“Hello
from Ho Chi Minh!”
Sun.Star
Davao, May 28, 2016
In a bustling city with a sea of motorbikes,
following traffic rules seems quite a challenge in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam.
“The green traffic light means go; the
yellow light signals drive faster; and the red light signifies move slowly but do
check, if there is a policeman”, our tour guide Steven laughingly quipped this
joke. This half-meant “tip” though became handy as the family navigated our way
through the busy streets of HCMC for four days.
Still commonly referred to as
Saigon, Ho Chi Minh is the largest city in Vietnam and the most populous
metropolitan area in the country with more than 10 million people.
Arriving at Tan Son Nhat
International Airport at midnight, we promptly exchanged our U.S. dollars to
the local currency, Dong, where we became instant millionaires, by Vietnamese
standards anyway. You see, 1,000,000
Vietnamese dong is approximately equivalent to our PhP 2,096.70. Initially, the
multiple figures confused the mathematically-challenged me but my hubby Gary suggested
that I apply estimation instead. Mentally take away the three 0s and multiply
the remaining digits by 2 to get the peso equivalent. Easy as pie!
After riding our rented Innova to
the cozy Paradise Saigon Boutique Hotel, we immediately proceeded to our room
where we comfortably snoozed for a few hours. The hotel’s impressive breakfast
buffet spread instantly awakened us and our appetites as it gloriously offered
a variety of international dishes and local favorites such as pho and bun bo
hue, two popular versions of Vietnamese noodle soup.
Postcards
from Vietnam
Invigorated by the
filling meal, we headed off to the Saigon Central Post Office, a Gothic,
Rennaisance and French-designed post office in downtown Ho Chi Minh which was
built during the late 19th century when the country was once part of French
Indochina. My children had a novel experience writing postcards addressed to
themselves (Teehee!) and mailing them personally in this historic post office.
Right across the
post office is the picture perfect Notre Dame Cathedral dubbed as the “one
remaining stronghold of Catholicism” in largely dominated Buddhist Vietnam. Constructed
during the French colonial rule, it is believed to be the smaller replica of
the original Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.
The War Remnants
Museum was next on our list where we sadly witnessed the horrific stories of
the Vietnam War as documented through various exhibits. It may not have been
the best place to bring our daughters (Take for example, the Agent Orange
exhibit) because of its distressing history but as parents, we believe that
exposing them to the ill effects of war would somehow shape them to become
peace advocates, in their own little way.
The sweltering
heat throughout the day drained our energies much so that we headed back to the
hotel for a quick respite before our dinner at the must-try Propaganda
Vietnamese Bistro where the menu boasted of a hip and modern take on otherwise
traditional Vietnamese dishes.
For starters, we munched
on Fresh Rolls with Pulled Pork, Pork Floss, Pickles and Dill with Coriander
Sauce as well as the Water Spinach and BBQ Beef Salad with Vietnamese Wild
Pepper and Fried Shallots. The four of us ordered our individual entrees but still
ended up picking on each other’s lip-smacking BBQ Honey Pork Chop with Pandan
Leaf Broken Rice; Propaganda Roasted Chicken; Vietnamese Mackerel with Tomato
Sauce and Crispy Rice Cake; and BBQ Pork with Rice Noodles, Fried Spring Rolls
and Peanuts.
Catch
me if you can
We woke up extra
early the next day to explore Cu Chi Tunnel and Mekong Delta. Normally, other
tourists visit these sites separately through half-day tours. But, we decided
to book a whole day private tour via Mekong Lighthouse Travel which proved to
be a memorable experience for the family.
Steven, our
friendly and funny tour guide, is no stranger to the Philippines. In fact, he
was familiar with our showbiz personalities and counted Marian Rivera as his
favorite Filipino star. We learned that a handful of our local teleseryes were
dubbed in Vietnamese and had an avid following on primetime TV. Very
interesting!
After a short shopping stop at a
lacquerware factory, we drove to Cu Chi Tunnel, deemed as one of the greatest testaments
of the Vietnamese’s tenacious spirit during the American War in the 1960s. Its
legendary network of tunnels hidden several storeys deep, had numerous
trapdoors, living areas, storage facilities, weapon factories, field hospitals,
command centers and kitchens.
