Hello again,

Well I am now in HCMC or Saigon or whatever you want to call it. The place is even more manic than Hanoi but with a lot less charm. Just big wide roads with even more bikes and more people trying to sell you stuff every 8 seconds.

It's also really humid here and about 30 degrees, so no escape from the heat.

I had hoped to upload my pics so I'm in an internet cafe, but the computers in here are even more antiquated then the temples and 'pavements' (I think if you look up the word 'pavement' in a Vietnamese dictionary the description would read 'somewhere to park your motorbike, eat your dinner, badger tourists. Absolutely should not be used for walking on'.) So no uploading or backing up of photos :(

So I have now left me tour group, it was quite sad to say goodbye to them, especially my roomy Tess! Yesterday I went to the HCMC museum of Fine Art. I was a little disappointed to discover - after I'd paid - that most of it was shut due to renovation and they only had contemporary stuff on show, a bit like the Summer Exhibition at the RA. However, I then realised that the building next door was also part of it, though still showing new stuff. The art was good to see, but the buildings themselves were amazing. They're a mix of French and Chinese architecture and really beautiful. From the outside the main building (the older one) is yellow with blue tiles and Chinese decoration. Insides they have long corridors with blue/turquoise wooden shutters separating the rooms with fantastic ornate ironworks on the stair cases and windows. The floors all have old original tiles, most room with different patterns and colours, and where some were broke they'd replaced with old titles but different patterns. They were both old town houses originally designed by the French family who lived there - I think. There's a pic of it here http://www.hcmclife.com/the-ho-chi-minh-city-fine-arts-museum-the-pearl-of-saigons-art-scene/

The best part was that there was hardly any lights, the only light was coming from the massive wooden doors and shutters at the end of the sweeping rooms which gave the place such a good look. None of your white-cube-fancy-coffee-shop-exit-through-gift shop nonsense! I wandered all the way round the building for ages, it even had an internal court yard. Unfortunately their renovation means they're painting the outside white, I hope they don't ruin the original look of it.

After that I went for a long walk to the river, which seemed to be an unsavoury place! So I headed back to my hostel and watched TV for ages. Thank god for HBO, Cartoon Network and the Disney Channel!

I had a long lay in (and watched The Jungle Book 2!) and then went to see the extremely helpful travel agent lady in the reception of the hostel. I had planned to go to Chau Doc and to a little island and then back to get a boat to Cambodia. But my visa runs out on the 4th so it would be a bit of a push to do it all. So the nice lady booked me on a 3 day Mekong delta tour, including a home-stay on the river, a night in a floating hotel, visit to the world's largest floating market, then they take you to the border, get your Visa, and put you on the boat to Phnom Penn. Simples! All for 50 quid, with a guide and all transfers.

So that's about all I have to report. I've finished reading the first book of the trip which was Long Way Road by Charlie Boorman and Ewan McGregor, it was an amazing book and so well written, I highly recommend it! Now I need to look out for Long Way Down. For some reason they photocopy all the books here, I made the mistake of showing interest in one the other day and ended up buying it, I haggled her down for nearly 6 quid to just over a pound - that'll teach the 12 year old to mess with me!! But now have three books to carry around as I want to keep them to trade them in for new ones.

I'm now off to find some of the temples dotted around this chaotic hell of a place for some peace and quiet.

Bye for now... xx