We all had a hard ride to the finish line today, elated and happily exhausted at the end. Probably only 500 klms for Dave and I but throw into the equation; the temperature, the bumpy roads, the air quality and the other 90 million people biking, scooting or driving about, we felt pretty pleased and decidedly relieved to have got to the end of the riding with all our body parts intact. A miracle really.
Had our favourite soup for lunch and fell onto the bus . 
Now we are amid 10 million people on the 8 th floor overlooking the heart of Ho Chi Minh City. 
Feeling almost melancholy as tonight we say goodbye to six good people who have shared the journey with us. The guide has been incredible, he just knew how to do it all and smiled and laughed the whole way with us. I swear he too was happy.
The farewell dinner began at the Koto restaurant which trains young less fortunate kids in all sides of hospitality, the food and service was excellent. Then we hit down town Saigon and paid the most dong yet for a beer at the rooftop bar called Saigon Saigon. It felt about as far opposite as we could be compared to the last two weeks. Even managed to work up yet another huge sweat on the dance floor. 
We hugged our comrades goodbye, thanked and hugged Long one more time and fell into bed by midnight. 
" Long love you long time " is Long's favourite quip, we are genuinely sad to realise we will most likely never see this happy little guy again. We tipped him two and half million dong ? Work that out if you can . Not a lot in our world but hopefully will improve his life a little.
When I get my lap top up and running again I want to send one more wee snapshot of the best photos and memories of Vietnam as there are so many on the camera that I need to share with you. It won't be for another month as the laptop goes north while I go south. 
I asked Long yesterday what was the dream of the average Vietnamese? Was it to make money, have a bigger house, travel ? He replied the pursuit of happiness here is about having many children. There's a sweet change isn't it. They are only allowed two each and if they have more they have to be prepared to pay for their education, health and all their needs. And there is probably a stigma attached to it also. There are no old folks homes in Vietnam, they all take care of each other, these two facts alone tell you a lot about this happy race. 
We will now give this town our best for a day or two and see how we fare.