The City with Two Names

So we arrive in Saigon, literally choose the first hotel we see and then set off to explore the city..... well, explore the backpacker area, which we failed to leave for two days! Full of bars, imitation oil painting shops and tourists! Its almost like London.... but with more motorbikes. For anyone who hasn't been to Saigon/Hanoi before crossing the road is AN EXPERIENCE! The official advice is to just walk slowly, and the motorbikes (should) stop for you.

We had our first Pho Bo (beef noodle soup) of the trip, for less than quid, and then we met up with Duncan, a friend from Bath who moved to Saigon a month ago, and his sweet Vietnamese friend Ut, and had a pretty big night out with them and Paul, who we met in Kampot, and Amy & Laura, two sisters who (wait for it Vicky) hail from Monkton Farleigh! Although the next day was a bit of a write-off, due to the previous nights alcohol related activities, the day after we visited the fabulously 60's reunification palace and ended the day with sunset cocktails on the 26th floor of the Sheraton.

On our last day, we shunned the tourist trap that is Chu Chi tunnels (Jo said she would be claustrophobic), and instead went "off the beaten track" to a weird empty olympic sized swimming pool, making the mistake to walk in the hot, noisy, polluted streets, instead of just taking a taxi.