Saigon and the Mekong Delta

Hi again!

The camera batteries need a recharge before I can post any pics, but anyway here's what we've been up to:

We had a great time in Dalat. After my last message, we went off for a day of touring - up into the mountains, where Caitlin managed to convince Mummy to let her go for a horse ride... Rach didn't realise it meant she had to go along for the ride... Will definitely have to post some pics of that! :-)
Had a look around some more sights, and even went for a ride on a "bobcoaster", which is like a cross between a bob-sled/luge and a rollercoaster, which we rode down the hillside through the rainforest to Datanla waterfall. Grandma even had a go!

The next day, the drive from Dalat to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) was long, but interesting. We passed through some beautiful rainforest roads on the way back down the mountains, and stopped for lunch at a place called Bao Lao (not sure if that's the right name) where they grow tea and coffee. Hopefully the tea and coffee will get through customs... along with the 6358kg or so of luggage that we seem to have amassed!

When we finally got to our hotel in Saigon - the Riverside (definitely NOT to be confused with the 5-star Rennaisance Riverside next door!!!), we had to wait half an hour while convincing them to give us the room we had booked! Eventually they sorted it out and we headed up to the top floor, with fantastic views of the Saigon river from the balcony outside the room.
They do some things a little differently here - we asked for Orange Juice with no ice at breakfast, so they served us up some freshly made Tang (powdered Orange drink) in hot water! Mmmmmm
Anyway, the location here is great - we're right in the middle of the city, with restaurants, markets and everything from street stalls to fancy shops all around.

Our latest guide - Luong (not sure of spelling), took us for a tour of the city, including Notre Dame Cathedral, the HCM Post Office, the War Remnants Museum (some of the exhibits aren't for the faint hearted), and the Reunification Palace (which was formerly the Independence Palace, but after the tanks came through the gates in 1975, they decided a name change was in order!) The Reunification Palace is very cool - 1960s architecture with a Vietnamese slant.

Saigon city by night is different to what I expected - maybe I've adjusted to the hustle and bustle and the sound of a thousand motorbikes. Anyway, it doesn't seem quite as crazy as I expected - almost relaxed compared with the Old Quarter of Hanoi at night!

Today we drove to My Tho, and took a boat ride in the Mekong Delta. After being ferried across the river, we strolled through a little island village and then rode in little wooden rowboats through some narrow but busy creeks, with water-coconut palm fronds hanging over us on both sides. Then we headed to Ben Tre for lunch, where we had fried elephant-ear fish wrapped in fresh spring rolls, among other delights.

Tomorrow we have our last free day in Vietnam, so we're going to tackle the horrendous task of packing tonight. Once that's done, we'll know if it's physically possible to squeeze anything else into the luggage before we think about hitting the shops tomorrow!

On Wednesday, we head off from Saigon to Singapore at 12.50pm. After a few hours in Singapore, we're off to Darwin, then after a day or so in Darwin, back to Broome on Friday afternoon. I reckon I'll be ready for a beer by then... Come to think of it, maybe I should pop out for one now!

:-)

S.