7/1 Ho Chi Minh City

As promised, Tuay drove me to the airport at 5:30am, and he even woke me up because my alarm hadn't gone off for some reason. We made it with plenty of time, after seeing what I believe was a fatal motorbike accident on the highway. I'd been told that I'd see one during my time in Thailand since there are so many of them, but this was my first and it rattled me a little.
I was harassed by a Hungarian girl at the airport about Americans being crazy, an argument I wasn't ready to have at 6:30am.
The visa process in Vietnam was relatively painless and I easily found Chris in the mob outside the airport. Chris and Mimi are living in a really nice apartment building in a very central location. The Reunification Palace is across the street, and the other big attractions are within walking distance. I took some time to make some plans for the upcoming days, then we walked to a spot for lunch. We had some tasty spring rolls with crabs from the Mekong River, along with some fresh leafy greens and vermicelli noodles. Ee also each had an avocado shake, which sounds gross but is actually pretty tasty. They're made with sweet condensed milk, so it's sweet and avocado-y at the same time. Mimi was able to join us during her lunch break.
After lunch I ventured out to the touristy stops of HCMC. The first site was the Reunification Palace. It's an odd 70s type building, built to be very modern but now appears very retro. It was the headquarters for South Vietnam until the North Vietnamese too Saigon and broke down the gates if the palace with a tank. The English tour was free, and I would have learned a lot more except for an annoying group of American college students that wouldn't shut up. The basement of the palace was the most interesting since it was built in case the rest of the building was cut off. It could withstand a bomb and had a completely separate radio system that could connect with Washington. I wandered around the park outside the palace where they have the famous tank on display.

I next visited the French-style cathedral and post office, eventually ending up at HCMC's tallest building, the Bitexco Tower. I drank a beer and watched the sunset over the city from the 52nd floor, then met Chris and Mimi for dinner.
Dinner was delicious, with some steamed clams, a shrimp-type pancake wrapped in lettuce, and some other things I don't remember.

Photo album: https://picasaweb.google.com/108933817613007660268/20130702HoChiMinhCity?authuser=0&feat=directlink