THE FOOD is probably our favorite part! So many delicious options. The people are also so kind and helpful to us and we have really enjoyed our tour of this country.
A view from the rooftop of our first hotel in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly known as Saigon). The rooftops are clearly a "bonus" space that many people utilize as an additional room. The city is very dense and home to a lot of different cultures and ethnicities.
This temple is known as Hung King's Temple. It was designed by a French architect, Auguste Delaval, and was originally built in 1927 with the name Temple de Souvenir Annamite (Annamite Temple of Remembrance) to honor Vietnam soldiers who fought in World War 1.
This was the start of our Architectural and Cultural walking tour of Ho Chi Minh.
The Ho Chi Minh City Post Office. Also designed by the same French architect, August’s Delaval.
The Ho Chi Minh Opera House. We went there to see the Teh Dar show depicting the ancient mountain people of Vietnam through a music and dance performance. Unfortunately, pictures were not allowed during the show, but believe us when we say that the show was incredible. It reminded me of a Cirque du Soleil / musical performance.
At the end of the Teh Dar show the performers came out to the lobby to play more music and let us take pictures of them.
Ho Chi Minh City Hall. The concrete “beach” in front of us is covering a canal which used to be exposed. This area is quite vibrant in the evening with lots of friends and couples hawker food carts and people selling their wares or milling about. We learned during our tour that the public is not allowed in the city hall. Only special and invited guests may enter at this time, however, there have been discussions that this may change soon. Ho Chi Minh is considered much more liberal and generally less strict than the northern territories of Vietnam. Our guide informed us that this is not something people say too much out loud, but there are a lot of people who migrate from the north to the south. It was a reminder that Vietnam is still a communist country.
A “vertical city street”. Those are all shops and restaurants as you look up. This building is on the same street as that “concrete mall” space in front of the city hall building. This reminds me of the 5th Element movie where people drive around in hover crafts.
Out front of a seafood restaurant in Nha Trang, where we had a one night layover during our 17 hour train ride from Ho Chi Minh to Da Nang.
One of the many night markets we strolled through in Vietnam. This one was in Nha Trang.
A beautiful Pagota at Marble Mountain in Da Nang.
Sybil rubbing Buddha’s belly for good luck.
An evening boat ride in Hoi An during the lights celebration for the lunar start of the month.
Rolled ice cream complete with a dinosaur gummy on top.
Yes, that’s a frog!
We had the best grilled octopus at this woman’s cart.
Hoi An is well known for its ancient yellow buildings and lantern lit streets.
We went to another performance while we were in Hoi An. This performance was called the AO Show and was about the river people of Vietnam and how their culture has changed within the modern world, and yet, where you can still see traces of the past. Both the Teh Dar Show and AO Show had beautifully simple props and costumes, and yet they did so much with so little.
Hoi An at night.
We discovered Vietnamese custom clothing stores. They take about 50 measurements of you, you design the clothes you want with them and then pick out your fabric, and within 24 hours you get clothing that fits you perfectly!
Country Pancakes
Shrimp in baskets
Bun Cha
A fried banana with condensed milk sauce, coconut shavings and peanuts sprinkled on top.
Fresh spring rolls, sweet and sour tofu with vegetables, and beef with noodles. I think this total meal came to about $5-$6
Pork buns and fresh spring rolls. I couldn’t get enough of those fresh spring rolls!
Green tea pasty puff dessert