What is that smell??!!

OK. Since the picture of me was posted, I will have tell you the story. But please indulge me as I set it up first. I truly hope I can do it justice without completely grossing you out or offending you in the process.

On Tuesday the 30th, Randy, Mike and I decided to head into Saigon to visit some tourist sites. Randy also really wanted to see the new Park Hyatt hotel which was just finished within the year. The hotel is 5-star all the way and is absolutely stunning; even for American standards. We quickly found the bar and restaurant on the first floor. I am also happy to report that the bathrooms were just as stunning; complete with hot and cold running water and actual toilet paper which, we had very quickly ascertained in the early days of our trip, are not widely available in any public facilities. Ugh.

We were in heaven here. The service was impeccable and the food and wine, divine. We snuggled down into fabric covered sofas and chairs. Soft music was playing in the background as we thoroughly enjoyed our respite.

After we finished our first course of drinks and hamburgers, we decided to walk across the street to another wonderful, 4-star hotel called the Caravelle. One of the bars/restaurants is located on the top floor. It has a beautiful, 180 degree view of the city and a roof-top deck. We sat inside next to the windows which are just large wooden shutters that can be pulled open to maximize your view. This bar was a bit more lively but the most memorable part was watching a storm come into the city. It brought a lot of wind, thunder and lightening. Within minutes, a heavy monsoon type rain began to pound on the city and flood the streets. It was really breathtaking and Randy even felt that it was magical. We decided to wait out the storm before heading back across the street so we wouldn't get soaked.

The rains subsided after about 15 minutes and we needed to get back to our taxi so we could go to Khan's home for dinner. There is a restaurant just off the lobby on the ground floor and as we walked by, it smelled really strong. The smell was very fishy, but not quite. The general consensus was that we were all glad that we didn't eat there because it smelled horrible. As the doors opened to the outside, we were again greeted by an intense, highly offensive odor. I commented that the sewer systems might be bit backed up from the rain and that we might be smelling that. We saw many people holding their noses; some even having stuffed kleenex up their nostrils.

What happened next was straight out of a movie. All of our comments, thoughts, olfactory and visual senses blended together instantaneously. We were walking in an inch deep soup of...you guessed it...pure human feces!!!!!

Before you knew it we were slipping around, desperately trying to find a way across the street that didn't involve stepping in ankle, and in some places, calf deep sewer water. Randy was screaming and I kept yelling, "Oh my God Randy, Mike, it's SH**&/T, it's SH**&/T!". It was every man for himself at that point! We each did our best to navigate without falling down or flipping water up on our legs as we struggled to get across the street without getting splashed by the spray of cars and motor scooters.

As we made our way back to the taxi, we tried to get as much of the "soup" off of our shoes as we could. We finally made it to the cab but the poor driver eventually had to roll his window down to drown out the smell of what we had drug in.

Completely disgusting and the most horrific experience any of us has ever had. This includes Mike who, if you remember, was in the Peace Corp in Bolivia- another developing, third world country.

Now you may wonder what happened to our shoes? My was so kind as to wash mine at her brother's house (I am forever grateful My and owe you one), Randy left his in Vietnam in the hotel room, and Mike put his in the hotel garden that night, only to never be seen again.

Now we have told you the story. We debated whether we should publish it but after reading this you can understand the reason for the expression on my face in the photo. Despite all the chaos Mike, our ever diligent videographer, stopped to record the moment for posterity.