Yup, looking good for my January departure - I’ll fly Cathay to BKK via San Francisco and Hong Kong on my way to Vietnam. Haven't set up anything for my stay in Thailand but have my old room at Thao's lined up in Saigon, once I get to Vietnam.
Speaking of Saigon, the name has become source of great irritation to me. Saigon has been officially Ho Chi Minh City for about 40 years now which is longer than many of the people who have the need to mention it have been around. While I am not sanctioned as a government spokesperson, you can trust me when I write either name works, no explanation needed and enough said.
Which brings up another thing, I’m so tired of reading about Saigon's traffic, it's just old news, it's been that way forever. However, mentioning the dangers of street crossing, along with successful crossing techniques is something I never tire of.
Also regarding traffic, a mention of the number of taxis prowling around might be part of the problem, because it is, would be kind of new news. Because ten years ago that taxis just weren’t there, all the city had were a few enterprising guys with cars for hire running around the city.
The buzz on line about how the Vietnamese government has blocked access to Facebook.com appears to be true. Why, maybe because they could, works, it is communist state no matter what it looks to the backpacker just passing through.
