June 27- Ho Chi Minh City

This will be our last post from Vietnam - we are flying to Cambodia later this morning. We did have a great time here, and we will remember it with (mostly) fond memories.

Two days ago we spent some time exploring, Pham Ngu Lao, the neighborhood that we are staying in. It is the backpacker neighborhood, so there is plenty of cheap food, cold beer, and kitschy souvenir shops. We had a good time shmying before making our way back to the center of town for something a little more cultural.

A little note about Vietnamese street names: You can practice and really fine tune your Southern Baptist preacher voice by shouting Vietnamese street names. Here are a few for you to try: Pham Ngu Lao, my children! Tran Hung Dao, Amen! Dong That Phu, you sinners!

Anyways, we walked to the Reunification Palace. Imagine the White House being designed by Mike Brady - it was tragically seventies. It served as the palace of the South Vietnamese president up until 1975 when the South fell to the communist North. It still looks like it did on that day, complete with green shag carpeting. Being such "Xtreme" tourists, we decided to break the law, while in the palace. We will post the photo proving it as soon as we can. Don't worry, they only cane in Singapore.

That night we walked around the city center a little more, and decided to try one last Vietnamese sweet street treat. These women line up on the sidewalk with their little coal fires and sit on the street corners selling these scrumptious little belgian waffle like treats. They are still warm when she gives them to you.

Jillian has also gotten a giant crush on Vespas in this junky moto loving country. Here is a beauty that we almost bought. In front of the nicest hotel in town we met a man who collects them. He offered to sell us this one for $2000. Only after we said no, did he tell us that he had just bought it for $1000.

We have lots of pictures to post, so yesterday is going to be a separate post.

Lots of love,
Jillian and Ari