Saigon

There is vibrancy that is Saigon and it is different than any place we have been to since our travels through South East Asia. We arrive in the early evening and the traffic here rivals that of Beirut and Napoli…incredible! We are awestruck at the vivacity that the night has to offer. We are ready to get out and see the city!

Crossing the street here is an art form we have begun to perfect. Traffic comes from every direction and the key as a walker is to never change your pace. The rule of tonnage is again supreme so the bigger you are the more 'seniority' on the road you have. You have to be alert but you must never bolt or change your direction once you have started as  this can cause a multitude of problems.  Once you have this down you can almost cross any street. We are working on this as we enjoy walking the city.

We check out the night markets and life along the river front. We eat at Pho 24 which is infamous in Vietnam. For a few dollars you can have the best bowl of soup in town and cold beer. There are street vendors  who cook everything on small propane burners. You can get fish, fruit, donuts, rice, vegetables, pancakes, and chicken all from the same little lady who cooks and serves from a small cart. We are besieged  by all the choices.

One night we attend the water puppet show. It is a Vietnamese form of entertainment that dates back to the 11th century  where it originated in the villages of the Red River Delta. Today's Vietnamese water puppetry is a unique variation on the ancient  tradition.  The puppets are made out of wood and then lacquered. The shows are performed in a waist-deep pool of water. A large rod supports the puppet under the water and is used by the puppeteers, who are hidden behind a screen to control them. Thus the puppets appear to be moving over the water. They often depict rural Vietnamese life. In the early days when the rice fields would flood the villagers would entertain each other using this form of puppet play. Eventually this became entertainment for Royalty.

We take an evening to have dinner on the Mekong River. Here a large dinner boat will cruise along the downtown area and we see a side of Saigon that we would have missed otherwise. While this is not something we usually do, it is exciting and we are happy to try it.  We also take time to get a massage and pamper ourselves while we are here. They are different than the ones we experienced in Thailand and are very nice.

We head out to meander through the Mekong River and Delta area and visit some of the places that Tom spent time in during his tour of duty in 1968-69. Somethings look and feel as time had stood still. We spend some time in the War Memorial museums.

We take in as much as we can…there is so much to see and do. We are heading to Hoi An in a few days and then up to Hanoi. We booked a cruise on a junk through Halong Bay for a few days for some rest and relaxation. Every beautiful thing we see and every delightful time we have reminds us of the beauty and delight that is you in our lives. You are loved and missed...