We recently went to the coast via the Saigon River to Vung Tao. We took the hydrofoil ferry with plans/expectations to be dropped at the port /docks in the main part of town. Well, we were wrong, or IMHO, Vietnam was wrong. We were dropped off at some massive port with huge ships and such with a bus to take us to the other port, which we didn't know, and when we get off the boat the bus was full already and leaving. "Wait here, just 5 minute more", we were told. Which of course meant at least 45 minutes. This was fine for everyone, because honestly, what choice did we have? Oh yeah a taxi~but NO not us....we preferred to make this a difficult trip. I had to pee, so I wasn't as patient as the rest. But alas, the bus arrived, and 2 minutes after getting on, it started pouring rain. Next we needed a hotel. What? Reservations you say? Like I said, apparently we wanted to make this trip difficult. So we checked into a hotel, and it smelled like pee (no, that is NOT the theme here). So we unchecked out after paying 50,000 dong (2.50 USD)~for 15 minutes of using the toilet, A/C and changing kids. We felt that was fair. The kids and I parked ourselves at a street corner vendor sipping cokes, sprite and mirinda sodas. Matt arrived (after numerous drinks, 2 broken glasses, 1 trip to the toilet, and 1 poopy diaper) 45 min later on a motorcycle taxi with news of a hotel. I was pretty sure it was going to be news of tix back on the ferry headed for Saigon. Being a Saturday, hotels were full or filling fast, and it's not easy to find a hotel that can accommodate 7 people. So we got settled in our hotel, Sofia and I were reading out on the terrace in the sun, the other kids napping, Matt out exploring the streets. He came back and took Sofia and I to try some food he found-always a sketchy experience. Turned out to be killer. The setting, a typical Vietnamese eatery-short tables with stools-about10 inches off the ground, crammed in an area with tarps for shelter. About 6 women sat around charcoal fed cookers, with these big metal discs-at least 3 feet wide, with divets that they poured batter in and then put a small piece of shrimp in the center. They were cooking these as fast as they could-the place was packed with literally busloads of people pouring/crowding in. Of course, it is raining-buckets. they serve these cute little things with big pieces of lettuce and mint leaves that you wrap the cake thingy in and dip in traditional fish sauce with chilies in it. SO good!! Everyone was staring and laughing, cause we SUCK at chopsticks and we are about 10 sizes too big for the stools and tables. I didn't have a camera on me! PARTY FOUL! We reeked of fire and shrimp the rest of the day. Then to our delight, the guy across the street was making belgian waffles with a hint of coconut-what else. MMMMMM we brought the boys back to the waffle cart. The rest of the evening was bust with mediocre food at best and shopping/looking at the same thing over and over and over and over and over-in the rain-duh. We did find some great food walking home tho-broken rice and pork. Our favorite. The next morning I was needing a western breakfast. I believe my exact words were "I am not eating gross Vietnamese food for breakfast and I want a big cup of hot coffee." I maybe didn't sleep as well as I'd like crammed in our room like sardines.... So we went to the 'travelers section'. It did not disappoint~ french toast, bacon, and omelets all around! We then walked across the street to the port to get tickets for the ferry for the following morning. We had originally been told that all the tix were sold for returning on Sunday, but now there were tix? Go figure. What to do? Stay or go? GO the kids said.....We made sure the tix we were buying were for departure at this port-we're fast learners. We headed out for a little walk before going to the hotel to check out and head to the beach before our boat left. Took a few nice pics, noticed the clouds and wind and hopped in a taxi just seconds before it was pouring-again. So much for the beach. But we found a waterslide park to enjoy for the rest of the afternoon-in the pouring rain. i sat sheltered with a mini, and by mini, I mean served in a shot glass sized- hot coffee. (the coffee talk deserves it's own blog entry). Such is Vietnam. We made it to the port with some time to spare, only to find out that the boat is leaving from the other port, "Wait here, bus come in 5 minute.......". We were happy to be home. Ummm, I think we need a do-over. The greatest thing of all was to hear the kids say Home, and mean the small apartment on the 16th floor in Saigon ;)
