Blogs from Ho Chi Minh City, Southeast, Vietnam, Asia - page 249

Hmmm... Still can't really get into this place. The girls feel much the same, though Eva can't seem to get enough of the markets - yes, we did the markets AGAIN today, though different ones, and yes, we bought more. Shockin', as a true Aussie would say. The area where we are staying, D Pham Ngu Lao, is tourist central, and it seems that the Saigonese hanging around these quarters are very 'spoilt' by the Vietnamese tourist boom. I have gotten everything from wolf-whistles to 'Moto, madame?', 'No, thanks', 'Marijuana, madame?'. Last night, we had dinner in close to the guesthouse, though nothing really grabbed us, probably mainly due to the seedy-looking middle-aged single white men lingering everywhere. We ended up at an Indian restaurant down an alleyway. The food was ok, the service was American-style ... read more

So far on our trip the big cities have not been among our favourites. Ho Chi Mihn City (HCMC) or Saigon won us over. Vietnam seems to be a false-dichotomy of communist leadership but capitalist ways. When the country opened its doors to the world in 1986 everything changed for the vietnamese. Now markets overflow with products and sellers vie for the buyer's attention with cheaper prices. Competition in every market seems intense and Vietnamese companies struggle for survival among a seemingly westernized market. Brand names overflow the streets on billboards with flashing lights. Thousands of motorbikes fill the streets, horns honking. It is the family vehicle in many cases and up to five people can fit on one little bike! Tourists use the bikes as taxi's and every corner in the street is full of ... read more

A bus from Phnom Penh took us across the border and into Vietnam. Arriving in Saigon was amazing and I was struck by the many different influences of architecture. The buildings line up like a child’s Lego construction, blocks of all different shapes, sizes, and colours, it’s wonderfully eccentric. Decided to dump our bags at the bus company’s office and try to find a guest house on foot. Wandering in this sweltering city with no clue as to which direction to turn can be frustrating. It’s impossible to walk along the pavement for more than a few feet before a bike or someone eating their food or doing their washing obstructs your path. This adds time to your journey as you constantly slalom in between objects and people, it also adds to the city’s charm. However, ... read more

OK, so I last left you in Nam. We have done a lot since then, but it doesn't make such fascinating reading & I really want to tell you about how incredible somne recent sites have been. To summarise what we did since the last email: Spent one night in Natrang,. A beach resort in Vietnam. We were pleased we didn't spend long as it was really a big city (not huge skyrises, but many hotels etc) that happenned to be on a beach - much like I picture Surfers Paradise to be. It was dirty, there were vendors everywhere & a main road between any hotels (& jost cafes) & the beach. The waves were so big it was unswimmable. Glad we moved on to Mui Ne. This beach resort was lovely. So nice that ... read more

It's been a busy two months... and I'm sorry I haven't posted lately. Alot has happened in the last little while: Been to Nha Trang for a week Had my teeth whitened Learned to drive a Vespa on the streets of Saigon Plus a whole bunch of little things that I haven't even thought of, but have affected my life and my in ways I'll never know. I'm reading this book right now called "A Lesson Before Dying" and it's about a wrongly accused black man in '45 in the Dirty South (USA). A side plot to the book talks about slavery and how it is part of people's lives. It makes me think about the staggering difference between the rich and the poor here in Vietnam. Some of the most common cases are people who ... read more