So I bravely got up Monday morning and after having breakfast, braved the outside world. I checked out and moved to my other hotel which was just around the corner. Checked in and then jumped into a taxi to take me to the Jade Pagoda, a buddist temple. The first thing my taxi driver asks me is if I will marry him and then asks me what I think about Vietnamese women marrying foreigners. What could I say to that but try and ignore him. He then told me his last girlfriend who had big boobs (which he emphasized a couple of times) had left him to marry a foreigner. I couldn't wait to get out.

Visited the temple which was so full of incense it was hard to breathe. Some beautiful statues. I then braved the traffic and walked around the city. The first time I crossed the road, I made sure I was next to a local and then I was fine. The key is to go slow and let the traffic move around you. Some do have pedestrian lights but you still have to watch the traffic. It goes the wrong way and also on the footpath. I explored the General Post Office, Cathedral, Opera House and stared in amazement at the Christmas decorations which are beautiful. I also visited the Reunification Palace. This is where the tanks drove through the gate and ended the war. Very peaceful inside and hard to imagine what it would have been like on that day.

I had a lovely Noodle Soup for lunch to recharge my batteries before hitting the markets. Only lasted 20 mins in there before deciding I needed to head back to the hotel and airconditioning. Hot and humid here. I then met my roomate Toni, a kiwi also on the tour and we get on great so that was a good start. We chatted till our group meeting. There is a good group, mixture of ages, mainly Australians. We went out for a group dinner and started to get to know each other. Not a late night as I started to flake.

Was awake at 4am and could not get back to sleep. After breakfast we had a city tour with first stop being War Remnants Museum. As you would expect it was very one sided and didn't really tell the story of the war so much as what the Americans did to the Vietnamese. The photos were very powerful and disturbing too. We didn't have enough time here so I actually returned in the afternoon on my own to finish it. We stopped at the places I visited yesterday for photos and then the afternoon was free. A group of us went out for lunch. Love the fact they have photos on the menu so I have an idea of what I am ordering even though they are in English too.

I then wandered off on my own and checked out the People's Committee Building, an old French style building and sat and watched the traffic. We met back at the hotel and wandered over to the Bitexco Building, the tallest in the city. Up to the 49th level for a great view of the city. I đidn't realise how sprawling the city was. We had sunset drinks and then the hostess came and told us it was happy hour after 6pm. Two Long Island Iced Teas for me and I was just a tad tipsy. Back to the hotel and then off to another group dinner at a restaurant called Kyto which trains street kids in the hospitality industry for 2 years. Fantastic meal and it would appear as if the group will get on well. Only 12 in the group and our tour leader is a local from Vietnam so all good.