Goodnight Saigon

When I was in Luang Prabang, I noticed that there was something wrong with my Vietnam-visum, the date was wrong. So I had to change it at the Vietnamese Consulate there. After spending two days in Luang Prabang we left for Vientiane, the capital of Laos, in a mini-van. Just outside Luang Prabang we noticed the the aircon was not working anymore, but we just drove further. After six or so hours, just outside Vientiane, the driver wanted to pass a truck. While doing so, our bus broke down in the middle of the wrong side of the road. We all got out to push the van aside to prevent a traffic jam. Now I know why all the Asian people are wearing a mask when the drive a scooter. The fumes and the dust are really not that healthy. Our bus was still broken and it had to blow of some steam. So we called a tuktuk. With eleven people in a tuktuk is very cozy. I think we were lucky that our bus didn't broke down in the mountains, because than we were really screwed.
We spend just one day in Vientiane, just enough to visit the Patuxai, the Laotian version of the Arc de Triomphe and the lying Buddah with the tempel. There was also a market where we bought some drinks. While I was standing there, someone came to me and grabbed my arm. At first I thought it was just another street vendor trying to sell some stuff. When I turned around, she or he reached for her own junk and showed it to me. It was disgusting! I quickly turned and walked away. I was in shock for the rest of the day.
After all that happend, we headed towards Savannakhet, just to spend the night. Savannakhet is a ghost town. There was almost nobody and when we stopped at the hotel it looked like a former prison. The inside of the hotel was almost exactly the same as the Shining hotel. All night I was afraid Jack Nicholson would bash in my door with an axe.
The next morning, glad to leave, the bus headed for the border of Vietnam. At the border formalities, we had to change money at the 'offical' exchange office there. We just stopped in the middle of nowhere and a bunch of local Vietnamese women and children came and wanted to change our money. You had to change just enough money for lunch and change the rest at a real office in Hue. When we had changed the money with the women for an 'official' rate, their children immediatly start begging for the money. Goodmorning Vietnam!
Once in Hue, we haeded out for dinner and drank some cocktails. The next morning we explored the city and visited the Emperor's tombs and pagodas. Here you could see the combination of the Chinese and French influences in Vietnam. Vietnam also uses the latin alphabet because of the French reign. In Danang and Hoi An you could really see the French influence, especially in the architecture of the houses. In Danang you can see the former army base of the Americans during the war. Here, we also visited the marble mountains before arriving in Hoi An. Hoi An is also a city shining on the UNESCO World Herritage list. The old center of Hoi An is more than beautiful. Since there are no cars allowed in the center, it is a good place to explore by bike, so we did. Officially you have to pay to get in the old city center and it is then also an entree ticket for some sights there. If you don't want to pay, just walk of cycle and never look back, you can never look back. Cycling is nice, you will catch a little breeze in the heat. Sometimes, the sun is very cruel. If I stopped cycling and stand in the sun for five minutes, I was afraid for spontaneous combustion. Since the beach was only 4km away, I went there by bike. It was really cool there, sitting in the shadow under the palm trees.
Now I am in Ho Chi Minh City, the former Saigon, a million people city, the biggest city of Vietnam. People here still call it Saigon, and so will I. The traffic is crazy around here, so I won't think about getting a bike here. We just explored the city by bus.
Today I went to the Mekong delta, where the river meets the see. We went by boat to the floating market and there you could also cycle again, so we did, with a guide, and went to the handycraft village, where they make wine and candy by hand. Very tasteful. Now I'm back in Saigon, really exhausted but I had a great time, and I still have a great time. Goodnight Saigon!