Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh City (aka Saigon), Vietnam

From Siem Reap we caught an early morning flight to Ho Chi Minh City. The flight was probably could seat about 100 people and there were only 9 of us on the plane! We were not very impressed with the city. It was very big and had a lot of traffic. I don't think there are any traffic laws there. On any given road there would be a few cars and about 100 motorbikes, with no lanes and no traffic lights at intersections, everyone just honks and tries to make there way through the maze of traffic..it was crazy. Riding in a taxi I did not know how we did not clip any of the motorbikes, but we did not seen any accidents. Crossing the street as a pedestrian was a real challenge since we did not have the right of way, and there were no traffic lights, you just kind of weave your way through! We did have some good Pho (Vietnamese soup with noodles) and we were able to watch the World Cup game at a Tapas Bar with some Americans! Most of our stay here consisted of hanging out at a coffee shop for free WiFi so that we could change some of our travel plans in Thailand. While we were in Laos we met some people who had travelled many different islands in Thailand and they suggested some places for us. So we will actually be going to both the east and west coast islands in Thailand. I feel like we could have skipped this city all together!

Hoi An, Vietnam

Hoi An was wonderful! A smaller town, but not as small as Luang Prabang. Hoi An is in the middle of Vietnam about two miles inland from the coast. The whole town revolves around the tailoring industry and making custom made clothing for a good price. They also will make basically any type of shoes you desire. I bought 8 custom made dresses, a couple made of silk and the other ones cotton for 150 dollars! We were there the night of the full moon and the town had a big celebration. They turned off all the lights in the restaurants on the river that runs through town, and only had lanterns lighting the streets and the river, there was also karaoke, and many people out on the streets celebrating the full moon! It was pretty cool! One day we rode bikes about 2 miles from our hotel to the beach, which was very pretty, the water was very clear and felt great. Jeff and I both are extremely sunburned! We ate some great food and had lots of cold beer! (for cheap of course)

We are now in Hanoi, Vietnam just for one night and we head off to Halong Bay tomorrow for a boat cruise for 2 nights. Then we head back to Hanoi for another day.

Pho in Ho Chi Minh City

Traffic in Ho Chi Minh City

Sunset on river in Hoi An

Baby on a motorbike!

Dinner in Hoi An

Typical store front in Hoi An

Final fitting for one of the dresses I bought

Sunset in Hoi An