best placed to be.... cause you can PARTEHHHH!!! no sleep walking allowed... the smell of pho being cooked in the side streets and the entreprenuerial vietnamese prepares their stall of banh mi heaven as the morning approaches ......scattered outside children with flowers and chewing gum selling to foreigners.....all this in a moments notice but beautifully adding character & color to this street called bui vien.

...as dawn is now just peeking to open its eyelids we are in the grocery store wandering what to drink to keep awake.... as we chance upon a BIRDY ca phe da...A CANNED coffee conccoction.....as we where about to purchase this quirkyly named drink..... An australian saw his buddy drinking it outside and told him HEY MATEYYYY!!! WHATTA YOU DRINKING.... the young bud answered my BIRDYYYYY!!!! the he shouted WHOAAA your birdy what hell matteyyyy a BLOW JOB IN CAN!!! then everybody laugh me too can't stop laughing...intrigue whatta hell we might as well try it for only 15.000 dong and BOOm BOOM included LOL..... Arggguelably the taste of the robusta coffee was not right and bitter at that.. just right for hang overs...i told myself ..so Mateyyy or not this abroginal just like plain water.... turns out to be simple thrist quencher.... but was still giggly in the way this birdy thing is about....so we decided to stay put in one of the watering holes, beside our birdy is all up anyways..... ;)