Vietnam 2018
This was literally within the first few minutes of exiting the front door of the airport - my first time stepping foot onto foreign soil. Because the total travel time was just over 24 hours and crossed the Int'l Date Line, it was around 9:00 PM the next day when we landed.
There was so much of this motorcycle madness going on EVERYWHERE.
For my first morning in Saigon we took a stroll down a tributary of the Song Saigon (Saigon River). I was amazed at the number of older folks who were using the wide sidewalk between the street and the canal to get in some morning exercise. I am kind of an architecture nerd, so I was in awe at the engineering feat it must have taken to build these connected residences across the canal.
No morning would have been complete without a bowl of hot pho to eat in the humid heat of the morning. It was without a doubt one of the most memorable bowls I have ever eaten.
Electric wires everywhere, but still it is pleasing to my eye.
Vietnamese Pepsi.
THESE CATS LOOK SO GRUMPY! <3
What in the "everything holy" is this??? Moon cakes by Oreo? HWAT?
The building left-most in this photo is the historic Caravelle Hotel. It was the site of a bombing on August 25, 1964, in room 514. The floor was mostly occupied by foreign journalists. It was later named Independence Hotel before eventually changing back to Caravelle.
Across from the Caravelle is the Saigon Opera House. It was also damaged during some bombing raids by the Viet Cong forces, but thankfully it was restored, and beautifully I may add. (More photos of the Opera House below.)
IT WAS SO HOT OUTSIDE. This thick boy doesn't hold up well in humidity.
We decided the weekend would be best spent at the beach, so off to Nha Trang we went.
The thing about the cities here is that fresh food is always in abundance. Every family sells their creations out of the fronts of their homes, and fresh fruit is no exception. You probably wont find some basic oranges and apples here, though. Try longans, rambutan, dragon fruit, and jackfruit.
< This place had some magical sunsets for sure. We decided to also hit up the night market.
More magical sunset.
While in Nha Trang, one of our stops as at the Po Nagar Tower. It was built by the Cham people and is dedicated to Yan Po Nagar, the goddess of the country.
Maybe some enlightening of my inner Okie happened here?
After a long morning of walking around at Po Nagar, we decided to do a little lunch - AND a little day drinking. This was a mango margarita, but I would probably have classified it as a smoothie. It went well with my clay pot fish and rice.
KT's food... whatever it was.
It's a giant Buddha! This was just before I had to make a long jaunt down tons of steps to get back down to the water closet - and eventually to a cab - so that I could make my way back to the hotel before messes were made. Thanks, lunch.
The view from up top was spectacular looking over the city. The artwork here is all super cool as well.
Add some rock climbing in and we were hungry again. Off to McDonald's we go. But... wait... what is all this?
Moon cake at McD's. I just needed to dat hang some cheeseburgers, but it's cool to see regional variances in the menu. You definitely would have a hard time finding tiramisu at a McD's in the United States!
Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica of Saigon. The lovely building on the right is the Saigon Central Post Office and was finished in 1891.
Cold coconut water is such a great thing to try when it's so hot and sticky out!
KT's aunt took us to buy material today. What shall we make of these? (The answer is shirts!)
Nothing better in the morning than a drip cafe sua da.
Leave it to KT to get into my shot... LOL. The war museum as a fantastic look into the viewpoint of the Vietnamese government. They refer to it several times as a war of liberation. It's interesting to see how the opposing sides differed.
I didn't get to ride in a rickshaw, but here are some nostalgic examples from the museum. This is the opera house from above, but in the 1960s.
< This is Independence Palace - the former presidential palace of South Vietnam. It was bombed in 1962 by two dissidents of its own ranks - one penetrated a western wing room where the president was located, but it did not detonate. The president's family suffered no casualties.
It was a rainy day when we got to go for fancy ice cream, but it was a place where KT used to enjoy ice cream as a young boy. It was special getting the opportunity to sit down here and enjoy a sweet treat!
So many balloons in the mall. It felt like such a big place, and really it was quite nicer than any mall I've been to in the States.
Dragon fruit.
Jackfruit.
I took this from the tub a couple nights before we left for Vietnam. The story that accompanies it is somewhat less cute than Sunny's adorable face. I had put a bath bomb in. I never use these, but for some reason this time I felt compelled to buy one. It had just finished fizzing and I was enjoying a Tecate while relaxing in the fizz. Sunny rolled over and playfully swatted the air. Everyone was happy.
Then I saw glitter... ALL OVER THE TUB. All over me. Everywhere. I screamed. Sunny screamed. I screamed more. Sunny peed all over my clothes. The next moment was a scene of absolute chaos. I jumped out of the tub and left a trail of glittery water all over the tile floor. Sunny ran and left a trail of pee beside it. We were both screaming and terrified.
I will never use a bath bomb again - period.