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Greetings from Saigon!

A city that the hits you straight into the side of the head with a sledgehammer blow of stimuli, Thors Hammer would have a hard time matching this place! A dazzling variety of smells, ranging from the wonderfully fragrant to the eye-wateringly pugent. Sounds that can delight one moment and irritate the next. Sights from the intoxicatingly spell binding to harrowingly sad – thankfully we have had far more of the former that the latter, but in a country as poor and with such a history as Vietnam it’s hard to avoid the latter.

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Hi All,

Well, we made it – which is more than can be said about my luggage, which is at this moment somewhere between Cork and India… presumed holidaying in Santa Ponza. After a long journey, which involved a delayed flight from Abu Dhabi to Delhi (Abu Dhabi airport is an experience!), due to loose chickens in the cabin. That, at least, is what I was expecting! The leg from UAE to India was an interesting one. The flight left over an hour late, and (compared to the luxury of the London – Abu Dhabi leg) was cramped and full. I was expecting flying chickens in the cabin, and to look out and see a fakir lying on a bed of nails on the wing. There was a number of heated exchanges as the cabin crew warned a number of passengers that there was no smoking on the flight! But, 24 hours after leaving our homes in Cork, we arrived at Indira Ghandi Airport.

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Hi All,

It’s 1135am here (4:35 your time) and I’ve been on the go for the past 31 hours non stop, with maybe an hour or three’s sleep here and there. In order to get used to this time I’m going to keep going until bedtime when I’ll sleep better than Rip van Winkle did!

We’re in an Internet Bar, having a beer looking out at the city of Quito, capital of Ecuador. The city itself is what you’d expect from a South American capital, lively, car fumes everywhere, insane drivers and chaotic traffic, vibrant colours and inviting odours teasing you to try the local Indian (or is that Andean) quisine. What is amazing though is the view. A clear blue sky with mountains and volcanoes on all sides of the city, towering over you – breathtakingly beautiful.

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