Good Morning Vietnam

Ho Chi Min City

12.29.2011 - 12.29.2011 87 °F

Starting the day with a heavenly breakfast " Park Hyatt" style

Park Hyatt inside grounds

Coconut water, good for you

Extraordinary handicraft, at far they look like paintings and the details are incredible

visiting the National Museum

Then a stop for lunch in Quan an Ngon Restaurant

" Ngon" means delicious and for authentic Vietnamese cuisine this is the place to go, the atmosphere here is chaotic, a discord of laughing, chattering guests and clanging pots and pans. The seating is a mix of regular table dining in the central colonial, in the balcony or the courtyard. The french colonial building is surrounded by cooking stations, each serving a regional specialty.

Specialties such as shrimp-mince pork grilled on a sugar cane, rice steam rolls, fried crab spring rolls, clams, shrimps, beef, pho, fresh spring rolls and the list goes on and on

My favorite..... spring roll

A visit to Phuoc Hai or Emperor Jade Pagoda, One of the most interesting pagodas in Vietnam, the Emperor Jade is filled with smoky incense and fantastic carved figurines. It was built by the Cantonese community around the turn of the 20th century and is still buzzing with worshipers, many lounging in the front gardens.

The Cathedral right in the city center

Time for some Vietnamese coffee on top of the Rex Hotel for view of the city

and into a great evening looking down

Mrs. Astrid contemplating the evening.....

after the coffee we are ready for a little evening stroll

Ready for a great dinner with a wonderful family at Square One at the Park Hyatt

Most delicious dinner

The Zilber's .....a beautiful family