Lunch at the Pho Binh Café

There are way too many things to see in Saigon, and heaven knows if I'll ever get to see them all. This particular pho shop was in my guidebook, and the two or three sentences that followed the name had me completely smitten.  This was just a place we had to see. Chuck as usual, was all atwitter about what kind of place is this, and who goes there, and what not. 

We took a cab there, since I had no clue where it was, and since it wasn't within District One, I didn't want to waste time getting there. And so this is what we saw when we arrived at destination. 

Motorbikes are always parked either on the sidewalk, or inside the shops. Actually, at the Indochine Hotel, they had 3 of them parked in the reception area. It was not very crowded inside, but the entire area around the restaurant was bustling. Chuck was definitely antsy, but I got a bit closer to check the noodle stand outside the premises. After our second trip to Vietnam, it was a foregone conclusion that you cannot have a bad bowl of pho, no matter where you eat it. 

Now doesn't that look yummy? If you don't know it, pho noodles are rice based, therefore much lighter than wheat based noodles and very easily digested. Vietnamese have pho any time of the day, including breakfast. We did go inside, and I wanted to insure that we had found the right place.

The man who owned this pho shop played host to both American soldiers and Viet Cong during the American War, and his son has amassed quite a collection of pictures and citations in the name of his father. As we were the only Westerners in the shop, a tall man came toward us and for lack of understanding each other, I showed him the guide book, and he immediately understood what I meant. He showed us to a table, and returned with many albums. 

There was obviously tremendous pride in what Ngo Toai had done during the war, and his pho shop rose to prominence, but he absolutely refused to give his tables and chairs and any of his war memorabilia to the War Museum. The restaurant floors beg for a good scrubbing, but it is with reverence that one enters the premises.

these tables and chairs are witnesses to the men who fought

during the war and came here for a bowl of pho

Here we are below, completely captivated with reading and looking and pictures, while enjoying the best bowl of pho ever, and I squeezed as much lime as I could find into it. 

If you look at the picture on the right, above are two framed certificates. I was able to capture on camera a close up of the larger one, and the other one has a photo of Ngo Toai with American soldiers eating in his soup kitchen. Many wrote him letters after they went back home. The newspaper clippings are stained and in some disrepair, but they are a greater source of pride as they are written in English.

  There are certificates on the wall bearing the red communist star; medals are photographed but now shown.  When the war ended, Ngo Toai returned to his beloved noodle shop and continued to serve his magical brew. It seems the menu has not changed much since that day. Heartwarming are the photos of U.S. veterans who returned to this shop, and have their arms around the old man. 

 

how priceless is this? 

The Reuters article above provocatively begins this way: “ In the early years of the Viet Nam war, Ngo Toai lived a double life: seller of noodles to U.S. personnel and surreptitious revolutionary”. And of course, you read on. Apparently, a few days following the Tet offensive, a South Vietnamese tried to kill Ngo Toai, but somehow he escaped death only to find life imprisonment and torture instead.

 

the circled area of the page talks about the liberation of Toai

As you can read, Toai was captured and tortured; our guide to the Mekong Delta would later inform us that many people were sent for "re-education". I leave it to your imagination to figure this out.

The shop served as a front for the undercover command post from which the plan for the Tet offensive was devised. After the war, foreign tourists would pay up to $13/night to put their heads on a pillow in the very area that served as a gathering place for the Viet Cong. I regret that we didn't decide to do likewise, but we had quite an itinerary on this first trip, which had been set back somewhat due to an unexpected food poisoning episode.

All things aside, this café does serve a wicked pho. They also have "bia", which is the Vietnamese word for "beer" , which actually came from the French word "bière". 

the view from inside the restaurant

you can see the parked motorbikes inside

The Rex Hotel

We did not stay at the Rex Hotel, however, it's impossible to come to Saigon and not visit this place, if only because it served as a base for US journalists during the war. This was the place of intrigue and espionage, where the military would come to take respite and perhaps find solace.

The hotel was built by the French originally as a garage for Renault in the 1950's. In the 1990's , it underwent a massive renovation and today, though it might be considered a luxury hotel, it has a bit of gaudiness to it. The façade is quite regal (aptly as the name implies), but as we circled around the building, and looked at some of its walls, it was strange to notice a full length ad for a Beatles-like concert, with an admission of US$35pp.

The Rex is minutes away from the City's People Committee Office, an extraordinary building with its own history, as well as the Opera House, posh Dong Khoi Street where you can shop till you turn blue, and overlooking Ho Chi Minh City Park, a stretch of green with lovely flowers with Uncle Ho's statue at one of the park's ends. It's right in the city center, along with other major hotels, so you are really in District 1 where you want to be.

One of the hotel's claims to fame is its rooftop bar, which we didn't see, but it is heavily advertised within the hotel itself, and of course, I picked up a postcard/brochure, below.

