Saigon 🏯

 We left Vũng Tàu on the ferry to head back to Ho Chi Minh City on a rainy, blustery day. The seas were a bit rough; I muddled through with a Gravol and a seat at the back of the boat 🤢 Jared was of course perfectly fine, and rode outside on the back deck watching all the cargo ships 🛳️ 

Even though Ho Chi Minh was renamed after the Vietnam War in 1975, it’s still commonly referred to as Saigon. With a population of 9 million, this city is busy, and hoppin’ and LOUD. It’s right on the Saigon River that flows into the South China Sea, making the Saigon Port one of the busiest container ports in the world. 

We only spent a whirlwind 48 hours here, on our feet the whole time trying to see it all. We wished we had more time in Saigon, it’s a great city with lots to do. 

The “Cafe Apartment” was so cute - a converted apartment building where every suite had been turned into a cafe. Talk about having supper options! 

While we were there, the city was hosting its annual International Music Festival called HOZO. We spent the day sampling free food and drinks, and listening to singers and bands from all over the world. One thing we’ve noticed is that Vietnam does not cheap out on their speaker systems. They love blasting their music loud, and this concert was no different. Here’s a few clips of the different types of bands and the crazy crowds:

We also joined an impromptu workout session in front of another stage. It was a Les Mills total body workout or something, but it felt more like a party! Oh and did I mention LOUD? 😂

One of my favourite things in Asia is the typos on signs, it makes me laugh so hard. Sometimes that translation from Vietnamese to English gets a little lost, I could make a whole post with the pictures I’ve taken of typos. Anyways, one of the bands was called “Smile Land” but this is what was broadcasted on the screen behind them. 

The crowd was chanting in Vietnamese, so Jared and I joined in and started chanting “Metaphor! Metaphor!”

Unfortunately no one gets our humour over here 🤷🏼‍♀️