Ho Chi Minh City 12 - 14 April

Good morning Vietnam! I've been waiting months to say that! And so it came to pass that after 2 flights and combined flight time of just over 14 hours there in a crowded Saigon Airport stood the happy travelling couple waiting to greet me. The heat even at 10am local time was overwhelming and it was rather overwhelming to finally see my two chums after all this time. For concerned relatives and friends eager for news; I am happy to report they both look ridiculously healthy, happy and totally in tune with their global adventure. It is always key to treat travelling with an open mind and be as relaxed as you can and Dan and Sue are clearly well adapted to this current chapter in their lives. As we made our way to the Hotel, and even in my sleep deprived mind it wasimpossible not to notice the chaotic traffic with swarms of mopeds, interspersed with taxis, coaches, bikes, lorries and every variant as people go about their daily business.

So post check in at the hotel it was time to obtain a large dong injection! £65 will buy you 2million Vietnamese Dong. The trouble with big numbers is you are constantly trying to work out what it all means and the British sceptical view that you are being ripped off at every stage bubbles under the surface! A 2 litre bottle of water costs the equivalent of about 30p but when you hand over a 10,000 Dong note you feel like you're parting with a large quantity of cash for some reason. So anyway after an unwanted exchange with Lloyds Bank where I was told off for not telling them that I was temporarily abroad, my cashpoint card was liberated and so began an afternoon wander. We mooched through one of Saigon's main markets, where you could buy literally anything; replica football shirts to noodle bowls, snake and scorpion filled bottles to foodstuffs of various tastes. Linger at any stall or even walk slowly and you are immediately set upon by eager salespeople, but the key is to stay polite and relaxed. The same advice is valuable when crossing roads believe it or not, just add a dose of awareness and walk in a deliberate calculated fashion...........easy! That's the theory anyway. Saigon, or Ho Chi Minh City to give it its official name has scatterings of pedestrian crossings all over the City but they mean absolutely nothing in terms of right of way. However out of chaos comes order and despite the initial terrifying traverses across six lane highways, you do get used to it and it comes with a charm that is difficult not to smile at. Many of the City's traffic lights come with count down numbers above the red light so you know exactly how long you'll be waiting on red or how long you've got left on green, why don't we have that in Blighty??

We took a taxi to the Jade Emperor Pagoda which promised much; ornate, green ceramic tiled roofs and a number of different rooms packed throughout with religious artefacts and a large swimming pool for terrapins. This is a working temple and many of the visitors were there for worship rather than photo opportunities and answering mobile phones! Still there are very few people who can boast that their first two holiday photos are; picture 1; a Boeing 747 followed by picture 2; water borne temple dwelling reptiles. Good times indeed!

It was time for the first experience of Saigon street food and I have to say despite a local security guard getting rather hands on with my gastronomic experience, it was all rather tasty and varied. The chilli I tried, a mere 10p piece sized beastie gave my spicy tolerance and taste buds a good examination, for a couple of hours to say the least

S & D proudly announced their abstinence from alcohol for much of their trip so the next mission was to address my grave concern at this news. The Spotted Cow had welcoming A/C and thus Tuesday evening descended into a rather pleasurable drinking session where discussion and lively debate include S & D's first dance at the Wedding next year (no resolution, so suggestions welcome). My Dong size had diminished much during the first day but Dan Dong Millionaire came to the rescue and we 'kittied up'. After another trip to the cash point I felt like King Dong or indeed Dong King again and all was well in the World. I was in a country I had wanted to visit for some time, with great friends and alarmingly despite now being awake for some 36 hours I was wide awake! We called it a night and turned in. I was still wide awake and Sue would be awake for a while longer as she re-examined her white wine intake for a while.

Wednesday 13th April dawned and after deliberating whether I was supposed to knock on S & D's bedroom door at 8 or 8.30 and all the dilemmas that brings I made the choice………….8.30 it was to be. I rang the doorbell and waited and waited and waited some more. In the short time that existed then a number of scenarios played through my mind, had they gone to breakfast already, had they gone out on their own or had they chosen to lie in (or some other pursuit!). Caught like an animal frozen in the headlights the door opened and a very sleepy Dan greeted my cheery hello with the crushing news that I was actually rather early, a full hour early in point of fact!! In my eagerness to set all my time telling equipment to local time I found myself I an hour ahead of myself, I retreated and awaited breakfast at the appointed correct Vietnam time.

After a hearty breakfast that ranged in choice from fried eggs to dragon fruit, croissants to microscopic sausages, our day began. First stop the War Remnants Museum. It is impossible to ignore that the brutal war has shaped much of Vietnam's recent history and will continue to do so for some years to come as the legacy of Agent Orange still exists. With breakfast still sludging in full bellies we explored the museum. The military vehicles outside were an impressive array but thereafter what we saw was very sombre, horrific, saddening and at the very least thought provoking. It's impossible to ignore what happened and for me just served to highlight my ignorance of the War itself. To say it was moving doesn't really do justice to this experience.

With stark history still sludging in ones mind there's nothing like a strawberry or mixed berry smoothie to assist the healing process. Refreshed we took in some more sights, Reunification Palace, Notre Dame (the French influence is still very strong here) and some retail therapy/or buying wooden tat, depending on perspective, at the Main Post Office.

The evening agenda had been set and we were to meet a contact who has lived in Saigon for some 15 years, in the prestigious Caravelle Hotel. With thoughts on clothing selection and growing nervousness (no one had met Johnny Waugh before - great name incidentally) we sat in the lobby of the impressive hotel playing a kind of 'I reckon it's that guy' game. Johnny was great to spend the evening with and we are indebted to the wacky Mark Banham for volunteering a friend to us. Here was a guy with several bows to his string and fingers in many pies, not literally as that would be highly impractical! Mr Waugh is an immensely clever gent who gladly shared his experiences and thoughts on life in Vietnam with us. We learnt some basic Vietnamese, "I've run out of money" being eminently useful when encountering street vendors. It was a phrase that in any language could have been used as we ruminated on the evening with some more alcohol at the plush Hyatt Hotel and the bar bill that presented itself. The evening went too quickly and suddenly it was 2am.

Thursday morning is moving day and we packed up to board the eight hour train journey to coastal Nha Trang. I sit on the train now and look around the many faces in the carriage, I'll "Miss" Saigon but it's good to get out of the City and explore what Central Vietnam has in store for us. D & S read quietly across the aisle from me and as we leave the suburbs and head into the Country, I feel more wide awake than I have felt in ages, I have a lust for life not present in the UK and keeping an open mind for the days ahead.

With much love to all from the Ghost Writer x