Good Evening, Vietnam!
(Saigon, Vietnam)

Howdy Howdy from Ho Chi Minh City! Zach and I arrived safely in Saigon this afternoon, after a straightforward seven-hour bus ride from Phnom Penh. The first half of the ride (to the Cambodia border) was bumpy but uneventful (we did get to take a giant ferry across the Mekong--very impressive). After clearing immigration on the Vietnam side, we got onto the "Happy Tour" bus for Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC). When they say happy, they're not kidding. A beautiful, charming woman greeted us by microphone once we were on the bus, explaining the logistics of our arrival in the city, teaching us basic phrases in Vietnamese, and then singing (!) a Vietnamese song about HCMC a capella for us (she was quite good, too). Transportation from Phnom Penh to Saigon, language lessons, and entertainment--all for $5 per person. Southeast Asia is amazing.

We're staying at a great guesthouse that has a/c, cable tv, free breakfast, and even hot water. I know, I know--we're going totally soft (so much for roughing it!). But for $12/night, it's hard to resist...