Somewhat belated but Merry Christmas and a Happy 2009. We spent Christmas day lounging in beach chairs, playing Yatzee, sipping Bia Saigon (our preferred brand of beer) and to ensure full relaxation Jason also got a massage. Admittedly a more unusual Christmas day but we made it work. - In Malaysia we had the daily calls to prayer, on Phu Quoc Island they seemed to have the daily call to news at 5.30am! News blared over loudspeakers for about an hour - communist "news" that is - interesting concept.

Once in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) we decided to bite the bulled and booked ourselves in on a Mekong River Delta Cruise. The highlight was not (surprise surprise) the bee farm, the candy factory, the handicrafts nor the fruit "orchards" but the boat trip back on the Mekong. To see the life on the river was truly amazing - whole families live on their boats shipping goods up and down the river. We saw them cook and wash laundry on the boat (guess where they got the fresh water from...), they had planters, motos and dogs on there - fascinating.

The rain started in Saigon and hasn't stopped since. I don't think I've ever seen it rain harder and longer. Roads are washed out and the rice paddies are filled to the brim. With all that rain an island boat tour did not seem that a good idea. We booked ourselves into a comfy hotel where Jason spent 22 hours in bed battling a flu. Almost fully recovered we got on our night bus to Hoi An. These buses are designed to be sleeper buses but that only works if:

a) no little girls have to throw up all over themselves, their family and the blanket
b) no one rolls out their mat on the floor right next to you only to snore through the whole trip
c) there is a working toilet OR a pee break more often than every 5 hours
d) the road is not an obstacle course
e) honking is NOT an integral part of driving

It seems like riding buses alone could provide enough material to write a book. On a more recent trip we watched the girl in the next seat use a pair of tweezers to go after lice on her boyfriends scalp . Once done he pulled out his electric shaver and finished off the grooming regime. Wow - they are way better at making the most of a long bus trip - we usually just read, what a waste of time.

Walking down the streets in Vietnam, we often hear this typical "Hellooo" singsong. We stop, scan up and down the streets, because it could have come from just about anywhere. Oh there - someone's pulling up besides us. "How are you? Where you from? You need moto (followed by the trademark hand throttle motion)? Where you go? Ohh.... very very far. I take you." Unless of course, you seek something they have. Then it's more like "very near, I show you. Cheap cheap. We take moto. Free". But we've also found out that nothing is ever free, so often it's: no thank you. "Maybe later?" Believe me, they do have memories like elephants when it comes to doing business. We've become as cunning as them trying to avoid people that we had told "yes, maybe later".

It's official - we are templed out. Lately we tried to check out some of the local museums but the communist opening hours are not helping. Official hours would be 7.30-11am and 1.30-5pm which translates into 7.30-10am and 1.30-4pm. The interpretive displays are...missing. What interpretive displays??? The only board translated into English lists rules, e.g. personal hygiene instructions... The odd translated sign contains sentences like "... weapons given to US puppet soldiers.." - hmmm, how very objective.

We usually love meandering through a town, stopping here and there, checking out local stores. Sadly the pouring rain makes this somewhat less pleasant and the lack of parks and benches (we don't count the ones that face a busy intersection) doesn't help. Often we have no choice but to find a Vietnamese/French bakery and sit down for some coffees (yes, plural) and bakings (even more plural). Tomorrow will bring another 10 hours of bus entertainment including two border crossings (Vietnam - out, Laos - in). We'll have to start thinking of all the personal grooming that we need to get done .

Stay tuned for more "personal hygiene on a bus" tips, Love - Baebs & Jason