Tuesday, February 4, 2025 - Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam (Day 2)

Today we took a tour of the coffee culture.  The purpose of our tour was to let us experience the different types and methods of preparing coffee in the city.  As we wound our way through the crowded streets we dodged our way around thousands of people on the streets as pedestrians and motor scooters weaved in front of, behind, between and around each other.  It was absolutely bizarre to see so many motor scooters on the roads driving in every direction.  They were everywhere.  In fact, we were told that there are 15 million motor scooters and 10 million people in the country.  They completely surrounded the cars and buses as they somehow managed to navigate around one another without colliding.  They seemed to drive without an ounce of fear or intimidation  by the buses or cars, who are often a couple of inches from them.  One of our guides told us that there are four requirements for driving in Ho Chi Minh:  1) good nerves, 2) good heart, 3) good brakes, and 4) good luck!!!  Drivers cut in front of huge buses and cars when there doesn't appear to be a space.  I'm still trying to find out where the stop signs are located!! There were times when it seemed like just a free for all on the streets!!!

I was greatly relieved when our bus finally came to a stop.  However, my relief was soon replaced with sheer terror when I realized we had to cross the street to reach the coffee shop! I held onto my walker, prepared to hold it up it a motorized anything got too close (not sure what good that would do except ruin the walker).  Anyway, everyone has instructed us to just keep walking slowly across the street.  Don't stop.  Don't change your pace.  Don't run.  Don't change direction.  (Try not to poop your pants)! Actually, I added to that list as I crossed.  Don't look up at the traffic!  Just keep looking down at the street, watching every step, which was critical since the pavement was so uneven, cracked and full of potholes.  I was a happy camper when we reached the other side of the street safely.  Now, onto my tour.  

Before we stopped for coffee we had a "quick" walking tour of the city.  Their perception of a "quick" tour and mine were somewhat different. My idea of a quick tour is a block or two and theirs is more than 30 minutes.  I wondered if they noticed that their group consisted of a bunch of old folks, 70+ years old, with many using canes and walkers.  At any rate, we walked down the streets to the first "coffee shop" our guide wanted to point out.  It was a small group of people sitting on very low stools on the sidewalk.  Evidently, when a person sits down, that indicates to the shop "owner" that they want to buy a cup of coffee.  Their order is taken and the owner runs down the street to buy the coffee, then returns with it.  The buyer then pays for the coffee with a small add-on amount for the "runner." Our guide told us that these businesses are mostly illegal since the owners have no business license but they are everywhere on the city streets and have thousands of customers every day.  We finally re-boarded the bus and headed for our next stop, which was to be at an actual coffee shop. I was just relieved we were back on the bus where we could relax for a few moments.

In just a few minutes we arrived at the lovely Lua Coffee Shop, with a lovely entrance filled with antiques purchased by the owner.  There was a relaxing courtyard filled with green plants and vibrant blossoms.  As we entered the shop and walked through to a room towards the back, there were a variety of interesting posters and antique items on display.  Our guide told us that this collection is the most extensive in the city and has been featured in magazines.  

Last time were were in this country we discovered a fabulous coffee drink and wondered if it was available here.  It's referred to as "salt coffee."  Not sure what the ingredients are but it is absolutely delicious.  

I'll have to do a bit of research and see if I can find it elsewhere, or maybe even at home.   We spent a little while drinking coffee and enjoying conversation with our other tour members.  It was a small group today, with only about 17 people, so it was very comfortable.  

We re-boarded our bus and headed for our last coffee stop before we stopped for lunch.  The bus stopped on a busy street and we walked down quite a hectic alley to a cutout in one of the buildings where a space had been made into a take-out coffee shop.  This stop, "Kong Coffee" has been operating for 70 years as a family owned business, passed down from grandma to mom to daughter.  The little stall made coffee by the drip method with ground coffee but I got the feeling that there were still some fillers.  Our guide, however, told us that it was still mainly coffee.  

There were enough small children's stools in a small covered space across the street for all of us to sit while we waited for our coffee but thankfully I had the seat on my walker so I was comfortable.  Unfortunately, everyone else had to sit on the small, uncomfortable stools. Although it took a while for everyone to be served, and there were many errors in the coffee ordered by our group, we enjoyed having time to talk with one another and find out a little more about each other.

Soon we were off to our next stop.  After a few active hours we were now going to stop at the Pho Restaurant and Coffee Shop for chicken noodle soup, or "pho" as they called it.  It was a lovely place filled with locals and felt very comfortable.  No one spoke English but they had printed menus we could read. It was very crowded but we had reserved a large table so we had a comfortable place to sit.  When the soup arrived, it looked delicious.  It had large slices of chicken mixed with long, paper thin rice noodles and vegetables.  We all thoroughly enjoyed our soup and drinks and appreciated the time for conversation with fellow passengers.  

Once we were finished with our meal we walked back to our waiting bus and drove back to our ship.  Once again it was at least an hour drive so many people fell asleep.  Although we have another overnight stay here, we sail at 1:00 p.m. tomorrow and with the long bus ride we probably won't make it back into town.  So, after another visit, it's time to say goodbye to this spectacular city.  

 

This is our last stop in Vietnam so now after another sea day tomorrow, we will arrive in Singapore.  This is another very exciting city and we are looking forward to our visit.  We already have a visit to a favorite restaurant planned for dim sum!!!  We later discovered that our favorite din sum restaurant-Black Society is no longer in the Singapore mall.   Also, our cruise line has a special event planned specifically for world cruisers so our time in lovely Singapore should be fabulous.