Hi All

Ok so am now in Ho Chi Minh city which is what used to be called Saigon.Its much noisier and more busy and in fact lively that phenom Penh.

Also on my last nite there at phenom penh i met a couple who were totally crazed about india, its culture, religion and everything to do with hinduism and natural resources...The were frech canadian...white....and knew so much about culture and histiory and expected me to relate to them cos i am a brownie alone! But seriously they were in cambodia to set up an eco village which would be totally self sufficient. Also they thought cow dung was the best substance in the world and would frequently mix it with mud to bathe in it, use it for fires or just eat the dung when it was dry. Oh and also that it had great medicinal properties because it was antiseptic.

BIG NEWS..........The last few days i have been in agony because i got a foot infection. Basically in bangkok some cheap sandals ripped into my feet, only wore them for en mkins before returning to my room and changing them but it was too late. And the constant walking around in the dusty, humid often waterlooged puddles and streets here obviously took their advantage. It was so bad that by Wednesday i couldnt actually walk without limping and wincing with each step, My right foot was swollen and red (which is quite difficult considering im brown!!)

Anyway thought it was time to seek a doctor found a cheap one at a local guesthouse and he did the usual clicking of teh teeth and sighing and saying i was crazy for not coming in earlier before washing the wound rather vigourouly with cotton swaps diped in alcohol. Then/.... (sensitive readers avert eyes)...he got a toothpick like instrument and poked my main wound and popped the blister that had formed and released a mass of yellow and white pus. Was absolteuly rank and stank, i felt so attractive right then! Hurt like b*****y and now there is a little pit in my foot that looks like someone has gone and scooped out a tiny one centimer scoop of flesh. Gave me antibiotics and painkillers, and went to see him again yesterday and once more today, Is getting better so hopefully better soon. No need to worry, i still have two legs!!

Oh eah anyway, so got to ho chi minh city which is MUCH more like bangkok..always busy and lively, lots of good photo opportunities with people in funny conehats.Usually old women carrying oine toone bastkets of vegetables to sell! Am sharing a room at my guesthouse with two other guys travelling alone that i was on the journey from cambodia with and they are cool. have spent much time with them and we all get o. All of us are working our way up the coast but unfortunately at different times so might bump into each other again at some stage.

Oh my god first nite here we were wandering round when a friendly m,an came up to us and said he was english teacher at local school what were we doing etc etc, so we were like looking for bar that showed england match (get me being all manly and straight) as well as pool tables. He was like follow me so after going for a twenty min 'not far' walk we came to a funny hangar where there were billiards tables which i had never played before, basically you have to hit the other two balls on the table with your allocated ball (three balls altogether) and if you do then you get another shot etc.v skillful and we all know how crap paz is at pool, i was an embarassment. anyway had a drink each which he ordered for us. An then at the end he was like saying we should pay the bill cos he was not on holiday and we had got him out on a school nite!The cheek!Should have just refused but after arguing we decided he pays a tiny contribution but we still paid the brunt of it. ok it was only a matter of like fifty pence, but still was v anoyed!No more nice trusting us!

Anyway, so last nite went to the local bar (which incidentally is gay friendly tho can u believe it the locals did NOT know depsite the men kissing and holding hands, some people are so forecfully blind!!). Met three lovely vietnamese girlies who were out having fun and then they invited us back to their apartment. I htought i had made it clear i was gay, but like i said, forcefuilly blind, think it was innocent on two of their parts tho. Anyway so went to the swish partment of one of them, she paid for taxi adn everything and was like help yourself to whatever was in cupboards and fridge and promptly fell asleep on her bed. So we had her friend open a 70 quid bottle of belvedere vodka nad decided to make the most of it. Turned out to be v good nite, (one of us three...obviosuly not me....got a fair slice of nightly action) while me and the others drank and chatted. Didnt get anysleep all nite and now feel v tired and am in internet cafe.

PS we are pros at haggling now..or so we think, sometimes we haggle just for the fun of it for like fifteen mins before swalking away, all for the sake of like ten pence, im not kidding!

Oh and also yesterday went to the chu chi tunnels which were used by viet cong communist rebels to hide from america and used for guerilla warefare. they once extended for 250km which is huge considering they were dug by hand using hoes (not THAT typoe) and baskets and went up to like 12 metres deep, we explored a few meters and saw traps, had breakfast and lunch all for 3 and half dollars inc guide. bonza!!

so yeah, this is  V V V long entry so hope you are happy bethan and chris you lazy non working, working people!

and hope you are all well, any gossip on men, family or gays i want to know so please update me, merci and goodbyye!!!

xxxxx

PS its v annoyign when numerous women who seell chewing gum and snaks here carry their tiny children or toddlers around to get sympathy and make us buy their stuff, ir worse get their kids to sell to us or at least place the stuff on our tables, u know how much of a sucker i am for cutsy little bitesized human beings!bless