The two Finns, one Swede, and one Australian took the bus to Siem Reap to see Angkor Wat before continuing on to Laos. I got on a different bus to Ho Chi Menh City, Vietnam for $12. The 6 hour ride was comfortable and quiet. The border crossing was surprisingly efficient. On the way there, I filled out the paperwork then gave away my passport to the bus conductor. At the border, we got off the bus and collected our stamped passports (not sure when they were stamped). Then we drove a little more and sent our bags through an x-ray machine. We boarded the bus again, an Vietnamese official double checked the passports and we went into the country. It was nice since there were no lines to stand in and we got on the same bus again.
The first thing I noticed in Vietnam was every house had a 30 foot mast on their house for a TV antenna, like a bamboo forest. Entering Ho Chi Menh City, I noticed entire families riding motorcycles: husband, wife, son and daughter. All on one small motorcycle.
I was dropped off in the area of the city with all the guesthouses. I had one in mind because they have Wi-Fi in all their rooms, but it was full. I checked a few others and they were full and a lady from one called me and she said she had a room. Luckily the hotel next door has Wi-Fi and I can “borrow” it. At $13/night the prices here are a lot higher than Cambodia (where my last room was $4/night). I wish I had someone to share the room and cost since all the rooms are setup for two people.
I went out and found an ATM and took out 1,000,000 Dong. But got a $1.50 fee for using it, which it tells you afterwards. Then I had a cheeseburger and chicken from Lotteria fast food. And then I walked some more and found some street vendors and had some noodles with some internal organs (I didn’t want to know exactly what they were).