Saturday, February 11, 2012

Goodbye Saigon

Last night we had dinner in a nearby hotel. They had a roof terrace so after we had finished eating we took our drinks out. We enjoyed a wonderful view of Saigon at night with the added bonus of a full moon. On the way back we saw another added dimension to Saigon streetlife - a Bingo game in full swing (or should I say full shout?) involving about 15 players on the pavement. Vietnamese bingo sounds pretty much the same as British bingo.

Today John wanted to walk down to the river. I am not at all averse to walking - if you could take away the cars and 5 million mopeds. They don't so much stop at traffic lights as swarm around them!

 Crossing the roads just terrifies me but I am "a goodly wyfe" so off we went. The small roads I can cope with but the great big wide ones with loads of lanes are something else. A green man does not mean it is safe to cross. A green man appears to mean that it is less dangerous to cross!

We made it down to the river without mishap. The air was less stifling and it was surprising how much river traffic there was.
We came across what we thought was a private club. Nothing daunted we went to investigate. There were a few Vietnamese but no Europeans. It was a large shady terrace overlooking the river. Big smiles and "beer?" was greeted with smiles and nods. We spent a long time enjoying a wonderful cold beer.

We've done a deal to keep our room until 6pm so we can shower before we leave for our train at 11pm.

2 comments:

  1. It was good to chat last night. Brilliant in fact. Thanks Skype! I hope you are traveling safely as I write this.

    This post really gives a feel for the place and although I'm not surprised by the traffic (and, after India, your apprehension Sue) I think I was a little surprised by the photo across the river. The 'club' looks like a great find.

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  2. Beer seems to have become a mainstay in your holiday liquid diet.It must be good!

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