The last and final week started off with another long, action packed day.
Ngoc calls me early in the morning and we talked about the finalization of the upcoming weekend trip to Nha Trang.
I had bun bo hue for breakfast and chicken porridge for lunch. Chi Thu also made some yellow fried noodle dish that was too plain. I didn't eat it.
Sonny shows up around 12:30PM and we get on the number four bus down to Ho Chi Minh Museum (Bao Tang Tan Pho Ho Chi Minh) in downtown. The bus ride was 4,000 VND ($0.20). It dropped us off right at the museum. Sonny and I tried to convince the young lady at the box office that we're not foreigners. It didn't work. She charged us 15,000 VND ($0.75). We gave her an extra 2 bucks and went inside.
The Ho Chi Minh Museum has two floors. Their artifacts focus on the history of Vietnam during the Ho Chi Minh regime. Inside one of the upstair rooms are highlights of the Vietnam War. The important generals, battles, and cities are mapped out, graphed, and explained. Lined outside in the hallways are transportation vehicles during this era. These include horse carts, cow carts, and two floor boats. This museum too has no expressions of communism or bad things written about Ho Chi Minh.
After we were done, we walked over to the Reunification Palace (Dinh Thong Nhat). It cost 30,000 Dong ($1.50) to get in. I think it was 10,000 Dong for locals. We didn't even bother to negotiate on this one.
The palace sits on a huge estate. To the right of the ticket box office is a line of fences. These fences are historical because it marked the end of the Vietnam War -- when a Vietnamese Army (north Vietnamese) tank bulldozed and knocked it over. There is a famous photograph of this occurrence captured on April 30th, 1975.
Right behind the fences is a huge water fountain that sits in the middle of a circular lawn. There's a replica of the tank that took down the fence to the right of the fountain.
The palace itself, contains numerous huge conference and press rooms. Deep in the basement are supposedly the same equipment and furniture left untouched from the 70's. There are old telephones, voice receivers, microphones, desks, chairs, beds, and a bunch of outdated electronic devices.
After the quick palace tour, we headed on over to the War Remnants Museum because Monkey wanted to take some pictures. He left Anh Hung's camera at home when we visited two days prior so I took him back. I didn't just sit around and wait; I snapped some extra pictures and learned some new things. I initially paid 30,000 Dong for both of us to get in and Sonny managed to get 26,000 back by telling the lady we're Vietnamese. It must of been his hat ha.
The museum closed at 5:00PM and we walked on over to the Turtle Pond. Sonny stopped and bought some freshly, fried, breaded crepes on the street that melted deliciously. At the Turtle Pond, we got some coconut ice cream at the same spot I visited the day before with Tony. It was good again.
Three museums (the Reunification Palace is set up like a museum exhibit) and a couple desserts later, it was time for dinner. Instead of hopping on the bus, we decided to hike home. We didn't see anything exciting on the walk home but it did start to rain. And since it was a week day and get-off-work hour, there were tons of traffic.
Walking around in Saigon can take some getting use to -- just crossing the street can be a daunting task. The bikes and cars get real close to walking pedestrians. Your attention must be entirely devoted to making it to the other side. Walk when cars and buses are out of the clearance. All mopeds will dodge you. Do not make any big hesitation moves that will sway bikers off their path. No jukes. As with everything else, a little bit of practice and then you'll get better at it.
Sonny and I stopped by this bakery called Tour Les Jours on Nam Ky Khoi Nghia. We picked up some coconut bread and tiramisu for Chi Thu, Linh, and Bac Phat. Our bottle waters were emptied so we also got some lemonade for hydration. A lemonade was 24,000 VND ($1.20) and one piece of tiramisu cake was 38,000 VND ($1.90). Pretty expensive. The lemonade was over-iced and the tiramisu was weak. This makes it even more expensive -- economically speaking.
Anyhow, we left that spot (which was located right near the Thi Nghe Channel), crossed the bridge (the channel), and made a left on Tran Huy Lieu. We were looking for a pho restaurant that I thought was down this street from my walk on Friday night. It wasn't, so I made the wrong turn somewhat worth it by buying more money cards for my phone.
We turned back and got back on Nguyen Van Troi street. We had dinner at this place called Com Tam Cali. We both ordered rice dishes and it was pretty weak. I don't even know what I was eating and I don't think Sonny did either. The best part of the meal was the rau ma drink. As I was downing this, Tony calls and tells me to roll out to his house. He also said to put on some pants cause we might go clubbing.
I get home after dinner, washed up, and taxied to Tony's. We rolled out on his bike to Cho Ben Thanh to this outdoor seafood spot that only opens at night. The garlic clams Tony ordered was solid. It's the best clams I've ever eaten. We also had a couple beers while we talked a little bit about the past, a little bit about the present, and a little bit about our future.
When we got done, we rolled over to Tony's house and waited for Lys to roll through to go clubbing.
Tony's apartment is a good size. He's got everything you need. A king size bed, fast Internet, a regular size bathroom, hot water, a fridge, a good-size closet drawer, a desk and a chair.
Tony got a little laundry in while I rested a bit on his bed. When Lys came over around 11:00PM, we taxied over to club Lush.
Lush is a nice two story venue. There's a circular bar in the middle and the stairs are stationed on the side. There's a front and back that are boxed in by cemented walls. The front and back are both outdoor venues. There's a bar in the back with tables and chairs. There are also tables and chairs (I believe there's also a bar in the front towards the right hand side) in the front right when you enter.
We got into the club for free which is always a good thing. Considering I was the third wheel, I was roaming alone for the most part. I didn't do much on my own. I did pull a number but the girl was decent at best and in all likelihood a hooker -- Tony told me a high percentage work the clubs.
Tony and Lys left around 12:05AM and I left right after. I taxied home, called Sonny to unlock the gate, washed up, and passed out.
