Goodbye to Facebook!?

Being part of the "Facebook generation" I looked forward to changing my current location to Ho Chi Minh City first thing in the morning. To my utter surprise, that won't be possible. Why? Well apparently in Vietnam one cannot access Facebook! My next move was to sign into my blog and write about it, then comes my second big surprise: blogspot is also blocked! It's strange to be in a place where Internet is widely available yet restricted in this way. After pocking around for a couple days I finally figured out that I can in fact log into my blogger account, write a post and publish it, but I can't view my actual blog!? Strange world. I haven't been able to find a way to access Facebook though, so I might be forced into letting go of that particular addiction, at least for the next 3 months or so.

Meanwhile, I'm surviving the craziness of HCMC. There's a beautiful madness to the chaos really. Most streets have four marked lanes, two in each direction, one of which is for scooters and the other for cars and buses. It's organized, the traffic flow is impressive when compared to the Philippines. Yet, I've never been as scared to cross a street than here... And I remember getting my first lessons in extreme-street-crossing-techniques from my father when I was in Rome at the age of 10: "Look straight ahead, choose a speed, don't speed up, don't slow down, and never ever stop." During that same trip a car ran over my dad's toes. Scary business, but Rome's got nothing to HCMC. Still, I follow the advice and hold my breath.

Now, the account that you've all been expecting (and, admit it, waiting for): the food! In a word: amazing. I got my first taste of real Pho and Vietnamese subs, complete with my regular favorites of payaya shakes and lemonades. And croissants... real, buttery, melt in your mouth croissants... and those of you who know me, know that I am a croissant-snob, but I was blown away with the offerings here! Living up to it's reputation, Vietnamese food is above and beyond!