Ok, back to the HCMC explorations, aborted last time due to it being beer o'clock. Vietnam has a population of over 81 million, with 6 million in HCMC alone, resulting in about 3 and a half miilion mopeds trundling around the city. The driving is very haphazard and the only way to cross bury intersections is to walk very slowly (preferably with your eyes shut!) and the bikes avoid you. Dashing across is not an option as the locals do not know what to do t...

Have spent the last 3 days exploring the city and surrounding area. Now the bit you've all been waiting for - a lesson in history and culture! No sighs please. In 1883 France imposed a Treaty of Protectorate on Vietnam and French rule often proved cruel. During WWII, the only group that significantly resisted the Japanese occupation was the Communist dominated Viet Minh. When WWII ended, their leader, declared Vietnam Independent. French efforts to reas...

No particular reason for the animals, other than I can't upload any photos at this internet cafe! Yesterday at 0700 we boarded the bus to Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) and it was a pleasant surprise to have a decent bus and roads with a proper surface. The drive to the border crossing point was uneventful and took about 5 hours, so we arrived there in the blistering mid-day heat. You would never have known it was the border, as both the exit and entry points...