Hoi An and Ho Chi Minh

Fri 22nd - Day 100 for me.

Have been in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh) for the last 2 days. It is fascinating chaotic and exciting. Saigon ws the capital of South Vietnam and has a huge French influence. As the North Vietnamese won the war they imposed the name of Ho Chi Minh on the capital, although many people still use Saigon. We have only had a few hours free here but it seems so much different to the North. For a start the architecture is very French - streets are spacious boulevards and some lovely colonial buildings. Also has a large number of western shops - we saw none in the north. But the funniest thing is the roads. There are 3.6 million scooters in Saigon, and they all seem to be on the road at the same time. There are some traffic lights but at most roads its a free for all. So the guide book says '' to cross the road you have to abdicate your personal safety to other road users. Your job is to leap into the road and set a course for the other side, maintaining a steady pace and line. Other road users then have a responsibility to miss you. DO NOT look let or right or deviate from your plan... It does work but its hard to do at times..

If you are going to come here do it soon. As they get richer more and more cars are appearing, so the streets will change from being chaotic to snarled..

Hoi An was a lovely city. Its very small and used to be a port for the middle of Vietnam for the early Japanese and Chinese settlers. Later the French had strong interest here so it has a mix of all 3. It is situated on the delta of a river so feels like you are at the sea. The cafes on the riverside are so French , with many French speakers , that I felt as though I was on the Mediterranean.

Hoi An is also shoppers paradie - although not for western shops. You can get made to measure shirts, suits, t shirts within 6 hours from the wide variety of tailors lining the streets. And loads of craft shops - I could really spend some money on the paintings here( I am holding fire as I have 4 already).

On Tuesday afternoon we went on a boat and cycle ride around the local islands. All 9 cycles on board and off to a local beach for a bbq. The boat driver had a small charcoal kettle bbq and managed to serve up the most gorgeous selection of fish, chicken, beef, eggplant with salad - didn''t seem to have enough space to do it. We then went cycling around another of the islands. We took some boxes of noodles to give out to the local children. The island seemed idyllic with small cottages everywhere surrounded by vegetables. It was only idyllic to us in the sun as the reason the veggies were there was food, no veggies and they starve. And the houses didn''t look too watertight. Kids only went to school until 7 and after that its out to farm. We went to a local school (actually a small shed) and the kids were gorgeous and seemed optimistic - but you couldn't help thinking what kind of a life they would have. At the time our kids join brownies and cubs, they become adults and go to work!!

Off to the Mekong delta tonight and staying in a homestay , whatever that is. Weather has improved here in thats it now hot, but Saigon in too polluted to see the sun. And I have a thick cold (which is being passed around) so breathing is doubly difficult.

Hope you have a good weekend. Next post from Pnom Penh