[RD] Backpacking Việt Nam (2019)

[warpus]

Jade Emperor Pagoda (Chùa Ngọc Hoàng)
Friday, March 22, 2019

I would describe this Taoist temple as atmospheric. It's relatively small and made up of multiple chambers full of fascinating statues and carved wooden panels. Various levels of incense smoke fill each chamber.

The temple is also known as the Tortoise Pagoda or the Sea Luck Temple. It is a bit of a multi-faith temple, as characters from Buddhist lore are also represented in the carvings and statues.

Apparently Obama made a stop here during his 2016 visit to the country.

 

[warpus]

The Secret Garden Restaurant & Teahouse Rooftop

I wanted to find a restaurant to go to for dinner where I could recharge a bit in a relaxing setting. I was tired from the craziness of the previous night and after saying bye to my friend took a well deserved nap in my new comfy and super quiet hotel room bed. After that I did a brief look through restaurants in the area; the name of this one and the good reviews caught my eye..

When I arrived it was already dark and I found the rooftop packed with people. I was taken to a table which was otherwise occupied, but had 2 free seats facing each other. On the way there we passed a live rooster. I sat down in the seat facing the balcony and started looking at the menu. It was lively up here; every table occupied by groups discussing something or other.. There was also a lot of greenery dividing the restaurant into almost rooms and it did in fact feel like a bit of a garden. Depending on where you were sitting you got a decent view of some part of the skyline. Everybody was well dressed, I would say above average, and many of the patrons seemed to be locals, at least at first glance. The feeling in the air was a bit casual, like maybe at a nice cafe or craft beer pub. It was that sort of crowd. Having to share tables with other groups added to that vibe. The dishes on the menu seemed to be "elevated" sort of fusion dishes based on Vietnamese and other cuisine.

An interesting place to eat a dinner for sure! I did not even have time to question the rooster. And instead of trying to figure out exactly what I ordered, I will show you a picture of it instead. From what I remember there was also an order of rice and possibly dessert.

The following photo is not mine, but it does show you what a part of this restaurant looks like.

 

[FriendlyFire]

The dishes on the menu seemed to be "elevated" sort of fusion dishes based on Vietnamese and other cuisine.
An interesting place to eat a dinner for sure! I did not even have time to question the rooster. And instead of trying to figure out exactly what I ordered, I will show you a picture of it instead. From what I remember there was also an order of rice and possibly dessert.

It looks like Chinese / Vietnamese fusion.
The two meat dishes are designed to be eaten with Rice, though from the photo someone already took a bite from the Lotus meat patty.

 

[warpus]

though from the photo someone already took a bite from the Lotus meat patty.

Yeah that was me Those things were really good, I think they arrived first

 

[warpus]

Hồ Chí Minh City Hall
Saturday, March 23, 2019

After a well deserved and truly relaxing night of sleep in my new hotel room I was able to wake up a bit early on my last Saturday in the country in order to explore the city a bit. I ended up running into the city hall while I was looking for a place to eat lunch.

Officially named the Hồ Chí Minh City People's Committee Head office, this French colonial style structure was built in the early 1900s

 

[Birdjaguar]

And you friend....?

 

[warpus]

And you friend....?

She took a taxi to the airport the previous day and flew back to Hanoi. I took her to a fancy pizza place the night before that as a thank you for showing me around and taking me to places I would not have found on my own. And before you say anything - pizza is her favourite food.

 

[warpus]

The Hồ Chí Minh Municipal Theatre
Also known as the Saigon Municipal Opera House

This central part of the city has some interesting architecture on display, including a considerable amount of structures dating back to colonial times. The theatre/opera house was one of the buildings that caught my eye. It was built in 1897, but starting in 1956 was used as the lower house assembly of South Vietnam, reverting back to being a theatre in 1975.

 

[warpus]

Saigon Skydeck

Up on the 49th floor of the Bitexco Financial Tower is a 360 degree observation floor that gives you great views of the city. I was nearby and it wasn't very cloudy, so I figured I might as well check it out.

