Banh Mi - Cascadian Abroad

Day 40: Ho Chi Minh City

September 5, 2015 by Robert Haddan

Ho Chi Minh Statue at Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee

We spent our last day in Ho Chi Minh City doing a makeshift walking tour, including the Ho Chi Minh statue in front of the People’s Committee building. Built in 1909, it was modeled after the City Hall building in Paris. It’s still a working government building today.

One of many couples taking wedding photos in front of the iconic Saigon Central Post Office. It was built by the French in the late 1800s and is still an active post office in addition to being a popular tourist site. Architect Gustave Eiffel, famous for Paris tower that bears his name, was among those who designed the building.

The epic Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica is directly across the street from the post office, offering a two-for-one sightseeing experience. The church itself was completed in 1880, but the current Our Lady of Peace statue was installed in 1959. In 2005, the statue was in the news when it was reported to have shed tears, although the local clergy weren't able to verify the event. — The epic Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica is directly across the street from the post office, offering a two-for-one sightseeing experience. The church itself was completed in 1880, but the current Our Lady of Peace statue was installed in 1959. In 2005, the statue was in the news when it was reported to have shed tears, although the local clergy weren’t able to verify the event.

Finding breakfast on the streets of Vietnam is simple. Step 1: Find a banh mi stand. The bread is always fresh in the morning and there's nothing like a deep-fried egg to get your day started. — Finding breakfast on the streets of Vietnam is simple. Step 1: Find a banh mi stand. The bread is always fresh in the morning and there’s nothing like a deep-fried egg to get your day started.

Step 2: Find yourself a ca phe sua da (Vietnamese iced coffee) vendor. This lady might have made the best one we had on the entire trip despite a very makeshift operation on the sidewalk.

Students in HCMC outside their school on a Saturday. The school week is six days long, but there was extra activity as they celebrated the beginning of a new school year with loud music, loud speeches and general loudness.

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Day 38: Beach, Please!

September 3, 2015 by Robert Haddan

With our long journey winding down, we used our last day in Nha Trang to catch some rays on the beach of Nha Trang Bay. In the distance, we watched the cable cars carry guests to the resort island known as Vinpearl Land.

Authentic civet coffee— better known as Weasel Coffee—is made using partially-digested coffee beans passed through the digestive tract of the Asian palm civet, a weasel-type animal. The real deal is about $30 USD a cup, but most of what you'll find in Vietnamese shops is made artificially and can be had for less than $10 per bag. — Authentic civet coffee— better known as Weasel Coffee—is made using partially-digested coffee beans passed through the digestive tract of the Asian palm civet, a weasel-type animal. The real deal is about $30 USD a cup, but most of what you’ll find in Vietnamese shops is made artificially and can be had for less than $10 per bag.

XQ Hand Embroidery, an open-air art village near the beach in Nha Trang, is a great opportunity to see Vietnamese embroidery art for free in a very cool setting. Multi-colored thread is arranged throughout the village, catching the light like rainbows. Exhibits show different parts of the process used to create photo-realistic works using only thread.

Looking out the doors from XQ Hand Embroidery Village at Nha Trang Beach.

Nearly all of our previous banh mi (Vietnamese baguette sandwiches) experiences, while delicious, were basically a fried egg sandwich. In Nha Trang, we found this woman's cart where she made the sandwiches using vegetarian mock meats she made herself. Better yet, the sandwiches were 10,000 VND each (about 45 cents USD). We ate here a lot. — Nearly all of our previous banh mi (Vietnamese baguette sandwiches) experiences, while delicious, were basically a fried egg sandwich. In Nha Trang, we found this woman’s cart where she made the sandwiches using vegetarian mock meats she made herself. Better yet, the sandwiches were 10,000 VND each (about 45 cents USD). We ate here a lot.

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Day 29: Hanoi in Motion

August 25, 2015 by Robert Haddan

After a week in Hong Kong, we headed west to Hanoi, Vietnam. After an easy flight, we boarded a city bus for a one-hour ride through countryside and small townsーthe only foreigners on board, although nobody seemed to notice. Soon, the roads grew more crowded and motorbikes appeared in droves as we approached Hanoi. We alighted at the final bus stop and walked through Hanoi’s Old Quarter toward our hotel. Along the way, the pace of life at dusk left our photos with blurs representative of the activity on the street.

The facades of the homes throughout northern Vietnam maintain influences from the French colonial era, while the sides of the home are often plain concrete. It's hard not to stop and photograph each of them. — The facades of the homes throughout northern Vietnam maintain influences from the French colonial era, while the sides of the home are often plain concrete. It’s hard not to stop and photograph each of them.

We followed this balloon vendor for a few blocks as he tried to unload one of his many Minions.

He finally made a sale of a red rooster!

Hungry and in street food heaven, we stopped at the first banh mi stand that looked good. Banh mi is like a Vietnamese submarine sandwich, usually made with a pate spread on a fresh baguette topped with meats, shredded daikon (big white Asian radish), cilantro, jalapeños and mayo. We went with the fried egg and a couple local beers, which were served hot from a crate beside the stand.

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