Dodging motorbikes in Saigon

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We have spent the last three days in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) and really enjoyed it. Yesterday we got up early to avoid the heat, although actually it's significantly cooler than Cambodia. We walked across town and through a park to get to the Reunification Palace. The traffic is absolutely mental on the bigger roads and junctions - we have been using taxis a lot to avoid crossing too many roads! The motorbikes are good at swerving around pedestrians but they expect you to keep moving rather than standing still and squealing which is what we have been doing most of the time.

The Reunification Palace was the government headquarters of South Vietnam during the war, and the place where Communist tanks crashed through the gates and raised the North Vietnamese flag over Saigon - the day Saigon fell and the remaining US army was flown out on helicopters. The building is quite interesting as built in the 1960s and it has been left as it was in 1975 when the government surrendered.

Last night we had dinner and then went for a few drinks - got talking to a couple from Liverpool which was nice. They've been travelling for ages so we filled them in a bit on the elections etc and they told us lots about travelling in different parts of the world.

Bit hungover this morning so we had a leisurely breakfast before hitting the streets again. We went to the Jade Emperor Pagoda, which is a Chinese temple - I think Buddhist but some of the statues etc looked Hindu as well. The temple was interesting but not beautiful - statues etc were grotesques. Lots of incense and candles burning though - some things seem to be the same in religious buildings all over the world. We were also a bit confused by the live goldfish (in bags of water) being sold outside - we saw a woman buy her little boy a bag of fish, and then they emptied it into a pool in the pagoda's courtyard.

Then we went on to the War Remnants Museum, which was really good - in a new building which is very cool - some rooms were air-conditioned which definately allowed us to stay longer and appreciate the museum more. Mainly the museum is photography (especially photojournalism) from the war, with a particular focus on US involvement in the war. Some of the photos are stunning; others are very sad.

We found a great Italian restaurant for lunch which did amazing pasta etc (Stella restaurant on Bui Vien Road - in Pham Ngu Lao) and was also airconditioned.

Moving on tomorrow - getting on the early train to Nha Trang on the coast. It's a 7/8 hour journey but then we will be at the beach!!!

Hope everyone at home is enjoying the nice weather and that it carries on. Let us know if anything interesting is happening - we miss everyone already! xxx

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Photos

Park in Saigon
Alice is excited!

Bui Vien Road
Main backpacker road in Saigon