APRIL 2014 : Ho Chi Minh City : Day 2

Up early and into the hustle and bustle of the city. Driving towards the Opera House we noticed a lot of traffic and activity.

             

Upon closer inspection we discovered a group of traditional musicians, giving a concert at 8am.

        

Our first introduction to Vietnamese culture and history was Sophie's Art Tour. www.sophiesarttour.com It is a 4 hour tour organised by a young, articulate English woman and looks at the major shifts in the twenty and twenty-first centuries in Vietnam through artists' eyes. Traditional, French influence, propaganda and modern art. We visited the HCMC Fine Art Museum and some local galleries, which gave us a strong understanding of influences from the seventeenth century.

                                        

We met at a local restaurant for the beginning of the tour. A restaurant that was originally a beautiful home with the large garden, enclosed and under cover.

Sculptures outside the Fine Art Museum. The museum was originally a large home of a wealthy Chinese merchant but was abandoned with the overthrow of the South in the 1970s. It even has a ghost! A sad story. The family had several daughters. The youngest contracted leprosy which could not be treated so the merchant built an exquisite bedroom in one of the attic rooms, with a n opening to pass food etc. Apparently it was a very painful disease but no doctor could be found to treat her. Her screams could be heard throughout the neighbourhood. She died at a young age and her ghost is still purported to roam the corridors.

This is Sophie with a large lacquered piece, famously Vietnamese process, demonstrating the propaganda artwork of the twentieth century.

                                       

Then down another deep and dark alley.

           

Upstairs we discovered a gorgeous cafe and shop, L'Usine. Western food and great atmosphere.

        

Piers had organised the ultimate experience for dinner. The Vespa Street Stall tour. www.vietnamvespaadventures.com

We met the other 60 guests at the aptly-named Zoom Cafe for a refreshing drink and to meet our hostess and Vespa drivers, groups of about 6.

 

        

         

Off we went into a balmy evening with the death-defying antics of the city's bikers.

       

First stall specialised in seafood and......

                                      

.....Frogs!  More like toads....but delicious...just like chicken.

      

The second was Vietnamese pancakes. Thin rice flour pancakes with a range of fillings - seafood, beef, bean sprouts, herbs and sauces.

                                      

                                                              Filling,fresh and tasty!

      

Then we were taken upstairs (down another alley) to an intimate music venue where various singers sang with violin and piano accompaniment - traditional Vietnamese folk songs and modern English R&B numbers.

       

The final surprise was a loud disco bar! Gotta love the contrasts.

Fun,fun,fun,

M&M