Day 4 - Ho Chi Minh City

On our third full day in HCMC, we decided to explore more of the city's Old Quarter on foot... I think these photos do a pretty good job capturing the essence of what we saw each day.

I think we bought 90% of our produce and snacks from vendors like these each day...and we could have done the same with meals too (we just preferred to sit and eat). I think they're roughly every 20-30 feet no matter where you walk. My understanding is that most of these very hardworking women (many often carrying an infant in a carrier on their body) work from sun up to sun down (and beyond) hawking their produce, warm dishes, etc. in the heat. They're very often on the move most of the time too. Honestly- it's a hard life, and we rarely negotiated with them because they deserve every cent they get.

The roads are packed with scooters, and even sidewalks are not sacred. The drivers just hop up on the sidewalks whenever they don't see any police, so you had to be on the lookout constantly.

To give you a better idea of the daily, 24/7 scooter brigade on every street...

After cruising the quarter, we walked over to the Reunification Palace (again...a brief explanation from Wiki):

Independence Palace (Dinh Độc Lập), also known as Reunification Palace (Vietnamese: Dinh Thống Nhất), built on the site of the former Norodom Palace, is a landmark in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. It was designed by architect Ngô Viết Thụ and was the home and workplace of the President of South Vietnam during the Vietnam War. It was the site of the end of the Vietnam War during the Fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975, when a North Vietnamese Army tank crashed through its gates.

Though architecturally, this palace was no wonderland, it has been preserved in much the same way it likely looked during the war. It's literally frozen in time- part museum, part creepy time warp.

Not sure what inspired this pose in the Presidential Office...but I like it. Not shown just to our left was the President's bulletproof escape door that led downstairs to the safe room(s).

 

The Palace also had a disco, ballroom, helicopter pad, guest rooms, 'war room', etc. It was very much a presidential palace pre-war, I'm sure. The palace also displayed gifts that the President had received over time, such as these wonderful authentic elephant's feet. Where the fourth was, I could not tell you, but I suppose it's the thought that counts? (For the record, friends...elephant feet are not on my Amazon Wish List.)

 

The downstairs rooms were largely for governing the nation- lots of telecommunications centers (complete with the beige rotary dial phones we all grew up with) and maps, etc. It was like walking through the equivalent of their CIA's old headquarters.

The back of Reunification Palace had a funky children's playground that Ryan could not resist.  I'm going to put out there, that his playground would be un-insurable in the US. It was a tad ancient, rusty, dangerous and therefore- fun.

We finally tore Ryan away from the playground (since you know, there are none of those in the states) in search of lunch. So what do you order when it's boiling hot outside?

Hot pho!!!

I'd say most restaurants we encountered on the street cooked outside (not sure if its because of heat, lack of space or just because it's easier?). Anytime we had pho (4-5 times over 8 days), it was only about $2-3 a bowl... And while I'd say it was pretty good, I'm not a pho fan. :-) I much preferred their spring rolls, coconut ice cream, dragon fruit and aloe yogurt.

After our lunch, we walked directly across the street to a Hindu temple. It had a very Khymer look to it, but the colors were far from the usual bold primary colors I see at most Asian temples...

After cruising the old quarter for a few hours, while my parents returned to Cho Ben Tanh (I'm not a shopper)...Rich and I took Ryan to a nearby park. It was only 92 degrees with 75% humidity, so it felt great, and I had a lovely time (the things we do for our offspring).

The cutest little 'bus' (and tourist) in the world.

We promised Ryan that we would take him back to the rooftop water park and playground that we saw at the high end Vivo City mall once we had a chance, so we spent the evening watching him frolic with two new friends (the language barrier wasn't an issue for the kids) before taking him to see Hotel Transylvania 2 in a gorgeous new theater for half the price of the states. 

I was madly in love with the colorful, cultural artwork up there...