It’s a lazy start this morning as we take it easy around the flat until lunch-time. After some dim sum with Andy and Liz at a local Chinese restaurant we go our separate ways; they to do some shopping for their trip to Europe next week, and us to explore the Cholon district and some of the pagodas to the north. We visit Quoc Tu pagoda although, because we aren’t appropriately dressed, we don’t go inside. In the courtyard in front there are people with cages crammed full of wild birds which they will release on payment of a couple of dollars. We never cease to amazed by the inventiveness of people when it comes to finding ways to make money! We get back to the flat just before the heavens open and a dramatic thunderstorm crashes overhead.
The streets may be wider and less full-on than in Hanoi, but the architecture is essentially the same; tall, narrow buildings reminiscent of the colonial period, painted in all shades and combinations of colours. These houses can be several rooms deep, but only the rooms facing the street have windows and often balconies. The rest of the rooms are windowless and many are rented individually to families.
We have decided to leave Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday to do a three-day trip to the Mekong Delta which will take us all the way to Phnom Penh in Cambodia. It will involve a homestay, some trekking, visiting the floating market and a crocodile farm – all for $54 each. From Phnom Penh we are going to go to Siem Reap to visit the Ankor temples.