I was pretty sure he'd forget it. I was planning to only tell them when we check-in at the airport.
When mams and paps finally arrived, I confidently asked Lovro "do you remember where we're flying with omi and opa?"
No response. I smirked. And then suddenly..
"We're going to Viet. Nam."
I should be ashamed that I didn't trust him to remember!
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The first week of November is always a difficult time for all of us, so for their 3rd-year-in-a-row visit to Singapore, I wanted to plan something get their mind off that date. I wanted a destination that is no more than a 2-hour flight away, as we have limited time. It was going to be a Friday-to-Sunday trip so I can only take a day off (I've no more PTO credits) and same for Lovro so he won't miss out on school too much. With reasonable flight fares and somehow good memories of great food and experience in Vietnam, I booked flights to Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon). The last time I was there was only for a quick stopover on my way to Mui Ne, so I thought, why not go back and actually do something in the city this time.
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| meeting a fellow airplane enthusiast |
As we are traveling with Lovro, there is a limitation to what we could do especially with the time we had. We still managed to have a memorable experience - both awesome and not-so-much.
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Vietnamese food is a-maaaaa-zing. So it would be a shame to not eat local food when you're there. Even if you're visiting for a week or so, given the variety of food they have, you'd find something different to eat everyday.
When we arrived at the airport it was almost 1pm (2pm in Sg) and we were starving (
(SIDE NOTE: Wifi works perfectly in the airport. Awesome! Also, Uber does exist in HCMC. Double awesome! It works even when you go outside to actually wait for your car, and Uber is most definitely cheaper than metered taxi. You're welcome.)
As we checked in, the lady does not seem to be quite sure of what to do - asking us to leave our passport and what not. After a few minutes of a lost-in-translation-kind of conversation, paps asked her if we can sort it out after we eat as we were starving. She recommended a place to go, which we could not figure out where, and so we settled on a street food cart stall that seemed familiar - beef pho. The lady does not speak English but was smart enough to go and show us the meat that goes in the noodle soup. With an understanding that a bowl is only 30.000vnd (~1 euro) we gave her a thumbs up and sat down. The bowl came with a bucket of sliced lime, tubs of condiments and green garnishes (basil and mint, I believe). It was delicious.
We went to visit War Remnants Museum after freshening up at our rooms. While the outdoor patio which had a display of helicopters, fighter jets and tanks were entertaining for Lovro, to actually go inside the museum and read the war stories was pretty heavy. There were a lot of exhibits on the devastating effects of war and at the museum entrance there were in fact a few handicapped people selling souvenirs, and I wondered if they were war victims too.
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| the eerie sound of a bomb dropping from the fighter jet plays over and over |
We had a coffee break as Lovro wanted cake, and we needed a perk up after that stint. I don't drink coffee but I hear that Vietnamese drip coffee is very good, so I was happy that mams and paps were pleased with the latte and espresso at the nearby coffee shop. As dusk came, we started to walk around the city. I already know from prior experience that crossing the street is a feat in Vietnam, because the scooters are kings of the road. When you cross, you just have to walk in a slow, steady pace, and the motorists will just find a way around you. We had an extra obstacle as we had a stroller knowing that Lovro would be too tired for a long walk. There were occasions when we had to carry the stroller so we can cross the street from the elevated sidewalk. What I did not experience last time, was seeing scooters actually take the pedestrian walkway so they won't be stuck in traffic! I could not take photos, but in fact we were walking on the side street with scooters racing past us. It's so widely practiced that when we walked past Book street, I saw a postcard that had photos of motorcycles and a caption "Red Traffic Light. I (1) keep going (2) slow down and keep going (3) take the side street."
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| walking in the heart of the motor city |
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| ho chi minh city hall |
Our city walk was bound to end at the famous Ben Thanh market. I did not visit this place last time so I was curious to see it. Also, was somewhat hoping to see a good find without having to spend too much time inside. There is a Ben Thanh street food market and we wanted to have dinner there. We arrived in a somewhat odd time perhaps (around 6:30 or so?) and most of the food stalls were closed. We caught the attention of the few that were open and like fish in open seas, we were swarmed. We sat down and after a stressful negotiation on what we want and not want, we settled with some spring rolls, fried rice, summer rolls and vermicelli with pork. They had Saigon Beer bottles but they were warm, and we did not want ice (and risk our stomachs) but the ingenious stall guy scouted for cold ones and got a few cans. That's what I call customer service!
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| hangry vs happy look - the difference food makes :D |
Lovro was tired so we got back and I put him to bed, and went downstairs to catch up with them afterwards for - guess what - more beer! Always a good time :)
The next morning, the couple went off for Cu Chi tunnel tours while Lovro and I took it easy and went to the mall. We went to an indoor playground (similar to Kidzoona) and Lovro had a blast with the unlimited train rides. In malls in Singapore, a ride costs $6. Here I paid $8 for 2 hours of fun. Excellent mommy choice :D
When we reconvened in the afternoon, it was raining. I had a not-so-brilliant idea of visiting Botanic Gardens as it was in the original itinerary, hoping that the rain would subside. It didn't, and it did not make for a good experience paying 50.000 VND each to spend a few minutes inside the garden, until finally deciding it was a bad call and took a taxi to seek refuge in a mall. Despite the stress, we were looking forward to dinner at Chilli Quan, because I saw a friend post in Jasmine's wall about the 24 oysters grilled different ways.
It was definitely worth the hype. The oysters and grilled prawns and other stuff we had were very nice. Now the difficult part came. Before we ordered, paps went to an ATM to get some VND but was not able to. We already knew we don't have enough VND and were speculating that perhaps worst case they would accept our SGD. When we got the bill for 665.000, paps tried to explain the situation. They were not agreeable to take SGD, the guy said only USD would be acceptable. Paps had to walk a few blocks and try 3 ATMs until finally he came back a millionaire. Whew!
On our final morning, we went with the hotel owner's suggestion to visit this cafe apartment building in 42 Nguyen Hue street - an abandoned building turned shopping center with an ultra hipster vibe. Khai suggested to visit this before the government demolishes it, adding to its appeal. It's filled with artsy-fartsy shops and hipster cafes which would have been an awesome place to hang out if we had time.
We then walked around the area towards Saigon River before finishing at Ben Thanh market for lunch. Then a final visit to Art Cafe which is in the Fine Arts museum, just a block from our hotel, before we left for the airport.
The biggest misfortune of the trip happened as we were boarding for our flight to Singapore. We lost Lovro's dear friend Roti (his favorite rat plushie). Earlier in that day as we walked he exclaimed that "Roti is my first toy ever!" and as we got on the plane, he was looking for it, and realizing that he lost it, he started to cry. It was so painful to see him heartbroken! But such is life, and this is the first of hopefully not many.
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| Roti's final portrait, with our excellent avocado toast for breakfast |
Mams, being an excellent grandma and very experienced in child-rearing, had sent a 'backup Roti' over two years ago, when the first Roti was lost. Back then Lovro was too young to remember losing him, and when we took him to the store in Alkmaar, he picked this same rat plushie. Mams then sent a packet a few months after with the same toy, as a backup in case it gets lost. The day has finally come! I explained to Lovro that Piep (the backup Roti) is now the new Roti and that it will love him just the same, so he agreed to it. Now this new toy just had to be broken in - get dirty and smelly and then it'll be Roti in no time!
Despite this loss, he still claims that he likes Vietnam. So in fact, it was not a bad getaway. But then again what's a family trip without fun and misadventures? The best thing is always about traveling together.
(Goodbye Roti. May you make some other kid as happy as Lovro. <3)
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