Like A Local...

Saigon (I have a hard time calling it Ho Chi Minh City), is a major metropolis. Not as 21st century as Shanghai, but as bustling and vibrate as any city in the world.

We began our day with breakfast at the Ben Thanh Market about a block from our hotel. This is on the list of 1000 things to see before you die and it doesn't take long before you understand why. You are immediately immersed in the smells, the sounds, the constant tugging at your sleeve to the calls of "Sir, Sir.... Madame, Madame, please come into my shop. I have your size!"

Speaking of size.... I know I've put on a pound or two, but I've been called "Buddha" since we've been here and women have pointed to my belly and giggled "baby" or "two babies". It's all in fun and I've laughed right along with them but my new favorite haunt when we get home will be Gold's Gym. :-)

After breakfast we returned to the hotel and I made sure Sonja was wearing shoes. She had no idea what was in store for today until we got downstairs and our guides from Back of The Bike Tours put a motorcycle helmet in her hands! We were off on a city tour on the back of a scooter.

Until you've been here, it is hard to conceive the masses in the streets on these scooters. At first glance you cannot conceive of how they do it without massive amounts of accidents and traffic jams. On the back of the bike, you feel the flow and see the orchestration that allows this chaos to work. It is exhilarating and exciting and was a highlight of our trip so far.

I really need to give a shout out to Back of The Bike Tours. If you ever come to Saigon, you really need to do this. This small company owned by Chad & Thuy is absolutely wonderful. They took us into the heart of Saigon, through back alleys, onto dusty roads, into the markets where we ate at vegetarian restaurants that most westerners would never see. Chad is American from Pennsylvania and his wife, Thuy, is from Vietnam. Together they are a fantastic pair.

We'll be leaving Saigon for a couple of days on the Mekong River, sleeping on another boat.

Oh, and I'd be remiss to not mention that we saw where it had snowed back home. We feel for you. It's in the 90's here!

See y'all.... got to get my shorts and flip flops on!

Bill & Sonja