WHAT A WAY TO SPEND A SUNDAY MORNING!

Again, I ask you to bear with me as I document our walk last night - the photographs for which are in as one of my extra collages - I know it's cheating a little but hey, most of my photographs from the last 5 years have been taken ON the day, and as so many of you seem to be enjoying our trip with us, guess you won't mind.

We went out wandering around the streets of Saigon, looking for somewhere to eat, and of course, it is dark by 6 pm so it is well lit up and most of the lights are quite flamboyant, New Year having just passed.

We could hear very loud music coming from the wide walkway so decided to walk in that direction.  There were thousands of people milling around and apparently, it was a Festival to celebrate the National dress of Vietnam with lots of celebrities supporting it.  Talk about lights, camera, action - there was all of that and more - and of course, tiny models - not one of them looked over a size 6!  

One thing that I know is prevalent in many cities is the way that those who have little or nothing are sitting outside huge stores where only the rich can afford to shop - places like Versace, Christian Laboutin (the red soled shoes!), Gucci and Louis Vuitton.  The lady at the top of my first extra collage was trying to sell coconut drinks outside a huge bank......and mothers, particularly with disabled children were begging, as were the children - so heartbreaking.  

The building at the bottom left is the People Committee Hall and the one at the right is the Opera House - both beautiful buildings and they look even better at night when they are lit up.

After an early breakfast - and 7 am is not my preferred time, we had arranged to meet Julian for coffee at one of his favourite little cafes at 9 am so off we went.  The Festival was still going strong, again with very loud music, and just outside the cafe we saw some lovely ladies in traditional Vietnamese dresses.  I asked if I could take a photograph, and they kindly agreed, and then asked me to have one taken with them - in case you are wondering, I am the scruffy one in the middle - oh and I am NOT a size 6 or 8 - I wish!

We met Jules and as we didn't really want a coffee then, he suggested we go to the area where he lives and where we would, as he put it "see the REAL Vietnam".  He put us in a taxi and he went off to find his motorbike (I don't even want to think about it - but he assures me he is careful!)

We arrived at Hotel California and were duly introduced to various people in "his alley" - who beamed when he told them in Vietnamese that we were his "Mum and Dad" - it made us feel quite special as many of them wanted to shake our hand.  The security guard seen with Mr. HCB was happy to have his photograph taken, especially as they were both wearing hats.

Jules purchased drinks for us from the lady who kindly agreed to be seen "counting her money" and we then sat down to "watch his world go by".  There was constant movement up and down - with motorbikes and even a small van negotiating the narrow alley.  Apparently, many of the people around are part of an extended family - in fact, they all live together, work together and play together.

There are various other shots taken in the alley, and another one of me with Loan, the lady who runs Hotel California, as after I had given her a donation of money, she insisted I was in the shot too.  Loan was giving money and food to the man, also in the shot, for poor children at the temple - so we then had a chat about how those of us who have enough should look out for those much less fortunate than ourselves.  I said that we never lose out by doing good deeds and Loan agreed.  A great way to spend a Sunday morning and definitely faith in action.

The man at the top right of the collage is well into his 80s but Jules explained that there is no benefits system in Vietnam, so if people want to eat, they just have to keep on working, so this man takes his zimmer and trundles about selling lottery tickets - apparently, gambling is not allowed here, but it is OK to do the lottery!  

After drinking a large Coca Cola, I needed to go to the toilet, and was informed by Jules that there was one on the ground floor of the hotel - he said he didn't want to take me up to his room (I wonder why) but it was up 72 stairs, and although he had an en suite he thought the ground floor toilet would be better.  Having been told to take my shoes off outside the hotel, I then had to decide whether I was desperate enough to use the toilet, which had a very wet floor (obviously just mopped) as I now had bare feet.  I was!

There are various other shots, also taken in the alley and then Jules said it would be good to "go walkabout" to the next street where there was a market.  On the way, we were introduced to more friends of his, who greeted us very warmly - in more ways than one!

The market, which was on both sides of the street,  is just a collection of stalls and sometimes not even a stall, but just bowls at the side of the road, and is there every day.  Again as Jules explained, those selling their wares, be it fruit, vegetables, fish or meat, would have been up very early to obtain their goods and then find their place in order to sell them.  Those selling would be there every day, because if they weren't then there would be no money, so they wouldn't be able to buy food for their family.

I have put in a second collage to show some of the market stalls, so you can get a flavour (excuse the pun) of what it was like.  Before we went round the market though, Jules said he would like to take us to a little roadside cafe for a "com tam" or broken rice lunch - a traditional Vietnamese dish made from rice with fractured rice grains, as opposed to sticky rice.  We weren't really that hungry, having had a good breakfast - and having seen the chicken marinating in the kitchen (quite near to the toilet) think we made the right decision.  However, Julian tucked in to meatballs and tofu with broken rice - and also had a free iced tea and free vegetables, which he thought were probably left over from the day before, all for 22,000 Vietnamese Dong or about 70p.

As we wandered amongst the stalls, it got hotter and hotter, so we were beginning to wilt, but it was so good to be able to experience the sights, hear the sounds and even smell the market - and of course, we had to be careful because all the time, motorbikes were going up and down the road.  We were amazed that meat was just lying on a table and fish was in large plastic bowls - "Elf & Safety" would have a field day in Vietnam - but Jules told us he is rarely ill so I guess like everything else, their immune systems get used to the way they live.

On the way along the road, we passed a large party in a roadside cafe and were told it was a funeral party - a reason for the whole family to get together and to celebrate the life of the person who had died.  Jules said that it often started early in the morning with a brass band waking everyone - and then people come out into the street to show their respect for the one who has died.  

WOW what a Sunday morning!  When it was time to leave Jules we had to negotiate three very fast lanes of traffic on both sides of a busy road, in order to get a taxi back to our hotel.  It took about 10 minutes to get back and cost 41,000 Vietnamese Dong - about £1.30 - the meters in the UK start at about £4 and go up alarmingly.  

After a busy morning, we are planning to relax this afternoon and just walk out for coffee and a cake soon - our friends in the UK will just be waking up - so we hope the snow is melting and that you all have a good day - and to friends in other parts of the world, either have a good Sunday, or I hope you have had one!

Thanks for reading all this, looking at the collages and thank you too for the lovely comments, stars and hearts from you all - Mr. HCB is watching CNN News and apparently it is 35C here today - and it feels like it but we understand that Hong Kong, our next stop on Wednesday, is slightly cooler.