Christmas In Vietnam - Ho Chi Minh City - Part 1

Following on from our brief stint in KL, by the time we reached the airport (LCCT) at 8am, my friend, by now used to the unexpected, and obviously tired from the night's exertions, asked, and then reacted calmly to, where we were going.

"Oh Vietnam. To visit your mother? Whereabouts over there?"

"Ho Chi Minh City and Vung Dao. First stop, my aunt's place, where we will be having lunch. Come to think of it, it's virtually the same itinerary which Jac and I had in January. (http://theslogreviews.blogspot.com/2010/01/ho-chi-minh-city-on-16-jan-2010.html, http://theslogreviews.blogspot.com/2010/01/grey-hound-racing-and-seafood-in-vung.html) So look sharp, for I think some people will not be able to resist a comparison..."

"Orh..." she said.

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It was a bit scary thinking about the relentless passage of time and how it felt just like yesterday when I walked down the same narrow side-alley to my aunt's place in January with Jac.



And eating exactly the same food which we ate 11 months earlier - vegetables and some kind of crispy rice cracker which one dips in/ piles on with lots of tiny shellfish...



Bun Bo, a type of beef noodle. It's similar to, but distinct from Pho. While the latter originated from the South (I believe), Bun Bo hails from Central Vietnam (Danang and the surrounding areas), which was where my Mum grew up.



Downed with a local Vietnamese beer, which, due to my non-discerning palette for all things alcoholic, tasted like, well, any other beer...



After lunch, we paid a visit to the school my Mum runs...



Passing through familiar busy roads chock-full with motorcycles as usual...



Did I tell you that when I first went to Vietname some 13 years ago, there were hardly any motorcyclists who wore helmets. Everybody does nowadays so I suppose that is a requirement enforceable by law. Glad to know that it's not a problem getting one though...



This is a drink stall right outside my Mum's school. When was the last time we saw bottled soft drinks in Singapore?



And this was a locally-manufactured bottled drink we had. My friend liked it, but I thought it rather tasted like Woods Peppermint Cough Syrup, which I had been consuming sporadically throughout the week due to a minor but nagging cough...



But the highlight of the first day, as we retraced the voyage I had with Jac (it's weird, I know) was not Saigon but Vung Dao, and to reach there, we had to take a ferry down the Bach Dang River...