Into Saigon AKA-Ho Chi Minh

It was clear as night and day crossing into the Vietnam border from Cambodia for the first time. Rows and rows of Cheesy Casino's line the streets on both sides immediately upon entering the Country of Vietnam. An interesting choice of buildings to erect and show off for first time foreigners. I always new the Vietnamese liked to gamble but this was a little obnoxious I guess one could say this also for first timers experiencing Reno or Las Vegas. Also the roads went from beat up gravel and dirt to smooth well paved Highways. An obvious sign of how much more money the Vietnamese Government is dishing out on it's roads compared to Cambodia.

I decided for the first tme in my four months of travel, to splurge on a bus ticket and dished out $12 on a bus from Phnom Penh to Saigon. It was worth every penny, cent, Dong-Vietnamese money. The staff was extremely professional and not like the usual busses I've been on which often includes yelling, shouting, constant loading/unloading of chickens, ducks, dogs, birds, reptiles, roofing, Moto bikes, and driver's constantly laying on the horn.

I even got a white bread sandwich filled with what seemed to be chicken/pork/tuna and the edges cut off just like Mom's do for their young children back home. This made me chuckle inside as most of the tourists on the bus were so called "white". Funny thing is I often consider myself "white" or should I say "American" most of the time maybe because I hardly speak any Japanese.

The only downfall was seeing a lady get hit by a pick-up truck on a Moto bike. And what was even worse was watching the two men at fault flee the scene. This is very typical in Cambodia as people involved in serious accidents tend to not stick around due to not having much money, being terrified of the local Police-which usually ends up in bribery and corrupt behavior, and just pure panic. I can't tell you how frustrating it was to helplessly watch the assailents drive away while I sat with no control over the mater on a bus speeding off to Vietnam. I looked back again and saw the lady on the ground reach her hand up very slowly and then just went straight stiff to the ground. It all left an ill feeling in my stomach. I quickly tried to channel it out and go back to reading my book but this didn't work.

As the bus approached Saigon I got very excited for a new cultural experience but then saw the chaos of the city with mass amounts of traffic and smog and started to miss Cambodia.