Good morning, Vietnam!

The heat is on in Saigon! I only meant to spend two days in Ho Chi Minh City (aka Saigon) but this place is so great, I stayed another day. Its Friday night now in HCMC and life is fast and tasty.

I noticed a big difference immediately after crossing the border from Cambodia into Vietnam. Whereas Cambodia's population is about 14 million, Vietnam has closer to 90 million people. Not much countryside in sight, but lots of motorcycles! The motos outnumber the cars about 10 to 1 and, everywhere you go, the traffic constant, fluid and exciting.

Saigon feels like a city of friends because I met a bunch of guys on the bus from Phnom Penh and we all ended up staying at the same guesthouse. There's Luke from Winnipeg (a Canadian through-and-through, à la Bob and Doug MacKenzie), Lorenzo from Heathrow (he has an English accent but is a Sicilian in looks and at heart) and Michael from Liverpool (accent so thick that when he told me his name, I thought he said Marco). I'm in Room 500 at Hotel 97 on Bui Dien Road in the backpacker district of Pham Ngu Lao. My room is on the top floor and the numbering of the floors starts two floors above the street level...so I'm really on the seventh floor. There is no lift so it makes for a long climb to the top of this classic tall-and-skinny HCMC hotel.

Once ensconced in the guesthouse, it didn't take long until I was streetside sipping a Saigon beer (bia in Vietnamese) with the boys. My first meal in Vietnam was, of course, pho, which is a lovely soup of fennel-infused beef broth, noodles, tender beef and sweet onion. It comes with a plate of fresh lime, cilantro, basil, chilies and bean sprouts, all of which you add to your taste. Pho is a staple here and I have to have my daily fix, whether it be for breakfast, lunch or dinner. It goes very well with an iced coffee with milk (that's sweetened condensed milk) or, of course, a Saigon bia.

My room opens onto a communal balcony and I've spent a lot of time up there with the guys, enjoying the sunset or talking late into the night. A stall down the street sells big bottles of Saigon for 10000 dong, which is about 75 cents, so we've all been saving money, backpacker style, by drinking "at home." Chris from Manchester has joined the group so its two Canucks and more Englishmen than you can keep track of.

My days in Saigon have consisted mostly of wandering, taking in the sights and sampling all the amazing food. This is a very cosmopolitan city and, after Cambodia, I've been marvelling at all the modern wonders. For example, when people throw their garbage into the gutters on the street, an obliging gentleman in orange coveralls, a hard hat and a face mask comes along with a wooden broom to sweep it up and take it away in his dumpster on wheels. This is a pretty clean city, despite its population of 15 million. I feel like such a lame Westerner saying this, but I really appreciate the cleanliness!

I took a short moto ride to the beautiful main post office and sent 6 kilograms of stuff home to Canada: the spoils of my Cambodian shopping extravaganzas. Suddenly, I have license to shop again - so much room in my pack! You wouldn't want to be a recovering shopaholic in Vietnam. Tailors abound, making beautiful suits and dresses for a fraction of what you'd pay at home. The Vietnamese women look so beautiful in their ai doi, traditionally dresses in a long, high-necked top and wide-leg pants...I just might have to get one. I had to have my wits about me at the Benh Thanh market because the stall-keepers literally grabbed me and dragged me over to see their wares. It kind of makes you feel like a rock star, walking through the place and getting so much attention.

After wandering the town today, Luke, Chris and I all took cyclos home: that's like a bicycle taxi where you recline in the front seat while the driver pedals away behind. In the busy traffic circles, it is every moto for him/herself. I'm glad that I don't have to drive here!

Tomorrow I will leave Saigon and head to Dalat in the Central Highlands for a little trekking in the fresh mountain air. It just so happens that Luke and Chris are headed the same way, so my parents can rest assured that I won't be going to the middle of nowhere alone. More stories to come...lots of love to everyone back home.