I was pacing up and down the hotel room and later the lobby waiting for Meka to arrive. She turned up much later then expected (her flight was delayed) in a beaten up old taxi. I couldn't contain my excitement screaming and jumping up and down while beginning to tell her things but trailing off mid sentence...
The girls are in Ho Chi Minh City.
I had arrived the previous afternoon and after a long and bumpy bus ride and having to find a hotel in the pouring rain I needed a drink. Luckily an old friend of ours now lives here in Saigon teaching English. I phoned Alex Tassle. We were in a bar and drinking beer within 30 minutes.
Much reminiscing and drinking continued throughout the night. Alex left relatively early (2.30 am) while I persevered until the sun came up. I had spent the last week by myself so I think I went a little crazy with all the big city stimulation. Now walking around the tourist area people call out my name and wave. I smile and wave back but the night was so hazy I don't really remember them. oops.
But Meka is here. The night she arrived we again met up with Alex and a few of his friends from the school he teaches at (Hi Lesley and John). They took us out to a Vietnamese market cafe and we all ate (and drunk) merrily. The food was delicous and the English translations excellent (snail acute, squid cooked barely). Sadly Alex was off to teach at Summer camp the next day so after a few jugs of cocktails he was off. Meka and I were exhausted. We slept well.
Today was a fun filled day of being unashamedly girly. First stop shopping and
meandering through the streets of Saigon, learning the art of crossing huge busy streets teeming with traffic, buying clothes and sunglasses and bags and well, stuff. All useful of course. My new T-shirt purchase left me with buyers ecstasy and I knew I had to stop before I spent a weeks budget on new clothes. We caught a xe om (motorbike) to take us on an exciting crazy traffic weaving journey back to the hotel. We then took a dip in the pool before watching the latest Sex and the City movie on one of the reception desk guys laptop. For anyone interested- terrible film, though we didn't see the end as the disc kept jumping- damn these cheap pirated films.
I think it was Lesley who recommended a visit to Sheraton Hotels bar on the 23rd floor which was some sound advice. As the sun sets they have a 2 for 1 cocktail special, you can sip them as the the city slowly turns from day to night. And we did. Photos explain more then words of the view but of course being there in person is of course vastly superior.
And finally I have some exciting news for anyone interested: Meka will now be co-collaborator on this blog and even more exciting when I leave for home Meka will takeover. So even when I am safely home this blog will live on.
Next stop Mekong Delta.
