Our day in Saigon

Saigon, Ho Chi Minh city, whatever you care to call it it's fascinating, busy and still looks French. Some of the architecture is very European looking but the life on the streets is strictly Vietnam. I have never seen so many motor bikes on the road and they swarm like armies at lights and crossings. Local people just start walking across any road they want to cross. the trick apparently is not to hesitate because you think you're going to be killed by a motor bike: he already has you in his sights and has mentally adjusted his route; if you hesitate you are, literally. lost! I didn't even attempt to cross a road I was too terrified. "If you stay here six months" our guide told us " you will just do it naturally and it won't seem strange" No I thought, because I'd be dead!

Can was her name....our guide. She was friendly, professional and very knowledgeable and her English was excellent, but she couldn't turn down the heat which we would all have appreciated. One burns up from the inside and you can feel your face burning red....I think it might well have been 100 degrees.

None of the buildings we visited...the President's palace, Notre Dame Catholic cathedral (built in the style of the one in Paris although didn't much resemble it), the Post Office (built like a large french railway station) , the History Museum and a water puppets show...were air conditione. only the beautiful Vietnamese restaurant where we sat down to an amazing meal, beautifully presented and cooked and delicious....there we were content and cool. It's amazing how good food makes people happy. Fortunately our bus was kept cool and air conditioned even when it waited for us.

The water puppet show was delightful. It took place under a corrugated roof, with risers for the audience to sit on. There was a small green pool in front of us, a dense simulated green forest on one side. Shimmering coloured puppets of dragons, ducks, fish and humans were manipulated from behind green curtains hung across the back of the pool. The puppets swam and fought and cavorted around in the water...then two little sparsely garbed humans arrived on the scene to play with and try to catch them and ultimately succeeded to loud applause. That was fun.

Because of the fumes of thousands of motor bikes and cyclos (a bicycle behind the rickshaw) and cars, nearly every one wears surgical masks and also the lovely chinese style straw hats or baseball caps or veils or both to protect from the sun. Some are wheeling barrows or cycling ordinary bikes....it may be pictureque but it looks like very hard work.

This evening Joh, theresa, George and I sat opposite the ship on the docks in a lovely open air restaurant where no one spoke English and it took ay least five of the staff to make out our order. All the more surprising that it came as it should and tasted delicious. You had to hang on to plate and drink just in case because our waiters had been given two instructions: fill their glasses even if they shake their heads and shout No more please! Secondly clear plates and glasses the second they're empty....take no notice of their shocked faces, they can come for more tomorrow. It was stressful until we got used to the hoverers and ignored them even when we crossed arms and hands and fingers got tangled and knocked over a few glasses...even then we just glowed in the atmosphere of beer, wine and roses. Our bus which George was leading had some good people on board, we called ourselves the seniors bus its meaning being superior rather than ancient!

i shall have to continue impressions tomorrow when I get back from he Mekong Delta or before we leave at 8 am. i am failing fast...goodnight.