Back to the City Again!

We ate dinner by the train station as we waited for our departure and had about 5 guys come up to our table and try to polish one of our friend's shoes. The funny thing is they all bothered him and his shoes aren't even polishable - they're gortex. Our train ticket was supposed to be for a soft sleeper which means a bigger mattress in a 4 people cabin. Our actual ticket was for a hard sleeper which means small plastic mattress in a 6 people cabin. We actually lucked out and the Vietnamese people in our cabin went to sleep before us and our cabin was comfortable and quiet. However, we used this as an excuse to bargain for a cheaper bus ticket the next day.

The women can carry anthing

We got in at 6am and had to fight our way through the bothersome taxi drivers who helped us decide that we would instead walk to our guesthouse. We dropped our bags off and walked to Ho Chi Mihn's Mausuleaum (I can't spell I know). The line was very long, but it's only open in the morning on certain days. You basically walk into a freezing room with Ho Chi Mihn's dead body which is lit up. He actually asked to be cremated like a normal person so he's probably pissed. It was pretty cool to see this historical figure for real and to know he's been there for about 4 decades (oh and his head was pretty big for his body). We spent the day watching TV and eating Western food and met up in a group that night to eat pizza and drink beer and blow our day's budget. It felt good.

Us in front of HO CHI MIN

The next morning Ben went on a tour to the Perfume Pagoda, but came back early as it was rained out. We bought an Open Bus Ticket which includes 6 stops for $20 (special price) and is the way most people get around the major areas in Vietnam. Tonight we head South.

Water puppets