Travel Log - Ho Chi Minh (April 2015) | Part TWO

By Melissa - Tuesday, April 14, 2015

The second part of my business trip to Ho Chi Minh (HCM), Vietnam. Part One can be found *here*.

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Wednesday (Apr 8th, 2015)

AM: Rose bright and early. Packed day ahead.

Dropped by Saigon River after breakfast to pay the deposit for tomorrow night's dinner. Scenic day view.

On the way back, we spotted a banh mi stall and I kid you not, my boss leaped out of the taxi to get his hands on some. After I had a bite of his Vietnamese sandwich, his ineffable excitement made perfect sense to me.

Banh Mi - Baguette loaded with pickled vegetables, cold cuts and OVEN ROASTED PORK BELLY.

Noon: I barely had time to swallow my mouthful of banh mi when we (my colleagues and I) were invited for lunch.

This time around, we marched around town under the skin-baking 36ºC weather, into a back alley and we cramped into a tiny noodles joint. According to our distributor, this stall has been around for over 70 years and it makes the best wan than mee (egg noodles, served with meat and prawns dumpling).

After painstakingly picking out every single shred of spring onion (yuck) and cube of pork lard (double yuck), I can safely concur with the guy - The wan than mee was amazing. The springy handmade noodles made all the difference.

PM: Work, work, work; checking and re-checking all the details for the night's welcome dinner.

Picture Credit: Santa.

3 out of the 7 dinner course that night.

Dinner was over at 9pm, but Work was only beginning. By the time I crawled into bed, it was...

Oh well... 3 hours of sleep is better than none.

Thursday (Apr 9th, 2015)

AM: Conference day.

Months of planning, scheduling and handling 101 last minute changes (happens when you're dealing with people coming from all over the world) finally culminated to this very day. Emceed for the conference as well.

I've been holding my breath these past few months, preparing and poring over every microscopic detail, just so that this will be a successful event. Thankful that everything went without a hitch or (technical) glitch.

The best part? To be given the opportunity and trust to take on this task. Invaluable learning experience.

PM: Riverboat cruise at Saigon River for dinner.

Night view of HCM from our cruise ship.

Picture Credit: Santa.

Friday (Apr 10th, 2015)

AM: City Tour. Visited some of the iconic locations in HCM.

1. War Remnants Museum

The place houses an elaborate display of armoured vehicles, tanks, artillery pieces and infantry weapons. The atrocities of war are documented with detailed accounts and horrific photos of children affected by the bombing and napalming (Agent Orange).

A reminder that brute force, cruelty and war are never the answer.

2. Reunification Palace (also known as Independence Palace)

Designed by Paris-trained Vietnamese architect Ngo Viet Thu, the imposing palace with carefully manicured grounds is quite a sight to behold.

The ground floor is filled with meeting rooms, while the floor above shows off a set of impressive reception rooms, used for welcoming foreign and national dignitaries.

3. Notre Dame Cathedral

One of the places that I was SO looking forward to but when we arrived, it was already closed (opening hours are from 9-11am only).

4. Ben Thanh Market

A must-visit when in HCM. The morning till midday market is stocked with stalls, ranging from local food delicacies to dried goods, coffee, souvenirs and even 1-day suits.

Pho Ga - Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup.

PM: Recap meeting (post-mortem of the conference), a hasty shower, followed by dinner; where I had one of the most unbelievably exquisite curry I've ever had in my life.

Warm crusty bread (the Vietnamese baguettes are really something else, I've never tasted anything quite like it. Crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. SO. DARN. GOOD) dipped into the tongue-numbing spiciness of the aromatic mutton curry (I only had the sauce, not the meat)... I died for a second and went to food heaven.

I polished off an entire baguette within minutes.

The only pic that I managed to take of the food before I went into a food coma...