Good Morning Vietnam

I left Sydney bright and early on Wednesday morning and flew to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Thai Airlines is now officially my favorite airlines (close to 50 on-demand movies and tv shows, 2 full meals, an entire row to myself, ridiculously friendly staff). It was a great way to start off the Asia portion of my trip. I didn't have a chance to get a visa before I left so I had to do something called a "visa on arrival" which I was a tad worried about (sketchy website) but everything worked out in the end and it was actually cheaper than applying for my visa from the States.

I converted my dollars to Vietnam dong then realized that everything is quoted in dollars. Fantastic. So now Im stuck haggling for prices in dollars then converting it into dong and hoping Im doing the math correctly.

Ho Chi Minh City is everything people say it is ... the roads are a completely disaster since traffic lights and lanes are more of a suggestion than a rule. Most of the people get around on scooters and they go any which way they want (wrong way down a street, straight into traffic). You have to walk slowly across the street and make eye contact with the drivers so they can anticipate your moves. It takes a little getting used to - even for a New Yorker. Yellow cabs have nothing on these guys here. There are normal car taxis, but the best way to get around is to hop on the back of a scooter ($1 usd). Its crazy insane fun. I took a scooter ride around the block just for fun!

My diet since Ive been here has been Pho noodle soup off the street. (Long live street venders!) Its amazingly cheap ($2 for dinner, including a beer) and you get to sit on these little kid chairs out in front of the shop. I'm not sure why that appeals to me so much but I love it! I'm absolutely nackered and have a big day tomorrow so I'll post more about Vietnam later.