Vietnam ... Saigon sunsets

A new country and new experience to come.. we arrived on Saturday morning 24th Nov 24hours later than planned due to the nightmare travel. We arrived in a clean airport and easily got through customs and outside into Ho Chi Ming city (Saigon). We grabbed some cash and jumped on the bus (which cost just 30p) including having to pay for Ryan's rucksack!! We quickly found our nice lodgings and headed out for some lunch. We were right in the heart of backpacker land and had a great beef with green pepper lunch in a great cafe. That afternoon having purchased a copy of a lonely planet guidebook for 5 pounds, we headed to the HCMC museum. Not great to be honest but still we tried the culture. That night we found a great little restaurant on our doorstep and had fab pork in spices... and then headed for some happy hour action and Premiership Man Utd play - sadly we lost but the atmosphere was ok although I find it strange foreigners liking UK Football and supporting a team when they have never been to the UK.

We went the next day on a tour to the Cu Chi tunnels where thousands of Vietnamese people lived and hid during the war. It was really interesting especially to see the clever ways they tried to harm the Viet-Cong army, given they really had no weapons. The tunnels were tiny and hot, we managed to crouch through a couple of meters so you just can't imagine what it would have been like to live there. That afternoon we headed to the War Remnants Museum in town. It was so moving, to see the pain and suffering so many Vietnamese people went through esp. the children. The torture that the US army used was difficult to swallow, especially for Ryan. It did however show a fairly balanced view which was refreshing. The museum was closing soon after we got there so we decided to go back the next day. That evening, not wishing to walk any more we took to the back of motorbikes to the Opera side of town. This is a very common way to get about in Vietnam and seemingly very safe. So as we headed out for dinner out of the main backpacker area, we stumbled on a German brewery which served a lovely dark beer, a nice change from all that lager we have had on offer.

Afterwards we went to a place to eat the guidebook recommended for its beef barbecue, you get a miniature bucket of charcoal with a grate on top and a big plate of garlic beef and you sit and cook it yourself .. it was soooo good. We then explored a little more of the area and found some slightly shady massage bars but amongst them a fairly decent Australian bar before heading back. Monday 25th Nov, we headed to the train station to look at options to get to Mui Ne, a beach area we had decided to check out. Then off to the museum again and then the markets for the afternoon.

The market in town is full of fake clothes and watches - Roxy, Oakley, Guess, Rolex, Timex etc.. I succumbed and bought a t-shirt for 2 pounds.

As we were walking back to our place, we saw people in the park playing a very strange game with a feather attached to a spring - the idea is that you use your feet to kick it to your oppanent but ideally swinging your leg behind you so the object goes over your head - like a flick up. Here is Ryan having a go !

After shopping, we showered and changed and went out in backpacker land again for dinner. Tuesday morning we left Saigon for the beach.