Good Morning, Vietnam!!!!!!

Yahoo, we made it!!!  I must say, it was a LONGGGGG trip!  One hour to Calgary, ten hours to Tokyo and six hours to Saigon!!! Luckily we only had two hour layovers at each airport!!!

We arrived in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) at 9:30 pm.  The first thing we had to do was get our Visas processed.  The good news was we got there and there was hardly anyone in front of us! By the time we left, there was a long lineup.  We had to hand in our passports and visa applications and then were told to "go sit down".  We did as we were told. As the passports were processed, a lady yelled out the name but we couldn't understand a word she said.  We watched for what looked like a Canadian passport and when I saw one I ran up to the window. Much to my delight, she was holding 15 Canadian passports, so I got them all at once, which took away the guessing game!!!  From there we quickly moved through customs and by the time we got to the baggage carousel all of our bags were offloaded in a nest group!!  Things were going too well........

Next we headed outside, where the heat hits you like a wet noodle to the side of your face!  There were hundreds (or more) people out front with signs waiting to pick up passengers.  No where to be found was a sign that said Go Ahead Tours!  Hmmmmm......what now????  Eventually I was able to
scout out a man that found our Tour Director!!!

Our bus whisked us off to the hotel but along the way we got to see, up close and personal, the thousands of scooters driving everywhere!  It is impossible to try to describe this, so I took some pictures but they don't really do it justice!!!  We arrived at the hotel at 11:00 pm, so we were ready for bed!!!

We were really happy that we got to sleep in this morning and have the morning at our leisure.  Of course, we were anxious to "hit the streets" and check things out.  We just set out in pairs or small groups to walk around the area.  The first lesson we needed to practice was the art of crossing the street.  The traffic never comes to a complete stop.  You just have to start walking across the street, moving slowly but surely, looking the motorists in the eye and defy them to run you down!!! The main rule of thumb....don't ever let them see fear in your eyes!!  Second rule of thumb, don't stop or change direction, as they are anticipating what you are going to do and they drive around you!!  It is crazy but amazing how it works!!!

This afternoon we went on a guided city tour. We visited the Reunification Palace and the War Remnants museum.  We saw pictures and read descriptions that made our stomachs turn.  It is so hard to imagine that the Human race can stoop to the levels that they do in the name of War.  So very sad.

We got back to the hotel in time to have a shower and a rest before dinner.  It is about 34 degrees and humid, so a shower felt good!!!  This evening we went to a fancy restaurant for our Welcome dinner.  We were treated to "Vietnamese Fine Dining".  It was a very interesting experience, enjoyed more by some than others.  We topped off the evening with a quick nightcap and called it a day!!

It is late, so I will try to post some pictures in the morning!!