Good Afternoon Vietnam!

Off I set, on Monday morning, on the nicest bus I've been on so far, it wasn't four decades old, and with only nine of us between forty-five seats, there was plenty of space to stretch out!

I soon got chatting to a lovely couple from the U.K. - Paul is a Brit and his wife, Carolina, is Argentinian. We soon had the world map out and she was giving me great advice about the best things to see in South America, and how to get around! Just hope I don't forget it all before next spring!

The passage to Vietnam was very smooth, so much so that I completely missed our river crossing on a ferry, not quite sure how that happened, but never mind. Soon, we were at the Cambodian-Vietnam border, a far cry than the one from Laos. Here, there are casinos along the roadside, and there's an actual building with passport control, X-ray machines and duty-free!!!

We arrived in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC, or Saigon for old-schoolers), just as the thunderous deluge began. Thank goodness I had put my waterproof cover over my rucksack before setting out that morning! It quickly became apparent that the stories of Vietnam being more expensive were indeed true, $10 for a single room!!! Well, that might not sound like much, but don't forget, last week I paid only 50p!!!

I'm not quite sure how it came about, but soon a Vietnamese lady was escorting us down a side alley and before I knew it, I had arranged a room for myself for $5, which was actually big enough to sleep three people, with it's own balcony nonetheless! Paul & Carolina had got a similar deal barely round the corner, and we were staying in local houses, rather than the usual guesthouses, which made a refreshing change.

We arranged to meet that evening for dinner, after the rain had stopped. I made my way over to their place, but there was no sign of them yet, so a spent a long hour chatting to their hostess and playing with her two tiny chihuahuas, Boh Boh and Moh Nee. So cute, but hard to believe that they are actually dogs and not large rodents!!! She gave me a sweet green bean snack to try, which was not too bad - I was not so keen on the milk snack, which was like sweet, cheesy, gone-off milk. Oh well, at least I wasn't rude and I did indeed finish it all off.

Anyway, once the guys had emerged from their room, we headed out for dinner, which was remarkably cheap, it was Happy Hour and our food was discounted by 10%, first time I had seen that! We arranged to meet up the following day for a wander around HCMC.

Off we set on Tuesday morning to the large market in the Cholon area, around 6km away from where we were staying. We decided that it would be lovely to stroll along the Saigon River en route (mistake - poo!!!) and then it seemed like our destination would never appear - it was lunchtime by the time we arrived and I was thoroughly drained by the stifling heat and craziness of the motorbike drivers here. MUM - please note that although I had to walk out in front of seething masses of bikes, none of them hit me and as I am here writing this, you can see I'm not in traction somewhere!

Cholon Market, Ho Chi Minh City

After seeing a couple of pagodas later on, I needed to get back home for a nap, which took longer than expected as there happened to be a huge university complex right over the direct path I would have liked to have taken! That evening, I organised a day-trip to the Mekong delta and purchased an air ticket from Hanoi to Bangkok, so I need to be 1000km northwards by Bonfire Night!

Yesterday, I went on the delta trip, and it was OK. Another box ticked, but I have indeed seen enough of the mighty Mekong for several lifetimes. We visited a coconut candy 'factory' (which is delicious and very chewy, like a cross between coconut fudge and toffee) and a honey farm where I held a python! After lunch, we took kayaks along canals shaded by water palms (I was waiting for Martin Sheen to appear from the depths as any moment!) to sample some local fruits and hear traditional Vietnamese music.

Rowing down the Mekong Delta

Last night, it was again time for me to be productive and organise my transport for the next two weeks. It took several pages of notepaper and a lot of guide-book studying, but for $40, I am taking an open bus to Nha Trang tonight (sleeper, to save on accommodation), and then I will have stops in Hoi An, Hue and finally arriving in Hanoi in about a week's time, so I can visit Halong Bay and be back in good time to get to the airport for my flight to BKK.

So, today, I have been wandering about the city, trying to dodge the traffic and moto touts, who don't seem to understand that some of us are content to walk for free! I also plucked up the courage to get a haircut! Yikes, after one I had in Korea 18 months ago, that was quite a feat, believe me. But rest assured, I do NOT look like a small Vietnamese boy and for £1.82, who could complain?

So I have a few more hours to kill, and hopefully I can get back into the guesthouse to retrieve my backpack (as I can't quite remember which shop the lady works in, if she isn't at home!) This internet cafe is cheaper than the one I've been using previously in HCMC, only 13p per hour! Although it stinks of old houses!!! So, off I go to Nha Trang, which is supposed to be a beautiful beach town, althought the whole of Vietnam seems to have thunderstorms forecast for the next 10 days or so... Poncho anyone?