June 9 – June 12, 2016

Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam

June 9th, I arrived in my first completely unplanned and un-researched destination, Vietnam. It wasn’t even on my map. I picked Vietnam because it’s one of the essential stops in the three/four stops that everyone makes when they travel through Southeast Asia (Thailand-Cambodia-Vietnam and sometimes Laos). Ho Chi Minh was similar to Bangkok but with way more scooters and much insaner traffic. Since I had no plans, I spent the first couple of days figuring out what to do…and finding the best pho I’ve eaten and the best banh mi I’ve ever eaten. Good times.

Pho shop

Spectacular pho! Fully cleared my sinuses

Banh mi with green mango juice

In Ho Chi Minh, I had the chance to visit the War Remnants Museum. I honestly didn’t have any expectations except to learn a bit more about the Vietnam War. This museum…is not for the faint of heart. It slaps you in the face with the ugliness of war. I went with a young girl from the hostel and both of us decided we had to leave because we couldn’t walk through the whole museum. The pictures of children affected by agent orange were especially difficult to see. I’m glad I went but I can’t say that it was a pleasant experience. It’s a good thing we skipped the killing fields when we were in Phnom Penh. I only included a couple of pictures below.

Besides the museum, I took a cooking class where I had a 1 on 1 instructor and I learned to cook dishes I will never be able to re-create on my own. But man they were good. I made a chicken noodle soup, spring rolls, and a savory pancake…so delicious! The cooking school also took me to one of the biggest markets in the area and I got to ride on the back of a scooter in Ho Chi Minh traffic.  And I didn’t die!

The market

Fish at the market

That yummy chili salt

Charcoal eggs

The chicken noodle soup I made

Fancy fruit carving

On my last day in Ho Chi Minh, I walked around a local park, went to a random indian temple, ate my fill of Banh Mi sandwiches and at night I decided to try an indian restaurant recommended by a non-indian. It was below adequate. I whined about listening to non-indian people’s recommendations for indian food on FB and I think I pissed some of my non-indians friends off. Oh well. We know what we know :-). I did meet a very sweet French Canadian girl that I hit it off with immediately and we spent quite a bit of time together. I also met two gross and obnoxious American dudes that were there for the sex tourism…we won’t talk about them.

Cute park in the city

Hindu temple

Fabric vendor

Sponges???

Random Indian restaurant I tried…below meh.

Snuggle kitties!

Oh I got to try some GUAVA! They sell it with a yummy chili salt…delicious!

That was my time in Saigon…on to Hanoi!