The first night in Ho Chi Minh.

Well we have moved from north Vietnam to south Vietnam and the weather has changed some what.. Hanoi was hot with no rain, now we are getting rain a couple of times in the evening. To be honest I'm loving the rain, it cools the place down. The sky is pretty over cast trapping in the heat, causing us to sweat buckets!
Ho Chi Minh seems big, built up, busy, noisy, but we didn't get around the whole place.
Ending in the old quarter (The cheap quarter) with low budget rooms and cheap food we were first on the hunt for somewhere to sleep for the night.
The day was getting late and dark, feeling hungry we are in a rush to find somewhere to stay. Going for the easy option, grab our rough guide to Southeast Asia to help us find some digs. Coming across what we thought was a good find, Hotel 97 should of been clean, cheap and cheerful, we have got and check it out. To our surprise it was non of the above... Being dirty, basically falling apart with cupboard doors hanging off, shoddy wiring, a disgusting bathroom and a lizard chilling next to our horrible bed. Thinking enough is enough we just want to get out of here. We dump our bags and make a run for food.
On our way to find food we start to check out other hotels desperately hoping to come across better cheap lodgings.
Dinner was ok, nothing special and I get to taste my first Saigon beer. Lovely. Still looking for a new home we walk down a little alley, the kind of alley Jean Claud Van Dam walks down on the way to the kumite in the film Blood sport. We call in to a nice'ish looking hotel and ask for the price.. $12 a night, the lady says after we explain the situation that she can do it for ten! SOLD! What a life saver? That is it we whip back pick up our bags and passport and get the flock out of that scruffy looking place.
Getting into our new pad, there is not much to look at but it is clean and tidy, small tv, air con with a small but clean bathroom.
Our first night in Ho Chi Minh, worrying but successful.