The photo was in bright colors but I decided to modify into sepia tone, as it fit the image of a refuge during war times. This is the place where the memories still remain, of the famous “Five O’clock Follies” where the international correspondents were covering the Vietnam war. What was that? The "Five O’clock Follies” was the name given to Saigon press briefings during the war, and as one blogger said it: "It became famous because of lines like, "We had to destroy the village in order to save it."

On the bright side of things, Newsweek called this the best rooftop bar in Southeast Asia. (1996). There are several other restaurants and bars in the hotel, notably the Hoa Mai Restaurant which serves Vietnamese and French Cuisine, the Cung Dinh Restaurant that offers 3 different types of regional Vietnamese Cuisine, a shushi bar, and coffee lounge and the Rose Garden, which is geared toward large capacity events.

As we made our way through the entrance, I began to understand the word "kitsch". This seating area is quite lovely, but I am not sure it is enhanced by these enormous ivory tusks, which say nothing about Vietnamese culture. Right next to this was a huge aquarium with some of the most exotic fish I had ever seen. At one time in my life, I had 5 of these in an apartment, so you can imagine that I know something about fish. You can actually stare at them for hours and never tire.

This one looks more like a flower or some sort of painted marigold than a fish. The other one has characteristics of an angel fish, but with more rounded fins, and of course, color!!!

One of the other pieces of publicity I picked up in my ramblings around the hotel was about the Mimosa Club, which is located on the 6th floor. You need membership, but it looks like it has things that dreams are made of. A sauna (not the wet kind, the dry kind with wonderful wood panels), a swimming pool which someone had mentioned was too small, a gym, a jacuzzi which is my favorite and a tennis court. I may be overruled here, but I can't see myself playing tennis in this kind of heat. There is also a beauty salon and massage...the stuff of aahhhhhh's. Preview below.

Now you know as much as about the Rex as I do. If you click on the link above, you'll be taken to their website where you can view accommodations, pricing, etc..However, one can usually get much better pricing going through an agency.

Along Hai Thuong Lan Ong Street

This is what you'd call the main drag in the Cholon area of District # 5. It's a street that appears endless, and filled with people and merchandise every which way you look. I present a collage of some of the photos taken that day so as to give you a true feeling of the bustle of the area. Everything and anything is happening, right down to the red traffic light.

It's also a shopper's haven, as you can find just about anything you might be looking. When we left the market, we started to walk around, and lo and behold, there was a jewelry store with watches. Though I cannot explain it, I can tell you that Chuck has an insatiable appetite for watches, and if he would wear all those that he purchased in the last thirteen or so years, they would go up his arm and around his neck, all the way down his other arm. But you know what they say about lemons, - and I sure made lemonade that day. I found the daintiest, sweetest pair of silver earrings with posts, and of course, in Saigon, they actually help you try them on, as you can see. We lingered in there for a long time, most likely because they had a fan in the shop.

For about US$10 (or 155,000 dong), we were able to get a 32 inch, red cloth suitcase with wheels which came in very handy. Of course, there is truth to the saying that you get what you pay for, and we only needed this valise to last until we returned to the states with our collection of treasures, so it served the purpose. Naturally, there will be higher quality goods if you need them, but then, don't come for them at Cho Bin Tay. I actually dragged this thing without minding too much, as I relished at the idea of all the things I could now remove from the hotel floor, closet, and plastic bags and just pack away.

Here's an interesting piece of trivia for you. Hai Thuong Lan Ong Street is known as "medicine street" in Saigon's Chinatown. We are not speaking of medicine in Western terms, but rather in Chinese traditional, where exotic scents and plants and barks are sold out of huge burlap sacks to cure whatever ails you. In the previous post on the indoor market, I did show some very exotic and saffron looking pieces of bark which are used for medicinal purposes.

Actually many of the very same mushrooms and dried bananas and other animal parts which are believed to have multi-purpose medicinal effects are found in our own Chinatown in New York. And also in the slightly larger San Francisco Chinatown. Some of those dried banana cakes showed up on our trip to the My Tho Fruit market. I can tell you that these mixtures worked for me when I was suffering with severe knee problems which had me on crutches for several months; the only drawback was the agonizing taste and horrible smell.

With all the activity and going about the business of life and trade, don't expect people to give you smiles and greet you as they might on Hai Ba Trung Street. The Cholonese are very busy people, and especially those that are in the indoor market, as competition is quite stiff.

What is also an interesting mix of old and not so old, are the ancient, crumbling shops on the lower levels and street levels, topped by the pastel colored, gaudy multiple story buildings. Here are a couple of examples:

the pink and yellow just don't make a very attractive combination

but there is always someone working on repairing, painting, patching or fixing

Here you get a better sense of the juxtaposition of the

shops and the colorful apartments that top them

This is a very typical dwelling: a balcony, laundry lines and always potted plants

Essential to Chinese life and tradition are the festivals and costumes which accompany them. Especially around Tet, the New Year Celebration, dressing up as a dragon is de rigueur. You will find all that is necessary here for the party.

