Arrival - Ho Chi Minh City (Old Saigon)

March 16, 2011

Hi all,

Well I'm finally here, Ho Chi Minh City (Old Saigon) Vietnam. Left on Sunday, and now it's already Wednesday! This is my first chance to begin touring - that's what happens when you fly half way around the world. The flight was 15 hours, t0 China, 7 hour layover in Guangzhou, China, then a 3 hour flight to Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC). It's an endurance test, but of course, all well worth it.

I arranged to have a "transfer" - that's a travel term for someone to pick you up at the airport and take you to your hotel. Ahhhhh, that is cool.

My first impression was one of amazement about the city transportation. The traffic is unreal in downtown HCMC. The web and flow of motorcycles (by the thousands) with cars and pedestrians. The number of motorcycles is unbelievable. I inserted a video, hope it works, to give you sense of the lineup at a traffic signal. Signal turns and hundreds of cycles are on the move. Women, men, families, working folks with business attire on and service workers carrying their cargo on board, all in a movement with a few horns along the way.

Walking across the street is a learning experience. You have to pick a time, go for it, and MAINTAIN SPEED, because all the cycles judge your movements and move around you, if you stop or hesitate for them, its sudden death! :)

Last night I walked a bit, got a great dinner at restaurant recommended by the staff at my hotel, then decided to crash. I'm up now the next day to tour. What a difference in the economic standard of living - a great dinner, traditional Vietnamese food, beer, dessert all for $6USD

Your image of the city changes with time. At first its a shock, seeing how people live and work literally on the sidewalk, how the whole pattern of life moves at high motion, then you pick up on it, you see how it all works and you begin to understand how people live a very different way of life in this part of the world. Then you accept the difference and enjoy it. It's all part of the experience of emersing yourself in another culture.

Off tomorrow for Cambodia, I'll give you a report on here next time from there

Yours in Travel

Bill

PHOTOS: Contrast - the Peoples Committee Building (late 1800's French) and the new modern Saigon buildings; Eating lunch on the sidewalk, a city social experience

Off to Vietnam and Cambodia March 15 - April 4, 2011

Hi Friends and Family!

I'm off again to see another part of this amazing world while I still can. This year it’s Vietnam and Cambodia. Few countries have changed so much over such a short time as Vietnam. Since the war, this nation has bounced back, although under a Communist regime, (hey isn’t capitalism wonderful?). It has a vibrant economy, a land of mountains with terraced rice paddies dropping down to beautiful white sand beaches, and an amazing cultural heritage. There are 5 World Heritage Sites I will try to bag, including ancient cities, Halong bay where limestone pinnacles by the thousands rise out of the sea, and the world’s longest cave accessible by boat.

And Cambodia - the driving force for me is to visit Angkor Wat, the ancient capital of the great Khmer Empire in South East Asia founded in the 9^th century AD and lasting for 6 centuries. Europeans “discovered” it in the 19^th century. Angkor Wat is easily on top of the list of the ancient wonders of the world that are still standing today.

I'll try to post to the blog including some pictures every couple of days. Check back and travel with me! Click on the posted pictures for a larger view. Past weekly postings can be found in the "archives" here on the blog along with some postings from my prior trips.

We’ll see you on the road!! If you can drop me a line, I'd love to hear from you. You can email me at: doubleucubed@mac.com

Yours in Travel,

Bill