Blogs from Ho Chi Minh City, Southeast, Vietnam, Asia - page 234

WOW....talk about culture SHOCK, Saigon is a caleidascope of sites, sounds, smells and a beehive of activity unknown to us in quiet , rural Canada. From airport (Kelowna) to airport (Saigon , aka Ho Chi Min City ) 24 very exhausting hours. My butt was rubbed raw and my inner time clock took a BIG hit . It has taken me two days now to adjust to Vietnam time and finally feeling a part of the local atmosphere. The 5 hour lay over in Vancouver took its toll . Try killing 5 hours in an airport with very little to do but eat, buy duty free or people watch. I did all three. Thanks for the royal send off Devyn, Ken and Liz. It was great to touch base with you Ken before i hit the ... read more

Ola! Having to try to remember what I've done over the past week or so as I'm a bit behind with the blogs! Flew to Ho Chi Minh City (aka Saigon) and trailed about the streets till we eventaully met our group of 'fellow travellers'. Quickly went out and ended up dancing the night away in a bar/club called 'Go 2'. Much hillarity and drunkenness ensued with 'swapping t-shirts' (don't ask!) and a few too many of my favourite shots (tequilla slammers - Catherine has video footage to prove it!). So, needless to say we ended up spending the whole of the next day in bed with major league hangovers! Ho hum, not had to do this yet!!! We (Cath, Rich, Ed, me n g) then caught a flight down to Phu Quoc, a beautiful wee ... read more

So we finally left Hanoi and all borded our 3 day delayed, $78, 2 hour plane ride to HCMC/Saigon in further exploration to find new people to meet, more places to get drunk and different beer to taste. The 5 of us went with daves lovely travel guide book and chose a nice little hotel that was just outside the main center of HCMC. Big mistake. It just so happend that it was a building site next door and they forgot to say to us they start daily at 6am, hence cutting the power to the hotel which meant no fan/aircon and no TV. needless to say, we scampered the next morning and moved to possibly the best hotel we have stayed in. not because it was extra comfy or anything, the staff were extemely friendly ... read more

We arrived Wednesday in Saigon- Ho Chi Minh City. It's a very nice city and there's a really good vibe in Vietnam. We spent a day and a half wondering around the streets, went to the Reunification Palace and learned a bit about the history of the country. The people are very friendly and very welcoming. On Friday, we took a 2 day trip to the Mekong Delta, one of the biggest rivers in the world- Starts in Tibet and ends in Vietnam. It was an organized tour where we tasted banana wine, honey wine, coco nut candies, vietnamese tea with mandarin and honey, local fruits and anything that could be consumed almost........ We went to a floating market, on the river and actually took part in the trade- tasting mostly........... it was nice to see ... read more

Well, after a wonderful introduction to Vietnam thanks to Sun and the crew from Mekong Tours we've hit the big smoke and have been partying in Saigion (Ho Chi Minh City) since the 24th. After continuing on with the crazy German, Thomas, and Austrian, Karl (who has been confused as an Australian the entire time, namely because noone has heard of Austria before - I mean, what have they done really ? ;)), the four of us have made it our duty to check out the nightlife of Saigon making sure to include bartering with the locals on every single item possible - be it chewing gum, cigarettes, photocopied versions of Lonely planet, or roses, the boys have done it all. But definitely some of the best victories have come from Paper, Rock Scissor competitions. Beating ... read more