These are the voyages

---

As you walk through Saigon Airport, you are becalmed by the quietness and simplicity of it all. A fairly modern building, there is none of the chaos of some of the larger European airports. The immigration desks are plentiful and the officials are efficient. They will stare at your passport and then stare at you, as if looking for the slightest difference between the person in the photo and person standing before them. They check photo and person again, and at this stage you can start to become a little nervous. Have I changed that much in the 8 years since getting my passport? (Well yes actually, but under close scrutiny I am clearly either the person in the photo or his older wiser brother).

Now, after actually being allowed entry into the country, you descend to baggage reclaim. Here, you baggage does not just continually circle around a conveyor belt hoping to be re-united with it's rightful owner; knowing that it's purpose in life is to transport whatever belongings you choose to take away with you. Knowing that if it is not re-united with you then it has failed in it's task. Yes, there are several factors that can prevent a suit case from doing its duty. It has been parted from you for several thousand miles, shunted from one aircraft to another and through a maze of tunnels inbetween. But now it has reached its destination and all that is left to do is be reclaimed and then it's mission is once again complete. This is where the 'baggage helpers' come along. Fearful of the fact your bag may become dizzy, they remove the bag from the belt and place them in a group next to the belt. Now not only do you have to try to spot your bag on the conveyor belt, but you also have to check the group of 'helped' luggage to the side. An added complication, and you have to ask why does something that works at any other airport (leaving the bags on the belt) need to be changed. Anyway, it is a mild peculiarity but nothing to get too upset over. Your bag on the other hand may get confused by being removed from the conveyor belt by somebody other than you, so don't forget to give it some much needed TLC when it is back in your hands again.

Having had a fairly enjoyable experience so far, you may have been lulled into a certain sense of security at this stage. Be warned though, this is about to change. As you step through the exit from the aiport onto the street, you are suddenly hit my everything Ho Chi Minh City has to throw at you. A suddent blast of extreme heat, the noise of the crowd, the beeping of the car horns all come at you with a sensory explosion which is very overwhelming. Unless you are being met at the door by somebody and they are distinguishable in some way from the mass of people outside, you can begin to wander around in a state of shell shock. I was supposed to be met by the hotel driver. He was not distinguishable from the crowd and hence I wandered in a daze looking for somebody with a sign that had my name on it. A few steps later and the onslaught of taxi drivers who all want to take you for a ride begins, and here you quickly learn the key survival phrase "No thank you". You will come to use this phrase frequently during your stay in Ho Chi Minh City. I recommend practising it in front of a mirror a few times because you need to say it like you mean it. You need to say it like whatever they are offering you is the furthest thing away from what you want that is possibly possible. You have to leave no room for doubt. You cannot let them think that by being persistent you will actually finally want whatever it is they are selling. But here I am getting ahead of myself, plenty of that to come.

On a second sweep of the sea of people I eventually saw the elusive sign on which my name was written and subsequently the driver for the hotel I was staying (either that or he had a) stolen the sign or b) made a lucky guess; at this point though I was willing to give the benefit of the doubt and accept his assistance). And that was how I got to the hotel in one piece.

Now you may think I have painted a fairly negative picture, there are some dangers and annoyances little and small in Ho Chi Minh City. I love it there though. The people are fantastic, the city has a charm about it, and the food is superb. I hope to keep this blog up to date, at least more so than the diary of Arnold Judas Rimmer. You will hear of the highs and lows, the laughter and tears, the food and the drink of my time here as well as the many excursions I will be taking. Sometimes there may even be pictures (OK, there will be pictures). For now though all that is to come. I stand on the edge of adventure, a journey only just begun.

---

Comments

[Christa]

Woohoooooooooo
Hey Daz I am almost there with you. Brilliant! Keep it going. Speak soon. CNG