Saigon

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Saigon ... Oh dear what a nightmare!?!
We arrived in Saigon after a nine hour bus journey from Da Lat!
Knowing that Saigon is the largest metropalis in Vietnam, we kind of expected it to be heaving...but nothing could of prepared us for the mahem of this city!!!
Since arrival, we have discovered that pavements according to the Vietnamese living here, are not for pedestrians to walk on, they are in fact used for everything else but this!!!! This includes a car park for hundreds of bikes (to the point you have to walk on the road, weaving in-between thousands of bikes), it also becomes a second road (just for those times when the traffic gets really bad) and for setting up your road side food stalls...and last but not least a place to store loads of live chickens in cages!!!
There are around 3 million bikes registered in this city, and our first encounter with road side walking and road crossing, was mannick!!! At one point we considered getting a taxi.......just to cross the road!!!?!!!
The hotel we are staying in is $12 a night of SKANK!!! It feels like we're sleeping in the upstairs room of the old youth club in Faiford, with the same stained Walls and manky carpet! It's also riddled with bugs... Ewwwwwwwww!?! We can't wait to get out of Saigon!?!
As 2012 was released to cinemas in Vietnam yesturday, we went to go and see it and both thouroughly enjoyed it!!!
We're hoping to watch Jim Carrey's new film 'A Cristmas Carol' in 3D tonight too!!!
Anyway our soul purpose for coming to Saigon, was to get out Cambodian visa's. They will be ready for us to collect on Monday, so we will be travelling into Cambodia next Tuesday 24th, via bus. Our first stop will be Phom Pen!!!

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Comments

[julia]

Everything Changes
Hi darlings, guess you country folk are in a culture shock being in Ho Chi Min City! it sounds a bit like Stroud on a bad day lol. Mind you, you have been in the countryside for a number of weeks enjoying the peace and tranquility, so the city life will seem a lot faster. Skype tomorrow kiss kiss

[Aunty Ann]

What a different world!
Dear Leonie and Rik, Have been making the Christmas puddings and cake today. They are now steaming and baking away for the next 6 or 2 hours! As always, very interesting to hear from you about another part of the world. Sometimes when we feel very overcrowded here in England we need to think about other places. I think that Uncle Geoff, who is at the top of a very wet and windy Welsh hill at the moment, would have a nervous breakdown within an hour of being in Saigon. Hope that you get the needed paper work soon and are back into the wonderful countryside before too long. Love seeing all the photographs too. Lots of love to you both, Aunty Ann For the Woodley and Preston Massive xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx