Hello Vietnam!

We arrived in HCMC and it's HOT and HUMID.

Everyone here loves their Uncle Ho. We may actually see him (embalmed version) when we get to Hanoi in about 2 weeks.

Our hotel is gorgeous and right in the heart of the city. It's across the street from the Opera House and just down the block from the former American CIA HQ. We hit the big market this afternoon. I actually think the big markets in Yangon and Bangkok were a lot bigger and better.

Tomorrow our guide Minh is taking us on an all day tour - outside the city in the AM and then a walking tour in the PM.

A note for Alan Wilson - they are all asking about you here... They want to know where their 16' tall buddha is.

A LOT of of people speak English and they all take American dollars or credit cards. Great for Caren. We went to a handicrafts store today and I was waiting for her to buy some huge vase for me to schlep. Fortunately, she settled for some small lacquerware boxes.

A note for Lorraine - the "fufufnicks" are beyond belief here - 15,000+ Dong to the U.S. dollar. I have a VN coin I got in change that is probably worth about 1/3 of a penny.

Caren almost didn't make it into the country. She got held up in Immigration at the airport because the VN consulate in San Francisco (where we got our visas) didn't sign her visa. I went on to baggage claim without her as she sorted things out with the communist bureacracy. $10 later and 30 minutes of paperwork, she got thru immigration and met me. Caren claims that I bought her visa on sale at Walmart - of course she blaims it on me.