Saigon

Jessica is the Guest writer this Post!

Traveling is all about getting dirty, sweaty and hands on....

But as is often the case with backpacking, you tend to sacrifice and lose track of personal style, add in that trucker tan and funky smell...

I think its time for a night out! Dom agrees so we head for the tailors...Make sure you request a sample of fabric before payment and test it. I almost got ripped off twice in one transaction. Synthetics will melt and smell like paper, silk burns and smells like sulfur (kind of)


A quick shave and were off to the french bistro's dotting Saigon's waterfront

The Green silk dress Dom bought for me that has sadly had a fate of being rolled up in the bottom of my bag ever since. In place of an iron, an easy fix is to run the hot water in the shower and hang your garment and PRESTO you're good to go...travel tip #326

Our drop off point. Ho Chi Minh City(formerly Saigon)City Hall and Opera house. Across from it Louis Vuitton. We knew we had arrived in the right spot to do what we came out to do...SPEND SOME MONEY!

Doms vegetarian steak! Done a delicious medium rare. The asparagus was equivalent to taste bud heaven. Funny what you miss when you don't have it.

Oddly enough it tasted like cotton candy, and worse it had chunks of stuff in it....yeah, Doms idea

Out for fancy cocktails and fancy lounges in fancy dresses...scored an old New Zealand favorite, Feijoa vodka...mmmmm

Just a little touch up...maybe it's maybelline

Scrubs up kind of nice, huh?

Anything close to real coffee is miraculous. Sozo is a great cafe around the corner from where we are staying aimed at hiring and helping the disabled and poor. They help train these young people to give them an opportunity to earn a skill, from serving, to cooking to manning the cash. It had originally started out with one women baking cookies road side and now has two locations.

That's right high roller....10.000 dong. The equivalent of about 66 cents, or a can of pop.

Speaks for itself.

Talk about photo op!!! AND not only did we have this once, but it decided to grace us with our presence the following day too. Two days, four rainbows. Now that's a pay off to a rainy day that forced us from the beach. Mother Nature, we're not mad anymore.

Reunification building in Ho Chi Minh, the official spot where the North conquered the South back in 1975.

A real tank like the one that crashed the gates to claim it's victory over the South.

One of many rooms inside of Reunification Palace. The "document room" Looks like Gustav Klimt designed this place.

The ol listening stations.

Soviet Era bulky static generator.

One of many rooms inside of Reunification Palace. Dom obviously didn't read the "Do Not Touch" sign.