Ho Chi Minh City

More photos of Saigon can be found at: http://picasaweb.google.com/robyou/Saigon7147172010?feat=directlink

Does anyone call it Ho Chi Minh? We see official postings (bus schedules etc...) using that moniker, but most everyone we have met calls it Saigon. We arrived a couple of nights ago and have found this big city to be quite pleasant. It helps that the temperature has been uncommonly cool, and we have grown accustomed to the noise, the crowds, and the traffic. You can find almost anything here, so we have been branching out and trying some different types of food. Last night it was Mexican (not so good), today we just finished with an Indian meal (tasty) and tonight, who knows? Perhaps the snail soup that Dao and Howard recommended? It is the rainy season, and yesterday we got caught in our first real downpour. We noticed we were the only pedestrians making our way along the rain soaked streets. Seems everyone else (excluding our friends Mike and Stefania) had the good sense to wait it out under cover. Tomorrow we depart on a four day biking trip through the Mekong Delta, ending with a six hour boat ride to Phnom Penh Cambodia. Mike and Stefania our joining us for the trip, and it looks to be a great time. We will likely be out of touch for a few days, as we tour the rural villages and the floating markets of the Mekong.

Steve