At 6 pm we got picked up from our hotel by 13 sweet, smiling and very friendly young Vietnamese gals! They came on their scooters! We were each introduced to our driver/guide, given a helmet and then hopped on the back for the ride of our lives!!! Just the day before we were awestruck as we watched thousands of scooters weaving their way through the streets. Suddenly we were part of that hair raising experience!!!
These young ladies manuevered us skillfully through the maze of traffic, all the while "visiting" with us in very good English! We were all amazed at how comfortable we felt riding with them as it seems to be second nature to the locals. We came to understand that there is truly an "understanding" among the motorists here. They just respect and watch out for each other and it all works without rudeness, hostility or road Rage! Truly amazing!!!
Before long we rolled into a narrow side street and stopped at a small restaurant. We were seated at long tables with each of us sitting opposite of our driver. We were given our choice of drinks and then the food rolled out. The girls explained each dish for us as well as sometimes helping to put the finishing touches on some of the dishes. The food was absolutely amazing!!! We visited and laughed throughout the entire meal.
Soon it was time to get back on the bikes and move along to our next destination. As we rolled through the streets, the girls explained about the ares we were travelling through and pointed out interesting landmarks. Our second stop was at a park where we sat outside and enjoyed another array of interesting and delicious food. This was followed by more riding and stops at two more restaurants. I was beginning to feel like Anthony Bourdain!!!!
At the fourth stop we had a few extra surprises! We were given a demonstration of a crispy rice flour crepe stuffed with pork, shrimp and bean sprouts and cooked over an open flame and then I got the chance to try cooking some. I soon realized what a hot and arduous job that was!!! With our meal at this stop we were treated to three different types of "sticky rice wine". The real highlight was the Balut eating challenge! Balut is a developing duck embryo that is boiled and eaten from the shell! Ew! That is certainly where I draw the line but I have to give credit to Jane, Paula, Barb, Dave and Barry for being brave enough to give it a try!!! Way to go!!
Our final stop was for dessert. We were served fresh fruit, coconut ice cream with mango and white sticky rice and coconut ice cream with black sticky rice and frozen yogurt with hibiscus. What a lovely way to top off a great evening!
They delivered us, safe and sound, back to our hotel at 10:30. We ended with a group picture and lots of hugs! It was an adventure that none of us will ever forget!! I would highly recommend this experience to anyone that plans to visit HCMC!!!!
I will post pictures tomorrow as I am exhausted and need some sleep. Check back to see the pictures!!
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