Stuck in Saigon
Trip Start
Sep 06, 2004
1
9
16
Trip End
??? ??, 2005
(Saigon) Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Saturday, October 9, 2004
Its been an interesting week or so, managed to get a few pictures up so have a look if you fancy.
After my run in with the few ladie's of the night we headed off to dalat which was a breakneck bus ride where we done nothing as were so tired. So left the next morning to mui ne without seeing anything other than our hotel room! Muine has really nice bungaloes on the beach, so we chilled here for a night went to some dunes the next morning, done abit of dune surfing then caught a bus to Saigon which is busier than Hanoi. The south it seems is a hell of a lot different to the North. Its a lot more western and commercial but interesting all the same . Me and ferdy headed off to the mekong river and done a tour, all sorts being sold on the river,however this river is certainly multi purpose . Everything gets thrown in it,everything and one gets washed in it and what i found lovely is everyone(sometimes where they wash )goes for a No1 and No2(I think No1's a Shit and No2 is a piss?(better Dan!) in it. So it was a bit of an eye opener!in the town we stayed in Cantho we met a guy called kim who owns 3 restaurants in Vietnam and 3 in Sydney. He took us out for the night to a karaoke place, wouldnt let us pay a thing.Hw was a really nice bloke and made sure we didnt get ripped off on the boat trip. He got us so drunk i was up there giving it some jammin to Bob Marley and a bit of Beach boys surfin USA ! Great stuff one of the 30 people watching even me gave me an ovation(not quite standing though)! So i said i'll visit kim in Sydney he loves his seafood and invited me to visit and give it a try.So i think i'll take him up on his offer as i'm quite partial to the odd shrimp.I also tasted some dried fish wich has the worst smell, but tastes quite good especially when dipped in chilli . We then headed back to Saigon where i'm sorting visas and cash out for cambodia and laos as they dont have any atm's apparently so its a bit more laid back than the start of Vietnam. I head to Cambodia on Monday/tuesday so the next entry will be from there . One thing i've noticed in the last 10 days is how many road accidents the are, which to be honest is no surprise the way all my bus rides of been. In nearly one month i've missed two head on collisions by seconds and witnessed the people carted off in cars and the bikes left in pieces. In Cantho there was a head on collision where one motor cyclist went straight over the handle bars and hit a lamp post 5 yards from me and on one bus trip a truck overturned that had been carrying concrete, the drivers carriage crushed so badly, i cant see how anyone could of survived . I've worked out that the road rules are the bigger vehicle rules and thats it. I've also got used to travelling 119 km in 5 and half hours and will never moan about paying road tax in England again! It really is bad and vietnam is supposed to be 10 times better than cambodia so I'll let you know how my bum fares on these buses as it was like my blood had stopped pumping from the waist down on the way back from the mekong! I bet your all glad to know im back on my feet though and can still move like shakin stevens in his heyday(did he have a heyday?).Managed to chuck a few shapes down the Apocalypse Now nightclub last night surrounded by a load of old sex tourists from England which is rife in Vietnam but is something i've got used to now they literally have no shame though ,most of the girls could be their grandaughter let alone daughter! Anyway people im off to KFC now we saw one the other day and and have loaded up on the rice and noodles so much, this is like a real treat so take care all and next time from cambodia.
