Mekong Delta Tour - My Tho Day trip

Saigon - At 8:30am, the tour guide arrives and met us at the Hotel Lobby.   We are off on another adventure to the Mekong Delta.

Scenary around My Tho Jetty

Shops at My Tho Jetty

Susan and Quin enjoying the breeze

Unicorn Island Jetty

First Stop, Bee farm and then enjoying the extracts of the Bee.  Honey, Royal Jelly and Pollen.

Pax trying Pollen on a tea spoon

2nd Stop, Coconut Candy factory.  Everything of the coconut is used and nothing goes to waste.

Signboard to the entrance of the coconut candy factory

Husk is used as fuel

Stiring the soft coconut candy mxture

Result of stiring and heating

Workers cutting the soft candy to size

Workers packing them into commerical boxes

Other uses of coconut

Coconut byproduct made into cups adn teapots

3rd Stop, we get to taste some Vietnamese fruits

Papaya, Pineapple, Dragonfruit, Pomelo and Logans

Quin and Trev enjoying the fruits

Nha Hang Ngon Restaurant in Saigon

HCMC - It was free and easy for us today and we went to Saigon's Chinatown - Colon and the Binh Tay market.   It took more than 30 minutes via taxi.   Finally, we reach Binh Tay market and it's crowded and it's a wholesale market.  

Bags and Bags for sale

Rows displayed tit bits

Yummy delicious sour prune and many sweets

Lunch at a nearby restaurant

Freshly cooked clams

Nha Hang Ngon Restaurant
For dinner, I brought my family to one of the best restaurant in HCMC.  I love the food here.  It is more expensive than outside food but the ambiance and the wide variety is excellent.  We had our usual Pho and fresh spring rolls.  But the desert tasted like our Chendol.

Location @ 160 Pasteur Street, Ho Chi Minh City

Quin on his Chendol

This restaurant has an outside kitchen which is very cool.

This stall makes all the desert

Open Kitchen concept

Cu Chi Tunnel Tour

Cu Chi Tunnel - After our lunch we travel to the site of Cu Chi Tunnel.   This will be my 2nd visit to Cu Chi Tunnel.  

The tunnels of Củ Chi are an immense network of connecting underground tunnels located in the Củ Chi district of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam, and are part of a much larger network of tunnels that lies under much of the country. The Củ Chi tunnels were the location of several military campaigns during the Vietnam War, and were the Viet Cong's base of operations for the Tết Offensive in 1968.

The tunnels were used by Viet Cong guerrillas as hiding spots during combat, as well as serving as communication and supply routes, hospitals, food and weapon caches and living quarters for numerous guerrilla fighters. The role of the tunnel systems should not be underestimated in its importance to the Viet Cong in resisting American operations and protracting the war, eventually culminating in an American withdrawal.

Paxton in one of the small tunnel

Trev in one of the entrance to the tunnel

Quin in the entrance to the tunnel

Tour Guide briefing our family

One of VietCong deadly traps

Another one of Vietcong traps

VietCong soldiers at work sawing the American bombs

After the Cu Chi Tour - Tea scented with Pandan leaves

Interesting souvenirs made from drinking cans

Cao Dai Temple

Pax admiring the Chrismas Tree

HCMC - I organised a private land tour to Cao Dai and Cu Ci Tunnel for my family for USD 292.50.  We are to meet at 9am in the Hotel Lobby.  Renissance have a beautiful Christmas Tree in their lobby.

Within a short time, our Tour Guide arrives and off we went to Cao Dai Temple.  Just outside Tay Nihn and 60 miles northwest of Ho Chi Minh City is the Great Temple or Holy See, the center of the intriguing Cao Dai sect. Cao Dai is a syncretist Vietnamese religious movement that incorporates aspect of Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism and even Catholicism.  The Cao Dai Temple (as it is more commonly known) was begun in 1933 in a unique architectural style that reflects its blended traditions.  

The Cao Dai Temple has a beautiful garden manicured tirelessly by worshippers.    We can see many worshippers sweeping the outside compound.   

  

My family at the Steps of the Cao Cai Temple

Worshippers all in white

The Cao Dai Temple

After the tour of the Cao Dai Temple, it was about time for lunch. Our tour agent brought us to a restaurant that served simple Vietnamese food. Small portions of many dishes which we get to shared amongst us.

This dish is like 'Mi Tai Mak'

Fried food - sausages and friters

Instant noodle with vegetables and seafood

Curry pork with french loaf

  

Fried chicken with white rice

Vegetable soup

Plate of Fruits

Courtyard of the restaurant

After our lunch, we got permission from the restaurant owner to have a walk around the restaurant and got to see their courtyard and kitchen.

Garat Market

Seoul - For dinner, our business partners Mr Lee and Lim brought us to Garak Fish Market or Garak-dong Agricultural Market is an extensive  fish market in the neighborhood of Garak-dong in Songpa-gu, Seoul, South Korea.

We had to walk through the market and at so late in the night, there is still a large number of people selling fresh seafood.  We walk and walk and pass the fishmongers and came to an area designated for dining.   It had big plastic sheet insulator to prevent cold winter wind from entering the dinning area.  The food is so fresh and good. 

There is still buzz late at night

Fish monger hawking her fresh fishes

Guess??

Apetitizer - Seaweed with preserved fish

First course of our meal

This is the 'Sashimi' - freshly cut and served 

My 72nd trip to Seoul

Seoul - Arrived at around 3:15pm and by the time I reach my Hotel room it was around 5pm.  YJ will come to the Courtyard Seoul Times Square at around 6pm.   The weather is cold around 3 degrees celcius.  My children found the wonder of video chatting and it's FREE.   At a fixed time, we 'fired' up our Gmail and it was such an experience for them to see me via Video.

Had to say good bye as I have a dinner to catch with Kevin @ Jiho Korean Family restaurant.

Kevin serving us water