Every day in Saigon has been different. The air quality changes from day to day. On Friday the air was so thick with vehicle exhaust, it was very difficult to breathe. It forced us to try and find roads to travel off the beaten path. Wow!! I am glad we were forced away. I discovered that there are little cities within cities. A person encounters little narrow alleyways everywhere, but if you glance down them, they look like nothing interesting. If you walk down then, it takes you into another world. A maze of shops, houses, and anything you could desire.
Saigon is a massive city. At it’s center is district 1.
It includes downtown, most of the cultural attractions, and what is known as the backpacker area. This is where most of the tourists come. There are many hotels of different classes and lots of action on the streets. You can find western dishes, good cold beer, and even girlie bars. (more on all of this another time)
Every evening, I sit at a corner restaurant and spend an hour just soaking it 
all in. And every night I have mad a new friend. Some tourists from all over the world who are keenly interested in what I can tell them to make their trip pleasant, and lessen some of the culture shock, And Vietnamese who want western friends to practice English with.
. A small start because of mostly east Asian and Indian booths, But Saigon changes faster than a person can keep up with.
District 1 is surrounded by 11 more districts and a number of named districts.
It sounds like as a Westerner you are “exotic.” Phil finds the same thing here in Edmonton because he has such a strong English accent. It probably won’t wear off either – you’ll always stand out in the crowd 🙂 It sounds like a great way to meet people though.
Hmmmmmmm I have no idea why this post has different fonts and turned out a bit sloppy…. no time to worry about it now. Got a train to catch…. See you all in Nha Trang