Day 4

It's me again. Oanh's sleeping.



It was a slow start this morning. Skype is a wonderful thing, but we found this morning that it was a little difficult to get rolling as it seemed that everyone wanted to chat today! :) It was nice catching up, and we finally booked our flight to Thailand and Chiang Mai. Relieved to have that taken care of, we called our cousins to plan the day. We were glad to find out that Hue's purse was returned! Someone found it in their trash can and returned it to the Police. Though the cash, ATM card and cell phone were long gone, both IDs and her credit card were returned! Yay! A great start for the day.



It's now 10am and we were hungry! We walk to another food cart we had seen yesterday that was packed and hoped to find it again. We found the cart only to be told they were all out of Bun-uck. Yes, we were looking for another perfect breakfast. With our mouths watering for that tasty bowl, we ventured down a new alleyway hoping that it would lead us to the nice lady and her cart from the day before.



After yesterdays run in with the thief, both of us were a little more on edge as we walked the streets, and going down this alley was definitely testing us.



We walked for what seemed like an eternity. Zig-zagging through the buildings. I walked ahead of Oanh so he could keep an eye on me, and I in turn, stayed close to a mother and her child that said 'hi' to us. I figure we're safer staying close to them. Funny how your mind works while you're a bit out of your comfort zone.



Just as we couldn't take it anymore... Wha la! We were at OUR old alleyway! We did good. We made a right, walked up 3 or 4 houses and saw our vendor. Still sitting were we left her the day before. In the back of our minds we were worried that she may be out of food too, but we were in luck! Meeting us with a smile, she starts to make our food without us even saying a word. It was lovely. She even remembered to make mine less spicy. Slurping our breakfast we didn't care that we weren't trying anything new, we were just happy to have something familiar to enjoy and relax with.



After breakfast it was time to try Reunification Palace once more. We were to meet up with our cousins at 11am there. We arrived a bit early and read the sign at the ticket office informing us that they would stop admissions between 11am and 1pm! We called to warn our cousins to not be late. Apparently, they ran into a bit of a snag with our weekend trip and had not even left their house yet. So we agreed to meet up with them in front of the palace at 1pm.



We went in. The palace is an incredible architectural structure with very high ceilings and modern 60's design. Our guide was charming, and though English was a definite struggle, she did a fine job. I kind of wish we tipped her now. Check out the photos, this place was very interesting and once more it was fascinating to hear the continuing story of the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975 (a date that is now ingrained in my memory) and the "liberation" of Vietnam.



After our hour tour, sweaty and thirsty, we decide to find a place to hang out until our family could join us. Oanh had remembered a really hip looking restaurant just up the street that looked like the perfect place to relax. Boy were we right! This place looked as if it were transplanted from Westwood or Melrose in Hollywood. Very posh, trendy and WAY COOL. (Normally a place we would not be able to afford, but here, we were living like kings!) It was called "Windows" I think and the whole place was levels upon levels of balconies and glass. Feeling a bit underdressed in our backpackers travel gear, we quickly made our way inside to the air-conditioning--- Even more perfect! After the gust of cold air hits you, the vibrations from the loud dance music follow. The hostess leads us upstairs to the 5th, yes 5th floor, to our table. Sitting there you could overlook the whole place, it was way cool. Check out the photos. We had multi-colored tapioca drinks, Vietnamese style flan and some delicious unidentifiable ice cream. We were set to sit here for the rest of the day, watch all the hip young Vietnamese people hanging out, dose off to Jet Li on the big screen in "Hero" and sip our tea. Our cousins met up with us for a round of refreshing drinks and then they continued over to the palace while we headed to the Ho Chi Minh museum on the waterfront.



We approach the brightly colored French Colonial Building and proceed to go through their many rooms filled with memorabilia and propaganda on "Uncle Ho". By this time we were pretty worn out with the subject, so we took some pictures of the nearby construction and went back to our hotel to relax.



Our cousins met us back at our place to jump on the internet. Afterwards we all headed out to the Ben Thanh Market where Oanh and I had gone the night before. We shopped and with the encouragement of the other ladies- I bought my first item- a traditional Vietnamese dress. It was lovely and under $20. I couldn't resist! After about a half hour or so, it was time to eat. We found the stall that we spotted from the night before and sat down to one of the most exquisite meals ever! For $10 per person we had:



Shrimp and Pork summer rolls

Bun Xeo- Vietnamese Pancake with Shrimp

BBQ Oysters- incredible!

Steamed Vietnamese Crab- TOTALLY different from Dungeoness. Very succulent and sweet.

BBQ Pork- OMG the BEST EVER!!!!

This Crazy Round ball like thing that you eat with Pork sausage and lettuce- see the photo

Roasted snails with curry coconut sauce- absolutely Fantastic

BBQ whole Red Snapper- the skin was to die for and the meat was so tender and light

and Saigon Beer, the large size.



Totally stuffed and extremely satisfied, we all headed home.



Tomorrow is a super early day - we're checking out of the hotel, 7am we get into a private van to take us up on a tour to Central Vietnam. We don't know when we'll have internet again so this is all for a few days. I can't tell you exactly what we'll be doing, but something about beaches, boats, and beautiful sights. Can't wait.



It's very late now and Oanh is in REM snore, so it's time to call it a night.