Luckily, the plane ride is only a couple hours long, because flying is never really fun with two babies and two adults. Eric and I were not allowed to sit in the same row even though I was allowed to book the seats saying we were two adults and two infants, but apparently there are not enough oxygen masks in one row for us and I think you just can't have two infants in a row. So, he sat across from me. Another issue we faced was we tried feeding them their food on the plane, that proved to be very difficult, so we gave up and gave them more milk. Way easier! They did great though on the plane, there and back.
Our first day in after we checked into the hotel and took care of the babies was spent walking around and exploring. We stopped in a cafe and had the traditional Vietnamese coffee...tasty stuff! Then we took to the streets. This city is nuts! So busy, motorbikes EVERYWHERE! If you have been to KL and thought they were bad here, it's worse there. The way it's set up is kind of smart, there's a motorbike lane, a car lane, and a bus and taxi lane...that's all fine and dandy until someone in the bike lane on the right hand side needs to turn left and cross the other two lanes of traffic or a bus in the left lane needs to turn right and go across the middle lane and the motorbike lane. It's nuts, but somehow they manage to make it work. The bikes just go around cars, buses and people. Organized Chaos!! They don't really stop at cross walks either. They continue driving and you are supposed to walk out into the street and keep going, don't stop, because the person on the bike will avoid you and they anticipate that you will keep walking forward, you change or stop then that's where you could get hit. It was not possible to have the stroller in this place, we had to carry the babies in our carriers everywhere we went, it got hot and heavy.
(yummy coffee)
(enjoying the scenery) (taxi ride)
(this guy was sleeping on his bike)
(look at all those motorbikes!)
We went and checked out Notre Dame Cathedral, the Central Post Office,
bought some really cool cards and post cards off a street vendor (supporting
the local economy :) ) walked around a little more and then went to get some
Pho for dinner! At dinner the beer promotion girls would not leave the babies
alone. It was difficult to feed them while someone is in their face
trying to play with them and touch them. We didn't want to be rude (they
didn't mind) but we didn't want to be rude and stop them. So, they
played, we tried to feed them, fun times! The Pho was delicious though!! Yummy
in my tummy!! :)
On a side note, the babies caused
quite a stir with EVERYONE. The locals were fascinated by twin white
babies. We, or I guess the babies, got stared at everywhere we went.
Everyone wanted to touch them or take their picture, or take their
picture with the babies, it was nuts!! The next day we went to a market and
people started asking us if they were 'Same Same' (meaning twins), I just
started telling everyone, yes, same same :)
(the road we had to cross without traffic lights,
to get to the cathedral, just keep walking)
That was it for Friday night, after dinner it was back to the hotel to
put the babies to bed and be quiet...much different vacations than we are used
to! :)
Saturday we checked out the American War Remnants Museum, because it's
not called the Vietnam War in Vietnam, it's called the American War. Followed
by a lunch break to feed us and the babies, followed by a stop at the
Reunification Palace, followed by another break for the babies, then the Ben
Thanh Market, followed by the top floor deck of our hotel to check out
the views of the city and then babies to bed and room service and quiet again
:)
The American War Remnants Museum paints quite a picture. I am sure
some of it is propaganda, but I am also sure that some of it is not. They
sure do make Americans there feel like poo...not the people, but what they have
there in the Museum and the pictures and the stories, it's horrendous. I
won't say any more, I'll just post some pictures... (I did not get pictures of
the really bad pictures and stories they had up)
Next was a stop at a cafe to fill everyone's bellies :)
Then the Reunification Palace...some wikipedia info for ya...
Independence Palace (Dinh Độc Lập), also known as Reunification
Palace (Vietnamese: Dinh Thống Nhất), built on the site of the former Norodom
Palace, is a landmark in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. It was designed by architect Ngô Viết Thụ and was the home and workplace
of the President of South Vietnam during
the Vietnam War. It was the site of the end of the
Vietnam War during the Fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975, when a North Vietnamese Army tank
crashed through its gates.
The Palace was pretty cool, lots of events took place there, an American
President or two and VPs had been there for meetings and such. Pretty nice!
And as no trip is complete without a Starbucks stop...(it was the
closest thing we could find where we could sit and feed the babies)
One more stop before heading back, the Ben Thanh Market. This is
where everyone wanted to touch the babies, see the babies, take a picture of
the babies...Same Same?? The market was cool, it had a lot of the stuff
you see at all the Asian city markets, but still cool. We picked up a
framed art piece to bring home. It is hand embroidered silk, and we
bought it in the frame for $50 (ridiculous), sweet stuff!
(picture from wikipedia as oddly enough I didn't take any pics at the market!)
Then back to the hotel. This didn't work out as great as we would
have hoped. The babies were tired and cranky, and not really interested
in eating or doing anything really. So, it was a quick drink, a couple
pictures and then back to the room...
Sunday morning was just another stop at a cafe for coffee and breakfast,
a walk in a different direction and then off to the airport...bye bye Ho Chi
Minh!
(more Pho and coffee on the way out!!)
And last but not least, the souvenirs we got for the babies :)
They were not a fan of wearing the hats, I just took these which is why
they look older than the previous pics (it's 2-1/2 months later). And I'm
a little late on posting this, but that is just my style, enjoy! :)