The building is currently the 2nd tallest structure in the city and the 5th tallest in the country. Its design was inspired by the lotus flower, which is Vietnam's national flower.

Down below you can see the Sài Gòn river and in the distance is the Landmark 81 tower, which is the tallest building in Vietnam.

Across the river to the right is the Thủ Thiêm district, which is in the process of being redeveloped into a modern sustainable mixed-use central business district. Planning for the redevelopment began in 1998 and a controversial resettlement of one of densest parts of the city began in 2002. Right now it looks very empty but there's plans for bridges, tunnels, and when it's all said and done it should end up being the most modern part of the country.

Spoiler :

 

[warpus]

Here's a better shot of Thủ Thiêm district, just across the river. The building I am taking this photo from is in district 1 - which is currently the central business district and the beating heart of the city. You can imagine a modern extension to the central business district popping up here, with office skyscrapers, a stadium, subway line extension, parks, residential towers, etc. connected to the rest of downtown with several new bridges and tunnels.

For more information on this project, including many maps and renders, you can scroll up to the previous post and click the link just before the spoilered image.

Here's a look almost directly north:

I went up to the 50th floor to check out the restaurant/cafe there. I was going to order a beer and leave it at that, but when I looked at the menu I decided to simply order the cheapest item on the menu.. a coke. Everything was really really really overpriced.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

^Reminds me that I own an ice cube tray. I should make some ice cubes, as we're having a horrible heat wave right now.

 

[warpus]

Reunification Convention Hall
Hội trường Thống Nhất

This was the site of the end of the American (Vietnam) War, when a North Vietnamese tank crashed through the main gates as the final act of that conflict on April 30th, 1975. This structure is also known as Independence Palace; it acted as the presidential palace of South Vietnam from 1954 until 1962 and as the home and office of South Vietnam's military junta ruler from 1967 until 1975.

A colonial Governor's Palace was built on this site by the French in 1873; then also known as Norodom Palace, named after the then King of Cambodia. In the 1960s a large portion of the palace was damaged by air raids and ended up being demolished and rebuilt from scratch in 1966. At that point in time it was also known as Dragon's Head Palace.

Much of the palace and the palace grounds are open to the public, so you can walk around and explore at your own pace.

 

[warpus]

An American helicopter can be found on the roof of the Reunification Convention Hall. It is unclear whether this particular helicopter was involved in the evacuation of American personnel right before the fall of Saigon or not, or whether it was simply a helicopter that was left behind.

The red circles you see indicate locations where bombs dropped by the North Vietnamese fell during the assault on the city.

Right in the front of the building you can also find a South Vietnamese fighter jet, presumably captured during the assault on the city.

 

[warpus]

These days Reunification Convention Hall and the surrounding grounds & structures act as a museum.. or rather set of museums. There are different tiers of tickets available for purchase here, which give you entry to different parts of the complex.

The main structure contains a movie theatre as well as an open to the public projection booth.

Underneath the main structure is a set of rooms and corridors acting as a command centre and bomb shelter. Most of the corridors are open to the public to wander through and explore, although many of the rooms containing old equipment are off limits. It was a bit fascinating to walk through these corridors all by myself, imagining what it might have been like here during those last couple hours of the war.

Turns out the ticket I had purchased gave me entry to another structure on the premises near one of the exists, which had also been converted to a museum. This particular museum focused on the rule of Ngô Đình Diệm, president of South Vietnam from 1955 until his assassination during the 1963 military coup.

 

[warpus]

Heart of Darkness Brewery

I've mentioned how impressed I was with the Vietnamese craft beer scene. One brand of local brew that kept popping up was Heart of Darkness. No matter if I was in northern, central, or southern Vietnam, if I was in an establishment selling craft beers Heart of Darkness was usually represented on the menu with at least several different kinds of beers. They use eye-catching designs on their labels and coasters and never let me down with the flavours, so it wasn't long before I accepted them as a sort of gold standard.

So when I noticed that their flagship gastropub was located only a 15 minute walk from my hotel I knew that I had to pop in for a visit. This being a saturday night it seemed kind of perfect.

