3 days in Saigon

So I'm here! Finally!

Arrived Saturday evening about half an hour earlier than expected. To say it was raining on arrival would be the biggest understatement of the trip so far.....it was BUCKETTING down with rain!!

I walked out of the arrival hall of Ho Chi Minh City airport to be met by almost 200 taxi drivers fighting for my business. Lucky for me I has organised a taxi prior with my Hostel - after a 9 hour flight your really don't have it in you to bargain with a driver on how much a $10US trip should really cost...

The drive to my hostel was nothing short of eye opening. Those of you who have been here before will understand where I am coming from. There are lines on the road but no one uses them, There are traffic lights but no one pays attention to them, and the motor cycles on the road would out number the cars at least 250:1. It is mind boggoling. Plus they all drive with hand on the horn so its noisy as hell! I got to my hostel around 8pm and just crashed out.

The next day I woke up bright and early and grabbed some breakfast at a cafe near my hostel. Had my first experience of eating Pho', which is a Vietnamese dish you can eat any time of the day. It's a soup with Beef, Noodles and veggies in. Really nice but huge...! While eating I was approached by a Cyclo driver trying to get my buisness for the day. He introduced himself as Mr Lee and showed my a piece of paper listing all the sites he could take me too on his cyclo (for those of you that don't know, a cyclo is a bike with a seat in the front). The guy was nice enough and spoke reasonable english so I thought I would give it a go.

Best thing I ever did!!!

This guy cycled me around to all the main Saigon sights, aswell as a few off the beaten path. He ferried me around for 5 hours only stopping when I wanted to take a picture or have a look at something. The guy was a machine! He took me to the War museum, the Reunification Palace, Notre Dam Cathedral & Cholon Market. I saw people selling anything you can imagine on the side of the roads. Probably the most disturbing were the dogs and turtles....!!!

After he dropped me back at around 3pm, we agreed to meet again the next day where he would take me to the Mekong Delta region for the day.

At 9am on the dot he met me at my hostel with his bright green motorbike and a bright pink helmet for me to wear. We set off shortly after for a 2.5 hour motorbike trip through some of the most amazing sights I have ever seen. Being on a motorbike in central Saigon was like being on the biggest adrenaline rush of your life! Remember what I said about 250:1 bikes to car ratio? Well when your in the thick of it - it feels like a hell of a lot more...!

After leaving central Saigon, we drove though heaps of towns and villages where you would see people selling stuff on the side of the highway. Lots of new developments coming up in different areas, but then you would see quite a few towns that looked as if they were falling apart. One thing is for sure though - there are people absolutely everywhere on the road..! Even out of the main city. Plus the roads aren't to great to drive on so my bum is a bit sore at the moment!

We then met up with a boat driver who took me and Mr Lee out to 3 of the Islands of the Mekong Delta Region. In one part, we had to get off the boat and go on a canoe where these two Vietnamese guys paddled for about 20 minutes through this Jungle like canal...the two guys looked like they were about 100 years old.

We had lunch at one of the islands, where I ordered prawns with noodles & vegetables. The guy asked how many prawns I wanted, and I wasn't that hungry so I said four. Well, that was a mistake. The prawns that came out where about the same size as my foot (but tasted a hell of a lot better!). The man who took my order came and sat down with me and made me fresh spring rolls with the noodles, vegies and prawns. It tasted amazing!!! The guy spoke really good english as well which was great. I was expecting the meal to cost me a fortune - but it only ended up being $30US!

We left the mekong delta region at about 3pm, and travelled back in the middle of their peak hour traffic. Peak hour was much worse to travel in, you are constantly squashed up with 500 other motorbikes at the traffic intersections....scary scary. We were back in Saigon by about 5pm, safe and sound.

Although the Motorbike and the Cyclo's are a little scary, in my opinion they are the best way to see Saigon. "When in Rome, do as the Romans do", well, when in Saigon - do as the crazy Vietnamese do - Grab a bike, a driver and get the hell out of the city for the day!

I'm spending the day just chilling out today as I am quite severley sunburnt from yesterday. I am catching the Bus to Phnom Penh, Cambodia tomorrow morning at 8am.

My opinion of Vietnam so far? I love it! It has an almost intoxication atmosphere about it, although it can be a bit stifling sometimes. The people are friendly and everything is so cheap!!!
Just watch out for the street sellers trying to shine your shoes or sell you books/sunglasses/purses. They can be a real pain after a while....!

Till next time...

Jess