Say Saigon

Heeeeyyyyy!! I'm in Saigon!!

I am travelling alone again after a good 3 weeks with my mate Emma and then the PEPY team. I flew out of Siem Reap this morning (after a last minute dash to the temples to do a Bayon binge with Emma on a tuk-tuk, cutting it fine getting to the airport, the usual WaWa style).

Saigon is quite different to Hanoi - one obvious thing is weather - its sooooo hot here compared to the bleak coldness of Hanoi. Motorbikes are just as crazy but the roads are a lot wider and I can handle it a lot better after 4 weeks of good training all over South East Asia.

Still am not sure whether to call it Ho Chi Minh City or Saigon - I have referred to the city as HCMC before I arrived as it is the official name and seems to be a bit more PC/respectful. But since arriving and soaking in the atmosphere I've decided that Saigon is more feel good. I asked the guest house host what he calls it, he recons the older generation calls it Saigon, youngsters call it HCMC, but now there's a come back for Saigon. So dunno, I don't think the locals mind either way.

Obviously not the same city portrayed in the romanticised Western docos on the "Fall of Saigon" or the "Quiet American" type things anymore (was it ever?) - this place has seriously modernised, reminding me more of Taipei or Bangkok in many ways. Vietnamese chicks are a lot more boisterous than Cambodian girls and they seems to run the show here. Food and shopping is pretty choice here - less of the hot soups here as its hot as, so lots of fruits and cold fruity nutty coconut drinks like in Thailand and Cambodia. Seems to have more Chinese speakers here too and things are a wee bit cheaper, most likely cos its just a bit less toursty. What I mean is that there's heaps of tourists too, but that they blend in with the local consumers just as much cos its so businessy here.

My guest house room is up in a loft type place on a really really really really really busy street corner - the interior deco theme colour is obviously cream I feel like I am Repunzel living on a white pagoda. I have a little balcony overlooking the chaos, long flowy curtins and a giant picture of a water fall on the feature wall. trippy. The more expensive room I ordered (which I didn't want anyway) had been given away (again) so this room is cheaper at 11 USD/ night. Its steep compared to Laos and Thailand but its quite good for a city like Saigon. So yeah not too fussed for the time being.

I just had a shrimp rice cake soup drizzled in fish source + pig fat?!?! type dish, not entirely confident on the hygiene and am worried it might hit me some time tomorrow...
The ladies serving them at the Ben Than markets laughed at me because I had no idea how to eat it and asked for it to go with noodle soup (i had seen another girl with something similar so just asked for what I thought it was). How embarrassing.

Tomorrow I'll be heading to the Cu Chi tunnels (Viet Cong tunnels during the VN war) for a half day trip - wish me luck!!