Palace Hotel Vung Tau

... that graves are so not respected<br>in this country.<br><br>Not sure what we&#8217;re doing today, just finished breakfast, and our<br>only plan is to get frozen yogurt later. Oh, and glasses. Apparently<br>you can get an eye exam and glasses for only $20. And Binh&#8217;s glasses<br>are at least 10 years old, so why not? Otherwise, we have a day of<br>hanging out until we leave for Danang tomorrow.<br><br>Later!<br><br><br><br>

... to heading up north to their better beahes! It even had a rip off of Rio's jesus statue at the top of the mountain south of the town....if it wasnt for the locals covered from head to toe in clothing only showing their eyes you would be mistaken that you were in brazil.<br><br>They had all the shanty shacks set up on the beach ready to sell you everything you could imagine...and these little ****ers didn't quit, no matter how many ...

... tide came in. Also All of the Vietnamese who swam here would wear all of there clothes so us bathing suit wearing people looked like total freaks. There wasn't much to do but it was nice to lay on the beach and relax a bit after 2 weeks of non stop travel. I don't know that I would come back again though unless it changes a little and gets cleaned up and maybe a little easier to get around.

Well after having a nice relaxing time in the Mekong, Jen and I (Katie) thought we should try our luck at a more local area, Vung Tau. This a beach town about 2 1/2 hours by bus from HCMC. We took a speed boat their (1 1/2 hours), we arrived Friday afternoon and set off to find a hotel and some food. We were not real successful with the food(steamed veg), but we did find a hotel room with a balcony ...

... des cossins (grosse depense, chandail a 1$). Parla suite, tour en regle du centre-ville et on est aller voir lemusee des horreurs de guerre. Merci au americains de mavoir fait sauter un repas en voyant des photos denfant bruler parl agent orange et pas les bombes lance par les b-52. Aujourdhui,on cest payerun gros luxe, on est aller voir une eglise codaie et les tunnels ou se cachait lesvietcongs durant la guerre. Pour leglise,cetait vraiment super ...

I flew from Bangkok to Saigon (aka Ho Chi Minh City) on Bangkok Airways. After arrival in the city I made my way to the tourist part of town and found a decent hotel. It was $18 for a small air/con room with satellite TV and a fridge. The city is full of young people and my guidebook said that 65% of the population is under 30. The city reflects the frenetic energy of the young populace quite well. Even on weekdays cafes and bars were packed until the ...

... purchase a meal from a street vendor, you can. Or, if you want food prepared on a stove set up on the sidewalk, you can do that too. If neither of those sounds appealing, there are countless restaurants to choose from. Buddhist and Hindu temples are just down the alleyway between those restaurants and shops, so if you want to worship before or after your meal or as you shop, you can. Vietnam has every kind of architecture imaginable. The French influence is ...

I passed the CELTA course and will soon be certified to teach English! It was defiantly one of the hardest things I've ever done. I'm a bit nervious to start teaching but I can worry about that in a month. I am leaving for Bangkok on Feb. 13th and will hit the beaches soon after. Ho Chi Minh City is completly different from home. People are always out on the streets and the traffic is insane. The energy here is good and I've settled in quite well. I havent had much ...

... be aware of. They actually told us that to cross the road in Vietnam you simply step out into traffic - but the absolutely crucial element is to continue across the road (however wide it may be) with a steady, confident space. The motos, cyclos (rickshaws - the little carts with wheels that a man will pull around), busses, cars, and trucks will just maneuver around you - so if you change your paces they can't judge how to avoid hitting you. I got some really great videos the first ...

... in the lobby, we were quickly packed into a large passenger van. As the engine rumbled and the horn blared, we weaved our way through the narrow streets of Saigon, a whale in a stream full of tadpoles. Crossing the Mekong river, urbanity quickly disappeared and was replaced by wide roads lined with single story cement storefronts. It was amazing. Stores, one after another, selling the same exact thing. Every 5 or so, there would be a large open air restaurant ...