Archived post from our February 2007 trip
First, a little update from Ilene . . .
She got there, early early a.m. Friday eastern standard time. She's been busy getting set-up errands done, so no blogging from her yet. I'm hoping we'll start to see pix from her soon. She has been in touch with me a lot, though. We've had "IM dates" each of the last 3 days to chat on yahoo messenger. That was the big leap forward in technology on the last trip--on this trip we also have the ability to see and talk to each other with the webcams and microphones on our computers. It's essentially like having a videophone with a slow video transmission, and it doesn't cost any more than the cost of internet access itself. She also has a cell phone she's carrying, though it's expensive for me to call her. This is all a dramatic change from her trip in summer 2002 when she was pretty much incommunicado except for a few emails when she could stop at internet cafes.
People ask me what my plans are, and honestly I don't really have any. I've only been able to skim a couple guidebooks briefly, and I have a mental wish list. Mostly I plan to head out of the hotel on the first day with my journal a paperback and some sun screen and see if I can arrange for:
-a trip to Phu Quoc Island.
-or a trip to Mui Ne Beach.
-a trip to Cat Tien National Park.
-a bicyle tour of the Mekong Delta.
And in Saigon proper, I'm interested in:
-Trying every bit of food and coffee.
- Shopping at all the street markets and along Dong Khoi and in Chinatown.
-Finding the nightlife and live music.
