Ho Chi Mhin City, Mekong Delta and Nhu Trang

Most of the major towns we have visited have got a lot of traffic but Vietnam was busier than any we have seen. There are more scooters in this city than any other in SE Asia. It is absolutely crazy, zebra crossings mean nothing, mopeds, bicycles, cars and buses whizz past you regardless. It's like being in a live video game only we don't have 3 lives. All you hear is the constant screeching of horns as all vehicles assume right of way even on the crossroads. Luckily we have come out unscathed.

The city itself feels like most others, bustling with activity and crammed with buildings and people. However Vietnam is remarkably cleaner and more developed than Cambodia. It's a welcome change, no need to hold your breath as you walk through the markets. The markets are still an experience particularly in the seafood and meat sections. There is no health and safety here, meat hangs in the heat and fish writhe around in bowls of water as they await their certain fate. Often they escape and you can see them squirming across the road, the market traders don't bat an eyelid. All this said none of us has had food poisoning yet and the food is delicious so they clearly are doing something ok.

The first evening we had our farewell dinner with Dino, our Cambodian tour guide ending with drinks on the street. When I say street I literally mean the street. There is one area of the city where all the convenience stores open up shop for the evening and place child size plastic chairs and tables on the pavement and on the road (to fit more people). When the police arrive there is a flurry of activity as the owners take all the seats from the road and place back on the pavement, clearly this part is illegal. Women dressed in outfits that look like pyjamas shuffle around bringing cheap cocktails and beer to the crowd. It was an interesting experience.

There were a few activities we could do in Ho Chi Mhin, we opted to visit the war remnants museum and visit the Bitexco financial Tower (tallest building in the city - 262 metres high). The museum like the killing fields was an eye opener. It is interesting to get the Vietnamese perspective on the atrocities that took place. There was a replica of a typical prison on site, on display were the tiger cages they used to hold prisoners, they are covered in barbed wire and are coffin size, yet these held 3 people at one time, in the hot sun for hours on end. There was a photographic display showing the torture stories of various individuals. It's hard to imagine how so much violence could have been inflicted on these people. There was also a huge outdoor display of artillery and war vehicles. Having watched many Hollywood movies you could just about imagine what it must have been like having these machines flying overhead, dust everywhere …must have been terrifying. In contrast the tower was less emotional but well worth doing. The building is stunning to look at with sun shining off its reflective façade and the view from top was well worth going to see, Ho Chi Mhin seems a lot larger than it does from the ground. That evening we met our new guide for the Vietnamese part of the trip, Viet…easy to remember.

The next morning we left around 8am to head down to the Mekong Delta where we had our next homestay. This was a really enjoyable day despite the fact I had a hangover in the morning! We were taken by boat around several of the islands in the Mekong Delta. First stop was a small business that created coconut products, its quite amazing how much you can do with these. They used the husk for weaving, the milk to drink, the flesh to make coconut milk and produce toffee like sweeties and then the shell to produce a vast array of items. Other activities on this day included being entertained with some traditional music, tasting various tropical fruit, watching how rice paper is made and some of the group handled a huge python. We had a group lunch on one of the islands. This is one of the best meals I have had. They brought out a baked scaly fish that they then used almost like you would peking duck, forking the flesh and placing in pancakes with pineapple and noodles, delicious. We then had a course of prawn and spring roll followed by rice and soup. Afterwards we headed to the homestay. We were pleased that this was a 100% better than the last one. It was a traditional building made from coconut wood (another use) set in a lovely garden with vegetables, fruit trees and tropical flowers growing. There was proper beds and shower room, 5 star compared to last place. After a cycle in the local village we returned to the house and sat with the family in the kitchen and all joined in on making spring rolls for the evening meal.

The next evening we took our first night train, this was an experience and a half. It was a sleeper train, with cabins for 4. Viet had been extremely disorgnised and in his wisdom told us that the cabins were for 6 so that we would be surprised when it was less. He then proceded to give us tickets opposite to what we were allocated. It was a shambles. Everyone scattered into the wrong rooms and Mark and I were left to take the room that we had to share with locals. Neither of us had an issue with this BUT when we saw that there was already a family of 6 in there including a baby and toddler (this is a 4 bed cabin) then our reaction was different. After the catalog of events that had already taken place I vocally refused to take the room on the basis that since we were paying the same as everyone else we shouldn't have share a room that would essentially have 8 people in it. It could have been full of British people and my response would have been the same. Viet took offence as he thought we didn't want to be with Vietnamese people, he couldn't understand it was the number of people we (I) objected too. Run in number 1, we sorted it out and hopefully this shall be the last, will leave the complaints to everyone else who are quickly becoming irritated too. Once we were settled into another cabin, it was not that bad although few of us got any sleep as it was fairly uncomfortable. We arrived In Nhu Trang the next morning at 5.30am.

Not much to report with Nha Trang other than it is a pretty beach resort town. We visited the neighboring island by cable car and were surprised to see it was like a huge theme park with water slide park, amusements, shops and a train that went into the mountains. There was also an aquarium which I have to say is the best I have ever visited, amazing display of nautical creatures. That evening Viet took us to a BBQ restaurant, this was great fun, in groups of 4 we had our own BBQ grill and plates of raw food that we cooked ourselves, was good fun. Now as I am writing this we are on the day train to Ha Noi. It will take 13 hours to get there…