Homeward bound

It is with a tinge of regret amidst great anticipation that we make our final entry of the holiday. In three hours' time we'll be on the plane home with 13-14 hours of travel ahead, and the comfort of our own home awaiting us. Far at the back of our minds is the prospect of returning to work and all the drudgery that accompanies it, but even the idea of getting back into a routine seems somewhat attractive after two months of free days and afternoon drinking (I know, it sounds great when you put it like that, but you really do get sick of it after a while).

Anyway, picking up where we left off, we got up bright and early yesterday to go to the meeting place for our 12 hour tour to the Mekong Delta, but unfortunately George came down with a brief but intense bout of the Saigon belly and we decided to give it a miss and hung out in the hotel for a few hours until he recovered. After this, we walked to the Jade Emperor Pagoda, which turned out to be quite a mission, as it was a pretty big walk, our dodgy fake Lonely Planet guide has very confusing maps, and it was damn hot on top of that. Another weird thing about this place - the street vendors who sell big bottles of water to passing travellers seem to have two (or possibly three) sets of price signs that they interchange according to how hot it is at the time. This morning, for instance, it was really hot again and we tried to find the place we usually get 1.5 litre bottles for 5,000 dong (about 33 cents), but every stall had signs up for 8,000 instead (I know, I know, it's about 10 or 20 cents difference, but it's the principle). When we were walking back in the afternoon just after it had rained and cooled down, the price had miraculously changed back to 5,000.

Anyway, we eventually found the pagoda, which was cool but probably not really worth the walk, and then walked back to the main area and had a very tasty lunch at what turned out to be a particularly fancy Vietnamese restaurant (and still only cost us about $30). After this we were at a bit of a loss as to what to do, and after the previous day of excessive beerage, we decided to head back to the hotel for a 'rest' before dinner, which turned out to be the rest of the night lying on the bed and watching crap on TV and reading.

This morning we stuffed around until check out at 12, using the gym here in attempt to get back into an exercise routine, packing and stuff, then spent the rest of the afternoon shopping at the Ben Than markets, getting caught in yet another downpour, and having lunch and a few beers. Now we're back at the hotel filling in time until we get our taxi to the airport.

Despite our initial reluctance to even be here, we've quite enjoyed Vietnam and intend to come back one day and do some more travelling to Hanoi and possibly into Cambodia (eventually...). You hear so many accounts of journalists and photographers who worked here during the war and despite the atrocities they saw they can't stop themselves from coming back again and again (just listen to the words of Khe Sanh), and now I can kind of understand it. There is something about this place, despite the filth and poverty. Everyone is so friendly (despite just trying to get their hands on our money), a huge contrast from the generally abrupt if not rude service we experienced in most of Europe without noticing it. The main downside is that the people treat white people like royalty simply because we have so much money, and that is quite uncomfortable for people who simply want to experience the place and not get treated so differently. There are literally people employed at every restaurant simply to open doors for people, and they hang around near your table waiting for the slightest sign of you needing something.

The chaos is very disconcerting at first, but that also becomes kind of addictive after a while. Crossing even the smallest street was terrifying on the first day or two, but now we've learnt how to do it properly (look down at the street, walk very slowly, even yawning helps, and all the motorbikes just weave around you - it you try judging the traffic by looking up or walking too fast, you're bound to stuff up and have someone screech to a halt in front of you, or worse, flatten you) we make any excuse to cross a road just because it's fun.

Well, that wraps up our Vietnam experience and the end of our holiday...we leave here in about 15 minutes and it's all over. Thanks all who've been reading and enjoying, and we'll see you all soon.

Cheers
Bec & George