Monday 7th Jan

I visited the Vietnamese war museum today, quite interesting but obviously from their point of view, it did paint a bad picture of the U.S.

I also went for a motorbike ride, I just had an hour with a female biker showing me around the city, only cost me £2, it was nicer holding onto a young female than a sweaty guy ;-)

I think that I can honestly say that I see more bikes here in 1 hour than I do in the UK in a full year. You have to see it to believe it.

Saigon is the busiest city in the world that I have ever visited, it just doesn't let up for a minute, there are just too many people and definitely too many bikes. It is even too much for me and I usually love all this but it is simply too much. I tried to have a breakfast today but was constantly hassled by hawkers, shoeshine boys, booksellers, watches and sunglasses etc.

I must admit though that I do admire the women that sell those books, they walk around with 40 (yes 40 I counted) books balanced on their hip, the books are tied together but it's still a difficult balancing act and probably heavy too.

I thought Manila was bad for noise and hawkers but Manila is like being in a library compared to Saigon, also in Manila, the armed guards stop anyone from bothering you whenever you are in their buildings (malls, shops, eating etc).

That’s another thing that I don't like about here, they have no malls or places like McDonalds where I usually jump inside when the weather is too hot, in Manila these places all have aircon so I can pop in there to cool down for 10mins. They don't seem to have aircon here except in the rooms of the hotels, even reception areas don't have it as they simply don't have doors etc and keep the areas exposed to the outside.

I couldn't live in this part of S.E.Asia, too many tourists, too hot with nowhere to get cool, too many people with bikes and don't speak English even those that do obviously speak it with a heavy Vietnamese accent. it's the opposite in the Phils their English is crystal clear and most of them speaka d English.
I much prefer the Phils and the woman are better looking there too !!! Mind you so are the men.. I mean that in a non-interested way from a mans' point of view.

The internet here isn't very good, it took me all evening just to get on to answer your comments and write this. BTY do you all check to read my replies to your comments ???.... well do ya.. if you don't I'm pretty good with a M16 ya know.

Mary and I are in the sunshine.... how is it for the rest of you....:-0



Bikes as far as your eyes can see


More of the same


He's a bit young


try crossing this road


If the road is too busy just use the pavement..........

Sunday 11pm

I have had huge problems getting online tonight so hopefully I can post this on the site before I lose my connection.

I did go to the Cu Chi tunnels, it was very interesting to see how the vietcong lived during the bombings, they were quite clever in the way that they fought the war, quite vicious too, I've seen some of the ways that they ambushed the American G.I's with some deadly traps.

The big problem for me here is that there are too many tourists, I really don't like to see so many white foreigners around, I sometimes feel like I'm in Uxbridge. Saigon is a real backpackers spot, so many budget hotels like the one that I'm staying in at the moment, so much aimed at this tourist market, and although I enjoyed the tunnels today, I didn't like touristy part about it. All these coaches probably 20+ all waiting in the main street to pick up the tourists from their hotels, all leave around 8am with their guides to visit somewhere outside Saigon.

You get on the bus and as always they stop at some boring (IMO) art/craft factory for us to look around and buy something, I didn't bother as I have seen so many of them around the world, it's just a time filler and they probably get a kickback for bringing so many tourists. Then it's onto the tunnels... when we arrived there was at least another 10/15 busses of tourists already there, so it's 1 group goes this way and another that way, you stop here and look at this then onto the next thing.... just too commercial/touristy for me........... yes I probably am just a fussy so and so !!!
I went down 1 level of the tunnel and crawled half way through another, in the distance I could see a girl sliding down to a 2nd level and thought to myself.... no way... so I turned back.... yes I am a big girl's blouse !!!!

