I’m glad that we didn’t plan much for our first day in HCMC. All we have is a night food tour at 6pm. For most of the day, we just relaxed and enjoyed the hotel. The Le Meridien in Saigon is located in District 1, where most of the American travelers tend to stay. District 1 and District 2 are the more upscale areas and usually the safest.
We started out the day with the breakfast buffet on the mezzanine floor of the hotel. It’s a lavish buffet with an eclectic selection of international food options and Vietnamese choices. Of the Vietnamese foods, I really enjoyed the pho and the rice porridge with thousand-year egg, salty eggs, dried shredded pork, and Chinese sausage. The rice porridge was a dish that my dad made when we were younger and it was one of my favorite. The rest of the food was good but the Phuket buffet was still a step above the food here.
Selfie rooftop…Lol 
The view from the hotel is amazing. The 22-second floor is the executive lounge and has a great view. From our room, it didn’t seem that Vietnam was developed but when we saw the view from the lounge, there were massive skyscrapers all around and many new buildings being constructed. It’s a bit reminiscent of Bangkok, maybe 5-10 years ago. A lot of money is pouring in from America, Japan, and wealthy Vietnamese that moved to other countries for more opportunity and bringing the money back to help develop the country.
We got in a good workout at the gym. I worked out legs again. I tend to focus on different muscle groups that I think are underdeveloped. Legs
After the gym, Jason went back to the room to
I went to the bathroom near the pool and found out there was a sauna, steam room, and shower room there. I used both the sauna and steam room and it was glorious. I’m planning to take advantage of it every day.
After finishing up, I went back to the room to shower and relax. I was starving at this point and we hadn’t had lunch yet and it was already 3pm. We had 3 hours to kill before going on the food tour so we ended up ordering room service and watching a couple more episodes of Gentleman’s Dignity. We’ve almost finished up the entire series of 20 videos. Koreans really know how to make a solid show.
It started raining sporadically throughout the day and it really starting coming down around 5pm. We were a bit worried that it would be raining on the food tour since we would be on motorbikes. Thankfully, it stopped when the tour began.
We went downstairs and met our tour guides. It turns out that it was just Jason and
We went to four different locations. Two were main food dishes and the last two were a coffee shop and a local dessert place. The first dishes were Banh Xeo (Central Vietnam style), spring rolls, and another dish similar to Banh Khot but a different style. I’m accustomed to both types but these were different from what I’ve had. It looked delicious but both were a bit disappointing. Banh Xeo and Banh Khot are two of my favorite Vietnamese dishes too.
We went on to our next location for Bun Bo Hue. This restaurant is known for this dish and it didn’t disappoint. Jason is a pretty selective eater and he found this dish to be really good. I thought the soup was delicious. I think so much so I forgot to take a picture.
Our tour guides were great. My driver had been doing these tours for three years and the other was a medical student. We asked if it was a good gig and they said it was great because they got to eat good food (expensive food for most locals) and it paid well. They use their own motorbikes. They were both impressive drivers. The traffic is insane in Vietnam. I’d say it’s scarier driving in HCMC than in Bangkok, and we thought it was bad enough there. What would make it easier for Americans to drive in HCMC is that they drive on the right side of the road just like in the U.S.
The time of our tour happened to cross with the finals of the ASEAN Football Federation. It takes place every four years (according to our tour guides) and the last time Vietnam got close to winning was 10 years ago. The streets were crowded when we started the tour but became a ghost town when the game started. Everyone (I’m not exaggerating) were watching the game. Every single restaurant we passed by had crowds of people watching the game with intense focus. It was like a national holiday for them.
We got to our third stop which was a coffee shop off the beaten path. We tried a coffee drink with
We then headed to our last stop. The building was unassuming and it looked beaten down but apparently a lot of young locals love this spot. We went up to the second floor which they told us it was generally packed but because of the game we almost had the place to ourselves. They ordered the main dessert there for us to try. I haven’t eaten or seen a dessert like this before. It was a crowd pleasure. The locals love this dessert because it’s a cold and the weather is always hot and humid. It was refreshing. The liquid is the juice from lychee cans with ice in it. The contents were roasted almond slices, lychee, and different flavors of a milky jello (taro, passion fruit, milk, matcha). We loved the dessert. You get so many different flavors that you don’t get bored of it. It was perfect to end the food tour.
When we were at the dessert place, Vietnam had just won the finals match against Malaysia. The tour guides mentioned the streets would be busy and people would be partying on the streets. We didn’t know how crazy it would be. When we got on the road it was beyond anything I could have imagined. It felt like Vietnam had just won a war and the citizens were celebrating. I’ve never been in a such a huge celebration. Everyone from grandparents to young kids were celebrating in the streets. People were waving flags, shouting, playing loud music, and blowing trumpets. It was insane.
We were able to move in the beginning but when we got to the main roads the traffic became gridlocked. It was exciting to see all the celebration for the first 20 minutes but then when we weren’t able to move in traffic for the next 1.5 hours I was frustrated and just wanted to get back. It was a sight to behold and a rare occasion so it was bearable. But I almost lost my hearing and died of carbon monoxide poisoning.
It took us 1.5 hours to move less about a mile. 
I felt bad for my driver because she had to wade through traffic for 1.5 hours and she still had a ways to go to get back home. We finally got back and met up with Jason and his tour guide. They waited at the front of the hotel for an hour because they were able to find a less congested path to get back. I was just glad to be out of that fiasco and be back in the hotel. It was a tough ride back but an unforgettable experience. I’m glad we went through it and made it back safely.