The fast paced life in the Big City

We are far from the sandy beaches of Phu Quoc! We headed back into Saigon yesterday morning and were on the road for 12 hours. We took a shuttle to the bus stop in Dong Doung (Phu Quoc) to board a bus to the the ferry terminal to get on a ferry (the SuperDong - no kidding!) to get a motorcycle taxi to a bus in a back alley to take a 6 hour ride to the bus station in Saigon to catch another taxi to our Guest House! Yeah, that is what we thought!

We were so proud of ourselves for finding a way to get back to Saigon in one day by buying two tickets from this Travel Agent on the island. We were less impressesd when we got off the ferry. We were told that we would have transportation to the bus. However, when we got off the ferry we met a couple from Sweden who also had the same tickets we did. Apparently, the "private" bus company pays motorcycle taxi guys to transport us to a back alley! We didn't even have time to think and collect our thoughts before we were manhandled into a mini-bus - into the back seat where four of us sat (with our feet on top of our backpacks) with limited air conditioning and Vietnamese music for 6 hours! The driver thankfully turned off the music when we asked as the speakers were next to our ears! I'm not sure how familiar you are with Vietnamese music but it is best appreciated when the volume is low and in small doses! Needless to say, it is always benefical to see what you are buying before you pay!

We actually did have a nice end to our Phu Quoc trip - we went Scuba diving on Thursday. We did two good dives - the visability was limited but we did see some jelly fish and an eel and some other lovely fish! We celebrated with a hot pot that night at our funny little resort!

Today is a new day and Ted and I are ready to get back to Thailand! We have had a blast in Vietnam but the amount of motorcycles is beyond me! Today we went and had fresh bread (and our first bagel) at a nice little coffee shop with a mango shake and Vietnmese drip coffee. We headed to search out a massage school. The massage therapists are all blind! It was fun! The sweet girl that did my massage was only 17 years old! We are going to search out one more good restaurant before heading to the airport!

Tam Biet!