ho chi minh city arrival

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sinchow everyone! lisa and alex here. well...where to start. we have now spent our first night in vietnam in Ho Chi Minh City after many hours of travelling. flights were long but fantastic, lots of food and movies and Mr Kirkham's jokes. on arrival in Ho Chi Minh we were struck with a wave of heat leaving the airport. We are slowly adjusting despite 37 degree heat!! Yesterday was a short tour of Ho Chi Minh city visiting the massive post office where a few of us bought t shirts for $3 NZ! and the presidential palace which featured 95 rooms. Diem had rebuilt parts of this palace which was then bombed by his own army! We had our first dining experience last night. Our meals costed around 142,000 Dong ($9) which included a main course and drink! luckily water is extremely cheap considering how much we are drinking every day, just purchased 1.5L for 6000 Dong (.40 cents!). none of this compared to the brekfast we have just eaten however.... all the usual bacon, pancakes, pastries, eggs, fruit etc... as well as vietnamese soups (which lisa tasted and found a pork testicle at the bottom of the bowl) as well as fried rice and other vietnamese dishes. In a city home to around 5 million scooters, it seems they are all on the same road at the same time, constant beeping every minute! there doesnt appear to be any road rules, just keep driving and hope to get lucky...! this makes crossing the road an adventure.
We are off to the Cuchi tunnels today and the Mekong delta tomorrow (activities have been swapped) and also going to a massive market where we will perfect our bartering techniques 😊

Hen gap lai (see you later!)

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