S-S-S-SAIGON

Yeah, we know it's called Ho Chi Minh City now but the locals still call it Saigon, so 'when in Vietnam'...  As soon as we got to our hotel we saw Kevin (a great friend from Emily's Casio days who came out for a week to Asia and spent 3 days with us) at the end of the street waving at us! We headed straight to Go 2 Bar and caught up on the past 7 months over several 'Saigon' beers and a few games of pool. Later that night, after dinner, we stumbled across an art shop full of very good copies of all the well-known artists, including 'Banksy'... except the 'Banksy' painting at the front of the shop was actually a '2SickBastards'. To add insult to injury, it was selling for $5!

The next day we all wandered through the streets & markets, had a fantastic lunch at a fresh food court (although Ben wasn't so keen on the chicken feet, despite Kevin's recommendation), then we went to the War Remnants Museum. Despite having already seen much of the extensive media coverage of the Vietnam or American War (depending on which side you were on), not to mention several movies, none of us were really prepared for the often upsetting photos and stories (made more real by actually being in Vietnam of course). Yes, the museum was definitely anti-American but with good reason we felt. That evening we found a 'Guns n Roses' themed bar, which was perfect escapism after a very real afternoon.

On our last day in Saigon, we took a trip out to the Cu Chi Tunnels, a huge network of tunnels & underground bunkers used by the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam (NLF) and integral to their survival during the 'American War'. It was certainly impressive and all the more fascinating to be guided by a Southern Vietnamese war veteran. Our return journey to Saigon was by boat along the Cu Chi River and a good chance to catch up on sleep lost from the previous 2 nights out. The final night was an epic - fine food (including more delicious spring rolls), many beers, bumping into Mandy & James again, an ear-splitting couple of hours of karaoke, and finishing with our good friend Jack Daniels at the Guns n Roses Bar!