Health So far, my health has been so so - I thankfully have not gotten sick from any food or drink, but the pollution factor has been a problem. Whenever you go outside, you inhale massive amounts of dust & pollution, and when you ride a motor bike or bus (the buses usually have all the windows open since there is no a/c) this is a huge problem. The faster you go, the more you inhale and when riding the motor bike, cyclo, or regular bike, you are at face level with the exhaust pipe from buses, which doubles the problem. The poorer Saigon districts (basically all the ones surrounding district one, where all the fancy western hotels and things are) suffer the most because they tend to have dirt roads and flooding - the dust/pollution is always worse the few days after it rains. Anyway, many people walk around wearing surgical masks and I have not been since I assumed they were just another way to shield your body from the sun (in VN, having fair skin is very coveted, so they usually cover from head to toe outside), but they are to protect your mouth and nose from the air problems. So this week I have had many problems from this, including pain in my nose, sores in my mouth (whenever I accidentally bite myself all the dirt in my mouth makes it infected), and just recently, bronchitis. Luckily, the doctors here are WONDERFUL - I saw a Vietnamese one in his house, and there was no waiting, no need for insurance (most docs charge $2 or 3 a visit!), and he really listened to me and tried to figure out what was wrong instead of handing me a prescription after 2 min. I got the same meds I would in the US - about 80 pills (expectorant, antibiotic and prednisone for asthma wheezing) for $9 - and copays here do not exist! And when he heard I was here volunteering in an orphanage, he did not charge me a dime :) After this kind of care, I think I'll fly to Vietnam when I am sick from now on.