Saigon may be one of the only cities in the world where it is not advised to look both ways as you cross the street.  Why?  Because you may never get across.

This begs the question…how does one cross the street? You step in to traffic, walk slowly with a clear course and make it as easy as possible for the motorcycles flying by not to hit you.  I liken it to a real life version of Frogger as you bob and weave your way to safety at every turn. 

Basically it’s utter chaos.

Immediately upon our arrival we knew we were back in Southeast Asia as the distinctive scent hit us.  Oddly enough we both acknowledged this fact even before we got off the jetway.  How to describe this is difficult, but we both knew.  Soon after we picked up our bags we were greeted by our driver from the hotel and made the trip from the airport in about 40 minutes. 

Perfect right?  Well not exactly…as we arrived at our hotel we were greeted by the host at the front desk outside who promptly informed us we wouldn’t be staying here. 

Ummm, we have a reservation? 

Long story short we were booked a room down the street at the most spartan hotel on the block.  To be fair the place was worth every dollar we paid for it.  It had a bed, a bathroom, complimentary breakfast, an airc onditioner, and all the noise of Saigon.  All night the din of the scooters persisted.  At its quietest, imagine three lawnmowers perched outside your bedroom window mowing all night long.  Naturally M fell asleep in minutes.      

The next morning after finding out we weren’t getting our reservation back down the street, we headed out to take in the sights.  On the surface the city reminded us a lot of Bangkok, except Saigon isn’t anywhere near as interesting.  In a matter of hours we were done.  Ben Thanh Market, The War Remnants Museum, Pagoda, and Buddist Temple.

 For the next day we made sure to plan a day trip outside the city.  With the choices available we opted to visit the Mekong delta.  Day 2 tomorrow…

*Please note that pictures will not be updated till we get back to Tokyo!