by Today we woke early and Simon went to the early morning market to watch the fishermen come in. He said there were lots of different fish he had never seen before, and lots of squabbling between the people there. Not that spectacular. We packed up and were picked up by a driver to take us to the airport in Danang. At 9.10 am we departed on Vietnam airlines and survived. The plane was actually quite new and the service was good. The flight was one hour and 10 mins. We landed at 10.20 in Saigon.
After collecting our baggage we braved the crowds and headed for a metered taxi to take us into district 1. After a $4.30USD cab ride we went to the Kim Cafe to check prices and then looked for accommodation.. We could not find the recommended Hen guesthouse but found Guesthouse 64. It is fantastic for $9 USD we have aircon, basically brand new furniture and a bathroom. It’s great because it is so hot down here that you need the aircon. We deposited our bags and walked to the Sin Cafe to check prices and then booked our trips with them.
Mekong Delta overnight trip tomorrow and the Cu Chi tunnels on Saturday.
Next stop – internet cafe to sort out all our ticket problems and got them solved. then we decided to go for a walk around town (as well as get re-ticketed)
Saigon has more traffic than Hanoi, the streets are wider and there are more cars. There is obviously a lot more money down here as you don’t get harassed as much. As we were walking down one of the main streets we saw two women pull down their duds and do a wee on the pavement. We walked past and continued walking along the pavement where it looked as though there was a lot of dog poo, but no…it was human. this place is definitely an experience.
We went to the Lufthansa office and got re-ticketed, then walked to the War Remnants Museum. There were tanks and weapons and pictures from the American (Vietnam) War. It was very anti American with lots of propaganda with very explicit photos. It wasn’t the best place to visit.
From there we walked to the supermarket and onto the markets to have a look around. There were lots of fake clothes, cheap gold, leather shoes, fruit and veges. Heaps of stuff. Simon bought a leather wallet for $5 USD. (we were going to buy these things in Turkey)
Dinner was at the hotel. Included in the $9USD was breakfast and dinner. This place is fantastic! Dinner was simple but edible. We went back to email the guesthouse in Turkey and then to our room to pack for tomorrow and bed.
