So we left Sandakan and had an ok flight over to KL and then a few hours to wait at the airport where we had lunch (our first McDonalds in about 6 months) and then a bit of looking around the very few shops before getting the flight to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and the start of our Vietnam Adventure. Vietnam is an hour behind Malaysia so after a couple of hours we landed and so it all began - the chaos that is Saigon!

Our first encounter was with a local taxi man who we made a deal with that the fare would be 150,000 dong so we got in and within 2 mins, he is saying, well shouting, that the fare is 200,000 - well Max didn't like that so told him to stop the car and we would get out - he didn't stop and then started going on and on about the price. Max started shouting back the fare we had agreed and then we shut up...and despite his continuing tantrum, we didn't respond. When we arrived at the hotel, he started again- shouting and balling and soon we had a small audience to which he played the poor me card and was obviously saying we were bad tourists and were trying to rip him off. Max was pissed off by this time so started shouting and there was some shoulder pushing and jostling - the worst thing was he had our backpacks locked in the boot and wouldn't open it!! Eventually, we ended up paying 180,000 and getting our bags. My contribution to the whole thing was to point in his face and tell him he was a nasty man and a big fat liar!!

We were staying at the Saigon Mini Hotel, which was great. Nice room, really friendly staff and lots of football on the TV :o) We were tired by the time we got settled so we had an early night.

The next day we had a city tour. This city is completely bonkers! It is sooo busy and there are sooo many motorbikes, it's unbelievable. If every town had a symbol, Saigon's would be the motorbike - there are millions of them all over the city and there seems to be no lanes, very few traffic lights and crossings but, it seems to work! On the tour we stopped at the War Remnants Museum which was shocking - the photos of the dead and maimed were very graphic - beheaded bodies, bodies blown up, faces deformed by the USA's use of defoliants. It was pretty heartbreaking to see- as were all the deformed foetus of babies that never made it.

From here we went to the Thien Hau Pagoda, which is dedicated to the chinese god of the sea. It was interesting to see it is still very active with many people coming to burn incense and pray infront of the goddess. We also visited a market, which was full of crap...,and you had to buy 10 of everything if you wanted something, like 10 pairs of flip-flops! From here we had a nice lunch and then visited Reunification Palace, built in 1966 to serve as South Vietnam's Presidential Palace. It was through these gates that the first communist tanks in Saigon crashed on the morning of 30 April 1975, the day Saigon surrendered. it was not impressive at all. The trip also took in Notre Dame cathedral and the Post Office before we headed back to the hotel. That night we met up with Chrisna and went for a great meal at a Brazilian restaurant where they keep bringing food to you until you say no..and then when you say yes again....it all starts again. We ate really well and had a lovely time. We then headed for a drink before saying our goodbye's and heading back to the hotel.

The next day, we took a trip to the Cu Chi Tunnels. This tunnel network was used by the Viet Cong in the 1960's and allowed it to control a large rural area only 30 km from Saigon. In the district of Cu Chi, there was over 200 km of tunnels. We had a guided visit to see how the Viet Cong lived, how they fought the Americans and the traps etc they used. We also fired an AK47 gun, which was soooo loud and heavy that I only managed one bullet (but I am sure I hit the target) and Max used the rest - he looked like a professional in his stance and hold!!!

From there Max descended in to the tunnels to take the 'journey' of a Viet Cong for 120 metres underground descending to 10 metres before coming up again...hot and sweaty and with a sore back (they are very narrow and short)
From here we got the bus back to Saigon, went for a very late lunch of noodles and veggies, before heading back to the hotel to relax. We went for dinner at a really good Italian before heading back to the hotel for a good night's sleep. During our last day in Saigon, we took a walk around the city, taking photos of all things different!

5 interesting but not very useful observations about Vietnam so far:
1- The power system is crazy. There must be about 100 lines going from each pilon which creates a really funny image - like spaghetti a la electical cable!
2- Motor bikes are everywhere like ants - there are no rules just a lot of tooting of the horn and quick manoeuvres!
3- Women walk around with pointed hats (like you see people wearing in the paddy fields) and cover as much of themselves as they can with long gloves, socks under their flipflops and hospital style face masks! with a pair of sunglasses they look like gangsters!
4- The toilet seats are all scratched because people stand on them to do their business!
5 -You can be a millionaire in Vietnam! - 1 million dong is 40 €

From Saigon, we took a flight to Nha Trang, on the east coast which we planned as a relaxing 2 days on the beach. We stayed in a great hotel in the city centre, close to everything and had a lovely two days. I spent all the time at the 'Louisiana' which is a beach club where for 1€ you can have a sunbed and use their private beach and pool all day. It was lovely. Max went for a day snorkelling to the nearby islands and I had a manicure and pedicure for 2€! Not the most professional nor hygenic but the results were good! We also found a great place to eat where the entire meal with drinks and dessets cost around 5€ so Nha Trang was a pretty cheap stay for us.

There was a nice roof terrace where one evening we were watching National Geo and there was an Animal Winter Olympics on....slalom, ski jump etc and at the beginning of the slalom race, it showed the three contenstants. The first two animals I knew but I said to Max, 'what kind of animal is a Herman Meier'? Well, he laughed and laughed and what I hadn't realised was that Herman Meier is a world famous German slalom skier and I thought he was some kind of snow leopard :o)
We also laughed a lot in the restaurant because all the English menus have soooo many spelling mistakes. Our favourite was 'Dark Chocolate Mouse' which Max ordered and she didn't understand the joke! :o)

From here we had an early flight (up at 5.30am) to Hoi An which was lovely. We had a great two days hanging around the town. It's a fusion of Chinese, Japanese and French architecture. Somehow the town escaped damage from both the French and American wars and it's charming 200 year old wooden fronted shop -houses are just lovely. Hoi An is also famous for tailor made clothes and I ended up with 3 lovely dresses. Max was jealous but just couldn't find what he wanted. We also took a 5am trip to My Son, one of Vietnam's most evocative Cham sites. Excavations show that Cham Kings were buried here as early as the 4th century but the ruined sanctuaries were built between the 7th and 13th centuries. My Son was considered the domain of gods and god-kings to see the temple ruins which were impressive too. It was great to be back at the hotel by 9.30am for breakfast and to have the whole day ahead of us. We hired bikes for 1 USD for the day and had a nice cycle around the town, visiting temples, markets, merchant houses, traditional chinese assembly halls and a traditional dance and music concert. We also met up with Jochen and Petra who we met in Nha Trang for dinner and drinks before we left.