Good Morning Vietnam

Amazing Mangosteen!
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Today, we make our way to Ho Chi Minh city, check into our rooms and head out for a little exploring.

First...the traffic....learning to navigate the streets here, is a nightmare..I'm lucky to be alive... A million mopeds, bicycles, cars, and trucks fill every inch of the street. They pass on either side, and seem to have to set pattern or direction, so crossing the street safely, can take a good 10 minutes.

Here, I tried my very first Mangosteen! It truly is, as spectacular as they say..

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I find a small internet cafe right around the corner, with really cheap phone calls, to the US. Only $3 for a hundred minutes. I take advantage of this, and catch up with everyone back home.

I scout out the area, get my bearings and find some neat places for dinner.

That evening...The Rat pack and I, ( Tom, Juan, and Doran ) head out Conco Restaurant----Check out the Review, too funny!

Poor Joan, took sick, an hour after checking in today...and was pretty much bed-ridden for the next 5 days...

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Next day, we were off for a Group Tour of Saigon. We visited: The Neo-Romanesque Notre Dame Cathedral, the French-style Central Post Office, City Hall, the Opera House, Jade Emperor Pagoda, the former Presidential Palace and the War Remnants Museum. My favorite stop, which should be no surprise by now was the Ben Thanh Market, the central market in town.

It was jam packed with goods for sale...pickled eggs, dried coconut, chopsticks, shoes, bags, you name, it was here! Doran...THE expert at bargaining, help me secure a Kipling handbag for a mere $4.

Ben Thanh Market
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Here, I tried my very first Mangosteen! It truly is, as spectacular as they say.. I ate it right there in the street, and then bought 6 more to take back to they hotel!

Day three, I opted for some R&R...I lounged on the deck, in the sun for part of the day, and later on Joined Tana & Mike for a trip down town for a bowl of Vietnamese Pho.( pronounced...fa) Our cabbie, who spoke, surprisingly good English, took us to one of his favorite spots to eat, and joined us for lunch.

We took in the Water Puppet show, near the War Memorial Museum...but I suggest you wait to see this is Hanoi. They don't even compare