Hi all,
I've been living in Saigon off and on for the past decade, and in that time, I had always hoped someone would write a book about the city (I'm a big reader, and writer). Well, since nobody ever did, I took it upon my self to do so.
This week I finally finished writing Bui Vien Boys, a travel adventure story set in the backpacker district of Saigon. I'd like to call it required reading for anyone considering a move to Vietnam, or Saigon, as it sums up just about all of the challenges, excitement, sights, smells, frustrations and ecstasies that anyone intrepid enough to move to VN will soon encounter.
Would appreciate your feedback on it.
Thank you all!
Amazon:
https://a.co/d/5UuGt2e
Synopsis:
'The backpacker district of Saigon is a raucous, 24-hour carnival of hostels, bars, clubs, tattoo studios, back-alley massage parlors, motorbike taxis, touts and half-the-time-they're-fake-drug dealers. Each night, a fresh wave of travelers descends upon its seedy streets to drink and drug, debauch and people-watch, and then leave, the very next day, because (almost) no one in their right mind is crazy enough to actually live here.
American writer Wes Turner, who believes Saigon's lurid Neverland is the only place in the entire world where he can be truly alive, is one of the crazy ones. As is Oliver Nguy?n, a Vi?t Ki?u who's returned to the Wild East to gamble his future on tech startup dreams. Gonzo, the 'salsa psychotherapist', Gaby, the newshound, and Stefan, the boy with the mind of a 65-year old sexpat, are also just insane enough to fit right into the chaos of the Khu Tây Ba Lô.
But life in Saigon's motorbike-clogged fast lane is full of potholes and pitfalls, as the boys soon discover. Here, if you stop moving, or slow down, for even a second, you're toast. And so, between motorbike trips through the Mekong Delta, spins through underground casinos, run-ins with Thai gem smugglers and increasingly dangerous dust-ups with the Vietnamese mafia, the Bùi Vi?n Boys must do all they can to keep their dreams, and themselves, alive.'
I've been living in Saigon off and on for the past decade, and in that time, I had always hoped someone would write a book about the city (I'm a big reader, and writer). Well, since nobody ever did, I took it upon my self to do so.
This week I finally finished writing Bui Vien Boys, a travel adventure story set in the backpacker district of Saigon. I'd like to call it required reading for anyone considering a move to Vietnam, or Saigon, as it sums up just about all of the challenges, excitement, sights, smells, frustrations and ecstasies that anyone intrepid enough to move to VN will soon encounter.
Would appreciate your feedback on it.
Thank you all!
Amazon:
https://a.co/d/5UuGt2e
Synopsis:
'The backpacker district of Saigon is a raucous, 24-hour carnival of hostels, bars, clubs, tattoo studios, back-alley massage parlors, motorbike taxis, touts and half-the-time-they're-fake-drug dealers. Each night, a fresh wave of travelers descends upon its seedy streets to drink and drug, debauch and people-watch, and then leave, the very next day, because (almost) no one in their right mind is crazy enough to actually live here.
American writer Wes Turner, who believes Saigon's lurid Neverland is the only place in the entire world where he can be truly alive, is one of the crazy ones. As is Oliver Nguy?n, a Vi?t Ki?u who's returned to the Wild East to gamble his future on tech startup dreams. Gonzo, the 'salsa psychotherapist', Gaby, the newshound, and Stefan, the boy with the mind of a 65-year old sexpat, are also just insane enough to fit right into the chaos of the Khu Tây Ba Lô.
But life in Saigon's motorbike-clogged fast lane is full of potholes and pitfalls, as the boys soon discover. Here, if you stop moving, or slow down, for even a second, you're toast. And so, between motorbike trips through the Mekong Delta, spins through underground casinos, run-ins with Thai gem smugglers and increasingly dangerous dust-ups with the Vietnamese mafia, the Bùi Vi?n Boys must do all they can to keep their dreams, and themselves, alive.'
