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Other entries in Saigon

Good Morning Vietnam

We arrived in Vietnam on Monday I think!! We flew into Ho Chi Minh City which by the way is 6hrs ahead of SAfrica and so we are feeling the jet lag!!

Ho Chi Minh which used to be called Siagon is very busy and pretty dirtyand very smelly! There are 7 million people and 4million motorbikes on the streets. The roads are manic and so noisy, the traffic and the horns never stop and the noise gets to you! Crossing the road is a real art especially as people drive on which ever side of road they like and sometimes on the pavements. We have never seen anything like it. Cross the road slowly dodging the cars and letting the bikes dodge you.

Our hotel is quite luxurious with a lounge area, tv and ensuite bathroom in our room and no cockroaches yet! And is costing the same as hostels in SA. We have explored the city loads our feet are killing and we are now quite good at crossing the road. But we still cant get used to people sleeping on motorbikes or eating their dinner squatting on the pavement. Seeing Tai Chi in the park in the morning and badminton (without raquets just hands feet or shoulders)was cool.

On wednesday we went on a trip to the Mekong Delta. This was cool a boat ride and visiting the islands. We saw the floating houses and the way people live is eye opening, we even got rowed down the river that was very tranquil.

Everything here is pretty cheap but with 30 000 dong to the pound it is hard to get our head round. Some things are in USdollars but they don't understand that this doesnt help as we haven't got a clue how many dollras to the pound - we are in Vietnam not USA! The shops are selling some beautiful stuff like carvings and paintings and silk. We have both had clothes made to order already - trousers and i am just going to pick up a dress in a min. The fabric is lush and they make it so quickly. Nothing has cost more than a tenner yet!!!I'm thinking about having a manicure as it only costs a pound!

Yesterday we went to the chinese quarter and visited lots of pagodas (temples) and Notre Dame Cathedral (and we're not even in france work that out)that was exhausting. Today we are gonna try and see all the sights we didn't see yet as tomorrow we fly up to Nah Trang. We will be glad to see some more of Vietnam and get out of the crazy city we're in but flying will be interesting as the airport looks like it is run by the army who are very scary looking by the way!

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