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Published: January 24th 2010
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Massage Institute
This is where we got our massages. We slept like babies last night and overslept two alarms, which was a first so far. Our room here also has no windows, so no natural sunlight to beam into our room. That's probably the only complaint so far with our hotel (The Orient Hotel). The bed is comfortable, the room is secure, and the staff are friendly.
After waking up, we enjoyed the free breakfast in the hotel, which consisted of a beverage of choice, and a baguette prepared different ways. I chose egg and veggies, while Staci enjoyed jam and butter. FYI, Vietnamese style iced coffee is very good, even I like it...a lot.
We walked around the city and found a place to get a massage. We had read about it in our travel book, and were glad to find it fairly quickly. The Vietnamese Traditional Massage Institute is associated with a local school for the blind, so all the masseurs are blind. Each or our massages lasted 50 min, in an air conditioned area, and cost 50,000 dong (less than $3USD) each.
People in general have given the place mixed reviews, but both of us had positive experiences, and would go back again.
Coconut
We shared this little piece of deliciousness. After exploring the city some more, we went looking for a vegetarian restaurant Staci had read about. It wasn't too hard to find, but it was down a semi-hidden alley. I enjoyed a sautéed mixture of veggies over some rice noodles, while Staci savored vermicelli noodles under chopped up spring rolls.
Before walking back to our hotel, we strolled through an impressive street market. We ended up sharing a small coconut to drink from, and it was so good--much tastier than the bigger ones we had in China and Cambodia. One thing we've noticed here in Asia is that they know how to do their markets! Certainly not as lush as some of the weekend outdoor markets can be in the States, these feel a lot more authentic, in a good way.
After taking a bit of a break, we got a taxi to the War Remnants Museum, another sad, but necessary place for anyone in the area to visit. It used to be called The Museum of American War Crimes, which is certainly an understandable name, but once relations normalized, it was probably wise to change it. The museum has an impressive array of artifacts and military
equipment used during the war, but the section that had the most impact was the displays on the effects of Agent Orange and other chemicals used by the USA to destroy land and so many people for years.
After walking through, it was nice to see at the end a section devoted to peace, with paintings done by children to express the sadness of war, and the hope and need for peace.
With our minds drained, a good walk was in order, so we did just that. Making it around a majority of the area, we took several breaks to sit as it was getting pretty hot. We eventually found Saigon's Notre Dame, an impressive French built cathedral built in the later half of the 1800's. Across the street is in equally impressive post office, again built during the French colonial empire.
We had a few hours yet to spare before meeting some friends of ours from our teaching program at a nearby restaurant, so we relaxed at a coffee shop and did some more walking.
Around 7:30pm, we met our friends Kris and Kelly who were staying with a friend of theres who is a
Peace
Peace project. Art done by school children. teacher here in Vietnam. Dinner was at the Barbecue Garden, which specializes in Vietnamese and International cuisine. Each table is set with a miniature grill in the middle where patrons can cook their various flavored and prepared dishes. Can't beat filet mignon wrapped in bacon for $2USD. Along with other meats, we were also able to get some vegetarian skewers and rice.
After a full day, it was a good time to say goodbye to our friends, and head back to sleep.
This time, we got a wake-up call.
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Mom/MD
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What an experience you are having...definitely sounds like a place we should visit! Wish we were there with you!