INDOCHINA/ Sights of Saigon/ River, Post Office, Embassy (former US), Notre Dame Cathedral, street markets, Vespa

Our guide, the inimitable Larry Jo Abbott, had told us that Saigon had a really exciting vibe to it, and he was spot on with this assessment.  The city pulses day and night with youthful vigor and abandon.  It is one of the most exciting and interesting cities that I've ever visited.

View of the inside of this historic post office

View of the post office, built by the French in traditional French colonial style

The Notre Dame Cathedral of Saigon

Presidential Palace

Woman in the market place

Meats are butchered out in the open no refrigeration

 Noodles anyone?

This spiked fruit is unique to Asia and is called Durian

The pungent (and that is a kind adjective) aroma of the durian fruit has been described as "turpentine and onions garnished with dirty gym socks."  While we were touring the market, I smelled it long before I actually SAW it.  It smells so bad that the fruit has been banned on the Singapore Mass Transit!  Anthony Bourdain, who is arguably one of the most adventurous humans on earth when it comes to food, has described the flavor as "something that will make your breath smell as if you'd french kissed your dead grandmother!  Uh, no thanks.

Larry Jo persuaded most of us to brave a walk (or rather a Vespa ride) on the wild side.  We were each assigned to a very young driver for the night who took us to various restaurants and bars.  At first I was really frightened because it feels very much like a death sentence in that crazy traffic.  By the third stop at a bar, I was ready to let my freak flag fly.  I haven't had that much fun in quite a while, and I loved my driver.  At one point on our stop, we found a Vietnamese band and many of us danced the night away.  Just before we left, someone in our party asked the band to play John Denver's ALMOST HEAVEN WEST VIRGINIA!  What a highlight for this old West Virginian to hear Vietnamese, Canadians, and people from all over the good ole USA singing our state's theme song!

Mama Jo seated on her Vespa!