We start the day early, leaving the hotel at 5:00 to catch the sunrise (and take the obligatory photos). When looking at the numbers of tourists already at the lake when we arrive, and the ones still arriving, this is clearly on everyone's must do list! We do what we need to do - and it is quite beautiful - and go back to the hotel for breakfast.

Google gives some spa tips and off I go hoping the spa that says it opens at 10:00 actually does. Lucky for me the Devatara Spa opens at 10:00 and even though I need to wait for 10min while the masseuse needs to be called in from her shopping, I get a lovely cup of tea, feet washed and then a lovely aromatherapy massage. Off to the airport to catch our flight to Ho Chi Min City.

After a short 45 min flight, we arrive at HCMC. The dreaded visa process is very very easy and within about 10-15 min we have our visa, our luggage and sit and wait for Marga and Anneke to arrive from Bangkok. We get a taxi and unfortunately get ripped off for the first time on the trip! Our taxi (which is supposed to cost max VND200k somehow costs just under VND400k and the taxi driver confuses Inge by swopping a 500k note for a 20k. The trip that was supposed to cost 50k each turned out to cost 224k. Putting into perspective that 224k equals R110 probably isnt that bad, but it is the principle!

The scooters on the road is an experience! Literally thousands of scooters like swarms of bees on the road. The first road crossing is an experience, since the way to do it is just to start walking across the road slowly and they go around you. The key is not to hesitate or stop start since then they don't know what you are doing. Somehow it becomes easier the more you do it.

Depending on who you ask HCMC has a population of 10/13 million people and 5/8 million scooters! No wonder there are scooters everywhere!

We go for a stroll to see a bit of the city. Passing through a market with 1200 stalls at closing time, we look forward to returning a fw hours in which to get lost exploring.

As we walk along the road, we suddenly see people pulling along what looks like folded tents on wheels. Some of them literally drag a trolley filled with thing (including gas bottles) with one arm whilst driving on a scooter. It is a commotion difficult to explain. Even stranger when we realised what was happening. What we were seeing is a night market being set up. In about 15 minutes, a normal street was transformed into a night market with clothes, bags, food stalls and a restaurant where we experienced our first Vietnamese street food and beer. Yum.

After a great dinner we walk around the market stalls, introduce Anneke to travel shopping.