Saigon

Greetings from Saigon Ingo and I are here in Saigon on holiday. We first went to Singapore to go to my cousin's wedding. That was really nice to go to a Catholic wedding and then having a Chinese wedding banquet in the evening. We were only in Singapore for a few days. I met a cousin whom I had not seen in 25 years. That was really nice. Then we flew to Saigon. Tomorrow we are going to Mui Ne Beach which is about 3 hours drive from Saigon to windsurf and relax before I head out to Papua New Guinea on my own.

Saigon is incredible. Three words to describe Saigon--Motorbike, heat and crowd. There are motorbike everywhere. There is a bit of nostalgia here in Saigon. It reminded me of my childhood in Port Klang, Malaysia about 30 years ago--the smell, noise, filth, sights, toys, food...etc.... Although dogs here are well fed, seemed fairly well kept compared to the dogs when I was little. This place is a good introduction and acclimatisation of the humidity and heat. At least here I have air con to escape to in the evenings or afternoons if I really needed to. Even in the rural areas they have electricity and internet cafe. Incredible. Things are very cheap. Meals usually cost about one pound (US$2.00) for both Ingo and I. We stayed at a nice hotel initially but the last couple of days we're staying at the backpackers area and our room is only 6 pounds (US$12.00). Incredible huh. And that is with air conditioner. Learning about the history about Vietnam is an eye opener for me. We went to the War Remnant Museum, and I left with puffy eyes. The terrible atrocities that the Vietnamese went through. We also went to the tunnels and crawled through one as well. Thank goodness they are not at war now. It's not a starving country. In fact in the city, they feed their children so well, some of them are obese.

We went to the Mekong Delta the last couple of days. The noise of the wooden boat and the smell of gasoline just brings back so much memories of my childhood. The floating market was very cool. Basically it's market with boats filled with whatever they sell ie pumpkin, bread, noodles, potatoes, coconut, bananas, drinks...etc..... They rely on the Mekong River for everything. They bathe in it, wash their clothes, wash their vegetables...etc.... They all live a very hard life. With no social benefit system, you see old people and children working still. It really breaks my heart. Humbling and made me grateful for all I have.

We also saw lots of french and other caucasian couples with asian looking children--presumeably they adopted vietnamese children. It's a really child friendly country and the Vietnamese seem to love children--it is the same in malaysia as well. The only daunting thing is trying to cross roads with the mass motorbikes and cars. You basically have to dodge between them. The first few hours in Saigon, I must have had the face of fear on one of the crossroads, a kind Vietnamese old lady grabbed my hand to led the way. Felt like such a kid again!

Well I shall sign off now as i am sweating buckets and my air condition room is beckoning for my return. In 10 days I will be in Papua New Guinea. I am getting more and more use to the heat and the constant glow of sweat on my face........