travels.0 [20/11/2006]

Okay, here goes. I'm at the end of my trip so I decided that I should start documenting everything I've been through in these past few weeks on my holiday. Right now I'm sitting in a netcafe killing time before our taxi comes to pick us up.
Before I left on this trip, I knew I would get alot of, lets say discrimination, for being what's called "Viet Kieu".

A Viet Kieu is a person who left Vietnam and is returning back (technically I guess I'm not a Viet Kieu since I never left Vietnam in the first place, but anyway...). A person can be a Viet Kieu even if they left Vietnam to go to Cambodia, that is, it's not exclusive to Western countries.
- Definition provided by Mike

Anyway, because of my whiter-than-asian skin, poor knowledge of the Vietnamese language and Eurasian looks, I'd get ripped-off and cheated by every street-vendor and salesperson in Vietnam, except in the supermarket where the prices are set. What I didn't count on was being treated like a non-vietnamese before I even left Perth.
On the Monday before leaving, me and Tri went to get a haircut in the city at that Chinese place next to Utopia Bubble Tea... I walked through the door and:

Girl: Chien tou fatt? (Haircut in Cantonese... )
Me: Buh..?
Girl: Hair Cut?
Me: Buh.. oh. Yeah. Please.
Girl: Sit right there.
[ haircut proceeds... to the washing stage ]
Girl 2: So what dialect do you speak? Cos you seemed to be like "Wha..." when she spoke to you?
Me: Uh... dialect.. um. Vietnamese?
Girl 2: Oh.
Me: Yeah.
Girl 2: You look Chinese.

Bah. Chinese. Yeah I guess this is a stupid way to start it, but I thought my days of being called Chinese were over. I used to get it alot before, walking into Dim Sum and being spoken to in Chinese, going into Chinese groceries and newsagents.... Okay, come ot think of it I've only ever been called Chinese specifically in Chinese locales. Maybe I dont look Chinese, just a random mix of Asian that you can't place? Anyway, this was just a nice bit of foreshadowing for my trip, and what I learnt from it was to take it as a compliment. Oh, and nothing against Chinese people in particular, it's just what I happen to get called the most.

Good luck penpals.

-pete.|