Blogs from District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Southeast, Vietnam, Asia - page 15

Day 152 (Wed 6thFeb) I got the bus to Saigon at 8am. It got me there around 2pm and dropped me 1 street from my hostel which was perfect. I walked through a little park with my gear and headed straight in, paid and got sorted. My friend Amy who I’d also travelled with in Laos had booked in yesterday so I sent her a message and we met up for a quick wander around town. We didn’t go too far then headed back to the hostel where I had a kip. In the evening we went 2 blocks away to where the main backpacker area and drinking spots are. We got tea at a small road side cafe thing. These are very popular here and I love it. We just sat there, had some food, ... read more

Hi everyone, we have settled into Ho Chi Minh City and taken in some of the sights, On Monday we started at the Reunification Palace, you only have to step in the grounds and you know this country is still under communist rule, though you wouldn’t know from the people or the streets. Entering the Reunification Palace you first come across the North Vietnamese tank that was in their words the 'Peoples Saviour' although the palace is in pristine condition, everywhere you go they mention how the defeat of America and the oppressive occupation came to end due to the actions of the North. It is a very one sided view, with little or no respect to the American soldiers, never mind any other nationality that was involved in the Vietnam war. After the Palace we ... read more

Our final days in Cambodia were spent relaxing around the pool with a short trip into the heart of Siam Reap. The days have been a little cooler, making bearable to walk around. Our excursion into town was an eye opener, similar to the street of Bangkok, with not so many people. We headed to the markets, not just touristy stuff, we went to the local meet and food market. It was very hard to identify the meat hanging the stales as you can see from the pic's. Again the heat got to us and we headed to a local bar to watch the people go by and the fact we had seen 50c beers. After a bit more walking and few more beers we decided on lunch at a local restaurant. Absolutely delicious, and with ... read more

Back again faithful readers just chilling down after hectic two days of touring around HCMC. Long long trip to Cai Dao Holy See and Cu Chi tunnels but well worth it. Temple area undoubtedly biggest yet - 22 hectares - but after a quick jog round (likely!!!)you got the hang of it. Amazing fusion of big five religions (I feel a blog fact coming on) - Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism. So sensible it was bound to fail and note (with apologies to all left footers) only major religion that refuses to acknowledge Cai Dao is Catholocism (check out catholic in the dictionary and you'll get the irony!) Cu Chi tunnels fascinating and made more interesting by our other tour party member (very select tours we're booked on) being an ex serving marine who was ... read more

Day one: 2 hr sleep after gruiesome 22 hr trip with stop over in Tokyo. Mob seen at customs and then getting A fellow traveler at Narita axi. I'm glad I'm with these 2 veterans, Luke and Joseph. It's great to travel with big brawny men, especially seasoned ones and in fact a hard corps native. Went to mass here at the convent this morning. Gorgeous matins mass with nunns singing. Sr/ Vu is the mother superior here and she speaks French to me because she did her graduate studies in Paris. My French is so bad but it's better than my Vietnamese. We will go to the orphanage attached to this convent next. The children and bbies here are gorgeous. You want to steal all of them. I just wish I could figure out how ... read more