Stacy and I take our leave from the rest of the International Extremity Project team in the Mekong Delta and we head 3-4 hours north to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) for a week of lectures, open clinic, and consultation time with Pediatric Hospital #1. Ho Chi Minh City is HUGE and always knocks us back a little bit when we first get there. It is loud and either "busy and bustling" or "complete chaos", depending on how much sleep you might have gotten the night before.
Here we go!
We arrived at our hotel just a few minutes before this rainstorm and subsequent power outage (view from my hotel window):
While the main tourist district in HCMC is District 1, Stacy and I started staying in District 3 in our last visit in 2010. The area is primarily Vietnamese, and there is less of an emphasis on separating visitors from their money, which is good when we are going to be there for 10 days or so...
Basically, everyone in the neighborhood is working and doing what they normally do, and don't really pay too much attention to us! Our hotel is a former family home that now has 12 bedrooms, and the hosts are terrific to us. The hotel is located off a crazy busy street, down a pedestrian/bicycle/scooter-only alleyway.
 |
| Our home for the next 10 days |
 |
| great touches in this place! |
The main busy street outside the hotel is full of commercial activity, mostly FASHION, including a wedding hall and related outfits:
 |
| Glorious Weddings. (the name of the shop/hall) |
Our hosts recommend some great places to eat in the area, and fortunately gave me a piece of paper that stated _exactly_ (in Vietnamese) what I wanted to order (the place only makes 2 different dishes), and then included the request "Please don't give me anything else, except for what I just requested." I felt like I needed to pin the note on my shirt. I ended up with a fabulous shrimp and noodle dish. Here is the cook in action:
How could I not end up with an excellent meal?!
 |
| I really needed that note-- there was not one word of English written in the restaurant, nor were there any (most important!) photos of the food to give me that critical help! |
 |
| From a street-side t-shirt shop. Good to know someone has things all planned out... |
We are across the street from a neighborhood exercise park/amusement park. On any given evening, there are rollerbladers, outdoor jazzercisers, and many people walking with great purpose around the artificial lake. As it gets dark, the amusement park gets packed with teenagers and families.
Heading to the Pediatric Hospital #1 next!
No comments:
Post a Comment