Hiya We flew into Saigon yesterday and the heat hit us straight away. Our guide is a bit weird and is full of himself, what he hasnt done isnt worth doing!!! We had a city tour today and thankfully it was from the air conditioned van, we got to see the chinese herbal market where there were some delightful scorpions and other huge creatures stuffed in jars for medicinal purposes. Rob wanted to bring the Cobra home, as if!! I'm sure he thought he could actually get it through customs!! We then went to the former presidential palace which was lovely and got to see an old army tank that broke through the gates during the Vietnam war. There was also a fighter jet and a helicopter so Rob was chuffed!! Inside the palace was a cinema, dancing room, bar and allsorts. Rob decided there and then that we would sell the house and move somewhere where we could build all these mod cons (minus the dancing part!!) We then headed off to the Cu Chi tunnels. These were fantastic and well worth the long drive. We had a second guide take us through the paths of the tunnels and it was quite amazing at how small the holes were (see Rob nearly getting stuck). The vietnamese must have been soooo thin, the guide asked me if I wanted to have a go and the thought of my hips stuck in the hole did nothing for me and so I have vowed to once again return to weight watchers!!! We got to see some of the ways the Vietcong injured the enemy and they had some pretty nasty tools and traps (see photos on website). The guide offered us the chance to go through a short section of tunnel. We both headed off, but I turned back almost striaght away as the feeling of claustrophobia was overwhelming. It was really upsetting and you could just visualise all the terror and horror of the war. Rob was more successful and made his way through the tunnels by shuffling behind the guide, thank god for the guide as Rob got lost inside the tunnels and those of you who know his sense of direction, he could have ended up in Thailand do one!! We were a little rushed towards the end of the visit and had to hurry through the rice making section and some of the props before leaving to head for the Holy See temple to watch some sort of worship performance. We got to the temple 2 hours later and to be honest its wasnt great, but you have to show willing!! There was so many monks humming and stuff and we really didnt know what was going on, would have rather spent more time at the tunnels. We headed back to the hotel after this and it was late when we got back. This did not deter us from heading to the Juice Bar which was conveniently located on the street behind the hotel. I had read about this place on the plane and was determined to find it. We had fruit smoothies and cheescake and it was a little bit of home for one night, heaven!! We went back the next day too for lunch before heading off to the airport again. We are as we speak on our way to the airport (again) for our flight to Cambodia. We have both really liked Vietnam and I havent seen one squat loo so dont be put off with what the books tell you, it really isnt that primitive, its quite Westernised and Saigon even has McDonalds and KFC!! We would thoroughly recommend Vietnam to anyone. Speak to you soon from Cambodia Love to all Shelley and Rob XXXXXXXXXXX