Our first day of arrival in Vietnam was in Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon. A number of people referred to it as Saigon; this seemed to (unofficially) not be a big deal
Breakfast. The small glass container held yogurt. This form of yogurt was pretty universal during our time in Vietnam:
Items at a convenience store:
Celebrating 50 years of reunification:
Looking down towards the French colonial City Hall, built between A.D. 1898 and 1909:
The Saigon Opera House, built between A.D. 1898 and 1902:
Saigon has its share of modern architecture as well:
A close up of City Hall:
As part of our first day, we took a Hop On - Hop Off tour bus:
The Saigon River:
A statue to Trần Hưng Đạo, Prince of the Trần Dynasty, who defeated two Mongo (Yuan Dynasty) invasions:
I've had my share of siopao in my life, the Filipino version of the meat filled pasty with the slightly twisted top in your first photo. Usually in the Philippines it is sweetened pork asado in the filling. Do you remember what was in yours and what to the Vietnamese call it?
ReplyDeleteEd - I had to look it up, but thanks to InterWeb it tells me they are Bánh bao. I want to say meat (pork) was the major general ingredient.
DeleteNow that you wrote that, I knew that and had just forgotten.
DeleteIt appears to be a clean and modern looking city. A good start to a tour of the country.
ReplyDeleteLeigh, in a lot of ways you would not have known you not in a generally modern city. Certainly more so than in Phnom Penh, for example.
DeleteThe bus tour was a great way to see a number of places all at once; some of them we went back to later on the tour.
Miners in the Iron Range and the UP had their version of the meat filled pasty for their work shift meal, local supermarket chain sells one version, not bad. A number of my neighbors are Hmong, the older generation fled when the Communists achieved reunification, they didn't want to be forced into the re-education camps or worse. Strong family ties and good neighbors TB.
ReplyDeleteNylon12, one of the interesting things to me was how many "minority" groups constitute Vietnam.
DeleteI vaguely remember the exodus when it happened and have met a number of those folks in my career. As you say, excellent folks with a very different perspective on things at time. I wonder if I could reinvent my life in a new country.
Just gorgeous. Thanks for sharing. Is winter a better time for fat, white, out of shape American's to visit, or is the weather the same year-round? Thinking about humidity, sweat, and mosquitos... LOL!
ReplyDeleteAnon - You are welcome.
DeleteWe were there in March and already warm. Interestingly, there is a difference between the weather of North and South, with the North being generally colder and the South generally warmer. Apparently in the South temperatures are between 70 and 95F (plus humidity) while the North can be between 37 and 91 F.