Part 19. Again in Ho Chi Minh City.
Day fifteen, blank, December 19.2015.
When I travel, I love movement. I bounce on the spot, like a ball, if there is no way to go or go somewhere. But sometimes old wounds show up you have to stop.
(photo by Igor Titov)
In the evening, we agreed that we would leave before breakfast and lightboxes with food were prepared for us, but in the morning, in addition, they invited us to drink coffee before the canteen opened. I doubted whether to take food "on the road", especially since we agreed on fruit, and we were given a real breakfast in thermal boxes, but Ira said that she herself would carry it all in her backpack.
Looking ahead - thank you very much to Ira, once again her practicality literally saved me - unfortunately, I did not have the opportunity to leave the room and have a normal lunch.
The taxi arrived on time, at the airport we were as usual much in advance. 116 thousand ticked on the counter, but the taxi driver demanded another 20 from above. And again I had a misunderstanding, with grief in half and with the help of other taxi drivers, I realized that there was a paid section of the road near the airport. Thank God there were no surprises and even the luggage was paid in full, although the flight was delayed by 40 minutes, but it was not important for us. There is still a day and a half before the flight home.
I did not have an increased interest in Ho Chi Minh City and, of course, I did not plan to spend the night there for 4 nights, especially since the prices in Ho Chi Minh City for an overnight stay are unreasonably high for Vietnam. But, since we flew in in the middle of the night and flew out in the middle of the night, we had to book a hotel every time for another half a day. That's just the hotels there anyway, half a day or a day, they want to get their money in full. In general, due to the departure time, we had to overpay for hotels. Probably the night of December 19-20, we could still stay in Fukuoka, but my nervousness about being late for the plane made me fly to Ho Chi Minh City a day earlier. This is my unshakable rule - to spend the night in the city where you are flying from. Especially when it's not about a cheap domestic flight, but about a serious road home.
Thus, we had two days in Ho Chi Minh City and, to be honest, I didn’t even know what to do with so much time. So I decided to get sick.
On the plane, my legs were swollen. Straight pouted, like in a movie, crashing into the thin laces of sandals. They were a little pasty all the time while mosquitoes ate me, and here, perhaps, other factors were added - heat, frequent flights, drinking almost continuously. In general, the reason was not important to me, it was impossible to fly home, in any case, with swollen legs. I needed to sort myself out quickly. Good thing the internet exists! He told me how the diuretic would be in Vietnamese and where the nearest pharmacy is located, which has this medicine. Thank God you can buy it in tablets without a prescription.
Ho Chi Minh City
(photo by Igor Titov)
I was a little upset by the problem and didn’t think well, so we took a taxi, although there is a bus from the airport to our hotel . . All the pleasure is 200 thousand, that is, less than 10 dollars.
We checked into the same hotel we stayed in when we flew to Vietnam at the beginning of the month. They left things in the room and fled - I went to the pharmacy, Ira went about my business.
Leaving the pharmacy, I found a beautiful cafe and decided to treat myself last before staying at the hotel.
Oh, what ice cream was there!
I sat for a long time, postponing the execution, but, in the end, I took two pills and hurried to the hotel.
And here something happened that I can only attribute to dementia after taking a diuretic. I stand on the street, I see a shopping center across the road. I remember that I urgently need to buy souvenirs and fruits and tula across this road at the traffic light.
Can you imagine how many bikes can gather at a traffic light, right? So, I manage to go a little more than half of the road and the red light is on! In our country, when the red light is on and pedestrians are on the road, what usually happens? Nothing usually happens - pedestrians reach the pavement and only then the transport moves. And here, as soon as red for pedestrians turned on, and, accordingly, green for vehicles, at the same second the entire stream took off. The only thing that saved me was that I was not the first day in Vietnam, but the fifteenth! I knew not to twitch, not to back away, and not to run forward. I knew that I needed to pretend that I was not afraid of them they feel fear like dogs), and go slowly but surely forward. So that fear does not go off scale and does not push you to frenzy, it is better not to look at tales. I follow the flow out of the corner of my eye so as not to slip under the car, and motorcycles and scooters, like a flock of small fish, flow around me with incredible accuracy and naturalness. Me and this stream are part of Vietnam's fantastic traffic. Part of an incredible clockwork that never fails. But it's so scary that it was probably my strongest impression of the country - I'm alone in a continuous stream of bikes.
(photo by Igor Titov)
The funny thing is that the shopping center opposite turned out to be a household appliances store and I had nothing to buy there.
Until the next morning, I was practically unbearable. I shuttled between the bathroom and the bed, briefly going out to smoke out of boredom. The diuretic turns me into a weakened creature on trembling legs. Only horizontal position and complete peace! But it was dangerous to fly home without him.
Sixteenth day farewell December 20.2015
In the morning I got up like a cucumber! I lost 4 kilograms, no less do not try to repeat it under normal conditions! and was again ready to conquer Vietnam. And there is almost no time left! I had a long list of gifts and a great desire to bring home lots of fruit and fish sauce.
Who read at first, he may remember that I had a medium-sized, half-empty suitcase and an Air China ticket, which allowed me to carry 2 pieces of 23 kilograms. It was on this day that I had to buy all these kilograms) And I almost succeeded!
After breakfast with many colorful Vietnamese desserts, we go to the market through an interesting park.
