Good Morning Saigon!

The alarm went off and I was up at 430am to catch the 725am flight we had booked way back in January.

And 2 hours later, Kayestercan, Dr Refuse-Me-Meso (RMM), RT and I were in Saigon or Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) at 825am (local time).

We popped into "Pho 24" just across our hotel for breckkie. As you would have guessed, we had one of vietnam's specialty dishes, pho. Quite yummy, but honestly, I had expected much better after hearing all about how good "Pho 24" is. As we were still a tad too early for check in, we stopped for some fruit juice at "Juice". Everyone else except me had something refreshing. I ended up with some really funny tasting watermelon juice. Dr RMM said, "They just added too much skin la." RT said it was simlpy 'chau sng'. Kayestercan said it smelt of 'chau zui gong' (smelly water container). Then she went on to describe how, perhaps it was in the fridge for too long and the water from the fridge had dripped into my watermelon juice. Tsk.

12pm. We crossed the road and checked into Thang Long Hotel. Here's a glimpse of my humble abode for the next 5 days. Extremely well located, right smack in HCMC's shopping district - Dong Khoi.



All checked in and armed with a map of the area, we headed on foot towards Ben Thanh Market, but not before consulting some guide books for recommended lunch venues. We eventually decided on a restaurant called "Nam Giao" near Ben Thanh Market.

Nice setup, cosy lighting, good crowd. Some characteristics of a good eatery. Truth is, the food was bad, and I was too distraught to take any pictures. I'm not quite sure what we ate, but we're staying away from Hue cuisine for sure!

Shopping at Ben Thanh was not too bad. Bought several pairs of embroidered shoes, dri-fit tees, a blouse and a cup of sugarcane with a dash of tangerine. This has got to be the most refreshing drink ever. first time I had it was last December in Siem Reap.

Dinner was back at Dong Khoi area. The original plan was actually to go French, but the restaurant we went to were fully booked and we hadn't made a reservation. Plus the four of us clad in tees and berms/shorts didn't quite fit into the smart-casually dressed ang-mo-filled atmosphere anyway. So we ended up eating Mexican at "Jaspas"

For appetisers, we had Salt & Pepper Squid, Bruschetta and Vietnamese Spring Roll. I had good ole Aglio Olio, RT had the Beef Fajitas, Kayestercan had the Fillet Mignon Steak and Dr RMM had the Tenderloin.

Scrumptious. Especially after that "Nam Giao" lunch. :)