and now the Ho Chi Minh City portion of the program begins

We had a relatively easy 4-hour trip into Ho Chi Minh City and threw ourselves into all of this enormously energetic city's loud, congested, and gritty (literally-- so much grit) goodness. I love the split in locations when I am in Vietnam. Although this trip is abbreviated when compared to my previous trips, I am so glad that we could still work in both relatively-quiet Can Tho and in Ho Chi Minh City's intense environment. 

This is our 3rd trip staying in a neighborhood around 10 minutes from the downtown District 1. You have to snake through a few alleyways to get to this refurbished colonial home, but the view, the neighborhood kids playing, and the roosters crowing all make up a great break from the rest of the city.

There is a popular neighborhood park across the street:

Yes, those are elliptical-esque exercise machines

Want to get to the park? Just cross this easy street....  (we do this multiple times a day)

Where the alley meets the main street

alleyway restaurant specializing in shellfish from Hue in central Vietnam

Lots of the people in the neighborhood keep birds

Ho Chi Minh City (or Saigon, if you are feeling nostalgic or are of a certain age-- definitely a generational distinction here as to who calls it HCMC and who calls it Saigon) seems to have grown in more directions every time I visit. We found a Starbucks that, sadly, appears to have sprouted in the last 2 years-- if you've had Vietnamese coffee drinks, you know that Starbucks is just redundant and downright superfluous! There is, as in many other developing countries, a growing middle class with more disposable income-- and all the benefits and challenges that this change brings. 

HCMC has also started construction on 2 entirely new, from-the-ground-up high rise districts/neighborhoods and, in cooperation with Japan, a new subway system. 

As we made our way to the city center on foot (3pm, still 90+ degrees with 75%+ humidity), we paused at the memorial for Thich Quang Duc, the Buddhist monk who set himself on fire in 1963 in Saigon to protest the treatment of Buddhists by the Southern Vietnamese regime. His story is fascinating, worth investigating if you have not read about him and the events in 1963. The memorial is very touching and is always surrounded by offerings. 

We sweated out the rest of our free half-day in the city center. I wonder if these pictures and video capture even a little bit of the density and cacophony of this city? 

Looking for some amazing house-made tofu and mango-carrot juice in Ho Chi Minh City? I'll happily let you know where to go.  If you're looking for my bangs, I'll direct you to any location where it is NOT 95 degrees. 

Coming up next.. we start working at the Children's Hospital, and I enjoy some caphe sua da, which should leave Starbucks quaking in its crummy boots.