I did enjoy shooting a real machine gun and also a MK15 rifle, you have to pay for this as an extra, it's real bullets you fire at targets. You actually buy the bullets ( yes real live bullets) at the shop then you go to the shooting area and give the bullets to a guy in army uniform, he loads and you fire, no training... just do it, I think I missed everyhting with the machine gun but I did hit the target with most of the 10 bullets I shot with MK15 rifle. It cost 200,000 dong for each shoot...that is about £6.50..... the money here is a joke, everything costs 1000's but a pound is worth 30,000 dong !! So you carry all these notes around with you, 100,000, 50,000, 20,10 and 5. Why they just don't knock off 3 0's is beyond me.

I will post this now hopefully, hope you all had a great weekend

Saigon...(Ho chi minh city)

Well I got up at 3am on Saturday for my journey to Saigon, left the condo in plenty of time, got a cab straight away and was in the airport for just after 5am for my 7.20am flight. Got checked in ahead of the big queue as I am in business class ( that was the only advantage of business class), walked to the departure lounge then was asked for the 750 pesos exit tax, I forgot about it and only had 600 pesos on me, the guy said that the bank may open at 6 or 7am... thanks !!... he didn't think to tell me that there was an ATM outside which luckily I asked about, so I wanders down to the business class lounge where they had wi fi so caught up on my emails and stuff. (ok 2 advantages)

I was first on the flight at 6.35 am, at 7.20am there were 17 ( why is always 17 this or 17 that ??) passengers stuck trying to get through Immigration, more likely that they were late getting to the airport, the result was that the rest of us that got there on time had to wait til 8.10am before our flight could leave.

Comfortable flight and arrived in Saigon about 9.30am (their time) flight was only 2hrs 15 mins. Picked up and taken to the hotel.... driving on the way from the airport I can honestly say that I saw more motorbikes in that 30 minute drive than I have seen in probably the whole of the last 10 years of my life.... no exaggeration.... bikes everywhere, when you stop at traffic lights there are at least 150 bikes on each of the 4 corners waiting to go through the lights, I will add some video for you to see later.

My hotel, the "An An" is only a 2 star probably because it only has rooms, no restaurant, bar or anything else for that matter, it's just a building about 6 metres wide but 11 floors high, you walk in the door into the small (6x4 metres) reception with its desk and a small lift to the rooms. I got the room that I requested on the 11th (top) floor which has nice windows on 3 sides, the room is really very nice for a 2 star hotel. The building scares me as it is so narrow but high, it feels like a strong wind would blow it over, you will see when I add a video.

The area is so in your face you wouldn't believe it, lots of people would hate it, but walk out the front of the hotel and you are in Bedlam city... it's chaotic, noise is deafening 24/7, bikes on the road everywhere and on the pavement, people selling allsorts, from shoe cleaning to bike riding and everything in between. Yes I love it !!

It's now 7.30am Sunday and I am going on a tour to Cu Chi, this is where the Vietcong hid during the American bombings, the tunnels are 100's of kilometres long and interconnecting, they have widened the entrances so that our western bodies can fit through them, during the war they had schools and hospitals down there, it should be interesting but I don't want to go down too many levels, although I'm not claustaphobic as such, anymore that 1 level underground will make me feel very uncomfortable.

Anyway got to go as it is time to get a bus.

Hope you are all enjoying your lazy Sunday

9pm Friday 4th Jan

Well I have to get some sleep as I have to get up at 4am to pack, shower and leave my condo for 4.30am, my flight to Saigon is at 7am, it's 45 mins to the airport and I will have to find a taxi to take me there.

I've been trying for the past 3 days to get a particular room in a particular hotel, the hotel isn't fantastic like most hotels that I stay in, I normally only stay in 5 star places.... yes get me... sound like Donald Trump !!

Anyway this hotel is only 2 star but is really above that according to all the sites and reviews, they have a special room on the 11th floor that has picture windows the length of the room. I have been in contact with the hotel by email many times, the problem is with the language barrier, the receptionist speaks good english but there is a difference from being a native speaker and it being your 2nd language, so I have asked for this room in capital letters, I'm not 100% sure that she understands, I will have to wait and see.

