Vietname Weekend Part 3: Tourist Cruise and Discovery of Banh Mi

This post will conclude the recap of the Vietnam trip (here are the links to posts one and two).  Our last night in Ho Chi Minh City we went on a dinner boat cruise on the Saigon River.  This isn't the type of activity I would normally do but Trip Advisor rated it strongly and Megan loved the idea.

Bonsai Boat Cruise

The Bonsai Boat was modeled after an old fashioned Vietnamese style boat with a sweet Dragon as the front and lots of ornamentation.  When we arrived at the dock they asked if we wanted our picture taken with the King and Queen, which definitely set the cheesiness tone.  On the boat they put us up into a private area at the front.  We met the magician, who was really fun to talk to and he showed us his skills.  Being a magic skeptic I watched intently at his allusions but he was pretty darn good at fooling me.

Right around when our private magic show ended we were able to go the buffet.  It was all you can eat, with different Asian and Western style foods.  Honestly, none of it was amazing just overall decent food.  During and after the meal there was live musical entertainment.  It varied from traditional dancers to current pop music to 60s and 70s classics.  The highlight had to be the old white westerners from Greece who had no shame in dancing and at one point started a Congo line during an Abba song.

Megan "I think they are doing a Congo Line"
Me "Oh God"

So to recap, our Bonsai boat tour had magic, an all you can eat buffet, "authentic" Vietnamese experiences and old people dancing.  Yep it was pretty much like being on a Carnival cruise ship.  This was by far the most touristy event we'd done.... and yet, Megan and I enjoyed it.  The Saigon skyline pretty at night and the service on the ship made the evening relaxing. 

The Parks of Ho Chi Minh City

Vietnam is a developing economy so when I arrived in Ho Chi Minh City I expected an overcrowded urban concrete jungle.  Instead I was pleasantly surprised to see numerous large parks in the heart of the city.  HCM could give Chicago, San Francisco and New York a run for their money in terms of recreational space.

A man playing the violin in one of HCM's may parks

Megan and I enjoyed strolling through the parks during our sightseeing breaks.  They provided a serene peacefulness from the traffic and bustle of the city, as well as great spots for reflection.  The parks enhanced the walk-ability of Ho Chi Minh City.  There were a number of cool sights in them as well, from Tiger statues to War monuments to funny workout eqiupment.

Banh Mi - Our favorite street food

Out of all the street food we sampled (and we sampled alot) our favorite dish was Banh Mi.  Banh Mi is a fusion dish that combines a French Baguette with Vietnamese style food (pickled vegetables, sauces and meat).  The baguette has delightful light texture due to the use of rice flour.  The flavor of the sandwhich is a delicious mix of spicy chilli, mayo and liver pate for sauce.  The substance of the sandwhich is fresh/tasty vegetables (lettuce, cucumbers, pickled carrots and daizon) and fatty meats (ham, bacon, pork sausage etc).  The street vendors can make one of these fresh in 10 minutes and amazingly they cost only 20,000 Dong (roughly $1US)*.

Awesome Banh Mi

Megan and I liked Banh Mi so much they we went about searching for places where you could find them in Singapore.  We found this website that did our request one better; it provides Banh Mi locations worldwide.

Conclusions:

• Overall the trip to Ho Chi Minh City was great
• The street food was delicious
• The sights were interesting and informative
• The people were friendly and helpful
• We enjoyed the trip so much there's a good chance we'll come back to Vietnam to visit Hanoi and Halong Bay

*The conversion rate is crazy.  One of the funniest moments was at the ATM trying to figure out how much to take out and seeing an account balance that looks quite nice (then realizing it's in Dong not USD)