Day 1: Good Morning Vietnam....Saigon

This morning I arrived in 'Saigon', aka the 'beep beep city' as there are hundreds of motorbikes everywhere. Crossing the street is quite a challenge and you have to pray that the motorbikes do not catch you off guard and accidentially hit you. In terms of modernization I would say it's between Thailand and Cambodia. In comparison to other parts of South East Asia I have not spotted a 7/11 yet, but did see a KFC. Just like other parts of South East Asia I did see people wearing masks to avoid pollution. Some woman even wear mask that cover their neck as well, I have been told they do this to avoid getting to much color. Luckily when I was on the plane I met another fellow Bay Area and her friend and we headed to the Renunification Palace ( built in 1966 as South Vietnams Presidential Palace, it was towards this building that the first communist tanks in Saigon rushed on the morning of April 30 1975 the day Saigon surrendered) and the Jade Pagoda. Vietnam has more of the Chinese influence than what I have seen of the rest of the South East Asian countries I have been to. I have found the people to be generally friendly here. Since Vietnam was colonized by the French I did see the remants of French articheture. That night had the Saigon Red beer which was quite good. They have Green as well.