December 12-20, 2014
We spent a leisurely week in Ho Chi Minh City, adjusting to the time difference and being back in SE Asia. Now that we have our 12-month-old along for the journey, we are taking it at a much slower pace.
A typical day starts off when Kaisho wakes us around 5:30-6:30am. He normally sleeps until 7:30-8:30am, but his biological clock is still adjusting. We accidentally let his 2pm nap turn into bed time one day, and that made it take much longer for him to adjust to the time. We are some of the first guests to arrive at the breakfast buffet at the Asian Ruby Hotel, around 7 -7:30am.
Breakfast is Kaisho’s favorite part of the day. He likes to eat a little and then run around the hotel restaurant and socialize with his waitress and waiter friends. The hotel is the safest place for him to run around and get his energy out, due to the uneven sidewalks that are almost unusable due to all the parked motor bikes; chaotic streets; and parks where you are not supposed to walk on the grass.
After breakfast it’s time to play in the room for a bit before morning nap. The telephone and mini bar refrigerator are a couple of Kaisho’s favorite toys.
After morning nap we venture out into the heat and craziness to do a little shopping at a market and find a restaurant for lunch. After lunch it’s time to head back to our room to cool off and rest a bit before venturing out one more time for dinner.
One evening we took a stroll to the Saigon River. There were many people socializing, jogging, or taking photos along the river. It reminded us of the Ala Wai canal in Waikiki.
We made sure to take Kaisho to the City Lights Parade before leaving Honolulu, since we were not sure how Christmas would be celebrated in Vietnam, but it turns out that almost every store and restaurant is decked out with holiday window displays, Christmas trees, and lights. The shops and restaurants here actually seem to be much more decorated than back in the USA.
The waitresses at one of the restaurants we ate at even gave Kaisho a Christmas party hat. Here he is in his Christmas aloha outfit by our hotel Christmas tree.
Kaisho loves all the Christmas trees and loves to snatch an ornament to play with. Or as he calls it, “ball!”.
Here are some clever decorations at Fast Nood restaurant (cheap and yummy food). Notice the motorbike pulling a bowl of noodles above the chimney.
We have all been enjoying the Vietnamese food. Kaisho especially enjoys ripping into a fresh spring roll.
There will be more photos and stories to share, as we start doing some sightseeing.