You can find the bar district down at the PALACE HOTEL, all of the taxi drivers know of this place. With a taxi, it is only three minutes away from the Rex. Just let yourself be driven down to the hotel, the bars can be found 50 metres further on… Here a few names: Enigma, Sweethart, Rosa, Red Dragon, just to name a few. First of all, we will visit the place during the daytime; one is able to get a better impression of the area on the photos.

A general good piece of advice, especially during the darker hours, is to get yourself a “proper” taxi (can be found quite often in front of the hotel, or down at the next corner). With this I mean a car and not a motorbike, they are no more expensive, they also have a meter and you are protected form the “extortionate tourist prices”. Are also supposed to be safe… Once again, Vietnam is considered to be Asia’s safest country to travel within (although there is the warning to watch out for pickpockets), but I will still pass on the advice I was given by the countries natives and expats, doesn’t cost anything, and you will be on the safer side of things.

Started of at the Palace Hotel and made a small trip around the block. The bars are still closed at this time of day, at the most, the numerous cafés are open, but as far as I am concerned, they have nothing to do with “sex tourism”. For those who have time and leisure, one can take seat in a café and wait and see who passes by. It is said that “something” can always be done, even during the daytime, especially with us being in the “right” place. I myself neither had the time, nor is it my method of working.

If one takes a walk around, one will get to notice the numerous massage parlours, whereby I must excuse myself again, I did not try any of them out, so I don’t know whether anything or what goes on there. From outside they look quite promising, even though experience tells me that such establishments are not all that reasonably priced.

There is a small adjoining park, with a huge statue of a pretty grim looking man from past times. Many hotels can be found here as well, and a beach with a very well looked after and neatly arranged park facility obviously invites many of the countries natives to spend their midday break there. Courting couples sit cuddling on park benches, and catch up on what they cannot get at home because of the houses being full of family. At least the part who are just scratching past a scandal… Schoolgirls (if you could call them that) sit around in groups chatting. As an older westerner, it is east to get into conversation with these girls, one is obviously still interesting, and ones own interest is responded to.

Of course, one is not spared from the usual persistent job offers made by those desperately looking for work: Rickshaw operators offer their services, I was only able to shake off a moped taxi driver by insulting him and continuously crossing the road… God was he persistent, a right stinker. Good that I had left my driver waiting in front of the palace. I quite understand that these people want to and must do business to be able to survive, but they should accept no for an answer at the latest after the third definite “no”.