We took the train down from Ho An to Ho Chi Minh aka Saigon, which took 22 hours. We shared the cabin with 4 others, one of whom turned out to be a bit Psycho... his bed was next to the luggage store and my backpack, and the next day I discovered he had taken my sellotape and wrapped it round some of my things, and stuffed rubbish into my backpack. It was quite disturbing but he didn't steal anything. His friend spent most of the journey giving him a violent massage. (Massage is very popular here). The other two people in the cabin were some glum, spoilt young americans! so we were glad to get off the train, but the scenery was amazing at times, as we went past empty, white sandy beaches.
They appeared to be impossible to get to, as you would have to trek through dense jungle. We later discovered that the beaches in this area are no good for swimming because of the dangerous undercurrents. Its a shame, but they made for great photos as they were empty.
Although the whole of Vietnam is in the tropics, as you head south, you feel it more. Everywhere you go there are bananas, coconuts, pineapples, mangos, and jackfruit growing.
Saigon is boiling all the time, as opposed to Hanoi which has a slight let up of heat in the evening. The people in Saigon are also more relaxed, and the pace of life slower although it is the capital city.
We didn't spend much time in Saigon itself, but there was enough time to try some great food. Its quite similar to the food in Hanoi, but with the addition of tropical fruits its even more tasty!
One evening we went in search of dinner and came across a street stall which seemed popular. It was serving HotPot, but South Vietnamese style. The first problem was that I forgot the phrase book and nobody spoke any English, nor was there an English menu. Luckily we remembered one or two words, but most of it was guesswork.
Also luckily - we like sweet and sour fish which is what we apparently ordered.
The evening was going well, and the food was tasty. A passer by helped us with the cooking (You cook hot pot yourself) as we were doing it all wrong. Suddenly the two ladies running the stall ran up and took our table, dinner and all. We looked up and everyone was running so we ran too as whatever was happening was serious. Then a troupe of policeman on motorbikes cruised by and everyone in the restaurant put their hands in their pockets and whistled. As soon as they had passed everyone went back to eating their dinner. We were settling back in to our meal when along came a massive cockroach, and then another and another, a little too close for comfort. At this point even the ladies running the stall saw the funny side. We decided to cut our losses and pay the bill. They overcharged us. We weren't used to the currency and got our numbers mixed up!
So it was a great evening!
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