{"id":330,"date":"2017-02-13T10:27:44","date_gmt":"2017-02-13T10:27:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/passportsnothallpasses.com\/blog\/?p=330"},"modified":"2017-03-16T09:00:07","modified_gmt":"2017-03-16T09:00:07","slug":"ho-chi-minh-city-not-for-the-faint-of-heart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/passportsnothallpasses.com\/blog\/2017\/02\/13\/ho-chi-minh-city-not-for-the-faint-of-heart\/","title":{"rendered":"Ho Chi Minh City: Not for the faint of heart"},"content":{"rendered":"

We made it to HCMC after an uneventful three hour flight from Taiwan.  A little goof at the visa office delayed us slightly but we managed to get into the country with a one year visa.  Because our phones (T-mobile) don’t have a contract with Vietnam, we bought some SIM cards at the airport for a few bucks and then took a car to our VRBO.<\/p>\n

We are staying in District 1 as it is center of the city and walking distance to everything.  After an obligatory stop at the Hard Rock Cafe for our first American burger since the trip started, we settled in and started checking things out.<\/p>\n

First impressions are that there are SO many scooters.  Scooters\/Vespas are here as bicycles are to Amsterdam.  Some weave in and out of traffic with only one person, and others may have up to four people on a single scooter.  Scooters take me to the most important understanding of this city: it is not for the faint of heart.  To cross a street, you might get lucky to have a walk\/don’t walk sign, but many corners do not have any lights or any signs.  Some may even have a red light for cars, but green lights for scooters.<\/p>\n

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\nIt is up to the pedestrian to have enough courage to just start walking.  Even with scooters and cars coming, you just walk across the street.  You never stop.  No matter what, don’t stop walking.  The scooters dodge the pedestrians with the expectations that they will continue walking.  It goes against every thing we have taught the kids about crossing the road. It is wild and scary and strangely adrenaline releasing.<\/p>\n

After a long walk, we made it to the large street food market. Delicious food of every nationality was available. Next to that was a giant goods and products market. We walked for ten minutes and never made it to the back of the market. We did find a couple of good deals that we couldn’t pass up though.<\/p>\n

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\nOur first amazing local food lunch was at a traditional Vietnamese restaurant. The kids at snakehead fish which is evidently an invasive fish in the USA. Scott and I sampled various other Vietnamese dishes. Aside from the pho, the flavors were all new to us. The food was incredible.<\/p>\n

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Earlier today, we met Scott’s haircut woman’s friend here in HCMC. He took us to a noodle shop that has been around for more than 50 years. It wasn’t fancy but the food was incredible. (And by “not fancy”, I mean no air conditioning, almost-stools for chairs, flies buzzing around, and $2 per meal.) It was amazing.<\/p>\n

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\nJust to keep everyone sane (and to some degree to keep the budget under control), we found a couple of international grocery stores so that we have at least one “normal” meal per day.<\/p>\n

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A video recap:<\/p>\n