Doing my dong on banh mi? Pho sure!

[GarrettM]

The wines list was very extensive for a small restaurant.

There was more, but I couldn't be bothered taking the pics.

 

[GarrettM]

After settling into our apartment and having a breather, it was time to hunt for some food. MrsGM had spotted a place online she was interested in, and we decided it would be easy enough to walk there.
After the relative peacefulness of Hoi An, navigating HCMC was a bit more of a challenge. There are more than 8 million people here, and they all seem to be out on their motorbikes at the same time.




All the same we managed to cross the roads without incident. Just a matter of stepping off the kerb and maintaining a steady pace. Indecision and rapid changes of direction are very bad things here.

Soon we were at our destination, Den Long Home Cooked Vietnamese.


Not many pics here, although we enjoyed some soft shell crab, whole fish, some steamed vegies, and a rice dish. The fish was so good we ordered a second plate of it.
Crab.




Add the drinks, mojito for MrsGM, a virgin mojito for MissGM, and a Saigon By Night for me, and the bill came to a reasonable 700.000VND or so.

A quick taxi back to the apartment and we settled in for the night, in preparation for a visit to the Independence Palace in the morning.

 

[GarrettM]

The child has contracted tonsilitis... and is dozing quietly in our bed with her mum. Poor thing.
In the silence, I shall continue.

Sunday March 11. The Independence Palace.


I don't have a huge amount of saved info for these pics so you'll have to forgive me. Trying to take photos with one hand, carry a toddler in the other, and listen to the audio guide was all a bit of a hassle.

The Cabinet Room.


Banquet Room?


Conference Hall.

 

[GarrettM]

A large watercolour at the back of the Conference Hall depicts Vietnamese life in the 1500s.


Presidential office. Fairly spartan. On the second floor.


There Presidential and Vice-Presidential reception rooms are on the second floor are adjacent, although separated by a fairly intricate circular rug which didn't come out all that well in the photos.



Any ivory fans out there?


VP's reception room.


The Ambassador's Chambers. Where visitors would present their credentials.



"I'm sure you'll find my paperwork is all in order."


The view from the 2nd floor balcony. We never checked out the top floor one.

 

[GarrettM]

More bits of elephant. Ghastly.


A cinema!


This is either the Salon of the Four Cardinal Directions, or a random games room.


And the obligatory rooftop Huey. All the rage in these parts at one point.


That covers most of the four floors ABOVE ground, although I didn't get shots of the bedrooms. The real action in this joint though took place in the bunker. So let's head down stairs!

 

[GarrettM]

Going to let most of these tell their own story.

 

[GarrettM]

 

[GarrettM]

Can imagine this would have been a crazy place in the days before the fall of Saigon. We would have spent longer exploring, but it was a hot day (mid-30s) and the child was getting difficult, plus the crowd was fairly big.
So we ventured out for a rest and decided to find lunch. I quickly checked Google Maps and found a likely spot a short walk from the palace.

 

[GarrettM]

Propoganda!

Welcome

Funky place, with good food and a range of merchandise for sale. Seems popular with the travelling set.

We ordered crunchy fish spring rolls, prawns, and a yummy chicken salad.

 

[kpc]

I love the food photos....all looks yummy at very cheap prices (by Australian standards)!

 

[love_the_life]

Poor little MissGarrettM. Hope she is feeling better soon.

 

[Pushka]

Keep an eye on Missy and don’t hesitate to return to the GP if she doesn’t improve.

 

[GarrettM]

Keep an eye on Missy and don’t hesitate to return to the GP if she doesn’t improve.

She's well out of sorts and has been sleeping all day. And isn't even interested in icecream. But she's a trooper. Tolerated the doctor and is taking her medicine.

 

[GarrettM]

Given the HCMC heat we made sure to rest back at the apartment in between outings. And we kept hydrated by visiting the local Highland Coffee store round the corner.
We also found ourselves very close to a kids playground, which was great for MissGM, who hadn't had a lot of chances to just run around for herself.
She loved the climbing structures, and the seesaws, and pretty much all of it.

MrsGM did not like the rats, of which we saw several on our repeat visits to the park. They are totally untroubled by the daylight, scurrying around between garden beds and such. I tried to get pics but they were too fast. Big buggers though.

 

[GarrettM]

We had developed a habit of eating early, because the child was drawing out her bedtime every night. It was starting to get up to the 90 minute mark, which is just exhausting.
Sunday night we stayed essentially right at home, by eating at Secret House, right outside our window.
I'm sure I took pics, but they seem to have disappeared. In any case it was rather good. An excellent chili squid dish. Whole baby squid deep fried and salted... superb.


And the resident rooster kept an eye on us.

 

[GarrettM]

Tried switching to the wife's iPad as she has a bunch of photos I do not possess. But I can't handle the iOS interface. I don't understand how anyone uses it! Perhaps the fact she hasn't performed a software update in forever is also working against me.

This report will have to sit for a day or so, as it's back to work tomorrow and I have to sit with the boss sometime this week and attempt to justify my existence.

Will conclude with trips to the War Remnants Museum, an unpleasant taxi experience, Saigon Skydeck, more food, and an account of our journey home.

 

[tuppence47]

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Many thanks GarrettM for your photos. When I was in HCMC for one day in January, I also went to the Palace, and explored the basement too. You brought back memories for me. Cheers.

 

[love_the_life]

Many thanks GarrettM for your photos. When I was in HCMC for one day in January, I also went to the Palace, and explored the basement too. You brought back memories for me. Cheers.

Interesting to read GarretM as last time I was in HCMC (for a day only) the museums had decided to close for the day (one of those unscheduled closures) so it is good to see your photos!

 

[GarrettM]

Monday March 12.
Breakfast at a little French bistro called Une Journee a Paris.
Nice pastries.

 

[TomVexille]

Note to self. Stop reading trip reports with yummy food when hungry

Keep up the good work @GarrettM

[walks away drooling in search of food]