Saigon

I'm back in Vietnam. This time, I'm with friends and have decided to tone down on the spending and be more frugal. Our little entourage picked up a new person to make this a five person group. We parted ways with one person from our travels to date. We stayed at Bich Duyen hotel, it is in the backpacker district. Not quite a hostel, not quite a hotel, it still suited my needs just fine. Stayed for about $10 US per person per night. Prices like that can't be beat.

My family was kind enough to take my friends around the city most of the time. Luckily, I was visiting the country when the fruit season is at its peak and stuffed myself with mangosteens, mangoes, and lychees. Caught up on all my favorite foods and got to see some family too. My friends couldn't believe how far the US dollar went in Vietnam. I think everyone tried to consume as much as possible. Of course, a visit to Saigon isn't complete unless you've had pho!


It appears that the economy is cooling and the exchange rate has hurt the Vietnamese economy. Currently, the exchange is 16900 dong to the US dollar. Craaaazzzaaayyy.

As an introduction to what Vietnamese cuisine was all about, I brought my friends to a cit institutuion, Quon An Ngon. They were so amazed at the prices and the exchange rate, they tried to get the bill to reach a million dong. Unfortunately, we could only get to 850,000 dong. One of my friends decided to pay for dinner and pulled out his bills. Definite baller status (for $50 US).

In this particular trip, I also did a mini day trip to the Mekong Delta. I found it very interesting and was able to see how the locals made rice paper, coconut candy, and enjoy some local fish. Being in the country reminds me of how much I should appreciate what I have at home.

Off to Phuket next! Unfortunately, one person left our group to go home early and our fivesome became a foursome.