Ho Chi Minh City – unser Weg nach Vietnam

After our adventure in Cambodia, the journey continues to Vietnam. Shortly before the border, our bus stopped for lunch, and all passports were sent by moped to the border for departure procedures. It takes a bit of trust in God, but our passports were handed out to us stamped before we set off on foot through no man's land. After the bus attendant collected all the passports again (we didn't hesitate the second time), we were given the entry stamp for Vietnam.

We had never crossed a border so quickly outside the Schengen area, but the Vietnamese authorities still had a surprise in store for us. When our bus first stopped on the outskirts of HCMC at the bus company depot, we were greeted by a large contingent of traffic police. At first nothing moved here anymore. A while later it was said that everything would be checked and things should continue in an hour. However, the officials didn't seem really motivated.

So we decided to try our luck on our own. The first thing we needed was a Vietnamese SIM card. Two death-defying road crossings on a six-lane road that was busier than all Cambodian roads combined, later we spied a small cell phone shop. Without a common language but with a lot of good will, we came to an agreement and shortly afterwards we were in the taxi.

On the way to the city center, which is still called Saigon, we came across another traffic stop and already braced ourselves for the next wait. Our driver apparently already knew the procedure well and slipped a bank note into the vehicle documents before handing them to the traffic police officer. We can't really approve of this system, but at that moment we were very grateful to the driver.

After a day of sightseeing & culture and a day in the water slide paradise surrounded by Vietnamese families, we now move on to the Mekong Delta.

Robert