I liked the coasters so much that I actually stole one from a bar on Phú Quốc island. I am not much of a thief, but the art just spoke to me and I to be honest that was after a number of drinks and a day out in the sun. Not to excuse my actions in any way, but I really liked these coasters. I asked the bartender here if I could buy any.. and sure enough a set of 12-15 different designs could be purchased for a somewhat reasonable fee.. I bought one set for myself and a second one for my brother in law.

I tried the Dream Alone Pale Ale and the Beastly Ways New Zealand Brut IPA. And the truffle oil fries. All very good

Spoiler :

The name of this brewery is also the name of the brewery founder's favourite novel. He fell in love with craft beers in New York in the early 2000s and has since made it his mission to build Asia's best craft beer brewery and brand right here in Hồ Chí Minh City. Or actually technically about 40km north of the city, which is where the main brewery is located.

 

[warpus]

Tasting Menu Fine Dining
at the Xu Restaurant Lounge

This doesn't really count as a splurge, but it sure felt and tasted like one. You walk into a fancy looking club on the first floor and are lead up a nice set of stairs to the restaurant. A "smart casual, no sandals" dress code is in effect and everything around you feels a bit elevated. A well dressed and spoken waiter comes over and takes your order.

I went with the four course option that takes you through the different regions of Vietnam with inventive fusion dishes. According to the social media post I made at the time the total cost for all of this and a beer was $45 CAD after tax.

I wish I could tell you what any of these dishes were, but I wouldn't want to guess. There might have been scallops with caviar and maybe a beef tenderloin. Ice cream at the end.

Spoiler :

Spoiler :

Spoiler :

Spoiler :

This culinary journey through Vietnam was just amazing. I walked back to my hotel feeling quite satisfied

 

[FriendlyFire]

This culinary journey through Vietnam was just amazing. I walked back to my hotel feeling quite satisfied

Do you remember how much it cost ? It should be a fraction of what you would be expected to pay anywhere in the western world so why not.
Seems a little heavy on the deserts.

 

[warpus]

Do you remember how much it cost ? It should be a fraction of what you would be expected to pay anywhere in the western world so why not.
Seems a little heavy on the deserts.

In my social media post at the time I noted that it cost the equivalent of $45 CAD (incl. beer and tax). Currently that amount converts to $35 USD or 835,000 Dong or so, but 2 years ago we probably had slightly different conversion rates. Either way, yeah, if I ate a meal like this in Canada I would probably be looking at a bill (after everything) that was at least triple.

 

[Birdjaguar]

A McDonald's Happy meal is a lot less and it has desert too! Plus you get a toy!!

 

[warpus]

Mekong River Delta Day Trip
Sunday, March 24, 2019

The Mekong River is the 6th longest river in Asia and the 12th longest river in the world. Starting on the Tibetan Plateau, the Mekong runs through China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and empties into the ocean in Vietnam. Even though it can be tricky to navigate, the Mekong has been an important trade link between China and Southeast Asia for quite a while. There is evidence of trade posts in the delta dating as far back as 400 BC, with trade links reaching as far as India.

The Mekong Delta encompasses a large part of southwestern Vietnam and is an important source of agriculture and aquaculture. It's a unique part of the country I dedicated a full day to explore, near the very end of my trip. I brought Malaria medication with me for this purpose, which I started taking a couple days ahead of schedule, just in case.

Spoiler :

I booked a guided tour of the delta, which included a 2 hour long bus ride south, which is where we transferred over to a boat. Our group included several different nationalities. There was a couple from Malaysia, several other nationalities, and a family that I could not figure out at first at all. I didn't want to be too nosy, but I heard a language I could not place at all. The family dressed in western style clothing and spoke a silky smooth flowing language that continued to bug me.. until I finally I figured out that it was Farsi! It was an Iranian family on vacation. Only one of them spoke a very minimal amount of English, not enough to really hold a conversation, but just enough to ask simple questions.

After about a half an hour we reached a destination on the other side of the shore and went for a brief hike deeper into the bush, eventually transferring over to smaller canoes capable of traversing narrow waterways.