This hotel is right slap in the middle of everything, walk out the front door and you are in thick of the city, which encompasses all the noise, smells and bells if you know what I mean... did I just use my most hated expression.... ya no wot ah mean... yes I did !!!! It wouldn't be everyones cup of tea but I do like the noise and all the activities of asian cities, you can't walk down the street for tuk tuks, cycles, motorbikes and cars all vying for the little piece of space called a road, horns beeping, cocks crowing, people shouting.......... I LOVE IT !!!!!

I hope you are all having a good weekend and don't forget from my post below ( which wasn't posted until 18 hours after I published it...sorry but not my fault ) that you are all rich... I suppose it is all relative.....

I hope this gets posted tonight....

Foreigners... walking ATM's

All non Filipinos are Foreigners and are always looked on as such, you are a foreigner therefore you are rich so you should expect to pay more for everything. This is so ingrained into this culture that they don't even see as it being unfair or wrong.

Everyone will try and get that little bit more out of you, even people that may be friends of friends will take a "finders" fee. If you as a stranger in this country need something but don't know where or how to obtain it, for example to hire a car, someone will always know someone else that is in the business and will offer to help you. I have found to my cost and dismay that they really they only helped themselves,(not my direct friends) so now I only trust myself, if I need something I look for it and if a friend says that they know someone that can help I just say thanks but no thanks.

Everyone that you meet will try it on, I went to visit the dentist here in Makati yesterday, actually just round the corner from my home, as this practice is in the centre I knew that they wouldn't be cheap. Anyway I walks in and ask for a simple check up, only 350 pesos or 1000p with a camera, I say the 350pesos will suffice til I know what I need. Sits in the chair and she uses a camera to show me my teeth, tells me that I need 3 cavities filled.. ok reasonable so far......I ask what are you going to do and how much does it cost..... I'm told 2500p for each one...7500 pesos in all. I decline this offer as I can wait until I get home and get my normal dentist to do it for a similar price. So I goes to pay the agreed 350 pesos...am told 1000pesos Sir as we used the camera.... forget it I asked for the 350p not the 1000p with camera....... ok Sir no problem. They didn't argue but still ignored my request and done things how they wanted and charge me for it too..... forget it I'm no tourist !!!

When outside I phoned a friend of mine that is a dentist.... I don't use her as I don't really want a friend staring down my throat... I explain and she says that it should be around 6-700 pesos for each one which is about 2100pesos against the 7500p that was quoted. She lives an hours drive away so doesn't know any dentists in Makati that she could recommend.

At home I went online and found another dentist in the cheaper part of Makati so made an appointment to see him, actually you don't need an appointment to see dentists here you just turn up. He just asked me to text him whenever I was on my way to see him, he was a young friendly guy probably not been practicing for very long. Anyway while taking my details I find out that he is mad on badminton, we have a friendly chat and I tell him that I want Filipino prices not Foreigner prices, he laughs and agrees. we had a long chat about badminton, turns out that he is a top player and trains every morning for 3 hours. I spend 30 mins in his chair for my teeth but another hour in his surgery talking about badminton, at the end he charges me 300p I give him 500pesos, even he admitted that he has a higher price for foreigners !!

So instead of paying 7500p I end up paying only 500p and met a new friend at the same time. He asked me to help him as he has a big tourney in 2 weeks.... no problem.

The best thing here is if you see something in a shop that you want, take note of it and then send a Filipino in to ask for the price. So many times I see something in a window that I may be interested in, if there is no price tag on it then I don't bother going in to ask how much it is as I know whatever I am quoted will be vastly increased because I am "rich".

Today is Friday, as I am leaving home tomorrow at 4.30am for my 7am flight to Saigon, I will try to post this evening before I go to bed. I am taking my laptop with me so should be able to post while I am in Vietnam. The visa to enter Vietnam cost me $100 or £50 just to enter the country !!! You also have to pay 750 pesos each time that you leave the Phils !!

So I hope all you "rich" foreigners out there have another great weekend.

