Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Getting to Vietnam was really nice for the first half. We went by boat to Chau Doc from Phenom Penh, then transferred to the mini-bus from hell. It was filled to the brim with people, stops, and completely lack of English (not surprising). Curtis and I were the only non-Vietnamese on the bus. What was surprising was the drunk guy throwing up next to me with 2 hours left in the 6 hour drive.

Ho Chi Minh City was just as seedy as I had expected (had ample warning), but I didn't expect it to be so dirty. Fortunately the rest of Vietnam was much better. It didn't help that we arrived late without a hotel booking (and most hotels just happened to be full). The Bee hotel we stayed at was actually one of the nicest yet, so that wasn't too bad. I didn't come to Saigon for the city, though, so I was not disappointed. I came for the Vietcong tunnels and those were cool. It gave me more respect for the Vietnamese people as they were (and still are) tough as nails. They lived in these tunnels for months, sometimes years. Can clearly see why and how the Americans had such a tough time. Surprisingly, they bear no visible ill-will towards them, despite the tremendous amount of damage and loss of life the Americans caused (staying away from politics, just logistics).