Day 2

Woke up bright and early. Well not especially bright because it was around 3.30 in the morning. But got back to sleep and repeated that routine a few times. The decision to leave the blinds open probably not being the best one. By 7:30pm we were ready to go down to breakfast. Large banquet hall filled with foods from many countries. However Liz and I went for eggs and bacon. Remi the fruit loops. The coffee wasn't particularly inspiring being a tad sweet. But there was lashings of juice and croissants. I tried the dim sums.Everything was tasty. Tried to fill up as much as possible.

Then it was time to hit the streets. Our first destination was the Ben Tahn Market to check out the bargains. Pavements here are are very uneven and we weren't the only people tripping that day. My shoes were a target for street vendors. Not clean enough. Not today. And they kept on coming. Seems there is a bit of my sole loose! Short walk to a large plaza which led to a statue of Ho Chi Minh. Took some photos but Remi got too close to the statue and was chased off by soldiers on duty. The market was very tight. I wore a Holister T-shirt and was accosted by vendors trying to sell me Abercrombie and Finch t-shirts. I won't do that again. The heat was suffocating and the aisles were less than a metre wide.I wouldn't of minded getting a new pair of shorts but it was all too much. Luckily Mel came away with make up and a Man Utd away shirt while Ruby bought some new sandals. She also managed to get some tiny objects which constantly fascinate her. 1 cm statues. Oh and a bat in a frame.
Made our way to the Notre Dame and the Saigon Post Office (which was designed by Gustav Eiffel) Crossing roads is like a game of Frogger. You are continually dodging motorbikes and scooters. Red lights don't mean that much. Maybe for cars. Motorbikes also came down the pavements. After a coffee at the Cafe Bien we went back to the hotel for a swim.Which was a breather before we took off again for the War Remnants Museum.

Quite confronting images of the Vietnam War.And lots of tanks and jet fighters. The walk there seemed ages but coming back was really quick. Which seems to happen everytime. Then again we are quickly learning short cuts. Thank you Lucky Plaza. Had dinner at a rooftop restuarant called 3T. Barbecued our own beef in the middle of the table. Deliscious. We were surrounded by waiters in black. Looked like Restuarant Ninjas according to Ruby. We had glasses of beer but the table next to us had these giant beers. I mean giant. About 50 cm tall. Like a bubble gum machine. I looked on enviously. On the bill there was charge we didn't recognise. I asked what was it? For the napkins! Passed through the plaza again which was packed with people. There are many fountains there and I think they were all waiting for them to start again. But we were too tired to wait. Back to the hotel for an early night.