My adventure begins in the not so sleepy town of Ho chi Minh!

I will start my blog in Vietnam, where I guess my real adventure has begun! After a few days in Kuala lumpur, just shopping and mooching around, I jumped on a plane to Ho Chi Minh, which if I had to choose one word to describe it, would be HECTIC!
The hotel I am staying at organised a driver to pick me up from the airport which was lovely, because I would never have found the place myself! Its on a little alley way off a little alley way of the main backpackers street!
The ride to the hotel was terrifying, I thought, why was I worrying about flying, I should just be worried about being on the roads here! There are motorbikes galore! I had been told that the traffic was scary. But nothing can prepare you for it! No one drives in a lane, no one indicates, in fact alot of people dont even drive on the right side of the road. It seems perfectly acceptable to drive down the street the wrong way if it means you get to where you are going faster. It is a constant stream of honking. You dont honk to say OI look where you are going...you honk to say 'Hey im about to do something stupid like turn infront of 50 motor bikes coming my way!' It seems to work for the people of HCMC. I dont know how I haven't witnessed an accident yet, but I guess they are alot more aware of what is going on around them. Im sure we could actually learn a thing or two from them!
When I arrive at my hotel, The Bich Duyen, Im greeted by two lovely girls who gave me yummy watermelon juice and carried my bags upstairs for me. My room is basic but for $18 a night, Im happy to have my own bed and a hot shower :)  I'd definitely recommend staying here if you were in Ho chi minh! The girls speak english and are very helpful.
After I had put my stuff down, I went for a walk through the city. Culture shock to the max. I have been to Malaysia before, but that was nothing compared to this. Maybe I need some time to get used to it? But right now Ho Chi Minh isnt for me. Although i've read that alot of people feel the same.
Miss Miss Miss Miss Miss.....If i've been walking for 5 minutes down the street, I will have been asked at least 15 if I want to hire a motorbike, another 5 times to ride on a cyclo (where you get cycled around the city, but quite often they scam you out of alot of money) and been handed 3 brochures on getting some beauty therapy treatment. Not to mention people trying to get you into their restaurants, sell you water, coconut juice, sunglesses, etc etc etc. Basically, i spend the whole time either ignoring people or saying no thankyou! I feel so rude! Its not a nice feeling. Especially because these people are so poor.
After 5 minutes of walking down the street, its now time to cross the road! And I thought being in the car on the roads was scary! There are no pedestrian crossings, not too many traffic lights (even when there are, they are ignored by many) and there is a constant stream of traffic. Today it took me 15 mins to cross one road, it was so busy I just had to cross in tiny little bits. The best way to do it, is just walk! They go around you. But its terrifying at the start! Much easier when a local is crossing the road too, you kinda just hang out next to them and follow what they do!
I have had a few people approach me and ask where I am from, when I say Australia, they start asking questions and then tell me that their sister is  a nurse in melbourne. I know its a scam. I dont know what they want, or where the conversation is going. But it cant be possible that all these people have sisters that are nurses at a melbourne hospital! One guy even tried to get me to speak to his sister on the phone. I just walked away.
Its not nice being alone in a city where you trust no one. I dont feel like I can even ask for directions. I wouldn't even know who the police are here. There are so many people dressed up in official looking uniforms, they are all different. My sister once had one help her find a train or something and they asked for money. So I can't even trust the ones who look official!
I've said alot of bad things :S So i better mention some of the good stuff! Cos it hasn't been all bad!
I went to visit the war museum, which was so intense. It is basically just very gruesome pictures and descriptions of what happened during the vietnam war. It was really heart wrenching. But a must-see if you go to Ho Chi Minh.
I also went to the Ben Thanh Market which was full of nick nacks, fakes and delicious food!! I've mostly just spent the days wandering around the streets and just taking it all in.
The food is delicious! I just had pho (noodles) for dinner. YUM!!!  And I had something interesting for lunch yesterday. Not sure what, but the lady just sat me down and i pointed LOL! Lucky it was chicken :) So far so good on not getting sick from the food and water :)
I'm sure I won't go the whole 3 months without getting sick at some point though!
Im just hanging out in my hotel room tonight. Watching some tv. Cable with 100 channels :) prob like 80 of them vietnamese! LOL
Tomorrow I am off to the island of phu quoc. I cannot wait! I think it will be more my pace :) I think I need some time to just relax and get my mind off the fact that this is a little scary! LOL
I have a vietnamese mobile number, so if you would like it, just send me a facebook message. I can access facebook by going through a different website, but there are limitations to it. So i can see who is online to chat to. But I cannot chat to anyone. Msn was working yesterday, but I cant log in today! So if you want to chat and have a skype account, add joey_la_joey :) that seems to be working the best. Or just send me a facebook message or an email to jo_silva99@hotmail.com.
Big hugs to everyone!
Missing you all alot
Love Joey xoxoxoxoxoxox