VIETNAM - Saigon, Feb. 11

One of the "joys" of staying in a hostel is the hustle and bustle of staff and travelers coming and going. So, I wasn't surprised to be woken at 7am by the sound of crashing pots and pans coming from the kitchen just downstairs from my room.

I had a slow start and eventually wandered outside around 10am. I walked to the intersection of Le Lai and Le Loi streets to see if the Ben Thanh Market was open. Sadly, it being the day after Lunar New Year it was closed. So, I kept walking down Le Loi until I got to Nguyen Hue Street, which is described by various sources as "the most beautiful street in Ho Chi Minh City." When I got there, the street was blocked off and the locals were having a helluva street party. The entire street was lined with flowers, mostly yellow chrysanthemums. The main activity, from what I could see, was taking photos of yourself and your family and friends in front of various Lunar New Year decorations. Sadly, it was difficult to get a good photo of the scene with my little point-and-shoot camera.

Notre Dame Cathedral

I also walked up and down Dong Khoi Street, which runs parallel to Nguyen Hue. In the guidebooks, Dong Khoi is described as the "Paris of the Orient," so I was expecting French cafes, bakeries, and restaurants. Perhaps I'm not very discerning, but I didn't get a very French vibe from the street.

That said, Dong Khoi Street is where you will find the Opera House, the Notre Dame Cathedral, and my favorite place - the Central Post Office. The Opera House and Notre Dame Cathedral were closed to the public so you could only admire them from the street. However, the Central Post Office was open and doing business.

I stopped at a small cafe on Nguyen Du Street. It had three floors so I went up to the top where there was a nice open-air patio with a great view of Notre Dame Cathedral. I ordered a fresh watermelon juice and it was a fantastic thirst quencher. I will tell you this - Vietnam does fresh squeezed juice really, really well.

Central Post Office

By this time I was feeling the heat so I headed back to the hostel. I chose to walk along Nguyen Du Street because it was quieter than Le Loi and it had more shade. At the hostel I had a cold shower and - most importantly! - washed my feet. The streets of Ho Chi Minh City are filthy and after a while your feet are completely covered with dirt and other kinds of detritus that you probably don't want to think about.

I had another disappointing dinner at a "Vietnamese" restaurant. I forget it's name, but I was tempted to give it a try because of the appetizers. I ordered deep fried veggie spring rolls and chicken satay. The spring rolls were a chewy mess that did not come with dipping sauce, as I expected. The chicken "satay" was not satay at all, but some kind of stir fry with an unidentifiable sauce. Again, there was more onion than chicken.

After eating I wandered around the "Western" area, as it's called, in ever-expanding circles. There's something about just wandering around with no specific purpose that allows you to really take in a place. I stopped and took photos of interesting things, laughed at the sight of local kids playing on the sidewalk with their families, examined how different street food carts were arranged, and observed shopkeepers, restaurant owners, and touts doing business.