Saigon

After nearly 24 hours of travelling and transit (I could have gone to Europe in that time!) I finally made it to Vietnam, pretty weary. Because I used my Frequent Flyer points, I flew from Melbourne to Sydney to Darwin and 7 hrs later (thanks to a flight delay) from Darwin to Ho Chi Minh City.

Today's been pretty uneventful - basically wandering around and getting a feel for the craziness of this busy city. Crossing the roads with care, making sure I don't get ripped off and getting used to the warmer weather (luckily, it's not too bad - just a bit more humid than I'm used to).

Thankfully I've been here before - I can imagine the culture shock of arriving here before anywhere else in Vietnam - it is sensory overload with motorbikes and horns and crowds and people selling everything and Vietnamese pop music. But I still love the vibe and enjoyed wandering the little back alleys behind the tourist streets - people living their lives with their loungerooms open to the street, children and grandparents napping on the cool tiled floors, women sweeping and cooking. On the tourists streets, it feels like I'm in Australia because every foreigner seems to have an Aussie accent and there are lots of them.

I don't feel like I've really begun my trip and am looking forward to flying to Hanoi tomorrow.

Just can't stay away!

I'm so glad blogs never delete, because I can just keep going with this one for my latest adventures. Tomorrow I go back to explore Sth East Asia - It keeps calling to me - great people, fascinating history, beautiful places, great food and of course - very cheap to travel through!

This time I'm focusing on Laos and Northern Thailand - where I have never been. But first I'm flying into Saigon and spending 5 days in Vietnam because I loved it last time and it will be good to get my "travel legs" in somewhat familiar surroundings.

In Vietnam I plan to: go to Ninh Binh to see some rice paddies and karst mountains; get prescription sunglasses made for cheap cheap; see if the "handicrap" shop still exists and try to find Britney Spear's (aka Anna's) gravestone. (see photo). And of course party with strangers for NYE.

In Laos: I have few plans except to catch up with an old family friend and basically chillax (it seems to be the thing to do there)

In Thailand: Who knows? Elephants? Treks? Temples? Cooking? Massages? I'll let you know...

P.S. I've already put this on facebook, but I thought I'd add it here too. I got an email confirmation from a hotel in Hanoi. Here is the kind warning they gave me: " Please do not follow anyone running around the airport. These will try to cheat and take you to different hotels for commission. They, at least will make you tired." - I'll try not to follow those strange running people.