Hello

Today we flew to saigon/ H Chi Minh City then to phnom penh and then drove around the city while our guide told us all about the buildings, the money, the language, customs etc. but all I remember was a scruffy dirty little girl about Ella’s age crying in the middle of a really busy road and knocking on car windows begging for money. We were very upset but the driver said that she will have been trained to do that and that she was not crying but putting on an act to get money. He said her parents would be sitting watching and she would give any money to them. The government are trying hard to get such children off the streets with housing and education projects but their parents won’t allow it because they earn them money. The parents can also join projects to teach them jobs etc but they are lazy and don’t won’t to work. It’s all very sad and makes you so glad that you have the life you have..

Our hotel is lovely and very tropical. We went out on a new form of transport tonight – a three wheeled taxi!! It is a motorbike with a little cab on the back, bigger than a took took and decorated or carrying advertising material such as a great big tube of Colgate toothpaste. It was very comfortable and the first one took us to the Foreign Correspondents Club which is historical as well as a fashionable place to go. We ate in the roof bar which overlooks the river and city. We could see all the people eating, drinking , chatting  etc and all the traffic driving all over the place, on both sides of the road – even doing a u turn in thick traffic – it’s crazy but there are no accidents or road rage and people just slowly walk across the road in front of all the traffic going in all directions and they don’t even look – it’s like a game of dare, but no one gets run over either – mad!!! After dinner we got another motorbike taxi for a ride around town. There are streets with only restaurants and There is even a beer street with only bars, it’s mad.

We are off on some trips tomorrow and I will tell you all about them in tomorrow’s blog

I hope you are all ok and having fun. I wish it was as hot for you as it is for us but I don’t think it is .

Have fun xxxxxxx