Pho in district 8

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Hi there, it's Ilene writing from HCMC--

A few pix from the last few days out and around HCMC. Robert should be zipping his suitcase shut about now and getting ready to start his journey. Hopefully he can do a more thorough and entertaining job than me with this blog.

The pictures may or may not do a good job of showing the sprawl and the differences in the different parts of HCMC--tidy tourist areas versus outlying neighborhoods.

I have to say I undertand the motorbiking. Smog and exhaust choked as it is, it's fun. It's a really different way of traveling versus being contained in separate cars. Masks cut the gritty particles a bit. On a bridge last night we were bouncing along with a guy transporting a queen sized mattress on a cyclo, two guys carrying long metal tubes bouncing up and down, families of 4--mom holding an infant on the back, toddler up on dad's lap next to the handlebars. Car seats?

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Photos

HCMC Hoops
Kids playing basketball at HCMC community center

Understand?
Sign in restaurant on Dhong Khoi

HCMC city district 8
Dinner at Ai and Trung's house, with Chi--about a 25 minute motorbike ride from district 1 and the hotel

What I came for
Happy to be eating home made pho.

HCMC city district 8
Dinner at Ai and Trung's house, with Chi--about a 25 minute motorbike ride from district 1 and the hotel

The requisite commemorative photo
After pho and getting ready to motorbike home.

Comments

[Donna]

I'm hungry
It's 5:35 pm, and I'm in my office, thinking a nice bowl of homemade Pho would hit the spot rather nicely. Hmm. But I don't think I'll be getting any.