Brit with sign. Man next to him is a 25-year-old Algerian, Saad. He's only visited a handful of countries, with Vietnam his first in Asia. He's been in Vietnam for nearly three months, all of them in Saigon. Due to some technicality, he couldn't leave via Moc Bai, but will have to fly out. This was supposed to be his visa run. Saad and I joked about Marseilles, how it's filled with Arabs and black Africans. "I have 15 cousins there!" Saad said.

Since he was turned back, I said he should visit nearby Tây Ninh. He should also get out of Saigon. It's so insanely congested. Coming from a country that's mostly desert, maybe Saad enjoys Saigon's density.