Day 3 Cai Be Mekong Delta

---

Last night we went on our XO Tour Saigon by Night. We were met at 6pm by 5 cute little ladies dressed in traditional white outfits and riding their Vespas. We climbed on the back and zoomed off into the most ridiculous traffic you can imagine.

After a quick safety lesson we were off. As we headed off I did wonder what the hell I had done paying to have my kids whisked off into oncoming traffic, with strangers on the back of motorbikes, but it didn't take long for the fear to vanish.

Considering we don't have the best history with motorbikes in foreign countries, we did feel surprisingly safe in the traffic.

It was an amazing way to see Saigon and especially at night. I don't think it would have been anywhere nearly as exciting if we were in a car, it really did make you were part of the bustle of Saigon.

We explored four different districts of Saigon, areas we would not normally have seen including the oldest parts of Saigon, the poorest areas and also the new western style areas where all the expats live. our guide did a great job explaining everything to us and it was beautiful zooming over the bridges in all the sparkling lights and seeing everything first hand.

The other motorcyclists loved saying hello to the kids as we all waited in the traffic. Big smiles all round.

We stopped off in a big outdoor eating area and sat down in little kindy sized chairs while the ladies organised us some dinner. We all picked Bahn mi which was a fresh Vietnamese roll, filled with bbq pork and crackling, coriander, cucumber, onion and a fresh bbq style sauce. Paul had a dish that I cannot remember what it was called but it was basically a grilled bbq pork chop on rice with vegetables, apparently very very yummy.. Kids all loved their dinner and we washed it down with fresh sugar cane juice.

We headed back on the motorbikes to get dropped off at the hotel, a really terrific tour, much recommended. This one i booked from adelaide. It was $40 US a head for 2.5 hours including drop off, pick up and dinner, was well worth the money to feel safe with these people. They took some good photos of us all but they are emailing them to us so cannot load them just yet.

---

Photos

image
Harry tries fresh sugar cane juice

image
Delicious Bahn Mi (probably misspelt!) basically a Vietnamese roll filled with roast pork and diced crackling, coriander, salad and a yummy BBQ style sauce. Y.U.M!

image
Paul's grilled pork chop with rice and veg, sorry can't remember what it's called

image
This is what happens at the hotel when you ask for gluten free bread..... A whole selection for you to pick from.