The tunnels played a pivotal role
in enabling communication as well as coordination between the Viet
Cong-controlled enclaves which were isolated due to the South Vietnamese and
American land and air operations. We
bravely went inside one of the tunnels and heaved a sigh of relief when we were
able to fit into the narrow space. With heads and knees down, we managed to
make small steps, traversing from points A to B. I can just imagine how the
Viet Congs sacrificed their comfort for years just to elude capture from the
American soldiers!
Meanwhile, a late
but sumptuous lunch awaited us at our Mekong Delta tour in the afternoon. We
feasted on deep fried catfish deliciously wrapped in rice paper with glass
noodles and fresh vegetables paired with other Vietnamese specialties. This was
followed by a tour at a coconut candy factory and bee farm where we drank comforting
honey tea. Before boarding our hand-rowed sampan, charming Vietnamese ladies
sweetly serenaded us with their folk songs and prepared an enticing spread of assorted
tropical fruits.
That night, we
hunted for our family’s well-loved food blogger Mark Wiens’ banh mi
recommendation at Huynh Hoa; thankfully, just a brief walk from our hotel. The quintessential Vietnamese-French
sandwich’s ingredients included cold cuts, pate, jalapeno, mayonnaise,
cilantro, cucumber, pickled carrot, daikon, and who could ever miss, the crusty
baguette. Combine all these together and you have heaven in a bite!
Art
attack
The next day, we
devoted our morning to an art appreciation activity at the Ho Chi Minh City
Fine Arts Museum succeeded by another kind of art ladies absolutely love---bargain
shopping at Saigon Square!
It was my hubby’s
turn to get excited in the afternoon as we stepped into the Reunification
Palace.The iconic
presidential palace symbolized the end of the war when Viet Congs determinedly crashed
through the gates with their powerful tanks. Gary’s college pre-thesis was
about the Vietnam War so his commentary, as we explored the palace, rivaled that
of a seasoned tour guide’s expertise.
Only a few meters
away from the palace, we traipsed off to the Golden Dragon Water Puppet Theater
to enjoy the entertaining Vietnamese water puppet show. After the performance,
we leisurely strolled around the picturesque Tao Dan Park and got awestruck
with the fitness-conscious Vietnamese who jogged, brisk walked, danced Zumba,
and diligently used the public exercise machines scattered around the expansive
park.
Of course, no
visit to Vietnam would be complete without savoring their famed crabs. For this
foodie mission, we trooped to Hai Lua Food Countryside situated at Ben Thanh
Market. The food was tasty and the service, speedy. Thumbs up to their
efficient waitresses who meticulously cracked the savory garlic crabs and
peeled the grilled shrimps for our dinner that all we had to do was dig
in....oh, this is life!
Sweet
adventure
On our final day,
we did some pasalubong shopping at Ben Thanh Market and practiced our tour guide Steven’s advice to always haggle
for the best price. Some shops also had fixed prices which felt reassuring.
In the evening, we
watched the amazing AO show at the 117-year old Saigon Opera House. Featuring jaw-dropping
acrobatics with the aid of sturdy bamboos and accompanied by upbeat Vietnamese folk
music, the one-hour show was a stunning spectacle.
We capped our Ho
Chi Minh adventure at Cheesecake Ngon with their heavenly melt-in-your-mouth
Chocolate, Matcha, Oreo and Blueberry Cheesecakes.
Thanks to advanced
planning and helpful tips from friends Maggy Buenaventura, Jeffrey Alvarez and
Julie Chua, our D.I.Y. Ho Chi Minh family escapade was a sweet success!
For your day tour
needs at HCMC, Mom-About-Town highly recommends Mekong Lighthouse Travel at
e-mail address: tuyen.lyngoc@yahoo.com.vn; tel. (+84) 985799994; look for Ms.
Ly Ngoc Tuyen; and Phan Van Chuong (a.k.a. Steven) at e-mail address:
chuongtours0919@gmail.com; mobile: (+84) 919994149.
E-mail the author at mom.about.town.dvo@gmail.com.
Visit www.momabouttowndavao.blogspot.com.
