Sights and Observations

Monday we had to head to the post office so we made it a time to see more sights.  It was about a 20 min walk from our hotel to the post office.  We had to go past a park around a traffic circle and then through the downtown district which includes many high rise financial buildings, dept stores and many, many hotels.  The area we are staying in is known as the back packer district, cheaper hotels and dorms for only $3.00 a night if you like,  but the downtown is where the wealthier visitors stay and a shoppers heaven.   We first passed the Independence Palace, this is where in 1975,  a tank belonging to the Northern Army broke throught the gate and began the fall of Saigon and the south.  The next stop was the Catholic Cathedral and then the post office which is the only one we could find in town, it has a map of Vietnam on the walls that was painted in 1938.  We had to take a picture of the Highlands Coffee Shop, they are a chain and are similar to our Starbucks.  The Saigon River was our last stop, they have a ferry to cross but that would have put us further away from our hotel.  

Whenever you go anywhere, there are many street vendors plus those who just carry there wears to sell, I have been offered so many books, sunglasses, wallets, zipo lighters even  in the resturants they just stand there waiting, hoping,  until you just turn away and continue your conversations.  Then, there are the cyclo drivers,  always asking,  where you from and where you going,  I take you there.  We had one cross a busy street just to escort us across, he risked his life twice for us so we paid him 5,000 dong, about 30 cents for his help.  Then there are the shoe shine people.  Even if you are wearing sandles they want to shine them. We sat down for ice cream,  Mark ordered a scoup of coconut, which turned out to be a scoup of chocolate in a coconut with a cone on top, and I kept telling the boy no shine my tennis shoes but he took out his toothbrush anyway and I kept insisting that because of the rain it would not help, finally I had to just get up and leave and then, of course he says,  Please I am hungary !!!