Ulog #70 | Family in town for short holiday trip Part #3

Saturday has arrived and it's another outdoor and more walking for my parents & brother who's in town for a short holiday break. I do believe that this is the first time for my mom; at least in terms of massive walking in the hot sun. She was very sporting, that I have to give her credit for.

To start the day, I brought them to the nearby local wet market. My dad was faster than me, he woke up early and was already exploring the streets near my apartment. He came home with packed ready to eat food which he brought from the market. That's my dad... always exploring and trying new things. He's really adventurous even for someone of his age. I feel I'm very much like him, but the younger version. I only hope that I have the same energy and curiosity like my dad when I reach his age.

After a local tour at the wet market, we stopped by for breakfast in my regular Pho coffee shop. They were amazed at the amount of unlimited vegetables available for them to eat. I think they finished at least 3/4 of the plate! That didn't count the ones that we bought from the market. I also got some eggs for them to try - the ones that is still in the hen's womb before she lays it. Dad brought more local food to try - I think I ate too much when they're here.

After taking an hour to rest and chilling out in the apartment, we were off walking again. This time, I was the tour guide. Brought them to Notre Dame Cathedral, Saigon Central Post Office, Book, Ho Chi Minh City's Book Street & Vincom Mall, Dong Khoi. We even stopped by the street side to enjoy fresh coconut water near Notre Dame Cathedral. One cannot get more local than this.

After that, we started walking towards People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City and The Walking Street, Saigon also known as Nguyen Hue. I have to say I too was tired because the sun is blazing down from above us. I wanted to show them this place because the plan for them was to have dinner here tonight. This is the best way to see HCMC. From here, we walked towards Nhulan, famous pork sausage manufacturer in Vietnam and then head towards Benh Thanh market. By then, we were all tired from walking and really needed a rest.

I brought them to Bep Me In, a very famous Vietnamese restaurant. This restaurant is located inside a street filled with nil spa saloons. It was close to lunch time, but thankfully, we didn't really need to wait long for a table. Tired and hungry aren't very god combination when we're ordering. We ordered too many dishes - 1 Bun Cha, 2 Vegetable dish, 1 Rice Noodle dish, 1 Fresh Spring Roll dish & 1 Fusion Ban Mi dish. All this for four adults!

Even my dad said we had too much to eat but we finished it all. Once lunch was over, we hailed for Grab and went home. They rested for the next few hours while I was off to work - had to attend The Link Club event for our corporate bookers. Just before we reached home, we stopped by a local coffee shop near my apartment and enjoyed a cup of local Vietnamese coffee; after all the hype about how strong the coffee is, they got to at least try one cup.

I only saw them again after my event was over. We agreed to meet at Nguyen Hue for dinner. It was good to bring them here on Saturday night, there were so many activities going on at this street. Two mega huge concerts and 1 small dance performance all along this street. We had sushi at Michi Sushi, a restaurant on a building overlooking The Walking Street.

Our day ended at about 9pm as everyone was tired and knowing that Sunday is going to be another long day, it was best to head home and get some rest.

---