A different world

Our day started in the middle of the night, as the time shifted 6 hours ahead - but falling out of bed at half past midnight and preparing breakfast is a big challenge even for an 'early bird' like me.

So we woke up at precisely half past seven local time in our beautiful hotel in the center of Saigon, from whose rooftop terrace we already looked down on the hustle and bustle of an incredibly vibrant and young city last night.

We were awakened by the sun, which began to envelop the city with a subtropical climate.

It's going to be a good first day at the beginning of our three-week trip through an exciting country.

Since we turned off the air conditioning in the evening out of respect for summer flu, the heat has taken over our room on the 11th floor again. Time to start.

After a delicious breakfast, which offered something for everyone from traditional Vietnamese soup, a rich fruit buffet and various spreads to omelette, we set out to explore the city.

We noticed the many young people - no chance for grumpy faces, no pushers or complainers, no drunks or moochers - life is lived here, together and without stress.

Although we felt like we were weaving our way through a million mopeds, each trying to honk louder than the other, this mix of chaos, street food, meeting place, and construction site did not get on our nerves.

In some way, we had the feeling that everyone here smiles through life. A beautiful thing.

After a few detours and adventurous street crossings, we finally arrived at the Reunification Palace.

Vietnam has a turbulent history. Today we retraced one stage and went back to the 70s. So history was made and contracts were signed in this building.

Another experience was the Ben Thanh Market. As soon as we entered, a mixture of different smells exploded in our noses and we already had the first sellers on our backs.

But first, the hunger had to be satisfied. We couldn't even look as our table and the two stools stood in front of us. There we sat, 20 cm above the market floor, grinned at passers-by and were overjoyed to be here and to enjoy our lunch. For Kerstin, there were shrimp in hot soup and I had the spring noodles brought to me, with a vitamin boost for each of us, and strengthened we went to browse the endless aisles or rather go on a 'persuasion tour'. Well, they are quite good, our lovely Vietnamese salespeople, but in the fabric section they were a bit funny. After a haggling competition, I finally bought a T-shirt from them. If I hadn't spelled out the word NO rigorously, we would probably still be trapped between fabric and things we don't need.

Resting also needs to be learned. We learned it today at the roadside tea coffee. Black tea or coffee with milk on ice. Delicious.

Our dear driver from yesterday chauffeured us to the airport again today, navigating skillfully through the multitude of vehicles.

Last stage for today: Flight to Hanoi. We checked in for our flight to Hanoi at the airport dominated by the over-20 generation, which was super well organized. We flew with 3 children. One had endurance training in constant screaming. It was very loud. I think at some point, after what felt like 2 hours of noise, Tiger Beer was served, because little Don Nhog Long was finally quiet.

We ended our day with an expensive dinner of 1.4 million Dong. Delicious and delightful in a great atmosphere.

I'm writing this blog post in our really beautiful hotel room.

The travel group is looking forward to tomorrow. Destination: Cat Ba by the sea.

(Stefan)