1RNZIR Band Tour - Ernie Bate and children

Bdsm Ernie Bate poses with omnipresent street urchins outside the bands billet, the Metropolitan Hotel, in Saigon, November 1969.

Not visible in this photograph are concrete filled drums to prevent vehicles ramming into the hotel's entrance or small Military Police guard post outside the door. The hotel was in poor condition and somewhat unkempt. Water from its taps was not drinkable. The floor in a room shared by Bandsmen John Forrest and Terry Garmonsway featured a sizeable hole permitting an unobstructed view into the room below. Free entertainment!