Another country in the books for this traveler!
This past weekend Ethan, Glenn, and I flew to Vietnam for a quick (like really quick) trip to Ho Chi Minh City. Why did we only stay 1 night you ask? Well we couldn’t get time off of work to make it a longer weekend but we really wanted to get out, plus there were great deals on flights so we said why not! Even though it was a short trip, there is plenty for me to discuss so expect a few posts!
Arrival in Vietnam/Visa Process
Our flight landed about 15 minutes early Saturday morning which we thought was a positive sign and had our fingers crossed the early morning timing would mean breezing through the visa process. Well to our delight, we were immediately greeted by a nice long line of people waiting at the visa on arrival area ahead of us. Ethan and I got into line (as Glenn didn’t require a visa) and began our wait. So the process goes, you wait in line to hand them your passport and visa on arrival paper (this includes the visa on arrival approval you get through an outside company and the visa on arrival form with a lovely passport photo of yourself). This line took us about 15-20 minutes. After you hand them this, you then wait ever so patiently for them to call your name to retrieve your passport/visa and then pay. Well this part is what took the most time. There didn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason for why it took so long but we basically waited for close to 2 hours before they finally called each of us. As of now, the current fee for a 30-day single entry visa was $45USD. I of course freaked out when they handed me change back in Vietnamese Dong, but realized it was accurate. So now we could finally go through immigration and be on our way.
City Tour
After a quick stop at our hostel to drop off our bags and check in, we started on our tour. We booked a private tour through Tiger Tours (mytigertour.com) which ended up working out in our favor with the timing changes from the visa process, plus it meant we could go at our own speed and get a really individualized tour.
First stop was the Jade Emperor Pagoda. This was a beautiful pagoda with exquisite detail in the architecture. We walked around and saw a few different rooms in which people pray for different reasons. Of course I was a little nervous walking into the room where people pray for fertility and large families but I think most young females would be, hah! Our guide explained to us that people used to buy fish and turtles and set them free in the small ponds in the temple as a sign of good fortune and health. However there were far too many people dropping turtles and fish in so they had to stop allowing it. But the ponds are still filled with turtles and fish for all to see! 
Next we made a quick stop at a traditional local market. Most Vietnamese people will come to the market every morning to get fresh produce and meat for their meals for the day. The market we were at had lots of produce and, to my surprise, raw meat just sitting out. Inside were stalls with dried fish goods as well as clothes and shoes.
Lunch time! Of course we wanted to try as much traditional Vietnamese food and I was happy that our first meal was pho (properly pronounced “fuh”). We ate at Pho Hua which is supposed to be pretty famous for their pho and I am happy to report that I enjoyed my meal. But don’t get your hopes up because the food will have to come in my Food Friday post!
After a good filling lunch, we headed back out for more sights. We first stopped at the War Remnants Museum that I want to touch upon in a different post so I hate to inform you, you’ll have to wait on that subject as well.
So this takes us to the Reunification Palace, which was where the President of South Vietnam lived during the war. This is also where the North Vietnamese tanks crashed through the gates to end the Vietnam war. It is called the Reunification Palace because it is where North and South Vietnam made the negotiation to become a unified country again. As we walked throughout, we saw rooms where conferences were held, where the president used to live, the prayer room turned into dance hall, as well as the bomb shelter in the basement. What I enjoyed most was being on the roof where the now dance hall is located, and getting to enjoy the sunshine, warm breeze, and beautiful greenery around the palace.
Next stop was the Notre Dame Cathedral which was built back when the French were in Vietnam. It felt a bit silly to see such a beautiful cathedral in an Asian country, as I’ve become more accustomed to seeing temples. But it was still a stunning sight to see and a nice connection to make. Our guide informed us that there is still about 20% of the population in Ho Chi Minh that is Christian and that the cathedral is also a place that even non-Christian couples come to take their wedding pictures outside. Lucky for us we got to see one couple doing just that!
Our last 3 stops were pretty quick. We went inside the large post office which was located right next to the Cathedral. Then we made a quick drive over to the opera house and city hall. All three buildings were just beautiful and could easily make you believe you were in a European city, thanks to the French influence.
On our way back to our hostel, we each enjoyed freshly made white pomegranate juice (YUMM) from a local street vendor. And that concludes our first day of the tour. Stay tuned for our evening in Ho Chi Minh and Day 2 of our adventure!
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