Hello again! The last time I wrote I was about to take the first of two sleeper buses to Saigon. I managed to snag a lower bunk against a wall, so it wasn't as bad as the last sleeper bus. We were dropped off in Nha Trang early the next morning where I then confirmed the sleeper bus for the next night. Grabbed some breakfast and wandered around the beach for a bit, then lounged around and read a book. In the afternoon I walked over to an ice cream shop that sold home-made waffles, and on the way I ran into a girl from Montreal that I had met in Hoi An! I keep running into people all over Asia; it must be because the backpacker-trail is so well established. After the waffles I walked back to the travel cafe for the bus pick-up and began the second part of the journey to Saigon.

We arrived the next morning to the sound of motos and car horns. I found a hotel to settle at and went out for breakfast with two Swedish girls and one Canadian. After breakfast we walked around Saigon, eventually ending up at the Presidential Palace (which we didn't go in - we just took pictures through the bars of the fence surrounding it for free) and then walked around some more to kill time until the War Remnants Museum opened in the afternoon. That was a very sobering museum - there was a lot about the horrible, lingering effects of Agent Orange and the dioxin gas that was used during the Vietnam War. Then we went back to the hotel to relax for a bit and dry off after the suddent downpour that hit us on our way back before going out in search of dinner.

The next day we all went to the Cu Chi Tunnels just outside of Saigon. It was probably the highlight of my time here. We first watched a video about the tunnels and the Vietcong guerillas before searching for the tunnels ourselves. Tourists are only allowed to enter the first level of three that exist - apparently tourists with heart disease and/or asthma have died in the second and third levels. But that level was enough. The entrances are hidden in the forest and they are so small it's no wonder GIs had such a hard time finding them. We climbed through one tunnel that was about 70 meters long - it was pitch black, we were all using cell phones and our cameras to try to light the passage. It was a very tight squeeze; I'm only 5'2", and I was forced to crawl at one point. The most exciting moment of that tunnel-adventure was the bat that got trapped in the tunnel with us. We then walked around the compound and saw how the guerillas managed to cook underground and use scrap from shells to build their own weapons. We tried another tunnel that was 120 meters long but had been expanded and lit up for tourists. Then we ate some tapioca and drank some tea before heading back to Saigon to search the night market for souvenirs.

Yesterday I left Saigon for a trip through the Mekong Delta. After several hours on a bus we arrived at our boat. We cruised up the Mekong to a local village to see the floating markets and their homes. We visited one family that makes local specialities where we tried coconut candy and snake wine (yes, I tried it!). Then it was back to the boat to cruise through the canals until we arrived at a restaurant for lunch. After lunch we biked around the countryside for a bit, then back to the boat for a transfer to a bus that would take us to Chau Doc. Once in Chau Doc, we checked in to our floating hotel on the river and settled in.

This morning we were up early for breakfast and for a trip to a fishing village. Then we came back to the hotel to wait for the boat that will take us to the Cambodian border. This time tomorrow I'll be in Cambodia!