It was another early morning to catch my shuttle to the bus stations at 6:30 AM. The bus started east from Phnom Penh on Highway 1. Highway 1 is paved two lanes wide in most places, but there are several construction projects that create dusty and bumpy detours. We stopped at a restaurant for lunch just before the Vietnamese border. Customs went well and we were on our way after about half an hour.
The drive from the border to Ho Chi Minh City started through a rural landscape that quickly changed to endless suburbs. We arrived around one in the afternoon and I set about finding a hotel. The first place I tried was full, but their second location, just around the corner still had some rooms. I walked up to the reception desk to find a Dutch woman, Jaqi, looking for cheaper accommodations. She asked if I minded splitting a room, which I didn't.
After checking in, Jaqi and I set out walking to see a bit of the city. Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon, is much more developed than anything I saw in Cambodia. It is much more ritzy, lively, and loud. We looked through one of the markets, checked out the industrial waterfront, and found a few blocks filled almost exclusively with Japanese restaurants.
I'd like to write a bit more, but I'm very tired, even after sitting on a bus for six hours of the day.
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