Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam 2015
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In August me and Scottie got to travel to Ho Chi Minh City ON OUR OWN!!! Woo hoo! (where is that little emoticon blowing the party kazoo when you need it?) My angel sister, Sunnee, offered to watch Maverick for us- and we immediately snagged that opportunity.
Four days of pure, adult only, bliss. Not 'adult' in a gross way. Just- no baby, no diaper, no fighting naps, no having yogurt rubbed into my clothes.... you get the picture.
The first day we wondered around Ho Chi Minh City. People were very friendly, and everything was cheap, cheap, CHEAP! Seriously. The food is fresh and delicious- lots of cilantro, fresh veggies, and small amounts of oil. It reminded me of Thai food. Anyways, we would eat every meal with about 5 different entrees, and it would cost us $10 USD. Food vacation.
BUUUUT- and this is a big but, walking around the city was scary as poop. Everyone drives motorcycles/scooters, and there are thousands of them on the road at all times. If you want to cross the street you just have to step into the road and pray that they stop coming at you. I was really bad at. We eventually figured out that Scott should walk on the side that the motorcycles were coming from, so that they saw him/hit him before me :). Scott also swears that if you make eye contact with the drivers they will stop. I preferred to stare straight ahead and get out of there as fast as possible. And roads are no problem for the Vietnamese. Because apparently traffic laws mean nothing and they can drive and park wherever the h--- they want. Truly, I got HIT by a motorcycle. While in a park mind you! Me and Scott were in a park in front of the Reunification Palace, when Scott started yelling "Kelsey! Kelsey!" I started panicking because I had no idea what was going on down and then BAM- I fell down. I had been hit by a motorcycle that was using the huge park as a shortcut. The driver didn't stop, and the police man 50 yards away didn't say anything to him! I had tire tracks on my shorts and shirt for the rest of the day, and a rockin headache. Needless to say I was on my toes the rest of the trip when we went outside.
Enjoy the pictures, there will be more in the next post on the Vietnam series!
War Remnants Museum
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| Outside the War Remnants Museum (remnants from the Vietnam War). It was a very interesting and informative museum, but so anti-American we were left feeling very uncomfortable there. I feel so lucky I get to see history from different points of view. |
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| A little bit of a hippie picture |
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| Some real 'war remnants', bomb shells from the Vietnam War. |
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| Nixon's Peace, with Nixon riding a fighter plane and waving a Nazi flag. If that doesn't make you feel self conscious as an American in Vietnam I don't know what will. |
Food
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| We loved the Banh Mi sandwich. The South Vietnamese learned their baking from the french, so their bread is spot on. Bahn Mi has meat, cucumber, cilantro, and carrot, on a mini baguette. Our favorite lady made tiny pork patties in an Barbecue sauce. O.M.G. At .75 USD we may have bought some every day. And by some I mean 6. |
Ho Chi Minh City Sightseeing
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| Saigon Notre-Dame Basillica |
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| This is a replica for the Opera, but this is a traditional Vietnamese cart used for transporting all sorts of goods. You can still see them riding around today, often packed crazy high just like this. Another reason I am terrified of traffic in Ho Chi Minh. |
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| Saigon Opera House |
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| The People's Committee House. There is always a crowd in the plaza in front. |
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| Cho Ben Thanh market. Complete with motorcycle traffic in the roundabout in front. Almost cried when we had to cross this. |
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| A communist propaganda poster. Which I knew what it was saying! |
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| The Reunification Palace, or the Independence Palace. This was the home/workplace for the South Vietnamese President, Diem. At the end of the Vietnam War the South Vietnamese army crashed tanks through the gates to overtake the palace, and symbolically, the whole country. |
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| The water fountain in front of the Reunification Palace. In front on the right and left are parks, where I got hit by a motorcycle. |
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| A shot of the motorcycle traffic. In the top right you can see some drivers up on the sidewalk. |
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| One of the best parts of the trip was that the currency exchange favored us. We felt like ballers running around with our fat wallets, full of thousands of 'dongs'. Yes, the Vietnamese dollar is called the 'dong'. |
