IndianaJanes and the Saigon Saga

Reliable information from the grapevine tells us that FOUR geocaches were sitting pretty in Sassy Saigon! No time to waste!

Fade in... Saigon

Hot dusty day, the traffic is relentless, dense groups of motorbikes rush past. Intense heat creates a shimmering mirage in the distance.

SAIGON
January 2007

The infamous IndianaJanes of Singapore geocaching fame (bwahaha..!) stand by the street staring helplessly at the endless traffic.

IJ2(gulps): We cannot cross this road.

IJ1: Now, IJ2, we don't want to be discouraged by every little thing.

Together, IJ1 and IJ2 steps bravely off the curb and into the oncoming traffic and lo & behold, a path magically opens up (like in the Wizard of Oz)! They tread slowly but surely across the road.

Woof!! Woof!! Is that DecoyDog over there or an imposter? Nah.. must be one of the native doggles.


IndianaJanes, now masters of road-crossing, weaved through the crowds easily, invisible to the masses yet with clear objectives in mind.

First stop - Saigon's First Micro.

Dodging health conscious Vietnamese muggles playing games and doing their evening stretching exercises in pajamas, IndianaJanes arrived at the location in no time.



IJ2: Oooops! I dropped a coin...!
IJ1: No worries, I'll pick it up for you. (groan,.. bend,.. voila!.. Cache at hand!!)



Brimming with confidence from their first success, IndianaJanes run in full stride to their next stop - ICE CREAM at Kem Bach Dang and a nice hot shower. Tomorrow will be another long day of geocaching and adventures!! Along the way, pink piggies wished them Good Luck! They're gonna need it...



Fade out...

Fade in - dense forests far far away in Cu Chi, a place rumoured to be a city above ground as well as UNDERground!! The challenge here is to find a virtual cache. At ground zero, there would be an object of significance.

Dangerous booby traps were scattered along pathways, faraway gun shots echo in the air, muggles in green uniforms stare with daggers in their eyes at IndianaJanes but our heroes march on bravely.



Scowling men with guns did not scare IndianaJanes. In fact, IJ1 flashed him back with one of her most hedious smiles!



After squeezing through A4 sized holes in the ground that we can barely fit through, crawling on all-fours like the Vietcongs in narrow tunnels underground and fighting tigers with AK47's, the IJ's, covered with dust and sweat, finally arrived at GZ (ground zero) and scored another winner!



Fade out...

Fade in - Fade in...!?! - oh..there's some problem with the fade in tonight.. See photo. Dark streets of Saigon was a good cover for young courting couples along the mekong river and in a little park in the middle of the road where our 3rd virtual cache stand - tall and still, 10 metres above the ground, finger pointing forwards.

Camera shutters were not doing their jobs tonight and refused to focus properly in the dim light so we left soon after taking down the name of the hero.



Finally, the forth and final cache in Saigon - another easy virtual, sitting just outside a hotel. One of those taxi in, taxi out geocaches. We had to find the name of the person who laid the foundation stone of the building and we were surprised to learn who it was!

The date has been photoshopped out so you can't cheat, if you're a geocacher hoping to find the answer here!

Saigon - another city conquered by IndianaJanes - fearless geocachers, tourists in disguise! We march off to find another nice coffee place for a well deserved cuppa and club sandwich, and to ponder about the exciting Saigon Saga and plan the next expedition! Where to next???



Fade out..