Waking fresh on my final day in Ho Chi Minh, with only a mildly sore buttocks, I met Bridget for an early breakfast at a French style cafe overlooking a park in the main tourist hotspot. We shared an enormous French bread basket on top of our individual meals, and spent the better part of the morning chatting, eating and laughing like hyenas. I needed to get cash out and my phone was going flat, so when my card was declined by two ATMs in a row, I'll admit I started to panic. Ringing my bank I managed to give all my details before it cut out. I had run out of call credit. I was hot, tired and cashless. With fingers crossed I tried the next ATM I stumbled across, and thank the gods it worked. Following a quick pit stop to collect my thoughts, I decided to explore the Ben Tranh markets, a hybrid of fresh food and produce, and fantastically tacky tourist souvenirs. I spent a good three hours here, buying teas and gifts bartering with the locals until it was time for a beer. Parking myself in the front of a cafe overlooking the markets, I had made the rookie error of making myself far too visible to the street. I was tired, and by about the 6th street vendor I had had enough, so I pretended to be deaf to some lady trying to sell me a phrase book. Mild success, but maybe blind would be better, or a classic "fuck off mate" Either way I avoided them. I headed back to my room to let my phone charge and read my book. At around 5 I decided to go get some pizza from a place with really good trip advisor reviews. It was 800m from me, and forgetting it was peak hour and across two double lane highways I ventured out. It took me 45 minutes to walk there, and when I finally got there the building was torn down. Devastated that all my efforts were in vain, I found a Korean BBQ restaurant to drown my sorrows in a bowl of loaded fries, and hang out until I was brave enough to walk back. It was a lot less busy by the time I returned, and after a quick shower I grabbed an uber to meet Bridget for dinner. We found a dumpling place through trip advisor, and despite the shabby interior the food was excellent. One more marg turned into four, and we parted ways drunk on both tequila and our own laughter.
