The trip home is looming...

---

I'm back where it all started, the Backpackers' Hostel. I arrived this morning at 1AM and my flight out is at 11AM. Its kind of a waste, but I wanted a clean bed and a hot shower after my travels through and from Saigon.

On the bus ride down from Nha Trang to Saigon, I sat next to the Canadian girl, Melanie, that I had met a couple of days earlier. It was of course, an uncomfortable 12 hr. journey on the bus, a condition which I learned to accept. Some of the time was spent talking to Melanie and other tourists in the seats nearby. Most of it was spent sleeping. We stopped in Mui Nei for lunch, a beautiful beach town with bungalows by the beach. I was upset that I didn't have time there and thought of returning in the future. Traveling on bus by day seems like such a waste, but it was the only bus to Saigon.

We arrived at 7PM-ish. The city was alive with the sights and sounds of horns, motorbikes and few cars and taxis. There were vehicles and people everywhere. Travelers and locals alike, hustling and bustling side by side next to locals laying down on their motorbikes, old women carrying food in buckets on a wooden pole, retailers, food stall workers, shopkeepers, etc. The city was lit by headlights from vehicles and lights emitting from tall commercial buildings. Melanie didn't have a room as of yet, so I offered her the option of staying in my room with a double bed. We walked to my hotel, but the counterperson did not recognize my reservation. The tour company hadn't reconfirmed the booking. I was livid inside, but appeared calm. The mess was eventually straightened out. A reservation at another hotel down the street was made. Melanie found a room for $6 US/night, minus AC. That was quite a deal, but AC is extremely important in Saigon because the heat can be overbearing at times. Melanie and I checked into our respective hotels and decided to meet for dinner and drinks. We ate at an Italian/Vietnamese restaurant and tossed back a few beers. We started talking to the two couples next to our table, an Australian couple, a fellow from America, and a young woman from Zimbabwe. We hit it off instantly, as it happens while people travel, and decided to meet the next evening for dinner and drinks. The next morning, I had the Mekong Delta tour. I fell asleep to the sounds of HBO in my ear, air conditioner running, and fan blowing....talk about a good night's sleep.

The Mekong tour was an eye opener. It's a beautiful place and hard to imagine the amount of bloodshed and violence that occured there. I can't imagine soldiers wading through the canals and what kind of conditions they lived under, especially during the rainy season. We traveled by motorboat after an hour and a half bus ride. Then we switched to a smaller boat in order to efficiently navigate the canals. I met with an Indian from Singapore and 2 fresh faced English girls. I also met with an English mate living in Australia, who I had recognized from the bus ride from Hanoi to Hoi An. The tour stopped by the coconut candy capital. I purchased a package of candy and tried the Snake wine. Somehow, they shove cobras of various sizes into bottles, along with scorpions and tree snakes. Inside is some alcoholic concoction that is supposed to be good for mental function. It was good and the bottles were impressive, as they posed the cobra in various positions with hood fully exposed.

We ate a meager lunch followed by an ample dessert of fresh fruit. We listened to some local folk music, rode boats back and forth between the five islands...turtle, phoenix, dragon, unicorn....I forget the other one. I exchanged e-mail addresses with the 2 English girls and told them they had a standing invitation to the States. I hope to have many visitors in the coming years. Anyway, I returned to Saigon, had a beer and spring rolls with the Australian fellow I met on the boat, and returned to my room for a hot shower and a break. I am to meet Melanie and the others shortly.

---

Photos

Mekong...
coconut candy capital.

Mekong...
snake wine.

Mekong...
my friend the python.

Mekong...
my impression of a Vietnamese man.

Mekong...
English friends.