Nha Trang - Saigon

I met quite a few people in Nha Trang and went to a few places where i had met people to say goodbye. The most unusual person i met was a kid called Bob. He was an American, just drifting around the globe, unable to fit in with normal society. This may have had something to do with the fact that at the age of 17 (he is now 42) he took a special test for gifted people and ended up being the 17th highest score in American history, so he reckoned. I believed him, he got 4 degrees in 5 years, one of which was a degree in quantum physics, he says that MENSA is rubbish and not worth talking about, say no more.

One of my favourite memories of Nha Trang is the staff at the hotel where i stayed. Huoyng, Huc and Ho, however their names were pronounced, invited me to have lunch with them on a couple of occasions. This entailed removing your shoes and sitting cross legged on the kitchen floor around a pot eating fish soup and another fish dish. It was a pleasure to have been accepted into their culture. On other occasions i would sit on the corner of streets having a laugh with the old women whilst i ate the local dishes, no doubt they were taking the **** out of me, but it didn't matter.

I left Nha Trang on the 18th and headed for Saigon on the overnight bus. Getting back to Saigon was a bit of a shock, everywhere you go people want to get your money out of your wallet in any way possible. I must have been offered marujuana 150 times, sunglasses 350 times, zippo's 124 times, books 385 times, my nails manicured 23 times and everything else you can imagine.

I went to sit in a local park to watch the traffic, within minutes people come and sit by the side of you, some want to extract money, some genuinely want to talk English.