Sunday in Hue

So we are discovering an interesting thing about the places around our hotel. Most of them are drinking places. So only beer + alcohol. Or like all the cafes we went to in the morning. Only coffee + tea + other drinks. We finally went in one and sat and asked for coffee. Then for bread. They didn't really have bread but they got us some. They were really nice baguettes with sweet butter in them from a place called Ly Baguette. The coffee was delicious! Super strong and sweet, just the way I like it! It seems like we aren't quite getting to switch to a room with a desk and more cupboard space today, which is a little sad but not the end of the world. One more week of living out of a suitcase! 

Getting to Hue

Our trip to Hue was full of adventures. Adventures that began even before our flight took off. We had booked VietJet flights since it is comparatively inexpensive. I definitely had a ton of luggage and was worried about excess baggage but the website told us 32 kgs! Yay because the limit was 23 kgs when I flew from the States and boy did that get me into trouble even with planning. We went to the VietJet counter outside at the terminal to figure out baggage limits and turns it out it was 25 kgs per person and 7 kgs for hand baggage (which they weigh - this is the first time I saw that happening. I think I flew in almost 15 kgs from Minneapolis (at no point could I lift the suitcase I had on person, even with all my muscles and strength). The lady at the counter spoke little English and we, well, we speak no Vietnamese. She kept asking us how much our luggage weighs and we kept saying we need weighing scales and this went on for a while.

Ho Chi Minh: First Impressions

Exercise bikes at a park we walked through.
What a great idea!

Today was spent exploring Ho Chi Minh/Saigon. Our hotel (Meagan and I) is in District 1 and I'd like to think we had an active, yet lazy morning with lots of iced tea and coffee and cold water and a walk around Ben Thanh market that did not end in a single shopping bag. We met and made friends both for lunch and dinner and it was a nice way to be introduced to the city. I haven't been able to enjoy any of the food because of the heat but I will get to it.

Idol at Giac Lam pagoda