Still in Saigon

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Well money problem sorted. Me and Mike are still in Saigon though. Main reason is us both having girlfriends. Went to a beach about two hours by boat the other day called Vung Tau. Was ok. We're heading back tomorrow with my Mrs and her mate. After that it look like we're finally gonna make it to Cambodia then will head up to Nha Trang. We havent seen and wont see as much of the country as we would have liked but thats sweet. Im really liking Phuong and Saigon is awesome. Cutting down on drinking though as hungover nearly everyday haha. THe clubs here are soooo cool though. All the locals are friendly as and I always love meeting other travellers. Mainly been to Apocolypse Now and the local in District 1 - GO2 where Mikes mrs works. Saw a live guitarest last night.. He was awesome.. Good sing along rock songs. Before that took Phuong on a date aboard a boat around the harbour which had traditional Vietnamese singing and a dancer.. was pretty cool.

The other night Phuong and her friend Hop took us to a cheap Vietnamese pub where tourists dont go. It was pretty much little plastic kids tables and chairs on the side of some back street and people bringing you cheap beer and food. Had snails and crabs claws along with some veges. GOod vibes the locals here are awesome.

Met alot of westeners here looking for teaching work and some who are here teaching .. apparently theres alot but the rate things are going they are filling up fast. After experiencing over a week in Saigon and meeting Phoung Im really determined to finish my Tesol course, get the majority of my bills out of the way, sell up and get my a into g to come live here. Sooo different to Thailand ... I love it. Mum Im selling my turntables... Im never gonna be a dj haha.

At some point in the last week I went with Mike and his Mrs and her friend Loi (who is the girl I mentioned in GO2 bar from previous entries) to an amusement park. Was so funny (and cheesy) and I had to explain to Loi I didnt want to be any more than friends because I got a Mrs now. She was constantly trying to sell herself to me ( I can cook etc... Want children blah blah hahaha) but after she realised I wasnt interested she started talking to me on a real level and told me about how her ex boyfriend left her to go study in Singapore and shes lonely and work is hard. I felt sorry for her and gave her a hug and told her she'll meet someone one day. They work really hard here... I can see why the girls try to get western boyfriends. I know Phuong works 7 days a week accept one day off a month and only earns $100 USD a month. She lives with four other girls in one room. She hasnt tried to bum money off me though and isnt after a ticket to Ozzy ... seems like shes genuine and wants me to move here. Is a bit of an eye opener to see how lucky we are back in oz and nz although the people are still so happy and upbeat here despite the poverty.

Today Me and Mike went to the reunification palace which is where the north finally got to, to win the war (I think?) was pretty cool. Very flash. In the basement they had heaps of maps of asia and old radio equipment and phones that were from war time. Love the history here.. Is a real buzz after reading and watching so many movies about the Vietnam war (the American was as they call it here) and then actually being in some of these places or seeing things from that time.

hahaha... That right, I didnt see this but told Mike Id write about it.. A women was trying to sell him gum and tissues (as they do here along the side of the road) and he was like no no no .. and she was saying my baby hungry please (some of the poorer looking people carry there kids around) - after awhile she says to Mike... "YOu feed baby!" and she put the baby on the road in front of him and walked off around the corner... obviously she eventually came back.. but you get a bit of that here.. you feel sorry for them and want to help them but theres so many you cant.. An old women was begging the other day and we bought her some breakfast ( only about 80 cents) which was cool... another couple who hang around trying to sell lighters who we made friends with after they realised they couldnt sell us any. We shouted dinner and beers for one night.. There very friendly and he is all skin and bone.. he looked desperate for food so we all had a meal together. One thing here is what the Vietnamese have they share.. They will always offer you food if they have some or a drink or cigarettes once your friends with them.

Was a bit sad checking out of the hotel we were staying in.. THe girls there were awesome.. We kept finding pictures theyd take of themselves on our cameras from when they were cleaning our rooms.. THen wed show them and be like HEY! Whats this? and they would get all shy and laugh. Think they'll be glad not to get any more door bell ringing at 3 or 4 in the morning from us wanting to come in haha.. but honestly I think they will miss us. Wll stop in and say hi again or maybe get a room there again for a night.

One travel agent who lived in Aussie for 10 years we kinda fukd around abit which i feel bad about but because weve been so up in the air with things we could never decide when to do things.. We were going to move into his hotel after leaving Ms Kims but he doesnt let girlfriends stay and was $4 more a night. Will have to go apologise and maybe take him some beers one night. He gave us a lot of advise about Saigon and helped us with things like putting money on our cell phones and helping us when Mike lost his ATM... hmmm I feel bad now.

Me and Mike both keep speaking in broken english haha.. even to each other now. Embarrasing when you meet other westerners and your speaking in broken english like to the locals haha. District 1 is becoming easy as apple pie to find my way around.. Not getting taxis as much and if I do I know if there taking me the long way. STill yet to ride on the back of a scooter. Mike has, Im still a bit nervous though. Crossing the road is no drama now even though theres a million scooters coming from all directions.. you just walk out and everyone avoids you and other traffic haha.. Dont worry Mum.

Anyway will leave it at that for now.

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