Mot dua tre chân tran - A Barefooted Child

Woke up with only 3 hours of sleep, jet lag is a bitch.

We decided to make our way into the city, see what we can see in the surrounding areas.

I'm still shocked at the amount of scooters there are here. Makes it extremely hard to cross the road, even on crosswalks. They will try to avoid you but they will not stop so your best bet is just to keep walking.

Went past a couple of pagodas, tiered towers, and small temples however we soon realized everything was closed between the hours of 12-2. Vietnamese enjoy their after-lunch naps. You can either find them laying on their scooter, miraculously balancing, or these cafe's that serve food and have several hammocks in place. According to my sister, this nap is essential. She works in the coffee business and during her visits to the plantations, the workers would often find 2 trees and set up their hammock for an hour or two after lunch.

We made our way towards the Reunification Palace. We didn't realize we couldn't even take a stroll through the surrounding parks if we didn't buy a ticket for the museum. Ended up circling around the grounds, taking pictures through the fence. We did however meet a very friendly guard. People in Vietnam are extremely kind.

This is where I took this picture. We were heading away from the palace gates when i saw a little girl wearing yellow pajamas running barefoot across the busy road towards the entrance with her parents strolling behind her. She was adorable. I couldn't help it. Her curiosity made this shot, as she kept on peeping over at me. It was ironic she stood behind a stationed scooter, when one could've injured her 2 seconds earlier...

Stopped for lunch and ordered the traditional Pho soup, tasty. Definitely recommend it. Apparently they have this soup for breakfast, odd but I love love love soup so i'd be pretty happy with that. Also, because it's so popular, it's super cheap. We payed around 2 dollars for a large bowl that came with meat and bean sprouts! Bargain...

Mom headed home, while my sister and I decided to explore the famous shopping malls. Huge, flashy, glamorous and alive. Completely different lifestyle to what we had witnessed just down the road...Sat down for some interesting fruit drinks: Passion Fruit Tea and Pomegranate Green Tea. I'd take the Passion Fruit one next time.

Can't wait for the next 2 weeks.