almost home...

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The last stop on my trip was Saigon, I arrived there with only two full days to explore before I would be flying back to Australia, and it wasn't nearly enough... I wish I could have stayed way longer, it was such a cool city, so different to the rest of Vietnam, almost like Bangkok in a way, or I guess what Bangkok might have been like in years gone by...

It was amazing to see the wealth in the city compared to other parts of Vietnam, and the pace of change, with buildings being torn down and construction taking place almost everywhere. It definitely would be an interesting place to return to in a few years! There were some really great museums to see, it would have been good to have had a week to explore the city, but in the two and a half days I was there I did get to most of the important sites. There was a lot of Vietnam War History to see in the Reunification Palace, Museum of Ho Chi Minh City and the War Remnants Museum. Although the War Remnants Museum is supposed to have some pretty graphic photos from the war, after seeing so many horrific road accidents in the last couple of weeks, I didn't find the displays nearly as disturbing as they were intended to be, or I guess as much as I once would have. It's amazing how quickly you become desensitised to gruesome dead bodies...

I guess most peoples complaints about Saigon are the number of touts and motorbike taxi drivers hassling you all the time, but because I had heard so many people complain about them, I didn't find them too bad. Crossing the street in peak hour was a real adventure with all of the motorbikes filling up the streets. At times, looking around me I thought to myself I must be able to see more than 200 motorbikes from where I am standing!

And the markets in Saigon were amazing too. So much variety and so many people. There was so much interesting stuff to see and do everywhere, with so many great cafes and restaurants, grand French Colonial and Chinese buildings, and so many other unexpected sites to see everywhere too...

Saigon is one place I will definitely be heading back to next time I am in Asia! It was so sad to leave, I really didn't feel at all like it was time to head home, but I know I will be back one day... hopefully not too far away!

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