Back in “chilly” Saigon

Jan 212014

Who would believe it! It’s very cold here in Saigon.

Looking out my window! (not in Saigon, but as we flew from San Francisco back to Saigon (via Seoul, Korea)

Well, at least it was a bit chilly last night. And the blustery breeze made it feel uncomfortably cool.

Hai and I arrived back in Saigon about midnight last night after spending a 23 semi-grueling hours “on the road”:

Drive from Berkeley to the San Francisco airport (thank you Dorothy for the enjoyable drop-off)
Through security (why did I get “expedited” screening for the first time? OK to keep your shoes on and NOT take out your laptop!) … then wait 2 hours at the gate
Fly 12 hours to Seoul, Korea (2 movies, 2 meals, 1 snack, almost no sleep)
Layover 3.5 hours (the Starbucks’ Korean cappuccino helped a lot)
Fly 5.5 hours to Saigon … then, wait and wait for luggage (whoops, wrong carousel)
Crawl through the Saigon airport immigration line (slow computer, slower yet agent, no smiles here 🙁 )
Taxi to District 10 (Mai Linh Taxi, of course)
Search for the apartment keys (it’s been many months!)
OMG, we’re here! LETS GO EAT!

Anything open at 1 am? Dĩ nhiên (of course).

Time to start Eating Saigon! again

At 1:30 am, Hai and I had the normally chaotic Cách Mạng Tháng Tám nearly all to ourselves as we walked a kilometer to one of our ever-reliable eateries, Đạt Thành.

An early-morning bowl of delicious hủ tiếu nam vang .. the pork liver so flavorful, the ground pork sweet, the large shrimp firm and moist, and the hủ tiếu noodles slightly chewy, bits of cauliflower, green onions, quail eggs, bean sprouts, and an assortment of fresh herb leaves … YUM!

They swept the floors around our feet, preparing to close at 1:30 am, as we ate. But that was okay – we were very happy with our first meal back in town.