Saigon final day

I think I’ve come to the realization that big cities are just a bit too much for me, at least the main parts of them. I found the markets and the tourist attracts extremely overwhelming and realized that wandering around in big cities, especially in places where people are trying to call you in and get you to buy all their stuff is just too much for me. I find it extremely stressful. So after a few hours of wandering I went back to my hotel room to rest for a while and skip out on the heat of the day it’s 97 degrees here and just so hot during the day, but it cools off a lot in the evening. 

As the sun started to get low in the sky I began wandering around the area my hotel is located in. There is a big mall, lots of tall skyscrapers for wealthy people to presumably live, and a big beautiful park. The park was full of locals who come from all over to enjoy the area. Kids were flying kites, there was heaps of free work put equipment, lots of restaurants and coffee shops. I really enjoyed walking around and people watching. As the sunset over the city I sat along the river and watched people interact. Two people were practicing ballroom dance in and I enjoyed watching them dance with the sunset behind them. 

As the sky got dark bars began to flutter through the sky, weaving back and forth, catching whatever bugs were in the area. 

A little after dark I headed towards the restaurants and found myself a Vietnamese restaurant. There I ordered a hibiscus and barley juice, which was delicious, if a little sweet, and a duck and bamboo pancake. The pancake was like a really thin crepe made of rice flour and turmeric maybe? It was thin and crispy and bright yellow. It must have been a really thin batter cooked like a crepe. It was probably about 20” across. A huge meal. It came with a platter of greens to eat with it, lettuce, but also fish spinach (tastes fishy), basil, and a few other greens I wasn’t familiar with but had a very rough texture and were a bit scratchy so not my favorite. To eat (according to google) you take a piece of the pancake and the fillings and wrap it in the lettuce and dip it in the sweet, light dipping sauce. The sauce tasted like a really light sweet salad dressing, with little rice vinegar flavor, a bit oily and salty but really mild and delicious. It really enhanced the flavors of the dish. 

On my way home I picked up a flan and yogurt and mangosteen at the local market. My stomach is still doing well despite drinking the water, eating fresh greens, but I’ve heard that using locally made yogurt promotes gut health and safely introduces local microbes into your gut and I’ll do anything to ensure that I don’t have to worry about getting sick here. 

Since it was still relatively early I went for a massage and it was only a few dollars and was such a great massage, it made me feel so good and sleepy when I went home.

I had a nice slow morning with the anticipation of checking out today and flying to the next city. I luxuriated in my hotel room, eating fruit and yogurt and getting some nice rest. I had to check out at noon and got a really lovely egg coffee, a drink Vietnam is famous for. It’s a coffee with what tastes like a really light and creamy meringue on top. The meringue is made with sweetened condensed milk which gives it a delicious caramel flavor. I’m going to have to have this everyday now. I’m obsessed. 

After my coffee I wandered a bit more and decided to get a pedicure. It’s not something I’d normally do, but for a couple dollars. It’s less than I spend to buy nail polish. It was really nice and relaxing. 

Next I had a quick lunch of rice and pork belly, before heading to the airport for my next flight.  Unfortunately at the airport my flight was delayed a bit, but we got there in the end. I’ve noticed here, and also in Australia, that people listen to their phones with the volume up and no headphones a lot more than I’m accustomed to hearing especially after Vietnam where public transport was basically silent. Here people listen to their music and talk on the phones at full volume in the airplane while we are waiting to fly. It’s not my favorite thing.