One Whirlwind Day in Ho Chi Minh City, Part 1
When planning the Vietnam leg of our Asia trip, we were unsure how long to spend in each city. We did some research on the internet, read travel books and spoke to friends for personal recommendations, however in the end it was pretty much guess work. Somehow we came to the conclusion that we would only spend one day in Ho Chi Minh City. And thus, our Whirlwind Day was born. And what a whirlwind it turned out to be...
We explored a large portion of the city by foot, forgoing spending hours at museums and instead opting for people-watching, as we attempted to soak up the culture of this fantastic city via complete immersion and osmosis, Vietnamese coffee in hand.
Here is part one of my 'One Whirlwind Day in Ho Chi Minh City' series. I hope you enjoy my snapshot into what I found to be an upbeat, cool city were the people were lovely and the chaos surprisingly organised.
Hilarious/slightly concerning motorbike image of the day:
A young child sitting on an everyday, regular chair strapped to the motorbike with yellow tape. Sure.
Coconuts:
Fresh coconuts off the street - what better way to stay cool and hydrated?
I adore fresh coconuts, and happily sipped away as we wandered the quiet streets. Ho Chi Minh City was only just waking up...
Chicken Soup:
We stumbled across this lovely lady serving chicken soup out of a big pot on a side walk. A young local woman who spoke good English was purchasing a serve, and she encouraged us to try some, "it's very good!". So we did. And it was.
A gelatenous-style mixture with shredded chicken, some whole little eggs and shrimp, topped with fresh coriander, fresh black pepper and chilli. It was light and comforting, and reminded Ben of a Chinese style soup that he would eat as a child. I would love to re-create this soup at home, but the style is so incredibly foreign to me, in both texture and taste, that I wouldn't know where to start...
We left the eggs, we were too chicken *wink wink* to eat them. We weren't sure what kind they were - possibly quail eggs? I would love to hear any suggestions you may have, regarding the eggs and how to make this soup!
All this before 9am...clearly it was going to be a great day.