The van that was supposed to pick me up from the hostel never showed, so one of the employees gave me a ride to the bus station. It was a little sad to say good bye to everyone there, they were all extremely friendly and very good to me.
The bus was uneventful, besides for a somewhat chaotic border crossing. The bus manager took everyones passports, gave it to the border guard and then called everyone individually from the other side of a barrier. It was not bad if not for the two or three buses before us, and one guy who had to go through a seemingly random "quarantine" procedure.
We got to Ho Chi Minh, and I made way to find a guest house. I was in the main "backpacker district" called Pham Ngu Lao, and it was all very overwhelming. I finally settled on a nice room with AC for $12. The only drawback is it's up 6 flights of stairs.
The streets are bustling around here and walking around was pretty fun and interesting. I stopped into a little cafe for some food. The guy next to me told me the burgers were amazing, and I figured why not. They were actually really tasty, with a fried egg and tons of chilli sauce, all washed down with a bia hoi (fresh draft beer, brewed daily, and a cost of 5,000 dong-$.25).
I got to talking with Dylan, the guy who recommended the burger, who is from Philadelphia, and is teaching English here. Before long Justin, an ex-pat from Australia, joined in and before I knew it, it was dark outside and I had drank $2.50 worth of bia hoi. I was tired and hot, so I went back to my room for a shower. I decided to stay in and get to bed at reasonable hour in hopes of more outings tomorrow.
Although I didn't see much today, Ho Chi Minh seems like a very fun and lively place, and I'm excited to see more of it tomorrow.
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