The heat is on in Saigon

Another day of 32 degrees here in Saigon. The humidity is around 90% but there is often some wind that tempers both so it is bearable. 

Went for another walk today and found a lovely park with lots of trees and gardens a playground and seats. But there were lots of young people there all engrossed with their smartphones. There were also lots of motor cycles pulled up on the side of the road with people on phones. Aha! I thought - Pokemon Go has reached Vietnam. But then when I checked my phone, there was a strong free wifi signal, so that was probably the reason! There was an international school right next to the park and on the street beside the school was a row of sports shops.

One of the funny things about the shops here is that you often find a lot of shops in the same area selling the same things. We passed through an area with stationery and art supplies this morning too.

We found a Starbucks just over the road from the Independence Palace so stopped there for a cool drink and a cool place to sit. It seems that there are more Starbucks here than McDonalds, and we have only seen one Burger King, which was at the airport.

We then wandered back towards the market along from the hotel and bought a couple of cute wee outfits for Max and a couple of tshirts for Roger at the market. Pretty good quality and very cheap. 

We seem to have got used to the erratic traffic here in HCMC. We actually saw someone getting a ticket from local police this morning, not sure what it was for though. There are literally thousands of motor cycles, much fewer cars and nobody seems to obey the road rules, that is assuming there are some! Saw a t-shirt this morning that highlighted the Saigon road rules - green light means I can go, Amber light means I can still go, Red light means I will go anyway! That is pretty much how it is. Pedestrian crossing mean nothing and cars will not stop if you are in front of them. Amazing that there are not more people killed or seriously injured. 

There does not seem to be many western tourists around in HCMC. Quite a few group tours with Asian people on them. A few French speakers around also, but it does not feel like a tourist Mecca.

Getting packed up later to head out to Hanoi in the morning. The flight is not until mid day, but we are being picked up early because of the traffic going to the airport and the check in time. Looking forward to visiting that city again.