Saigon, Day 1

OK, we (Dusten, Craig and I) are now in Saigon. I walked out of the airport, hopped in a cab and immediately saw my first scooter crash, just a nose to tail, but a very good introduction to the mayhem which is Saigon's roads. Accomodation wise we've hit a real goldmine: a rad room located in a very vibrant street down in District 1. There is an abundance of restaurants and bars all within walking distance. There's a bit of noise pollution however, I'm curren

tly listening to a Vietnamese rock band performing more English and American covers than I can possibly recall; currently jamming out to a Zombie by the Cranberries.

Anyway, Day 1. The day begins at a jetlag-induced 6am. At about 9 we wandered down the road to Tom and Anna's apartment and woke them up. Our morning reunion was held outside their hotel which is down this cute narrow alley way with shops and houses of varying wealth lining the path. The ally is teeming with life as scooters blast down the narrow street every few minutes, carefully dancing between throttle and break.

Breakfast (technically second breakfast) consisted of Pho from a little restaurant that clearly doubled as a house and a garage. Pho consists of white noodles in a tasty (addictive) broth with a few bits of beef. Very tasty. So tasty in fact that this was also my lunch.

Today was a sight seeing day and first up was Independence Palace (aka Reunification Palace(?)), the setting of where Vietnam's President presided, all put together back during Vietnam's abominable struggle against America.

The second sight of the day was the Rembrants Museum, a series of photos to tell different stories of the war. Collections included the 'Atrocities of War', 'Vietnam after the war', 'Agent Orange', and so on. There really were some deeply disturbing and moving photos and stories. It was extremely challenging to look at everything, especially as many contained death. The most moving photo of all for me was of two terrified kids roughly 4-8 years old by a farm. The photo was taken moments before they were shot, but it is clear that the older of the two has jumped on top of his little brother to shield him from harm. Truly heartbreaking. Seeing how these innocent folks were born in to an impossible and damned situation makes me really appreciate the freedom in to which we have been born. It is sad how forgranted we end up

taking that privilege.

We nursed our mental state back to health at a nearby cafe. My coffee + milk + ice was a real treat. Coffee's made with a cool filter device, I won't elaborate now though.

So the afternoon. We wandered down to a local market. Purchasable items included a bottle of miscellaneous alcohol with snakes and scorpions inside, a variety of sea cucumbers, and 'weasel' coffee, the coffee bean that has passed through the digestive tract of some marsupeal. We spent a bit of time wandering and haggling, only coming away with a bunch of tasty banannas.

Dinner today consisted of extremely dodgy pork based scraps inside a baugette, and a note worthy steamed pork bun with quail egg. Before long we found ourselves cramped around a tiny table on tiny chairs sipping away at the now familiar Saigon Green beer. Mid way through the evening the heavens opened the taps to full and within minutes a layer of water spanned across the street. The brave motor cyclists ploughing through with pace left a wake behind them. In a hurried rush restaurant staff extended the umbrellas

built in to each building to cover the now damp patrons. Just sitting back and watching the streets became infinitely more fascinating in this sudden and durastic downpour as sheets of rain form waterfalls and lighting completes the spectacle. The end of the night came and we needed to head home, a distance of about 20 meters. In the thick of it all (and as a result of following Dustin) we ended up walking straight past our hotel. A minute of standing out in the rain scratching our heads managed to solve the problem of 'where's our hotel', but at the cost of being completely and utterly soaked through.

Good times.