From the back streets of Hoi An to the bright lights of Ho Chi Minh city

Hi everyone,
We're in Ho Chi Minh city (formerly Saigon). Its hot and humid, but we're pretty welcoming of the heat, after the rain and grey in Hue. The city is beautiful, with lots of French colonial buildings and plenty of green spaces. The French did leave some great town planning and atmosphere behind. The city is busy and frenetic but more manageable than Hanoi. Lots of cafe's and places for respite, never mind the amazing French restaurants. But just to catch you up on the last week or so...

We arrived safely in Hoi An - just like Hue, it was cold and very wet on that first day. But luckily things brightened up a little the next two days, so we were able to get out and about during our time there. Hoi An used to be a thriving trading city, with lots of Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese influences. These days its a very touristic place, but because of the preservation of the architecture, it retains a great charm and we spent most of our time strolling along the backstreets or having some local fare along the river. There are loads of tailors, who can make you up a custom-made dress or suit in 24 hours - the artisanal work is amazing. I had a pair of shoes hand-made for me! We also did a day trip to the My Son ruins, which is a conglomeration of Champa temples, bombed badly during the American invasion. We also had some great meals, one of which at a restuarant called 'Streets' which gives street kids a place to attain vocational training. All in all, Hoi An turned out to be a great little lay-over and although it teems with tourists, it was worth the 3 nights we spent there.

So after Hoi An, we flew on to Ho Chi Minh city. So far, we've walked the place flat and have seen some really good museums. The War Remnants museum was so interesting, although really uncomfortable to see the pictures of war. Makes you feel so sad for such a non-sensical loss of humanity. The Reunification Palace was also great - built in the 1960's, its a brilliant piece of art deco architecture. Seen the Botnical Gardens, the zoo and a couple of other things. We've had some great food too, not least of all, the mediterranean wraps and salads we found at Au Parc. Last night, we had a cocktail on the roof of the Majestic hotel - Saigon is stunning by night. Tonight we're probably going to head to a jazz club and probably grab some noodles (but not in that order!). Tomorrow we catch an evening flight to Siem Reap in Cambodia, so this stint wraps up our time in Vietnam. Its been such a cool country to visit, full of contradictions and such rich recent history. I am so glad we travelled North to South, think its the right way to move through this beautiful place.

So next up, Cambodia. Apparently, it's likely to be 35 degrees, so I am bracing myself for ruin-visiting in that weather! Oh, and facebook is banned here, so hopefully we will be back online when we get to Siem Reap. Missing everyone back home!

Talk soon
xxx
Noogy