Tuesday night
I got in and Jordan was still finishng up his day's tour, so I hung out in the hotel room and watched ESPN Star Sports of course! It was cool watching SportsCenter and knowing the video and script I worked on earlier was being broadcasted in this country.
Once he got back, we headed out to Pho 2000-the restaurant President Clinton ate at on his trip to Saigon in 2000.
It was really tasty and to my surprise the beef was completely legitimate (again making me wonder why it's so different in Singapore).Anyways, the next stop was the night market. It seems like once you've been to one night market, you've been to all of them. Really nothing special to note-although their fake northfaces looked pretty good.
Wednesday
Tunnels tour
Of course a big part of coming to Vietnam was to look at some of the war stuff. Something that interested the two of us were the Cu Chi tunnels.
These are the tunnels the Vietcong had in certain areas - helped move without being seen. Really, the system is very smart, but I just couldn't believe how small these tunnels were. Apparently, they've been doubled in size and I was still really uncomfortable. You kind of "duck walk" through the tunnels and my knees just were not having it. I only went part of the way and then took the early exit - my legs can still feel it.In general, the war stuff made me quite uncomfortable, but more on that in a bit.
Nam Phan Restaurant
After the tour, we got dropped off near the war remnants museum. But before more "feel good" memories, we wanted to have lunch. Luckily, we stumbled upon one of the nicest looking restaurants I've ever been in!
This place was a rennovated mansion and boy was it awesome. We both felt completely under dressed - but it turns out our stomachs were ready for the occasion. The food was sooooo good. We both got an appetizer, a main dish and a Pepsi for a total of 26 USD. It was easily a sixty dollar meal in the states at least. It really just shocked me.War Remnants Museum
After stuffing ourselves, it was time to get back to more knowledge. The museum is completely one sided. I mean being in a communist country it was understandable, and essentially the North eventually won out in the war.
The photos, captions, displays, all made it very clear - the people wanted communism, the Americans wanted destruction. Look, I wasn't alive then and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have been in favor of the war, but it was really pretty crushing. Whether it was right or wrong for the US to go to Vietnam can always be debated, but to me it seems like it was the war between communism and individualism, and the battleground ended up being Vietnam.
I do think if I was alive and an 18 year old kid, I would have been really unhappy to have to go there. Then again, I admit, I haven't done all the research necessary on the war.
Afternoon Snack
Feeling extra good about ourselves, we decided to walk back to the hotel (probably a two mile walk). It was really nice as we saw a lot of the real city, not just tourist spots. Again, we stumbled into a great garden cafe and decided to have a snack. So, we picked the healthiest option of course - creme broulet. The atmosphere was really as nice as the food. Yet again, a lovely decision.
We finally got back to the hotel to recharge before our night out.
Barbeque Garden
Jordan is a big fan of Korean Barbeque. In Seoul (where he works as an English teacher) he goes about once a week. Which meant he was quite eager to try Vietnamese BBQ. It was an easy sell for me, meat + fire = good. The place we went to had a great garden set up, pretty much right in the city.
It's pretty simple, they bring platters of meat, you sit and cook it, then eat it. Again, what made it great was that we had a ton of food (meat, kebabs, corn, onion rings, drinks) all for 10 US each. In a way, I'm glad the food in Singapore isn't as cheap or it'd be dangerous.
A Whole New World
Our next stop was to find dessert. I know it looks like all I do on vacation is eat, but, okay maybe that's kind of true, no excuses, it's what I love to do.
Right across from where we were staying was the New World Hotel. We scampered in, hoping for some decent and not expensive dessert. Winner, winner cheesecake dinner! Jordan got strawberry cheesecake, I got "Mississippi mudcake" (which kind of resembled a durian). It didn't taste like durian though! Sheer heaven and the ice cream was even better. Homemade and silky smooth. That wraps up Wednesday.
Thursday
Most Manly Activity
We woke up ready to get our massages. Right near the hotel was a nice looking spa, and it was cheaper than the one at the hotel. It was an experience for sure. Let's just say I didn't go for a certain added option, but it was still a nice time.
Beef Bonanza
Maybe it's the stupidest idea, but I love eating beef, and it's a more rare experience in Singapore. While we had set out loooking for a pizza place, we ended up finding a great place called the Black Cat. Luckily, we didn't pass it up (superstition joke, hahahaha, it's funny if I point it our right?). This couple next to us were eating this Texas sized burger - 500 grams of meat. Seriously, this was like one of those you eat it all, you get it free types. We did not try to take down the "Big Cat," but we each really liked our food. I got a hamburger that beats any I've had in the little red dot so far.
Fleury of French Findings
France had colonized Vietnam for more than a hundred years (which ended in the 1940s). Well, as you'd guessed, there are plenty of French influenced buildings. As I had an hour before needing to go to the airport, we tried to pack in as many sights as possible. We saw the Notre Dame Cathedral, a beautiful train station and many other relics. We tried to find the city hall, but just missed it.
Speaking of just missing - I got to the airport in plenty of time for my 5:30 flight. Unfortunately, my plane wouldn't be joining me. My flight was cancelled, but I got rescheduled for the 9:30 PM flight.
So, I wrote the majority of this blog on my iPhone while sitting in the Saigon airport.
Anyways, it was great to see my pledge brother and catch up over sights, food, food, drinks, food and food.
I wonder where we'll meet up next!
Michael
