[By the way, if you are thinking of hiring Marc and me as travel agents for your Asian adventure, let me warn you: we don't come cheap. We accept all forms of payment including Western toiletries and invitations to travel with you to other places in Asia.]
But alas this is blogsite is about Marc and Brina's Adventures in Southeast Asia, so let me fast-forward to the Vietnam portion of the trip:
We chose to visit Saigon because of its proximity to the Mekong Delta. Despite valid concerns of malaria, dengue fever, all variations of hepatitis, typhoid fever, Japanese encephalitis and amoebic dysentery, I wanted to see the villages that depend on the mighty Mekong for the daily needs. Having already been immunized for most of the aforementioned tropical diseases, we started our malaria pills 2 days before the trip, continued them throughout the trip (as well as our subsequent trip to Cambodia) and for a month thereafter. We also applied mosquito repellent with 98% DEET (who knew there was such a thing?) as if we were albinos applying 45 SPF sunscreen in Ecuador. Thankfully, we remain malaria-free 3 months later.
Arriving a night before Aleks and Andy, Marc and I were able to explore a little bit of the city and get our bearings. Vietnam was colonized by the French in the mid-19th century and consequently, it feels very much like a European city. Much of the older generation still speaks French; there are fantastic French restaurants all around the city; and some of the architecture is definitely European. They even have a Catholic Church named Notre Dame Cathedral. It is like a mini-me of the original:
I will never fully understand the country's affinity with its venerable (and now deceased) leader, Ho Chi Minh, or Uncle Ho as the locals affectionately call him. His portrait is everywhere, including the main post office (see above pic) as well as the currency. Even though Saigon is in South Vietnam (you know, the ones that lost the war) and Ho Chi Minh was the leader of North Vietnam (the Viet Cong or the ones that won), the Saigonese still revere him. And although the locals still call it Saigon, the official name of the city is Ho Chi Minh City. Strangely enough though, we frequently found ourselves asking "WWUHD?" (What Would Uncle Ho Do?) and are contemplating making rubber bracelets to sell in Vietnam. I think we'll make a killing.
After our near-brush with celebrity and fueled for the day ahead, we headed outside to make our way to the War Remnants Museum, a Lonely Planet "not-to-be-missed" attraction. We were soon accosted by some tri-shaw touts who assured us that they could take us to the museum for 15,000 Vietnamese dong. [Sidenote: Who decides to call their currency dong? It was the topic of much discussion on our trip but to preserve the sanctity of this blogsite and to spare the sensitive eyes and ears of our younger readers, I won't talk about it. Well, except to say that the boys were much amused by the recurring phrase "Is that some dong in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?" OK that's it, I promise.]
So, we mounted the tri-shaws and enjoyed a lovely ride through the city to the museum until we got there and those scammers said we owed them 115,000 dong! Oh, there were some harsh words thrown around and some Puerto Rican and Polish tempers flared but in the end, the boys allowed the tri-shaw drivers to rip us off and paid them the whole SIX U.S. DOLLARS that they claimed we owed them. Softies. 
After the museum, we needed something to lift our spirits, so we went shopping! Learning our lesson, we took a taxi to Ben Tranh Market where Marc and I taught Aleks and Andy the fine art of haggling. Together, we bought 4 or 5 North Farce backpacks (because you can't have too many) and some cool Vietnamese art. Our coolest purchase came the next day, though, when Marc and I bought a hand painted Vietnam War propaganda poster. I'm sure that the Commies weren't thinking that their brainwashing messages would be used as pop-art in some yuppies' house in the 2000's but we like it. We also had to save Andy from the market ladies who groped him and shouted sweet nothings at him. "Meester, messter, you so handsome! Looky, looky! You married? I want to marry you! I show you good time!" After a few times of prying him loose from the ladies, Aleks was ready to go, so we shoved our way out of the crowded market and onto the street.
Saigon might was well be called City of the 3 Million Motorbikes, not even exaggerating. In a town of about 5.5 million people, just about everyone above legal driving age (and some below the legal limit) has a motorbike. Not ones to shy away from renting a scooter and making our way through someplace new, we quickly realized that it was too dangerous even if it had been legal for foreigners to rent them, which it isn't. Zooming past us at breakneck speed, not even feigning adherence to the traffic laws, if any, those motorbikes were everywhere! These bikes are not only a source of transportation for humans but also seemingly the only means of transporting any material you can think of, from ladders to huge panes of glass to live animals. Thousands of people die each year and just about everyone has been injured in a motorbike accident yet they keep riding. Here is short video but even it doesn't do the madness justice. Check out the guy at the beginning of the video who seems to be wearing a wooden box as he is driving.
These guys really know how to do the Mekong right. On boarding, they served us tea and tropical fruit. Clockwise from the top: wax apple, dragon fruit, tea, rambutan, longans and, in the middle, ladyfinger bananas. Yum-o! They also gave us cool wet towels every time we got on the boat which was nice as we were sticky from the mosquito repellent and it was HOT out there. 
First up, we visited the floating market. Although we missed the hustle and bustle of the early morning market in action, we did get to see the boats laden with goods. The way that it works is that farmers come from near and far with their harvest of produce that they want to sell. They live on the boat until all their merchandise is sold, approximately 2 weeks. This also gives them a chance to purchase food and supplies from other boats that are also at the market. Each boat puts a good-looking sample of its merchandise (like a plump watermelon) on a long pole at the front of their boat so that buyers know what they are selling. Then, after the morning rush is done, they tend to their daily chores like washing clothes or the boat, cooking, and tending to the children. They do everything on their home-away-from-home, including sleeping on hammocks strung in the boat. 
We also had the opportunity to ride bikes along the river banks, passing school children on their bikes, until we got to a brick making factory. The bricks are made at the factory and then fired in the huge kiln (see pic on the left) for 15 days until they turn bright red and are ready to be sold.
While I was getting my brick-making lesson, Mar
c made fast friends with a pair of boys who were playing at the brick factory (OSHA? Child labor laws? What's that?). He showed them our fancy digital camera and they had a blast pressing the button to take a picture of themselves, then seeing their images on the viewfinder. I don't know which of the 3 kids in the picture to the right had the best time...
Those kids can take some pretty good self-portraits! I call this one "Me and Half of My Brother's Face."
Our tour concluded with lunch at a nice plantation house. We feasted our eyes and our bellies on the Vietnamese food art like this big scary fish with a pepper flower in its mouth. One thing is for sure, we did not go hungry on this trip!
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