Saigon

The flight into Vietnam was one of the bumpiest I've experienced and the gasps heard from all the passengers as we hit rough turbulence did nothing to ease our nerves. We were extremely glad to finally touch ground in Ho Chi Minh airport yet I still couldn't shake a feeling of nervousness about our upcoming experiences here. Being greeted by 3 over-eager taxi drivers as we left the airport also did nothing to make me feel more comfortable as we have heard stories of being ripped off by taxi drivers from non-reputable companies, etc. We found our desired taxi company and ensured the meter was running before venturing from the comfort of the familiar airport setting into the unknown.
Our first afternoon and night in Saigon consisted of initially adjusting to the crazy road rules (or lack of) and culture shock, followed by a touch of dinner. We decided to jump straight into the local specialty called Pho (pronounced like you're saying "fur" quickly). This is a basic noodle soup, but very tasty and always the fall-back dish in times of distress. Following this and a few beers that cost around 22,000 dong (approx A$1.60 - not the cheapest here), we went back to the hotel to catch up on the lack of sleep from the previous evening in Singapore and we also figured that everything would look a lot less scary in the morning - which it did.
After a well-deserved sleep (sharing a double bed with an even smaller blanket, mind you) we arose and headed downstairs for breakfast. A bakery roll and fried egg with juice and tea. If you don't want soup or noodles for breakfast, your likely going to have egg.. I know it's only been just over a week, and don't get me wrong I'm a big fan of egg, but what I wouldn't give for a simple bowl of cereal with milk! Meh, only a few more months to go 'til Europe :)
We thought we'd take a cyclo (26,000 d for the both of us ≈ $1.80) to the nearby Ben Thanh markets full of stalls with all sorts from fresh produce to hand-crafts, clothes, flowers, watches, coffee, anything really.. The aromas throughout were quite lovely (except the seafood section haha) and were reminiscent of our time in Bali about 10 years ago. Following this, we caught a bus - again very cheap at approx $0.25 - to Cholon, Ho Chi Minh's version of Chinatown. It was definitely unlike any Chinatown I had seen before, nothing really that I would identify with a Chinese area at all, apart from some lanterns hanging around in a few select shops. The main attractions there are the local markets (again very aromatic) and the many pergodas (temples), of which we visited a few. The pergodas are amazing places of worship for these people - it was great just to see a contrast in the way humans commit to their different faiths.
Feeling pretty buggered by the time we got back, we went straight out to dinner for some chicken and corn soup and spring rolls, and that was the extent of our night. Plus, we had to be up early the next morning for a trip to the floating markets on the Mekong Delta, a few hours west of the city.
About a 3 hours bus trip later in the morning, we arrived at the Delta (Vietnamese: đồng bằng sông Cửu Long “Nine Dragon river delta”) which is where the Mekong River approaches and empties into the sea. Our group took a small boat out through the famous floating markets where the locals live and work on their boats, selling and trading goods. It hit me, as I watched a boat loaded with bags of grain pass us, that this is an entire community built on the simplest of principles.. Working to make a living, but living for their work also. They probably have not experienced any other lifestyle and would probably not feel the need to either. They are happy within their existence and it seems to me that maybe their existence is a whole lot more real and fulfilling than many of ours in the Western world.
Meeting people is always a great part of the travelling experience and we met a couple more awesome people on this tour: Davey, an Aussie working in London, and Gustavo, an Argentinian. After alighting briefly to visit one of the market stalls and see how rice paper and bunch of other items are hand-made, we headed to a small inhabited island nearby for lunch and then Davey, Gus and I went for a bicycle ride through the small villages there. All of the local children were waving, smiling and saying hello to us - even though they don't actually know what "hello" means. That was a really great experience!
Another huge day and we were tired but figured we'd go to dinner together at a great restaurant called Quan An Ngon. We ordered up a bunch of meals to share and all-in-all with drinks it cost us around 520,000d. Then we headed to a rather exclusive-looking roof-top bar for 85,000d cocktails and then onto a Jazz Club for some more similarly priced cocktails and great jazz by an Asian band - they even gave us a rendition of Spiderman.. we felt special. All up we spent around 1,200,000d between us for the night.. A lot right? It works out to about $23 each. Bargain!

Photos:

1. Our on-board entertainment from Singapore

2. Saigon beer - not too shabby and pretty damn cheap!

3. A roundabout in HCMC

4. Pho for lunch.. Mmmm

5. And breakfast

6. The Ben Thanh markets

7. Incense fills every pagoda as a sign of respect for the dead

8. Laughing cow cheese has gotten us through some tough times

9. On one of the rivers branching from the Mekong

10. A Vietnamese girl reaches for a leaf as we float down the Mekong river

11. Another roundabout

12. Trying snake wine - taken from the big jar in the background, note the dead bird also included