We had a very early start for our flight to Ho Chi Minh City and unfortunately we had to make a bit off an emergency stop asking the way for Sue at the toilet. Fortunately Chenda was there to save the day again and found a servo we could stop. We checked into our hotel and Chenda took us to a very famous Banh Mi shop just around corner from the hotel. There were actually two storefronts; one for customers in person and the other for Grab for deliveries. The Banh Mi was that good there were people 6-deep in front of the shop. It was a traditional cold cuts sandwich with patè and salad. Everyone agreed it was probably the best they'd ever tasted.

After we'd eaten and settled into the hotel we set off on a cyclo tour of Saigon. First stop was the monument for Thich Quang Duc who was a Buddhist monk who set himself on fire in protest on 11th June 1963. He was protesting against the persecution of Buddhists by the South Vietnamese government and the monument is directly adjacent to where he died.

The smog was very thick in the streets and we regretted not wearing our face masks. We continued the tour to a location that was used as a weapons cache during the war with the Americans. You can still see the bullet holes in the door where they lined people up outside and shot them. The concealed trapdoor in the tiled floor lead to a cellar where the munitions were stored. Many of the buildings around this area were built by the Americans to house their soldiers.

When we got to the Reunification palace, Sue was in need of a toilet so we cut it short and went to the old post office which has a Highlands cafe next door. Steve had to buy a couple of bottles of water for the priviledge. The nearby cathedral was bein restored so there was lots of scaffold around the building.

We ventured down to the Saigon beer street and wandered along experiencing the noise, lights and aroma's. Sue needed a bathroom so we ducked into the Lost In Saigon bar. We were the only ones in the place and the staff seemed disappointed when Steve said he was just going to buy a water and go. In the end, the group came in anyway so the drinks were flowing. The music was more to our taste anyway so it was worth it.

Sue decided to call it an early night so we started to wander back. Another bathroom urgency struck so we grabbed the nearest taxi rather than waiting for a Grab. The driver opened the door, we got in and then another Grab driver closed it behind us. He then asked for a tip to which Steve scoffed and said "no way". The ride should have cost about $80k but the driver gouged us for $200K..... and then had the hide to ask for a tip!!!

Once we were inside we started to setup for bed and then discovered our CPAP's were missing. After a slight panic that we may have left them at the airport or on the bus, Steve went downstairs and found we'd just left them at reception. Whew!

Sue was in for the night but Steve went back out and found the girls at beer street. When he got out of the cab the din from the bars was deafening. Out of the madness he faintly heard "Steve.... Steve!" He looked up and there was Maddie, Erin and Ari frantically waving from the third floor of a nearby cafe just like a repeat of Hue. The beer flowed freely after that.

We ventured down to the street level and found a bar that had empty seats. Ari and Maddie were drinking beer but Steve ordered a bourbon and Erin ordered a Johnny Walker Black. What came out was a short glass of Kahlua. After we explained that it should be a shot of scotch, they appologised and bought another serve of Kahlua.... in a shot glass. Steve went into the bar and discovered they didn't actually have JW black and the staff just poured the only thing black they could find. It was pretty funny because Erin would not be caught dead drinking Kahlua.

Things weren't so funny when we tried to settle the bill. Erin used her credit card and they tried to charge the card multiple times. After going a little bit "New York" on them, we paid in cash and returned to the hotel. Erin cancelled the initial transaction via her bank and fortunately the bank automatically cancelled the other 3 attempts the bar made. Scammers gonna scam.