2nd day in Ho Chi Minh

The weather was much better for me by now. The water that I have been continuously 'pouring into myself' has probably contributed a lot to this. It was very unusual for me to come from Canada with extremely clean pipes and water to Vietnam with very dirty water. While in Canada you can drink any tap water without thinking, here the water for brushing teeth is sometimes even boiled.

On my second day in Ho Chi Minh, I rented motorcycles with the group I met the night before and explored the city. The first stop was at the Central Market, a shopping hall with all kinds of shops, especially restaurants and clothing stores.

While driving, we saw several temples and occasionally stopped. Most temples did not have an entrance fee and the unusual thing for me was that we had to take off our shoes and enter the temple with socks. The attention to detail and the many colors were particularly striking.

The last stop was the Bình Tây Market. Compared to the more famous Ben Thanh Market, this one was less touristy. Some of the sellers eyed us, while others tried to sell us all kinds of things. Again, the offer was numerous, ranging from food to clothing to souvenirs. I noticed an extreme smell, and I quickly found the source: plastic. I have already noticed during my days in Vietnam how much plastic is used here and how little attention is paid to the environment, but the smell at the market was even more extreme.