(photo by Igor Titov)
Ben Han market is expensive, it's true. But it is colorful, they sell well there and it is located a stone's throw from the hotel. Therefore, almost the whole day we integrated into the local flavor there)
At one point, Ira just dragged me home, and I clung to the colorful shopping malls with my hands and feet Kaaak? Kuuuda? Whyuu? We haven't run out of money yet! Ira says that my eyes were burning and I was breathing smoke. In general, I am prone to drug addiction in any form.
We took the purchases to the hotel and went to look for food.
Where did we go to look for food?
Correctly! In the ice cream parlor)
It was Christmas time and Vietnam was getting ready for this native holiday for them on a normal scale)
The day before, in this cafe, the manager met me, offered me a long time and let me try different types of ice cream, until I was able to explain myself in my three and a half English words.
And here we are sitting in the same cafe.
Let's go back to yesterday's photo. See the ad?
We ordered this Santa Claus for Ira. Moreover, they ordered exactly the same as I did it yesterday - at the entrance we are met by the manager and asks for a long time what exactly we want to choose. We showed on the advertisement what we need, chose the types of ice cream from which this sweet installation will be created, and even the type of ice cream from which they will make a gift. We sat down at a table by the window and waited. They brought us some water, napkins, spoons. . . We are sitting. We sit, we relax, we talk. I'm already tired of sitting. I've already gone out and back. And sat again.
-Ira, - I say - don't you want to ask them why the delay?
-It's uncomfortable, says Ira, it can take a long time to do this dedamorosis.
-Yesterday they made me much faster.
-So you had a snowman, it's smaller.
We sit further. I feel like I really want to eat. Went outside again. And there the cafe beckons with smells. . . Terrible outside, kind inside.
- Ira - I say - I want to eat! I want noodles! I want to go somewhere, I'm tired of sitting here! - and I call the waitress. She was surprised for a long time, went somewhere even longer, and in the end she came... to take an order from us.
As a result, we got this
It was delicious. And beautiful)
We go back to the market, we buy what we did not have time to buy on the first visit. The smell of noodles follows me and we sit right in the market, on small chairs, practically in the aisle, with the most magnificent soup in the world. It wasn't Pho, but fish soup with mushrooms Banh Canh Cua. It costs 50 thousand VND.
Like Pho soup, it is harvested right in front of your eyes. They put the noodles, pour the broth and put one or two things of different additives - a large mushroom, a small mushroom, a piece of fish like that, a piece of another fish, a shrimp, a couple of slices of pork, small pieces that look like an omelet, a little pepper, greens... < br />
- But, but! Know sleepy! Stop peppering our soup!
-OK) Can I give you some more bread?
We refuse bread, we just can’t imagine how to hold a hot bowl of soup, bread and a spoon at the same time. But it turns out everything is very simple. The plate is placed on a small plate, and it, in turn, on the same stool as those on which we sit.
Very tasty!
Whoever is going to Ho Chi Minh City, write down Ben Han market, place 1301, next to exit 11. You won't regret it. By the way, we bought a lot of passion fruit nearby.
We did not buy everything at the market, so we went to the center, to the Parkson shopping center.
There, on the 4th floor, in the supermarket, we buy coconut oil, lotus seed candy, a few large mangoes and some other little things. Shopping all day, only women can do that. We bought everything we wanted and weren't even tired)
There is also a large food court on the 4th floor of Parkson.
At first, we just sit with cocktails on soft sofas by the window, in a cafe, then I go for a walk around the food court and find the longed-for Banh Xeo pancake, which we ate on our first visit to Ho Chi Minh City, but did not see anywhere else.
This pancake costs only 60 thousand dong, and there are millions of pleasures there! I will teach you how to eat it) Take a lettuce leaf, put a piece of pancake on it, and put the contents of the pancake and greens with chopsticks (or a spoon). Most often it is mint. Wrap it with a dove or just a roll and dip it into the sauce. Very tasty!
We eat again) Reviews about Vietnam should be read on a full stomach) Food is a component of the local flavor. She practically takes the tourist prisoner. All my memories are about food. Six months have passed, but I do not miss the opportunity to eat Vietnamese food wherever I see it.
We go to the hotel in the dark. Near the Ben Han market we see an amazing phenomenon - at one moment the movement on the adjacent streets stops and from all sides they run, go, drag huge bales to the night market. Almost in an instant, tents are erected and belongings are laid out. The market is unfolding before our eyes.
I wanted to watch the process, and it would be useful to knock around there. But it's time for us to put fruit in boxes, boxes in suitcases, suitcases in planes. . . In general, it's time for us to fly home.
Of course, paying for the opportunity to take a shower and rest for a couple of hours is terribly thirsty, but it was a very good choice. We calmly came, packed our things and rested, carelessly lying on our beds until 12 o'clock at night.
Tip: if you want to bring fruits and sauces, buy a large plastic bowl and place everything that is supposed to be wrinkled and spilled, laying it tightly so that it does not move inside. This box took exactly half the space in my suitcase. But it contained everything that was needed. Nothing was wrinkled or spilled.
These boats can be bought directly at the Ben Han Market.
At the airport, in the only open dutik, for the last Vietnamese, I buy a souvenir for my husband - a cycle rickshaw.
This concludes my journey to the most unusual country in the world - Vietnam.
(photo by Igor Titov)
But I don't say goodbye! )
Ahead - a description of the free lounge at Beijing Airport and a short walk around Moscow.
