sun day 149

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Advertised in the hostel is a free walking tour of the city so, looking forward to it and heading off to the meeting point this morning only to find it being cancelled for today! What a shame. Instead I got chatting with a lady staying at the same hostel and we headed off for breakfast together. julienne from Amsterdam is travelling Vietnam for 3wks - going from north to south, so we could give each other a few tips. With our days planned out differently we went off separately but arranged to meet back at the hostel this evening and go out for dinner together. I walked in the direction of Benh Thanh Market firstly to have a look around - a typical market selling the usual things but housed in a beautiful old Art Deco building. From here I wanted to go into the cities china town to have a wander around. Opting to take a Moto as its by far the most fun way to travel around the city I agreed a price with a lad of 100,000 Dong return - £3 china town was a good 15 minute ride away. Being dropped off at another market but choosing not to go in but rather walk down the street to take in some of the cities sights. There are people here day and night routeing through the bins picking out the plastic and glass bottles presumably for money. As I headed over to a bin to dispose of my bottle I handed it to a lady who was collecting to which she generally seemed so pleased. Thinking about this as I walked off I turned round and gave her my last American dollar note. To you or I that's not a lot but for her that would buy her a few good meals. Walking on I saw a couple of statues and stopped at a pagoda before starting to head back. Meeting up with my Moto driver we headed back into district one - it had been a nice couple of hours spent looking round a different - less touristy area. Being dropped off back at the Ho Chi Ming museum mainly because the lads father was there to ask me for more money - I said we had agreed on the price - which means nothing to them when theres a tourist around! Handed over the money and walked off - what a shame that he had done this because I was actually going to give him a tip - oh well! Walking past a few hairdressers I stopped off at one for a much needed haircut - was so nice to get it done - finally. From here I headed on back to towards the hostel stopping off at a park where I sat and chilled out watching the locals doing their evenings exercising. Its definitely a favourite past time as the park was pretty full! There was a lady walking around selling one of the popular games that was being played. From a distance it looks and sounds like a small plastic bottle containing plastic beads being kicked from person to person - pretty skillfully. Actually it looks like a elongated shuttlecock with a longer weight at the other end - I brought one for £1.50 after having a go with the seller - but definitely need a bit more practice! Its harder than it looks. Walking across back to the hostel I met up with Julienne and after a freshen up we headed out for dinner. Finding a traditional Vietnamese kitchen we stopped off - I tryed the local pancake containing meat, veg and a lovely sauce while julienne had a local curry. Both meals were lovely then we decided to head to the Sky Tower. The tallest building in Saigon with a viewing deck on the 60th floor. Paying the entrance fee we headed up in the lift, the view was lovely from so high with everything being lit up at night. Taking some pictures and noticing the beautiful Royal Palace from high up we decided to walk over to it for a closer look. With a terrace stretching down to the river and being full of people socialising and hanging out it was a lovely atmosphere on the walk to get a closer look at the palace ( which is now a government building - so no entry) but just in front is a large statue of Ho Chi Ming - so after taking a few pictures we started the walk back to the hostel. Stopping off outside Benh Thanh Market to barter with a rickshaw rider I got a price I was happy with and was taken back to the hostel - julienne was happier to walk so we said goodbye. It was good fun to be taken back through the busy nights traffic by this method - and definitely worth the money! Popping up to the dorm I packed my bags in preparation for leaving the city tomorrow.

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