Vietnam: Arrival - Day 1

We arrived in Vietnam on Tuesday evening. It definitely was a grueling day of travel without showers and there was nothing I wanted more than to shower and rest comfortably. Trying to sleep on the plane is, at best, uncomfortable. Unfortunately, everyone was already irritated/annoyed as there was some miscommunication between my mom, her sister (my Aunt) and the arrival/pick up time. So while we waited, we kept our eyes on our luggage and looked out for pick-pockets as we were warned repeatedly about.

Once our Aunt arrived, we packed into a van and headed to the hotel where she rented us a couple of rooms for the night to drop our stuff and settle in. Excuse the "blurry" photos, but I was so fascinated by the traffic. Motorbikes are the main mode of transportation for everyone and I had to try and capture it.

Notice this guy below as he attempts to cross the street in the middle of traffic.

 

So, after we got to our room we headed back out to get something to eat. It was a place literally right down the street so we walked over there and had our first taste of pho in Vietnam! Notice in this pic, there are no "doors", it literally is a walk up open space. Our cousin is in purple and the "cart" is where the food is stored to make our soup.

Here is everyone sitting down waiting for our order. Notice on the right, the microwave and next to that a small fridge. Yes, that IS the "kitchen".

The stove. Our soup was being warmed up!

Here's a clearer pic of the fridge/microwave, aka "the kitchen". One thing they don't have is a lot of cold storage. Drinks were warm and they provided glasses/cups with ice to accompany your drink. This was also the case for beer. :)

Imagine my shock of the condition of this "restaurant". Me, of spoiled American origin of standards and health codes. I remember looking at my BFF, J - who also gave me the same look - "Uh oh. Should we be scared? Should we be eating here?" In the end, I did of course eat (I think that's all I did this whole trip) because, here I was in VIETNAM and as the saying goes "When in Rome..." right?

Just a little side note: The pho was ok. My mom makes a MUCH MUCH better pot/bowl of pho.

Stay tuned for the next post: Our hotel room...