There are lanterns that are covered with silk fabric and in the prerequisite red color; also for the New Year are the traditional master calligraphers along this street with their huge brushes with which they expertly spell out their goodwill messages.

Cholon is also home to several pagodas and temples which we did not have time to visit, but will look up on our next trip. And as will all Chinatowns, anywhere in the world, food is something to be samples and savored. As always, sport good walking shoes and stay hydrated.

Cho Binh Tay - Chinatown Market

Every city in the world most likely has its Chinatown. And Saigon is no exception. The character of the market is quite different than Cho Ben Thanh, but it is surrounded by some beautiful parks and architecture that beckons one to slow down from the seemingly endless madness and bustle one finds inside its perimeters.

Do a cab as it's faster and provides some relief from the heat, which can become unbearable. If you just say Cholon (the word means big market), they will immediately know what you are talking about. Cholon refers to the district where allegedly the world's largest "Chinatown" is found.

An estimated one million people live here, and have their shops and foods and all things ethnically Chinese. In sharp contrast with District 1 where we were staying, which has modern, high rise buildings, Cholon in District 5 provides a time warp that may take you back a few hundred years. Which makes it all the more exciting.

Let's go through the market and continue on outside where a sitting area is available, but the only people we saw sitting were children. The adults appear to have way too much to do to spend any of their time out here. But it's lovely and reminiscent of some of the topiary we had seen on the grounds of the Grand Palace in Bangkok (albeit on a very very much smaller scale). All of the elements for harmony and balance are found; water, beautiful foliage, huge urns where joss sticks are burning continuously, as offering to the spirits, or to keep the evil spirits away. And for more protection, the requisite dragons are in full form, black stone and menacing.

All around the area, you will see pagodas, temples and monasteries built by the Chinese to accommodate the influx of their people into Vietnam. They have their own clan associations, which allow them to respond to their own cultural and religious needs.

An interesting bit of a trivia is that even though the Vietnamese have dubbed the area as Cholon, the Chinese refer to it as "ti-an", which means enbankment. Some of the temples and institutions which were built in the area date back to the French occupation, and others predate it.

When you've had enough fresh air, head back inside the market and start navigating the aisles. They have separated durable goods from consumables, which makes a lot of sense. There is also an upper level with more shops, that are in reality similar to stalls. Most have goods stacked to the ceiling, in certain cases very neatly, and in worst cases, very helter-skelter. The next few pictures will give you an idea of optimization of space. These people have mastered the art.

this is the upper level of the market seen from below

the market shows its age through one of the tiles in front of the hat displays

If I recall accurately, we did buy a suitcase here, after doing some price comparisons, which , are you will find are not necessary here. By our standards, most if not all prices are ridiculously low, and one tends to get caught up in the enormity of the number of dongs rather than their value. 150 thousand dongs is only US$10. Unfortunately, no matter how many times you do the math, you still get sticker shock. At one point, Chuck had a brilliant idea, and devised his own tables of dollars versus dongs. It did help us with the rest of the trip.

Cuisine is one of the most exciting things to sample, and it's no secret that the Chinese represent one of the three top world cuisines. The other two are French and Italian. At Ben Tay Market, you can not only browse the aisles for purchasing foods, but you can watch people cooking and eating whatever the day's menu brings. The colors and smells will transport you to another world. In some cases, I had absolutely no idea what was in front of me, but I was nevertheless mesmerized by the colors and sheer quantity of variety.

the only thing I can identify here are the scallion pancakes on the extreme right-yummy

they love chilies in this country, and it's the death of me.

of course, everything is absolutely fresh

If I had to guess, I'd say these were mushrooms

The colors here would make an artist drool; the middle pile looks like tiny shrimp

So now you have a preview of a small slice of life in Cholon. Don't wait too long before you visit.

Saigon, the city that hardly sleeps

It was once the capital of South Vietnam, but since reunification, it has ceded to HaNoi, its sister city in the North. However, Saigon is sassier, sexier, faster, turbulent, sultry, and on a path to becoming one of the must-do destinations of Southeast Asia. I haven't seen enough of it, but the people of Ho Chi Minh City (most people in the South still call it Saigon) left an indelible impression on me.

These last few weeks, I have witnessed more reporting on Vietnam in the media than ever before. In July of 2009, we will celebrate 14 years of diplomatic relations with Vietnam. A fantastic journey was featured on Link TV recently called "The Reunification Express" which symbolically represents the end of the Vietnam war with America and the re-uniting of the North and Southern parts of the country.

