HOME AWAY FROM HOME

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When our coach turned up we were surprised to find comfortable seats and air con that worked. This gave me a good chance to practice my ever improving napping skills - I managed to sleep most of the way. We made a silly amount of stops on the way - it seems that bus drivers in Vietnam don’t like to travel too far without having tea break.

As we reached the outskirts of Saigon we thought we were making good time. With about 45km to go we estimated we would probably arrive an hour early, but things all changed about 40km from the centre when we hit very slow moving traffic. When we finally reached the centre the first thing we noticed was the traffic - it was difficult not to. It was absolutely crazy with cars and mopeds packed tightly together like sardines in a can. The second thing we noticed was the wiring. Many places in Asia have crazy wiring but this really was something else.

We were met near our hotel by Mrs Long. We booked into her home stay but she didn’t have room for us until the following day. She has two spare rooms in her house which she lets out, they are ranked number one under specialist accommodation on trip advisor so she is always busy. We counted ourselves lucky to get in at all. We would be spending one night at her sisters hotel and would move the following morning. She took us to her home first and gave us iced water and talked us through the map. She then called her sister to let her know we had arrived. Mrs Long 2 arrived to collect us. She was a very jolly lady who couldn’t finish a sentence without bursting into laughter. She loved to tell stories of her past guests, but it was difficult to get a word in edgeways. She walked us around the corner and showed us to our room. She told us that Pete was in the room next door and that he had arrived in the morning still feeling a little unwell. We would have let him sleep but as Mrs Long 2 walked past his door she give it a knock and shouted “Peeeeete, your friends are heeeere” He appeared at his door looking a little dishevelled, we apologised for his untimely wake up call and after a quick chat told him to go back to bed.

Andy and I went off to get some lunch while Pete continued with his nap. Later in the evening we woke him up so we could go out for dinner and a few cocktails. You could tell Pete was not feeling 100 percent yet, all he had was soft drinks!

We didn’t get back too late, but the security gates were already closed so we had to ring the bell. When Mr Long 2 appeared at the door in his vest and slippers it was obvious we had woken him up. We felt pretty bad as we crept quietly up the stairs, although I’m not sure why because it was only 10pm.


We were up bright and early to join Mrs Long for breakfast. She made the most amazing roll which she explained as “everything is inside” It had a Char siu style pork, vegetables, salad and a sauce. She also made us jasmine tea and Vietnamese coffee, it was a perfect start to the day. We collected our bags from the hotel and moved into Mrs Longs home stay - it really was just like home. As we were leaving to go out for the day Mrs Long warned us of which ice was ok and which would make us unwell. She then said “if you’re thirsty you come home and I make you a drink” A place just like home was just what we needed after being away for so long.

We met up with Pete and planned to visit the market and the reunification Palace. After navigating some pretty scary roads we made it to the market. We had a good wander around, but it wasn’t a particularly enjoyable experience. We’ve been to many markets across the world but never to one with such persistent stall holders. We walked past all the main stalls but we couldn’t stop to look at anything, as soon as any interest was shown it was almost impossible to get away. All the stall holders were talking to us at once and some were following us so found the exit and left.

The Palace was closed for lunch so we had some time to kill. We went in search of somewhere to celebrate St Patrick’s day and somewhere that would be showing the Cheltenham Festival. We wandered into Sheridan’s Irish bar and ordered a round of beers. There were posters all over the walls advertising their St Patrick’s day party, but at $25 a ticket it was a bit rich for us. We’ve never paid that much for a ticket at home, so we were not about to pay it in Asia. We did stop for a few beers and we even ordered a bottle of cider. The cider was quite pricey and arrived at the table with wine glasses. The staff even asked us if we were sure we wanted it before they opened it. Since we had arrived in Asia this was the first time we had seen cider on the menu and we had been missing it so it tasted extra special. Thanks Pete for treating us.

After leaving Sheridan’s we realised that it was now too late to visit the palace so we carried on with our search for a bar. We didn’t have far to go. Just around the corner we found O'Brien's. They were having a free party on St Patrick’s day and they would be more than happy to search through all the channels to find some racing for us. We only intended to stay for a few drinks, maybe some dinner and then get back early so we were fresh for St Patrick’s day, but we ended up talking to Steve most of the night. He had recently relocated to Vietnam and had some very interesting stories to tell about how he toured with a famous darts player Andy Fordham.

It was much later than planned when we came to leave. We were just on our way out of the door when somehow we got chatting to the owner and a couple of ex pats. The owner bought us a drink and before we realised it was nearly 1.30am. We got in a taxi and crossed our fingers that we would feel ok in the morning.

The homely feel at Mr and Mrs Long’s continued when we arrived home. We put our key in the lock and opened the door to see Mr Long asleep on the sofa. We had to tip toe past him and creep up the stairs. It made us feel like naughty teenagers returning home past our bed time.

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Photos

Q. Whats that in my soup?
A. Pork Knuckle!!!