Wow... Welcome to Vietnam!!!

I was sure about hitchhiking around Vietnam so I planned on taking a bus after crossing the border and in to Ho Chi Minh City aka Saigon.  What I didn't plan is the closest town with an ATM being 20km from the border.  I'd spent all my money in Cambodia and so was skint for cash.  That settled it... hitch into the closest town.


It was hot and sweaty work but this crazy kid on a beaten up scooter took me most of the way.  We had to stop and repair a puncture along the way.  At the repair shop an old man and myself were comparing arm bicep size.  He won :-(


Eventually I made it to HCMC.  I was fully expecting to be hassled by the motorbike taxi drivers and various other touts.  Didn't happen.  In fact the taxi driver with whom I had a friendly chat with advised me which bus to take and where to get off.  Not what I was expecting at all.


In the evening I went for a meal by myself and was engaged in a friendly conversation with a few locals who sat at the same table with me.


After dinner I was wondering through a park close to the hostel I was staying in and got approached by some students.  They were very polite and asked if didn't mind having a conversation with them so that they could practice their English.  We chatted for a while, which gave me an opportunity to learn more about Vietnamese culture.  Before we departed they invited me to join them for dinner the following night.


This is not the Vietnam I was expecting.  I guess my preconceived conceptions were well off.