after our short but sweet time in cambodia, alas we are in saigon (ho chi minh city). we decided to exchange roadway for waterway as we took a boat down the mekong river into vietnam. it was a wonderful 4 hour cruise down the mighty river, with border stops and immigration checks all included in the float. we floated into chou doc, a town near the vietnam-cambodia border right at sunset and it was beautiful (made up for our less than desirable sunset experience at angkor!). our hostel that night was on the top floor of a skinny building, so high that we had but dribbles of water coming out of the shower head due to no pressure. for 4 bucks though, not too bad.
the following morning we got back in bus mode for a trip to saigon. this city is a bustling center, much more active than phnom penh. actually, this place is INSANE, utter chaos on two wheels. we have been playing frogger since we've been here, trying to navigate across the streets with scooters and minibikes swarming like hornets. you just have to put the blinders on, start walking, and trust that they'll avoid you. we found a comfortable place to stay here, and have been exploring the city since. today consisted of a nice long walk visiting an art museum, pagoda, market and notably the war remnants museum, which focused on the american war in vietnam. it was incredible to see things from another viewpoint, and the photographs of the horrific effects of napalm and agent orange were so disturbing. they are etched in our minds forever, and let us hope that history will not repeat itself.
on a culinary note (can't leave that out!), we finally sat down to eat our first pho (vietnamese rice noodle soup) of the trip, which we became addicted to in seattle. stin forgot that he was in the big leagues over here and underestimated the chiles, both by eating them and getting the oil on his face resulting in a nice blotchy facial rash. nice job. kendra managed to keep it under control. she also enjoyed her first glass of watermelon juice today, which was refreshing on such a hot and humid day.
on tap for the following days includes visits to the cu chi tunnels, tay ninh (the headquarters of the Cao Daism religion), and hopefully get our wish of finding some moto's to rent to assist with our exploring. so stay tuned, same channel! take care , we miss you all!
