DAY 1, PART 2: Ho Chi Minh,Vietnam
After lunch we visited the Independence Palace also known as the President's Residence. Or as the Vietnamese would call it, the Resident's Residence, since they can't pronounce "president's" properly.
the very iconic flag of Vietnam
group picture from Smile's Instax! Taken by another tourist.
Uncle Ho
Miss Saigon 2011, talent portion
check out that carpet
my favorite room
Ikaw na, mural. Ikaw na.
keep calm and model
Lots of these in both Vietnam and Cambodia.
Meanwhile.
Imagine the generals using these to make Very Important Calls during the war.
the very simple president's desk
where there is a stuffed leopard
and the doorknob is prettier than me
THIS LAMP. In the tea room.
Next stop: Ho Chi Minh museum. Which was where we DID NOT want to go, because we meant to go to the Revolutionary Museum next. For a whole place dedicated to Ho Chi Minh himself, the museum was kind of sad. But that's from a tourist's point of view.
Vietnam Rose, super tingkad like wow.
Uncle Ho part 2
embroidered portraits of Ho Chi Minh! :D
Vietnam's indigenous groups
more graphic design hehe
It was a trash bin.
We did what we had to do in order to take a group picture.
NEXT STOP: the city hall
SO BEAUTIFUL. I love how detailed the architecture is in Ho Chi Minh. Imagine going to a place like this everyday to work.
I probably wouldn't mind at all.
en route to...
...NEXT STOP: Notre Dame and the postal office. They were beside each other.
Notre Dame !!!
POSTAL OFFICE. TADAAAA! @u@
HAND PAINTED TILES. I want them all.
giant maps in French
And we exit through the gift shop, once more with feelings, but with nothing bought. (We went shopping on our last day.)
They had ceramic artwork of Tintin covers and Klimt
dinner was at Pho 24. Value meal for 75,000 VND (about $3.50 = 150php). Beef pho, iced coffee, leche flan
The room Smile and I shared at Luan Vu. I spent the rest of our first night in Ho Chi Minh nursing a migraine curled up in bed, then hugging the toilet for some time while the rest of the group went night shopping / resting. My self-diagnosis is that I had a bout of low blood pressure, which I often get when flying out of the country (strangely) or when the monthly visitor is late.
We took a bus to Cambodia the next morning. Part 3 will feature Phnom Penh, Cambodia's capital :D