Afetr getting just a few hours of sleep, and still trying to get used to the 11 hour time difference, we started our first full day in Saigon. The Sofitel Hotel helped us to get the day off to a great start with an amazing breakfast buffet.
We then met Tan, our guide and translator for our time in Saigon and the Mekong Delta. Off we went to our first stop, The Notre Dame Cathedral, completed in 1880.
Across the street from the Cathedral is the Post Office, still in use today as both a post office as well as a place where people can come to make inexpensive long distance phone calls.
We then went back to District 1, in the center of the city, to visit the Rex Hotel which was not only famous for its role as the place where many western journalists stayed during the war, but also as a place where we had lunch in 1998 just days after adopting Sam. We also stopped at the statute of Ho Chi Minh (you can see then and now pictures in Leigh’s post).
Next stop was the Giac Lam Pagoda, the oldest Buddhist temple in Saigon (built in 1744).
The Binhtay Market, in the Cholon district, was next. The market, located in the heart of Saigon’s Chinatown, is the largest wholesale market in Saigon.
A tradition in Vietnam is honoring the deceased by burning paper versions of common items so that your relatives can have the goods in the afterlife. For example, you may need new clothes
Or perhaps some slippers, cigarettes, or a smart phone
And I still find it a beautiful sight to see women selling food from baskets that they carry with them
We stopped at another pagoda in the Cholon district, and experienced the peaceful combination of silence, beauty, and the aroma of burning incense.
What we were not prepared for was the full wall mural detailing the stages of hell. Take a close look at these warnings of what hell is like. No translation necessary to know that this would not be the place you want to go.
We then went to one of 3 lacquer factories in Saigon to see how it is made (but, to be honest, the one we went to in 1998, Tay Son, was much nicer).
Just around the corner was the Evergreen Hotel. This hotel has a place in our heart as the hotel where we stayed in Saigon before and after we adopted Sam . I wrote all of my email dispatches from that time in the rooms right above the sign.
By many in Vietnam, the war is a called the American War and the War Remanents Museum tells the story of the war from the eyes of those from the North. No matter your opinion on the war, the museum is incredibly emotional and shows the damage that war can inflict on a country and its a people.
Perhaps the most unique item at the museum is an actual guillotine that was brought to Vietnam by the French and, according to the sign, was taken to many villages during the war and used for executions.
In a complete non-sequitur, we were then off to the Ben Than Market, one of the largest consumer markets in Saigon. Walking the narrow aisles, with people calling you to come over or touching you to get rid your attention, is quite an experience.
( I do not know the guy who photo bombed Sam’s picture)
Later that evening we went to dinner with an old friend, Anh Nguyen. We met Anh at the Vietnamese Culture Camps that we attended with Sam for many years while he was growing up (the camps are run by our dear friend, and amazing woman, Caroline Nguyen Ticarrro). Anh moved to Vietnam from the US earlier this year to learn more about the country (and when your job is done working online, as Anh put it, you can work from anywhere). We asked Anh for a suggestion for local food, and she did not let us down. The first stop was a to experience the amazing Vietnamese street food. Anh suggested a place called Quán Ốc Quang Anh. Sam described the restaurant in his blog post, and it was indeed an amazing experience. The kitchen is on the street, and you can see the seafood in the bowls as well as the grill and pots for cooking them.
The way it works is that you pick your mollusk (such as clam, snail, conch, crab, etc.), tell them how you want it cooked (grilled, steamed, boiled, etc.) and what type of sauce you want on top (lemon grass broth, grilled garlic and onion, etc). In a few few minutes, the cook makes the dish and it is on your table, steaming and smelling delicious.
Clams in lemongrass broth
Grilled scallops with green onion
Grilled snails with garlic
Grilled conch.
The meal was amazing: great food and great company.
Anh suggested our final stop should be for coconut ice cream. This is fresh made with coconut milk ave served in the coconut shell. Topped with corn kernels, shredded pumpkin, toasted coconut, sticky rice and peanuts.
Who knew that corn, rice and pumpkin went so well with ice cream! Delicious.
Then back to hotel for a quick view of the night sky, and bed.
