Day 5 - Saigon

We heard about the storms and flooding in Penrith and there was a short clip on the cable news here this morning. We hope everyone is ok and not flooded out!

Believe it or not, there is a lady on the opposite corner to our hotel and she and her son run a news stand and laundry service. Don't ask me how that all works but her laundry rates are ¼ that of the hotel (we'll know if she is any good when we pick up our clothes in an hour). But the point is, they carry some Aussie newspapers, The Telegraph, Australian and the Sydney Morning Herald... all only a couple of days old. I guess we'll read all about it in tomorrows papers.

I'm still reeling from the close call yesterday when I almost lost my beloved Panasonic G2 to the Mekong River. In fact, I had a nightmare about it last night. What I didn't mention in my last email was that after the river cruise we visited a large Buddhist Temple with a 70 foot buddha out the front. Inside it was dark with statues and many small and large alters with incense burning etc etc. Maybe this had some bearing on my nightmare....

It was like a scene out of Apocalypse Now... which just happened to take place in the backwaters of the Mekong Delta. At one point, Chef gets out of the boat to go find some mangoes. He and Willard run into a tiger in the jungle, blast the place with machine gun fire and rush back to the boat. Willard reflects “Never get out of the boat... not unless you wanna go all the way. Kurtz went all the way. He quit from the whole project and was out of control.”

In my case, Liz and I were just about to get ON the boat when I dropped the camera in the mud.... I can just see the scene in my nightmare...

“Never get ON the boat! Not unless you want the G2 to go all the way!” And then I'm in the temple... the semi-darkness, incense burning, silent monks wandering here and there and the sound of the water-feature in the background.... Ben is sitting in the darkness, squeezing water on his forehead from a facecloth... (just like Marlon Brando as Colonel Kurtz...) “Are you a Photographer?” “No I'm just a tourist.” “You are neither... you are just another Happy Snapper, sent by a tour guide to collect a bunch of out-of-focus pictures that nobody is interested in. And in the process, you almost lost your Panasonic G2...!!!!” “The Horror, the horror, the horror!!!!” Well it certainly almost could have been!!!!!!

Anyway, I spent an hour this morning cleaning the camera and digging half a kilo of Mekong mud from all the little nooks and crannies. It seems to be ok so we get to shoot another day. I especially want the G2 for the sunrise/sunset shots in Hoi An, Penang and Langkawi.... I don't have a good record with water features so good advice... “Never get ON the boat!!!”

I'm becoming addicted to Pho... the Vietnamese national dish and had it again at breakfast. Liz opted for French toast and fruit. I must say, my old mate Brian Friend (Friendly) who recommended this hotel was spot on. It is central to everything and we can't fault anything and the people here are so helpful.

After our 2 days of tours Liz was suffering retail deprivation so we had to find the Parkson Plaza Shopping Mall where she wandered around looking at all the cosmetic and clothing sections not to mention the shoes. Meanwhile I find somewhere to sit and watch the girls... I mean, the world... go by. Then it's off to the Ben Thanh Markets... about 20,000 6 x 4 foot shops all in an enormous roofed market... basically a den of thieves and sellers of over-priced fake stuff.

Fortunately we meet up with an Aussie bloke named Dave from Newcastle and his Vietnamese born wife. They know the score and she goes off with Liz and keeps the sellers honest with the haggling. The sellers get the shits with her because she knows how to bargain and works them to a standstill. Liz gets a good deal on some clothes... it pays to know someone who knows the drill here.

It's hot and humid so it's off for lunch to a neat little Vietnamese restaurant (just called 19) in the street near our hotel which sells good Vietnamese food and cheap cold beer. The service is bloody fabulous. We'll opt for the German restaurant just up the road tonight.

We're off to collect our laundry from Mai across the road. It will either be there and we'll be happy... or she may have scarpered with 4 days worth of our clothes and is on her way to sell them. Stay tuned!