GOOD MORNING VIETNAM!!!

Good evening, to be exact. Sorry about the lapse in posting, Southern Vietnam really doesn't cater to the needs of traveling Americans- exactly the reason I liked it so much. Gordy and I left Cambodia and entered the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on the 22nd. We left around 8:30 a.m, and two vans, one bus, two boats, one bicycle, two Motos and a Tuk-Tuk ride later we found ourselves in Rach Gia, Vietnam at 9 p.m. Our goal was to reach Phu Quoc Island the next day, which we did, for some ocean swimming and beach time. Again, an epic traveling saga occured, including a taxi for 300,000 Dong through dirt roads and me almost getting into a fight with a scam artist over 10,000 Dong. (FYI- the current exchange rate is $1 USD/ 18,000 Dong) Needless to say, when we finally found the Moon Resort with a private beach and bungalow-esque areas for $15 USD a night we were thrilled. Sharing in our adventure from Phnom Phen to Phu Quoc Island was a wonderful French couple, who split costs with us the whole way. The 24th was a day of pure bliss. The four of us rented motorbikes for the day, but one of the bikes didn't have a working brake so the group split up and Gordy and I headed south. We found a great strech of a not so trash filled beach, jumped in, and spent the day putt-puttering around the island at our lesiure. That night we found a tiny resurant on a deserted strip of coast that had chairs set up right above the beach, drank a beer and watched the sun set over the pacific as if we were the only two people on the island. We headed north to Can Tho the next day, and got in pretty late. Not surprisingly though, the guest-house we stayed at had a tour guide at the desk and we were able to set up a private boat to tour the floating markets at sunrise the next day. Our guide, Hung, was a great guy who spoke little english, but he was wonderful at getting us into the thick of the Market. Imagine the Mississippi, with a hundred round-hulled house boats accented with sky blue paint tied together or motoring around the edge of an almost mile long line. We got there earlier then most, because the guide wanted to get up to the local market before the sun got to hot, which allowed for us to really take our time. Think of a boat with pineapples literally bursting from the seams- then add a chicken on top for good measure and the roar of a hundred motors to the scene- and you have a slight idea of what the beautiful chaos of the floating market is. Gordy and I are now in Saigon, known everywhere else as Ho Chi Min city. No one in Vietnam except offials refer to Saigon as HCMC. Even though Can Tho is only 170km from Saigon, we were in a bus for 6 hours. That is less then 90 miles in over SIX HOURS! With Vietnamese comdey sketches blaring from the sound system- and a never ending alarm clock beeping noise that was supposed to "warn the driver of traffic." Needless to say, I have never been more pleased to walk off of a bus in my life. Southeast Asia has plenty of bus companies and transportation options, but be prepared to go slightly mad from the constant start/stop driving and never ending barrage of horns. Our plan is to explore this city for a few days, then head North to Dalat. We found a great little guest-house off the beaten track for a mere $8 USD a night with all the amenities, and are looking forward to rechargeing our "westernized batteries" for a while. Southern Vietnam was beautiful, but its been almost two weeks since we left Bangkok, and it is a bit of a relief not to be stared at by the locals. Small children especially in Southern Vietnam would be amazed when Gordy would stand up or take his hat off- 6'3 men with crazy curly blonde hair are not a common sight in that area yet. cheers!