Ho Chi Minh City

I was psyched when Mike asked me to tag along with him on his business trip to Ho Chi Minh City this past week.  It was an historical week for Mike's company because it was the first time ever that a Disney Live show was performed in Vietnam.  They chose Mickey's Magic Show as their first show to go there and it was very well received by the Vietnamese people.  They had about 12 shows and all of them were sold out!  Super exciting!

However, while Mike was hanging out with Mickey and his magic I took the opportunity to explore the city.  Vietnamese food is one of my most favorite cuisines so I was pumped to eat my way through Ho Chi Minh!

Sept. 23, 2014 - Checked into The Caravelle Hotel.  Awesome location in District 1, right across from the beautiful opera house.  (AO is playing there at the moment which is supposed to be an awesome show but we didn't go see it)  The opera house was just painted beige; it used to be the European looking, bright yellow before.  Could be a sign of the changing times in Ho Chi Minh City at the moment.  There's so much change there, happening so quickly.  Many people are concerned that they are not being careful to preserve their culture but are only concerned with making money.

I left Mike at the hotel to get some work done and went out exploring with my friend Lan Duong.  I met her in Korea way back in 2000.  She's Vietnamese American and moved from Singapore to Ho Chi Minh City 3 years ago with her husband and daughter Thuy Linh.  She and her driver swung by to get me and we went straight to Ben Thanh Market; the oldest market in HCMC.
We had fresh sugarcane juice and a dessert.  I had a green bean (or maybe mung bean; not sure) tapioca pudding that looked weird but tasted delicious.

 It's always nice to start out a trip at a local market and get a feel for the lives of the locals.

After the market we walked over to a nail salon.  I stopped in front of the tallest building in HCMC to take a photo.  There's not many skyscrapers there yet but things are a-changing there that's for sure!

Fame Nail Salon (18 Phạm Hồng Thái, Bến Thành, Hồ Chí Minh) was where we got some seriously awesome pedicures done for under $10USD.

After our toes were beautiful we did some more serious shopping at an art gallery (Tara and Ky's Art Gallery at: 48 Dong Du St., District 1; www.tarakys.com) and another local clothing market, where I picked up some fun (fake) clothes for my kids.  

Dinner that night was amazing: I loved how the bathrooms smelled like lemon grass.  I love how all of Vietnam smells like lemon grass; the shampoo, the bathrooms, the restaurants!

Fresh spring rolls, mango salad, zucchini flower salad, tofu with lemongrass and chili, brown rice.  The meal was divine!  I loved this restaurant so much I ate there 2 out of the 3 nights that I was there!
Cuc Gach Quan 10 Dang Tat, Tan Dinh (Brad & Angelina Jolie ate here)

The yogurt for dessert was delish.

After dinner pampering took place at the following reflexology place:
Professional Foot Massage (44 Ton That Thiep St., Dist. 1)
Let's just say that I highly recommend this place!