We have had a total of 5 days in Ho Chi Minh City and every day we have struggled with the heat. The locals also say they are hot but they just don't show it. Long pants, long sleeves and a cardigan or windcheater are the norm for them. After walking for about 30 minutes we are dripping and need to wring our clothes out.
It is difficult to describe the size and the amount of people that live in the city. Most of their lives are spent outside their properties on the street. They appear to just sit, eat with friends and family and watch the world go by.
We had a day between our tours which was spent walking around and shopping. The local market is so cramped and busy that you can't help but bump into people everywhere inside. The local traders try to guess your nationality and get you to their stall first. They say things like "beautiful family" , "madam madam what you looking for", "you young mum" (this one really stretched the truth and proved they were buttering us up!!). They grab your sleeve and try and guide you into their stall, it really can be quite confronting. Chris lasted about 10 minutes then waited outside in the heat. The market is hot and oppressive with thousands of people crammed under a hot tin roof.
Yesterday we went on a tour of the Mekong River which is a significant area for this area's food production and fishing industries. The area is poor but everyone seems to survive. In fact we have only seen a handful of people begging through the entire tripWe cruised up the river in a tour boat then disembarked on Tortoise Island. There we sampled local honey tea and listened to a performance of some traditional music. We then walked a short distance through the island before taking a horse and cart to the next village. More honey tea and local fruits for lunch, then a traditional canoe ride back to our private tour boat. We re-boarded the boat and headed back to the My Tho Province for docking before returning to Ho Chi Min City - a trip of about 90 minutes.
We tried a few new restaurants whilst at Ho Chi Minh City, but weren't able to find the range and variety that we had at other locations. Still, we gave it a go and never went hungry.
A morning of shopping and sightseeing at the Saigon Skydeck then back to organise ourselves for the trip back to Australia.
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