I arrived to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) late at night, two days before mum was due. I was a bit worried that I didn't have it in me to get all excited about a new destination and have the energy needed for all the traveling, especially since in Gili we had talked a lot about going home with the girls. We had planned what we were going to do on our first nights back home, getting our flats and work sorted and what we'd eat.. well, the last one was actually only me.. I've planned my menu for the first few days already. It includes things like lots of milk, carelia pies, cheesesnacks (juustonaksut) and other vital foods that I've missed while away. But anyway, back to the topic, as soon as I got out of the airport in Saigon and was in the taxi, zooming around the city, I could't help it, but I smile crept on my face. I was thrilled to be in this new exciting country, and cities at night, with their thousands of lights and buzz, never fail to excite me. So the answer is nope, I wasn't tired of traveling just yet.

On my first day I decided to go for a little wonder. I already noticed the hundreds of mopeds from the taxi, but it was completely a different story when you're walking. I know I've experienced plenty of the extreme sports in New Zealand, but crossing a road in Saigon, talk about extreme! Skydive is like a picnic in the park compared to this. Everytime I hoped for the best, feared for the worst. After a few near misses, I began to prepare myself, thinking that yes, you probably will get hit at some point, but hopefully it won't be too painful. This one time I was crossing this so-called oneway street and I calculated that the cars and mopeds were far enough, so I sprinted across the road and only barely missed a moped speeding towards the oncoming traffic. At one point I was standing on the otherside of this remarkably busy road, with traffic coming from both directions and wondering how on earth will I make it across. This girl probably noticed my hesitation and came over, grabed my hand and guided me through the death-tunnel, acting as my human shield. Even though she was lot shorter than me, she expertly dodged the cars and mopeds, changing sides according to the traffic to shelter me. Once we made it over safely, she cheerfully waved goodbye and I was left their standing with my heart racing and very grateful for my little helper.

I needed to relax after the nerve-wrecking walk around town and went to get a massage. Normally they give you these papery pants, so the massage oil doesn't ruin your own underwear. I've been to Thailand and used to shop assistans enquiring "extra large?" or saying "we have nothing your size, you're too big" (really lifts up your self esteem, right?) anyways I'm not the kind of girl who cuts out labels of her clothes if they say large, but I have to admit, even I was slightly offended when the masseus handed me a pair of pants that were XXXXL. Four Xs, seriously? Is that really necessary? I think of myself pretty avarega sized.. But my offence turned quickly to an alarm, when the xxxl pants were thight. Hmmm, maybe should consider dieting after all.

Even I've had plenty of massages on my trip, but I still hate it when the moment comes when they say "massage finish". Which brings to mind this funny story my language teacher told me. In Indonesia the pronounce f as p and vice versa. So this married couple were enjoying massages in the same room, when in the end, the masseus informed the man that she was done, but her "massage finish" sounded like "massage penis" and the wifes response was that "you will most certainly not!"

On my third day I went to pick up mum from the airport, and she had trouble spotting me from the crowd, apparently with my black hair and tan I blended in with the locals. (Whereas, mum was as white as a sheet. I guess that's what finnish winter does to you..) We had a joyful reunion and decided to celebrate the occasion with some sparkilnig wine. After mums powernap we went to a skybar to admire the city and the sunset. I had thought the traffic was difficult to handle, but it was twice as hard, dragging a scared mum amidst the mopeds. Despite that, we still had a nice time in Saigon, as we wandered around town, did some souvenir shopping and went to the interesting but very shocking war remnants museum. But since mum was anxious to start working on her tan, and couldn't stop comparing our tans, (in her case, I admit, it's nonexistent) we left Saigon and headed to this quiet(ish) beach destination Mui Ne. We found a beautiful bungalow by the sea, and plan to spend the next four days here. I'll better go and join mum on the beach now and remind her about the importance of sunscreen...