Anh Does Vietnam - First Season

Vietnam is a beautiful country

but I was born after a long war had just ended

and because my family fought alongside Aussies and Americans,

we had to flee our homeland.

Today I return to this fascinating place to show you around.

Welcome to Vietnam.

I'm heading from south to north,

to meet the locals...

Keep going, she says. Keep going.

..and taste the flavours...

Oh, the rabbit creature!

..in the country where I was born.

Oh!

I learn about life on the streets...

Aah! You're sucking my nipples through my chest! Aargh!

..on the rivers...

Does anyone want to get one of these crazy fruits?

Price check, aisle three.

..in the traffic...

He's got his foot on the tail to make sure it doesn't fall off.

..and try to find out who I'd be if I hadn't turned out Aussie.

Go! Huh.

Hi-ya!

This is going to be an incredible ride.

It's harder than it looks.

I'm starting my journey in Saigon, not too far from where I was born.

Whether you call it Ho Chi Minh City or Saigon,

everyone here likes to socialise.

They do as much as possible together.

They eat, they gossip, they eat again,

they play, they eat some more, they work,

they take a break to do some more eating,

then exercise to burn it all off.

The best way to start the cycle is first thing in the morning.

If New York is a city that never sleeps,

Saigon is a city that never sleeps in.

The Vietnamese like to exercise all together out in the open.

In every park across Vietnam,

there are millions of people exercising.

What better way to start your day than pretending to be a conductor...

..practising the bongo drums

or maybe just walking backwards?

Got your '80s aerobics, your martial arts guys

and, of course, your old ladies with the scary swords.

It's a bit like the movie 'Kill Bill'

but set in an old folks' home.

This is good, isn't it?

Good for the calves.

When I go back to Australia,

I'm gonna teach my personal trainer this move.

Hey, guess what?

I've just rocked up

and they're going to let me take over this aerobics class.

OK, I'm gonna show you some Australian moves.

Just copy me. No worries.

This one's called the sprinkler.

Oh, yeah.

That's good. Oh, yeah.

This one's the lawnmower.

OK, you ready for shaking the dice?

Oh, yeah! Look at that!

Now we've got the reverse park.

And my favourite, walking into a spider web.

Whoo!

The Vietnamese love to laugh,

even though they've had a very tough history.

It's easy to forget that the people here lived through 30 years of war.

Millions died

and others, like my family, were forced to leave.

When I was only two,

my father packed all of us onto a little boat and fled Saigon,

looking for a safer life.

We were lucky enough to end up in Australia.

I do sometimes wonder how different my life would have been

had I grown up in Vietnam.

Who would I be now?

What kind of jobs would I have done?

Maybe I could have been a cyclo taxi driver.

I'm in Backpacker Street, where all the tourists and Aussies are.

The cameras are hidden.

I wonder, will anyone pick me as a ring-in?

Hey, you need a cyclo? You need a really good one?

I am very fast!

I am the silver service!

Anyone need deluxe cyclo?

In a city where there's thousands of cyclos,

it must be impossible to eke out a living.

And these guys earn less than $2 an hour.

A cyclo, sir?

No, I am very cheap.

I give you first 20 metres for free.

You like my Aussie accent?

How ya goin', mate? Ya goin' alright?

Julia Gillard, she's a ranga.

No, I don't live in Australia.

Oh, hello. Look at this. Hello!

This is hard work, man. How do these guys survive?

OK? I take you, man. Yeah. OK.

You big guy. I have to charge you more.

Big American man.

You broke my cyclo, man.

I'm sorry.

You bomb my country and now you break my cyclo!

OK! 50 dong for you and 50 dong for him.

Oh, that's 100 dong! 100! Yeah!

How about 80 dong for both? OK. Let's do it.

Done. Jump on.

No, no, no! Not yet!

Alright, now you get on. Hopefully you not too heavy.

Where you from? Australia.

Yeah? Australia!

Byron Bay. Where? Byron Bay.

Just about... Oh, you a rich bogan!

Yeah.

Hey, I just like the taxi drivers in Sydney.

You want to smell my BO?

A cyclo, gentlemen?

Hey, Anh. Hey, Anh. How you goin'?

No, I am not Anh.

What's going on, guys?

Not much. Busted.

Oh!

Another Aussie. Another Aussie? No!

I am Vietnamese!

But you live in Australia. Wow!

Ooh! It's a bit rickety, Anh. Please don't get me hit.

Locals good drivers or what?

Um, well, I was actually in a scooter crash yesterday, Anh.

Really?

I was on the back and she T-boned the other scooter.

No way!

And we ate shit but no skin off, so happy days.

Oh, man.

Hey, this cyclo driving is a breeze.

I am on easy street.

Oh, jeez! That's not good.

Maybe this isn't the life for me.

I grew up playing every kind of sport

and kids here are no different.

But if you want to hang out with the best,

you come here, to the local martial arts pagoda.

This is centuries-old practice

combines medicine, meditation and martial arts.

It's called nam huynh dao and this is their headquarters.

This is all about mind, body, soul and tradition.

It's a philosophy that has been handed down for generations.

These blokes have been training for 18 years or more.

They're known as the disciples.

The bangles are really heavy and are used for strength training.

It's incredible to watch.

Ha! Ah!

Oh, man. That's gotta hurt!

He didn't even flinch.

Ya!

Hah!

I've just been invited into the master's training room

to join a class.

This is where the best of the best train.

Cam on.

Let's see if I'm worthy.

Jackie Chan, watch out.

OK. It seems I'm not worthy.

I've just been sent to train with the kids.

Whoa!

Whoa! Hi-ya!

The old shoe flying off trick.

Still works every time.

OK. This one is called the Aussie ninja.

Aussie ninja from Australia.

Yeah. Whoo!

Eh? That's impressed them. Eh?

Look at that, kids.

And you've gotta get the tongue happening too.

Glad he's enjoying himself.

Whoo! Yeah!

Markets in Vietnam are the heart of every community.

The Vietnamese don't do a weekly shop like us Aussies.

If our family had stayed, our life would have been like this.

Mum would head out to the market at least once a day,

and not only to buy food -

markets are like a giant $2 shop.

In Vietnam, you can buy just about anything you want

and for a few dollars,

you can get people to do just about anything for you.

That's good. Mmm.

Beautiful. (LAUGHS)

Just a little bit higher.

Oh, that's good.

Oh, hello. Can I get a double choc-top?

Beautiful, hey?

How good's life? Oh!

In Vietnam, everything happens on the street.

Even some doctors practise on the side of the road.

I'm waiting for a guy called Mr Lam.

He's a doctor of traditional medicine.

This is his waiting room and his surgery.

Here he is now. Lam!

Mr Lam is a cupping specialist.