After one final SE Asian night bus (we had every intention of taking a day bus, but they were all sold out due to the previously mentioned Water Festival), we returned to Saigon. We had officially come full circle because, as our dedicated readers may remember, this is where we began our trip 8 weeks ago. After weeks of new places, it was nice to be somewhere we had been before. Being back in Saigon also showed us how accustomed we had come to the ways of SE Asia. We barely gave a second thought to the motorbikes or darting across several lanes of motorbike traffic to cross the street. We had no problem handling the smells, crowds, or persistent salespeople at Saigon's Ben Tranh Market where we hadn't lasted 5 minutes without having to escape on our previous trip to the city. It didn't even feel that hot outside. It's amazing how things that seemed so foreign 8 weeks ago had become so normal. We spent our last 24 hours in SE Asia walking around, getting some last minute gifts for family, and eating at a Pho place where Bill Clinton had eaten when he was president:
The table where Bill had eaten had a description of his and Chelsea's order underneath the glass.
I was intent that our last meal of the trip would be street food. We ordered 2 of whatever they were serving and although I'm not really sure what they served us, it looked pretty nasty. Kind of disappointing especially since we had had such good luck with street food throughout the trip but it made us less sad about leaving (and getting back to American food).
We ended the night with a beer on our balcony and cheers'ed the end of an incredible trip. If you haven't gathered from reading this blog, we had an awesome and eye-opening experience. We are definitely motivated to book our next adventure. And until then......
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