SE Asia Day 9 (Chau Doc to Ho Chi Minh City))
I forgot to mention that Vietnamese hotels hold your passports during the length of your stay.
On the road early, light breakfast. At a ferry crossing we hopped into a market and got some Aloe Vera Juice, Durian Fruit Dumplings and a spice cake of unknown origins.
Lunched at Tram Dung Chan, technically a western style sorta truck/rest stop but with the equivalent of several street food vendors inside thatched huts with wait-staff. It was the second most expensive meal we’ve had at 473,000 Dong ($25). Our cheapest dinner in Siem Reap (uh….day 5) remains the best. Wait….maybe lunch at the silk farm was the best meal.
That said, lunch was grilled squid, stewed pork and a rice so sticky you had to work to get your chopsticks out of it.
—
Construction closed the main highway into Saigon, so took another highway then turned through side roads to find a wreck blocking traffic. Turned around, made a big swing through more side roads to run into traffic stopped because of the same wreck. Stopped at a blocked/gridlocked intersection, our driver got out, and ran to speak to a few truck drivers. I don’t know what he said to them, but a 3 foot space cleared and scooters flocked to it. Scooters can be a headache or a day-saver. Our driver dashed back, hopped in the seat, laid on the horn to clear the scooters and took their space in the intersection. As the scooters cleared, large trucks tried to claim the space, but our driver persisted, and sacrificed the passenger side mirrors. Made it through the intersection in 3 minutes. The driver drove 100 meters, fetched a screwdriver and reattached the mirrors which were tethered to a chain…this seems to happen often.
Reached Ho Chi Minh City on time. The locals seem to call it Saigon with no issue.
Our rooms weren’t ready when we arrived at the hotel. The staff got us half drunk on the house.
Saw my first example of a Baron Harkonen looking business man in his 50s with a barely legal, beautiful Vietnamese girl. I saw none of this in Bangkok. It’s a bit ghastly.
Said goodbye to some friends we’ve met on the road who are going on to Hanoi. Kinda sad and jealous.
Rain in Hi Chi Minh City as we drove to dinner, and a relatively cool night.
We’ve yet to have any Pho.
We’ve had plenty of Dong jokes.