2nd Jan 2008

Well the new year has begun and the festivities are over, we can now settle down for another year.

I have just booked my flight to Vietnam today, the travel business over here is abysmal, at this moment in time I have a flight but nowhere to stay yet. I have no worries though as Vietnam is geared up for tourists... nothing is a problem there.

It's sad really as the Phils is a great place to be for tourists, there is so much to see, the weather is superb and they speak English... but they have no infrastructure at all.... " you wanna go where" ??.......... "ok you can stay here it will cost you so much".......... but I want to have a choice..... "What do you mean...a choice ??"

Anyone that started a "proper" travel business here for foreigners could make a fortune, of course he would have a lot of setting up to do but it would be very financial rewarding in my humble opinion.

Anyway I wanted to fly into Hanoi, stay there for a couple of days then take the train down to Saigon ( Ho chi Minh city.. but everyone still uses the name Saigon), travel around a bit there then fly back to Manila. No-one flys to Hanoi so that's a bummer....I would have to go via Saigon which isn't really sensible as it would cost more financially and time wise too.
I have an American friend( 68 + ex US Air Force) that has asked me to take some photos of Nra Trang as he was stationed there, he is in bad health now so I thought I will do my best to get there for him. I haven't met him yet but he lives in Manila, we met on the net. Everyone has a story to tell and i think his will be intersting.

Vietnam for those that didn't take notice during the war there, is a long strip of land, north to south attached to Cambodia, Laos and China, Hanoi is in the north and Saigon is in the south. I remember all the scenes from the Vietnam war in the sixties, I will be visiting the tunnels that the Vietcong lived in underground when they were being bombed by America.

It is about 3+ 1/2 hours flying time from Manila, I got my business seat for £400 to go this Saturday morning at 7.20am.... yes I am normally sleeping at that time but beggars can't be choosers. I just have to find myself an hotel but Vietnam have a great infrastructure for tourists and travelling, so much so that I have no worries at all. I could land there and find an hotel within an hour...... reminds me of when in 1999 I landed in Honolulu at 1am with nowhere to stay, I met 3 sheep shearers from N.Z that were in the same position and we still managed to find a room.... I never forget the name of the hotel.... it was called the Banana Bungalow.... so Jean if you are on the big Island.... have a look at the BB. !!

Below is a video of the New years party here in Makati, I only included 50 seconds of the 20 mins fireworks so you didn't get bored. In the streets they have these firecrackers, about 1000 tied together, it takes about 5 mins for them all to explode, the noise is deafening but exciting too.

If you want to see a bigger picture then click on the link under "my videos".

Welcome to 2008..........

Well last night was simply awesome, one thing the Filipinos are good at is fireworks, the display last night was really fantastic. I tried to video all of it but realised after a while that I has pressed the pause button by mistake, I misssed some of it but will put the rest on the site soon.

I went there about 10am, stayed and watched til about 12.30am then walked home. Passed by a latin cafe which was still open and very busy, I stayed for a while soaking up the atmosphere. The atmosphere here in the Phils is so much better than at home, everyone has fun but behaves so well, no shouting, screaming, pushing, shoving or anything that could be construed as bad behavior. No one getting so drunk that they can't walk straight or want to fight everyone. In the UK the 18-25 years old group have a couple of beers and then they are ready to march on Poland, its like a war in English cities when bars/clubs reach chucking out time.
Seen and heard some of the noisest fireworks on my way home, really fantastic. I stayed up until 4am as their were so many texts wishing me a happy new year.

The 2 beers in the bar cost me £2 even though it was after midnight on New years eve, can you imagine how much that would have cost me in a london pub, where I would have to fight my way to the bar.. it was waitress service here also !! The phils is so much more civilised.

I spent a lot of the day in bed and generally just being a slob... very enjoyable. I have to get back to organising my trip to Vietnam tomorrow which isn't easy believe me.

Happy new year to you all and I hope that all your dreams come true in 2008