Saigon Sightseeing

Sunday, November 8 we headed into the city.  We took the bus downtown and thought we would take a taxi to the Central Post Office, but in the end decided to walk, because the weather was great and it was just under 2km...so totally doable. Plus, walking in the streets provides you with so much opportunity to notice the details and venture into little shops, that would otherwise be overlooked.

Evi looks so thrilled here... ;-) It was at the end of our trek to the post office.

We were actually on a mission.  I have spent the last month trying to find a post office near the school.  I've been told it's there by some, but others I ask say they know nothing of the place.  It's eluded me so far,  so we decided for the sure thing.  The Central Post office in HCMC. It's a beautiful historical building and it's on our list of 23 things to do and see in HCMC.  

The Central Post Office is at number 2, Paris Commune Street, District 1. This is one of the oldest buildings in Ho Chi Minh City. The Central Post Office was built around 1886 – 1891when Vietnam was part of French Indochina.  I have found conflicting  information regarding the design of the building,  but from what I have read it is either credited to two French architects Auguste Henri Vildieu and Alfred Foulhoux or the infamous Gustave Eiffel.

In front of the Central Post Office.

Before heading into the building we decided to take a bit of a break, plus we had bought a couple more cards to send so we had to sit down somewhere to write.   The kids spotted a Dunkin Donuts and on their request we Sat down for a snack and rest and took pens to start writing. 

Oh the selection!  From pumpkin and flower donuts to coconut cashew flavour. ..how do you choose? ?? The kids had a difficult time deciding.

Beautiful and intricate pop up paper cards. The detail is incredible! 

Our timing was perfect, because as we sat and wrote and drank our lattes, it started to pour...a lot. Luckily the rain here never lasts long,  so we just sat tight and within a half hour continued on our way. 

We saw a man outside the post office selling a Vietnamese version of donuts with lost of sesame seeds and honey. I asked for 4 and made the mistake of not getting a price before I ordered, so we were gouged and paid 100,000 dong for them...crazy, that's almost $5US. But at least we had some photo opps and we supported a local vendor. Note to self. ..next time ask for price before ordering...that is a must.

All the kids tried carrying the tray of donuts and they said it was really heavy. 

The interior of the post office is beautiful.  So ornate! It really reminded me of Europe.

On the far wall is a huge portrait of Ho Chi Minh, or as some of my students have referred to him,  Uncle Ho (it took me awhile to figure out who they were talking about,  but I finally got it). He is considered by many, to be a great Vietnamese hero. 

Evi posing again...she is so popular.  Almost celebrity status...;-).  Every outing we go on there are at least a few people who stop  her for pictures.

Fun in the phone booths. 

The Notre Dame Cathedral is literally across the street from the post office. 

Inside the post office there are also some cool souvenir shops.  Unlike the market,  the prices area fixed,  so its kind of nice because there is no bartering and negotiating.  We bought a map of Vietnam and HoChiMinh City so that we can finally get a grip on where we are and start planning our next weekend trips.  Otherwise,  we were not out to buy anything,  although we did see a lot of interesting things there.  

Posing beside the cathedral before heading out for dinner. The cathedral was closed,  so we will have to come back another time to venture inside. 

We finished off the day with dinner at Bahn Khot CoBa in D7 (close to home)...with delicious veggie and shrimp filled rice pancakes wrapped in fresh greens. My phone had no battery power left so I will have to get some pictures next time.  

Halloween in Ho Chi Minh

Halloween started at school on Friday, October 30.  The students dressed up in full costumes and were really quite spirited considering Halloween is NOT celebrated in Vietnam, other than mostly expat initiated events and pub crawls (at least that is what my 20 something friends have told me).

Kids dressed up at school.

We had a Halloween themed day at school with games, activities, a haunted house, movie (we watched E.T. in the theater and it was so funny to watch the reaction of the kids to the various scenes - they had never seen the movie before and it was quite a hit!)   The highlight for me was the Halloween themed lunch put together by the cafeteria staff, who are all Vietnamese, and seeing as they do not celebrate this holiday, they had a huge amount of spirit and put in tremendous effort to make the lunch super spooky for the kids!  It was a work of art.

Pumpking soup

Shrimp dumplings and zucchini

Roasted chicken pieces

Ground pork in lettuce wraps, with peanut sauce (in the pumpkin bowl)

Pumpkin soup

I had lunch with Evi and her class on Halloween

The soup at the bottom of this picture had actual chicken feet in it (and I don't mean the drumstick - I mean the claws...)

Mini-pizza happy faces

Beautiful fruit - served with salt...you would think it is sugar, but it is not.  The Vietnamese eat much of their fruit sprinkled with a hot pepper/salt mixture...my theory is that it is to provide necessary electrolytes, due to the constant sweating going on...it's still smoking HOT here.  26 - 32 C on a daily basis...more with the humidity on some days.

David (the gorilla) came for lunch too. 

David and his teacher Mr. Ben

We have a group of 25 Canadian kids this year at CISS (the teachers' kids). Several families are living at the Riverside Residence (including us), so it was the perfect place to organize a trick or treating route for all the kids.  We started off the night at Body by Jovie - a yoga/fitness studio that was hosting a Halloween Zumba party for the kids.  It was great!  The music was fun and the kids were dancing and sweating away!

Starting our night - on the way to the Zumba Party.

Gorilla, black and white picture, butterfly, lumberjack.

It was a happening place when we got there... party in full swing!

Viktor, trying on Mr. Frank's wig...so silly!

Everybody DANCE!

Evi's fancy face painting - done at the Crescent Mall...my beautiful butterfly.

Let the trick or treating begin.

We visited several families and 2 businesses (Body by Jovie, and our downstairs pub Pitchers were giving out candy) 

Little stop at Pitchers - great decor, btw!

Mr. Matt (Viktor's teacher), Ms. Melissa, and Ms. Jenna live several floors below us, and they were one of our favorite stops - their apartment was decked out for the occasion!

Spooky music and lighting!

We found gremlin...

Spooky, but smiling faces!

So much fun!  We trick or treated as a huge group...it was an apartment hopping, trick or treating experience...one of a kind.

A reminder...

Hello Kitty...

The elevators were a little slow...too many cobwebs???

Each stop was a little mini house party, with refreshments and some play time for the kids...I even got served a beverage in a repurposed Nutella jar (truly brilliant)...honestly...no sense in buying glasses...use what you have, makes sense, no?

The kids fell in love with this little puppy, he's too cute!

Halloween in Ho Chi Minh was non-traditional, with a touch of familiar and very festive.  The kids each got to dress up, knocked on doors and took home a small bag of candy (which is more than enough), but it was the experience of spending time with these families and putting our own spin on this holiday, beloved by children for obvious sugary reasons...that made the night so memorable...after all not everyone gets to say that they went trick or treating in Saigon!