After a long day we finally arrived in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) around 6.30pm.

The minibus journey was funny, as me and Beth were the only foreigners on the minibus. So from the start we were being poked and they were trying to talk us but we didn't have a clue what they were saying so were just smiling and nodding politley.I had an elderly lady sat next to me and she even fell asleep on my arm.

We got dropped off at the bus station and then bundled into a smaller minibus, which was meant to take us to district 1 (the backpacker area aka cheap gusthouses) but drop us of some where totally different and wouldn't take us anywhere else so we had to then get a taxi to district 1.

My first impression of Saigon was "CHAOS"!! Everywhere you look there motorbikes with as many as 5 people on. They are all using the horns to warn each other dodging and whieving between cars and buses. There is meant to over 3million registered motorbikes and plenty more un-registered.

We checked into a hotel and went striaght our for food and a look round. We soon realised crossing the road can be challenging. Basically you have to just walk at a steady pace and the motorbikes just go round you. Easy

The next day we decided to do a bit of shopping and spent a small fortune on gifts for all you lucky people back at home. We then decided to post it all back and we had to get a moto-taxi. These are motorbikes you just get on the back (like a croggy). You don't feel very safe special when you start heading towards on coming traffic, but they beep the horn and everyone seems to know whats going on and moves out the way. Very bizzare! Me and Beth also got spilt and dropped of at different ends of the area after myself panicking for a couple of seconds I saw them coming towards us.

Today we went to Reunification Palace its also know as the Independence Palace. During the Vietnam War it was the site of the official handover of power during the Fall of Saigon. In the basement they still have all the communication stations and war rooms with all the maps up. Very impressive building, huge infact and is still used by the President today.

We then walked to the War Remnants Museum, which again used to have a different name (Museum of American War Crimes!) The museum doesn't hide anything !! and the pictures are very disturbing special the ones of the victims from the chemical bombs and their aftermaths. The military equipment in the yard included a uh 1 helicopter, an F SA fighter, a "Daisy Cutter" bomb, M48 Patton tank and an a1 attack bomber.

Although the boring people wouldn't let me climb them or pretend to use the guns.

After that we then hopped on a moto-taxi and prayed to get back to hotel safely.

We leave tomorrow and heading to the countryside town of Dalat.

xxx