Fish Massage

So, first off, just got back from a massage. It was 1.5 hours for 200,000 Dong or $10!  

It was much different than a massage back home, this place is nice and they incorporate thai, swiss, indian and other techniques.  Let me describe further.  Swiss massage, many know of, but they use their hands to get underneath shoulder blades, seemingly between your joints, and relax the face and scalp. Thai massage is the use of the foot, and the masseuse holds onto a bar fixed on the ceiling to avoid applying too much pressure.  One would think that a eight pound lady couldn't apply much pressure, but I was surprised as I was wincing with borderline pain.  I didn't think it was that different, but the way they work their feet on your back seems to feel like it hits spots that the hands don't.  One foot is working your calf region, while the other is on your upper back.  I am not sure, but it seemed like the masseuse was doing the splits on my back.  The next was Indian (I think).  It was mostly the use of knees and almost uncomfortable straddling of your back. Since Krisy had the prenatal/ light touch massage, she said she looked up and was wondering what the heck the lady was doing.  I had never had someone massage me with thier knees, but it was circular motions on the back.  We were then sat up, served some tea, then laid back down and they gave a really great leg and foot massage.  

It was this very interesting place that also has a fish massage. Yes, fish.  You can stick your feet into a big fish tank that is full of minnow size fish that eat the dead skin off your feet and legs.  I am usually up for whatever, but once they started swimming all around nibbling at my feet, I couldn't deal with it.  I thought that it would be too ticklish for Krisy and was surprised that she eventually was ok with it.  She let those little guys do their thing and I just watched.  

By the time we left the place, we were hungry and found a Texas BBQ restaurant.  With so many expats here, a wide variety of food is plentiful, so we decided to have a little piece of the U.S.  We went with other co-workers, so were able to see everything on the menu.  The meat was falling off the ribs and the BBQ sauce was pretty good,  even my Buffalo wings were pretty good.

For around $30 we had a night that would've been over a couple hundred back home.  It was a good way to end a really busy week.

Today marks about 25 days of living in HCMC, and it's crazy to think that we've been here almost a month.  It has been a whirlwind couple of weeks, but hopefully things are settling down a little bit.  Krisy's morning sickness, which lasts all day, has made traveling on the weekends a little impossible, but hopefully it's over in a couple of weeks and we can start to see the country a little more.

The city starts to wear on a person, and I think that it's time for us to get out soon.  There is so much to see and explore in the city, but the constant traffic, horns, pollution, and everything else, starts to tire anyone that's used to having nature in their life.  At least there are tons of places to get a good 2.5 hour massage for under $20!!!
The people here are very friendly and it never really feels unsafe.  I have been to some places in other countries that just feel like something could happen, but here feels a little better.  There are tons of ex-pats here and because of this, there is a wide range of good restaurants to choose from. The small motorbike, usually under 150cc's, is the life line of this city.  The people can do or carry just about anything on these scooters.  They make deliveries to job sites, take the entire family to school and work, carry livestock, tourists, and some of them are even crafted to be somewhat of a pickup with a front that has two wheels and half of a truck bed. A great pictoral book on this is "Bikes of Burden," by Hans Kemp.

The city is in the middle of a boom.  There are cranes across the skyline with new, luxurious buildings, like the one we live in, are going up left and right.  Believe it or not, it feels the exact opposite from back home where the economy is fairly stagnant. I am not saying that it's a better place or that it's a wealthier country, but if you are an entrepreneur, this is a great place to be.  I heard a report that it's one of the fastest growing economies in the world next to China.  I doubt it will be any time soon, but bubbles eventually burst, so hopefully, it levels out a little.
The people are hard-working, resilient, and always seem to be going.  Although there is a language barrier and I'm new here, people seem friendly for the most part.  Before we moved here, the question of how they would react to U.S. citizens came up quite often.  I can assure you that it's much more welcoming than places I've been in South or Central America.
Although there are many memories of the war, the country and the people have tried to move forward and not dwell on it.  If you visit the War Remnants Museum (formerly the War Crimes Museum) then you will see that it's not forgotten, but just part of their past.  Keep in mind, that this country is well over a thousand years old (gained independence from China in 930AD) and before the U.S. war here, the French had colonized and occupied it for around a hundred years.  So it seems that there are more ill feelings towards the French and China then the U.S.

There are tons of foreigners here.  Many from the states, the U.K. and mostly from Australia.  The country, or at least HCMC, is witnessing a huge change.  Highways are being built, more and more cars are on the streets and the skyline is moving up and out.  As I look out my window, I see a 66 story skyscraper being built.... that's larger than any in Denver!  Someone told us that just before they broke ground the developer bought a personal helicopter, so he wanted a helipad added.  As the building touches the sky, there is now a helipad hanging off the side, so he can land at his office. It looks similar to that building in Dubai.
It is a great time, maybe the best, to be here.  We can still go to areas and witness how older Vietnam might have been, but can also go get a good meal or anything else we need.  This is also good, because the health care has come a long way and now that we're going to be having a baby here, that is very important.

Since two weeks ago when we found out that Krisy was pregnant, things have started to soak in and allow us to become more comfortable with having our child here.  We went out to a neighborhood today called An Phu, where a large ex-pat community lives.  We noticed tons of young parents with both young babies and older children that looked like they've grown up here.  There are lots of resources, good people and good health care ran by the French.
Now all we got to do is hope Krisy feels better soon, so that we can get out and have more to show you all!