I guess it’s about time I moved on from Japan….it has been about 3 weeks since we were there! We spent our time in Vietnam split between Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. We started off in Saigon, staying with our friends Varun and Brinda. Varun and I were RAs together in the dorms and we’ve seen each other once or twice since college so it was great catching up and meeting his new wife (who I LOVE!)! We stayed with them in the heart of the city – District 1. Sidenote: Ho Chi Minh is divided in 24 districts – which made me think of Hunger Games every time we talked about them. We arrived late, and didn’t get to Varun and Brinda’s place until even later – visas and such things. So it wasn’t until the morning that we got a feel for the city! 
Brinda took us on a tour of the city that started off with some Banh Mi! We walked around district one and then met up with Varun for Pho. We started easy – with Vietnamese food I’d already had 🙂 Banh Mi is a sandwich that’s best enjoyed without knowing the specifics of what you are eating 🙂 
We learned that Nick had never had pho before. So his first pho experience was at the “best place ever.” And for anyone wondering, the fresh veggies were totally safe – and the extra things on the table are bananas, pork, and fried dough.
In the afternoon, Nick and I got a solid dose of history at the Vietnam War museum. They blame the US completely, and we basically felt like horrible people. But it is what it is. 
Then, as we were walking home, a coconut salesman started following us and eventually got Nick to pose with his coconuts (does that sound dirty to anyone else?) and and got us to buy some. To be fair, it ended up being the best coconut we had during our entire trip. So the $1 ended up being worth it. 
That evening, we did 2 things. 1. Ate some amazing street food! 2. I experienced my first “this is a bad idea” moment of the trip Brinda works for XO Tours in Vietnam. One of their main attractions is a motorbike food tour of the city – and all the motorbike drivers were girls. Super fun! My girl (I’ve now forgotten her name, SORRY!) was adorable. She was a great driver and loved Britney Spears, Taylor Swift, and Will Smith. When I asked her if she liked Taylor, she said, “yes! she’s so cute” and when I asked what movie stars she liked, she said, “Will Smith, he’s so cute!” Needless to say, we got along well. We were picked up at the apartment and driven to our first food stop. We had some noodles that I actually didn’t love. So I decided to “save room” for the rest of the evening. The remaining stops were a million times better. We tried goat, shrimp, okra, frogs, fruit, scallops, crab, duck embryo (yes, you read that right), and coconut jelly! I’m sure I’m missing some of the items, but it was almost all delicious! And for anyone that sticks with their diet while on vacation (which is no fun and I definitely don’t recommend it) – aside from the noodles – there were very few (if any) carbs – and I think the noodles were rice noodles, so even the GF would have been ok)! 
Now back to my first “this is a bad idea” moment of the trip. The traffic in Vietnam is like none I’ve ever experienced. Stop lights are a suggestion. Motorbikes lane split – or even double/triple lane split. If you want to turn, you just stick yourself out there and pray people stop (they usually do…). Nick and I were on motorbikes for this food tour. I’m not a fan of motorcycles in the states, but motorbikes in Vietnam traffic was something else. You sit behind these girls, and hold on tight while they bob and weave through traffic. I was gripping on for dear life while my knuckles turned white. It took more than half way through the evening before I got comfortable, and towards the end, I was brave enough to take a few pictures of Nick – that means I was riding 1 handed! This is probably our favorite activity from Ho Chi Minh and we strongly encourage anyone in the area to join the tour! Especially those that want to try the food but are worried about getting sick (we didn’t get sick at all while in Vietnam – street food and all!). 