On board the Reunification Express, you'll see a lot of farmland and friendly people

But it also signals that despite this union, the North and South maintain different habits and ideas. The train itself is the link between Vietnam's major cities, Hanoi and Saigon. We took that train, and I was on board again every minute of the broadcast. At times, I had tears in my eyes, because everything I saw on the screen was deja-vu.

photo: it takes 36 hours from north to south, so they have to feed you.

This entire week, a news broadcast which I have started to watch religiously called "World Focus" is featuring a 4-part series on Vietnam. This is a wonderful lesson for those who still think of Vietnam as a former enemy country, with people who hate us. It couldn't be further from the truth. Vietnam is too busy growing and moving forward, and 3/4 of its population was born after the war. They aspire to visit us, link with us, and speak our language.

I will never forget this woman I met at the Qing Café

In the meantime, I aspire to see Saigon. I miss Saigon. I miss the grandeur of the Continental Hotel, even though in its company are other 4 and 5 star hotels. But they are all too Western for me and reflect little of what I long for by way of Indochina. War correspondents will tell you that this hotel was one of a few that sheltered the media during the war coverage.

the balconies at the Hotel Continental

The others were the Rex Hotel which is within walking distance, and the Caravelle, where Chuck and I spent our last evening in Saigon on its terrace looking down on the lit streets, sipping on fruited cocktails and listening to live music. Finally, the Majestic Hotel, which we did not visit, hosted war reporters and spies during that infamous war.

An evening at the Caravelle rooftop

Every report and every video of Saigon will never miss to show what fun it is to cross the street. I say fun now, but my first attempt at getting across Hai Ba Trung was heart stopping. Here's a piece of advice: if you hesitate, you will never get to your destination. Therefore, do look at the oncoming vehicles (mostly cyclos, motorbikes and bicycles) and start walking. They will go around you, even though you feel death at your door. After a few tries, it becomes second nature..like brushing your teeth.

They will never stop coming, so you'd better cross that street

What might be a bit scarier than negotiating street crossing is riding a cyclo. The men who drive them think it's very funny to launch their passengers into oncoming traffic, head on. I speak from experience. I have not tallied the accidents which may have happened with these cyclos, but it wouldn't surprise me to find some. Most cyclos only accommodate one person, even though we taxed a poor driver in the city of Hue, and were completely squeezed into his cart. We made it, but I think he must have been exhausted.

Tree lined Le Loi Avenue

Le Loi Avenue is grand for walking (avoid in extreme heat, because even though you may feel enthusiastic, you will be in a coma the next day,-again experience speaking here). From our hotel, it is quite a long walk, but our eyes tried to capture snapshots and slices of life all the way until we reached the Ben Tranh market.
This is the country's largest, has an outdoor section, and sells everything you need, and some things you've never heard of. Its endless aisles and sub-aisles are an amazing grid of activity, and we felt so welcomed by everyone despite communication handicaps. It's a joy to see people faces light up when you say you are from America.

photo: Vietnamese women are a crucial part of the workforce.

A concert on the steps of the Opera House in Nam Lon Square

The Opera House in Nam Lon Square is host to many events. They had a concert in the open air one Sunday, and on another weekend, they were holding a marathon. Next visit, I would love to go inside and see something cultural.

And if you want trendy, chic, and the very latest in fashions, amble down Don Khoi Street. You might want to plan a couple of hours, as it is impossible to resist going into every single shop you come across. I had my eye on a silk dress that was just regal in its design and simplicity. I purchased a couple of purses made of what seemed to be mother of pearl rectangles. A year later, I found the very same purses in Manhattan. A small world indeed. And among all the hooplah is the Paris Deli café, where Chuck and I met one of his corresponding buddies. He had been kind in recommending a hotel for us upon landing, and it was the right mixture of economy and authentic Vietnamese not spoiled too much by Western touches. Of course, there was internet; on the mezzanine floor of the hotel, we had free access as part of the room price.
I'll take you to the War Remembrance Museum (above photo) which is impossible to miss. And the Women's Museum which talks about Southern Vietnam's heroic women. We'll visit the pet market, and walk by the Headquarters of the People's Committee in Nguyen Hue Square, which was built by the French. We'll go to an authentic pho restaurant where a hero lived and sheltered the resistance. We will also meander around Saigon Plaza for a lesson in the modern mall and tourism attraction. And if you like books, as I do, the Fahasa chain of bookstores is there to serve you. We'll check a few restaurants and I will reveal to you the quality of health care, just in case you come down with food poisoning. Bring good hiking boots and ensure you are well equipped with bottled water. Diet coke is hard to come by and costs more than regular.

photo: statue of Ho Chi Minh in Nguyen Hue Square; in the background the Headquarters of the People's Committee

See you in Saigon.