Blogs from Ho Chi Minh City, Southeast, Vietnam, Asia - page 233

Today I was up with the sun at 6am to trek into the heart of Saigon. I was forced to stay close to my digs yesterday, well within striking distance of my bathroom. The dreaded viet cong revenge hit like a tsunami yesterday morning and i was not want to venture too far from security if you know what I mean. I am not sick nor do I feel any worse for wear so thats a blessing. Am starting to feel better after two soft ice cream cones. The stomach is fine, its the lower half that gurgles and rumbles like a volcano. So off to tackle the bus system of Saigon , yahooooooo. 12 cents buys you a ride on an air conditioned bus , the trick is finding out which bus you need to ... read more

Today we flew to Ho Chi Minh City, which I think used to be Saigon- a much more romantic name. After dragging my now ridiculously full bag, bulked out with Hoi An purchases, through various check in's, we located our coach out side the airport and it took us to the hotel. On the way we were limited to crawling through the streets due to sheer weight of traffic, it was definitely the busiest place that I had seen yet in Vietnam. It was great fun watching the scooters and bikes that were ferrying about the weirdest collection of things you could imagine; these included one comedy spectacle of a bike that was holding the bottom part of a mannequin between his legs so the feet were sticking up into the air and the top ... read more

Keskiviikkona saavuttiin Saigoniin, mika on aivan erilainen kun kuvittelin. Paljon kehittyneempi verrattuna esim. Vientieniin. Mun pitais ehka oppia nielemaan ylpeyteni ja ruveta kayttamaan karttoja. Eilen eksyin oikein huolella. Palloilin kaksi tuntia pienilla kujilla tapaamatta yhtaan lansimaalaista. Ihmiset tuijotti ja huuteli. Mutta karttaanhan en koske. Uskomattomalla sakalla loysin takasin hotellille. Ennen Saigonia vietettiin muutama yo Mui Neissa. Pieni kalastaja kyla merenrannalla. Kruisailtiin pitkin maaseutua ja saatiin paikallisista lapsista oppaita. Oikeestaan ne ei antanu paljon vaihtoehtoja. Hyppas keskelle tieta meijan eteen, ja kun pysahdyttiin kolme poikaa kiipes skootterin paalle kysymatta mitaan. Toi vahan lisahaastetta ajamiseen. En ole vielakaan tottunut siihen kuinka helppoa matkustaminen on Vietnamissa. Laosissa oppi tekemaan kaiken itse. Taalla tarvii menna ... read more

Day five and still in rich, vibrant, noisy polluted Saigon !!!!! Thanks for all the comments everyone, its good to know i am being "watched" After 5 nights in my hotel for a cost of 70 canadian dollars total i have rented a "small room and bathroom in heart of Saigon. This move should cut my costs in half and give me the luxory of taking day trips out and about the country side and still keep a home base in Saigon. I looked at several rooms before deciding on one. Most were unfurnished , HOT and no AC, no private bathroom and expensive compared to the one i have rented. 2,500,000 Vietnamese dong gets me one month. (15,000 dong to the dollar) I find it easier to drop the last 3 zeros and do my ... read more

Really hard to get any sleep last night. The motorbikes were going all night, music was blasting out from a bar on the corner until 4am. It was just hellishly noisy. The windows in the hotel did not really fit so it felt like we were just sleeping on the street. The breakfast was good and the receptionist managed to transfer us to another room which looks to be a lot quieter; she didn't seem too surprised when we asked to move so it must happen a lot! Did some chores and have booked ourselves on a tour to the Chu Chi tunnels tomorrow. Set off walking to see the sights of Saigon, initially passing through a local market. Bex went mad for all the sparkly stuff after being deprived for a couple of weeks (well ... read more