The street food in Vietnam was amazing. If I had skipped it, I would of missed out on a huge part of the culture. My favorite things were the fried hard boiled quail eggs on a skewer.
This was my favorite street vendor in Da Nang. He had the quail eggs and this delicious, sautéed corn. The kernels are larger and chewier then what we have in the US. It is served with a chili type sauce and it is delicious!
This vendor is making a traditional Vietnamese sandwich called Bun Mi.
This adorable little lady was making a flat bread of sorts along with flattened banana snack. I never got hungry walking the streets. There was something new to sample around every corner!
Shellfish anyone?
Bun Mi in Ha Long Bay. I love Van’s t-shirt and smile!
More delicious corn!
Anything your heart desired could be found on a stick at a street vendor!
This was a typical “street restaurant”.
Every city had it’s own signature noodle dish. This was in Hue. It was like a spring roll but it was wrapped in a thicker noodle. It was pretty yummy.
Hey, do you think I liked the corn???
We drank a lot of fresh coconut water. Half the fun was watching someone hack it open.
A typical night scene along the streets of Saigon. I love the woman’s face in the polka dots on the right. Two piece, same patterned outfits were very popular with the women.
Stay tuned, there are still more adventures from Vietnam to come!
The crazy power lines and scooters were the first things I noticed when we got to Saigon.
Look at all the stuff she is carrying on that scooter!!! Amazing!
A typical afternoon near our hotel in District 1 in Saigon. Note the child on the scooter without a helmet. That is just the norm.
(My apologies for the “vertical videoing”! I know Carrie is cringing! What can I say? I was caught up in the moment!)
Wade, at the rooftop bar of our hotel, The Duc Vuong. It was very scenic, a great place to have a cold beer, and the staff was super friendly!
Good Morning Vietnam!
Our first Pho of the trip at the morning market. It was delish! This noodle dish is served morning, noon and night there!
It was very common to see people preparing food along the sides of the streets. They don’t have the health department “A, B, C” ratings we have in LA. “When in Rome” was a theme on this trip!
Ice delivery!
The little kids were the cutest!
Saigon also had a lot of modern, high end boutiques. I loved this ad from a shop window.
I got these fun sunnies from a shop in Saigon!
This temple is at the top of a hill in Van’s hometown of Tay Ninh, about 3 hours outside of Saigon. Now you can take a sky tram up to the temple, but when Van was little he had to climb the mountain to get there.
This was another beautiful, ornate temple in Tay Ninh.
We spent a day with Van’s family for the End of Mourning Ceremony for his father who passed away 3 years ago. White is the color they traditionally wear for funerals. Here, the family was praying with Buddhist Monks. There were 19 of them present.
All of the white gowns worn for the ceremonies were burned for The End of Mourning. It was so special to experience this with Van and his family. A day I will forever cherish.
Stephanie and I got to participate in a prayer and offering to the monks.
These boxes were made up for the monks and included toiletries, a new robe, and cash. There were 19 of us who held the boxes on our heads and walked around the monks in a line 3 times before placing the boxes in front of them.
After the ceremony Van’s family had a delicious, catered, vegetarian meal for everyone. It was a very emotional and beautiful day.
Saturday night in Saigon. Look at how cute the girls are on the scooters in their date night dresses.
Party scene in the streets of Saigon where the tourists and locals intermix.
I loved this couple. They were a little apprehensive to have their picture taken as they didn’t understand English very well.
Van, Wade and I taking it all in. Saturday night in Saigon.
We have so many photos and I had such an amazing trip that it is hard to narrow it down. In this case, I feel the pictures speak louder then words. I couldn’t even begin to describe some of the things we saw, experienced, and ate. So, I will continue to share my trip through photos city by city. Stay tuned for more from Vietnam!
To our surprise, we were not alone waiting for the sunrise at 5am!
Within a temple at Angkor Wat.
The entrance to Angkor Wat.
Angkor Wat
Guess who?
Angkor Wat
This is where the movie Tomb Raider was filmed with Angelina Jolie. I see how she fell in love with Cambodia!
Group shot at Angkor Wat with our awesome tour guide Sarak. I would highly recommend him if you are planning a trip to Cambodia!
Angkor Wat at sunset.
There was no lack of monks in this town!
The streets of Siem Reap were alive with food and shopping! Can you find me?
Fish pedicures were happening on every corner. They eat the dead skin cells and for some it can be very ticklish!
Wade and I just returned from our whirlwind trip through Cambodia and Vietnam and I couldn’t wait to start sharing our adventures! We are extremely jet lagged and loopy so please excuse any spelling errors, typos, or just plain craziness. This has been one heck of a trip. We were on 8 different flights in 2 weeks. We have never traveled like that before but it was worth it to see all that we did. We flew into Saigon on a Monday and were on another flight to Cambodia the next day and spent 2 days there. We were picked up in Siem Reap by an awesome guide named Sarak and a driver who took us to our hotel (thats another whole story…no A/C and wild, barking dogs, but part of the adventure) and then right out to start seeing the sights! I had no idea what to expect of the country but I immediately fell in love with the beauty, the kind people and culture. I can see how Angelina Jolie embraced Cambodia when filming Tomb Raider there. I too wanted to adopt a bunch of the kids. They really are the cutest! I would highly recommend planning a trip there and I can’t wait to go back one day!
This weekend, my husband and I will be taking off on a whirlwind tour through Vietnam and Cambodia and I couldn’t be more excited! I can’t wait to see the ancient temples of Angkor Wat, meet my friend Van’s family and visit his hometown Tay Ninh, have custom clothes made and shop in Hoi An, relax on the beaches of Ha Long Bay, EAT all the delicious street food I can stuff in my face and see everything else in between!!! So, needless to say, I won’t be updating the blog until I return in April but you can follow me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram to keep up with my adventures along the way!
People are always asking my on advice on places to go or eat and I love telling them about my favorite spots. I think I was a travel agent in a past life! They often ask how I find out about all of these interesting things and basically I just read a lot of magazines and blogs! Here are some cool things to check out in LA and San Francisco now!
Citizens of Hummanity Pop Up Shop This is the 10th anniversary of Citizens of Hummanity and they are celebrating with a pop up shop in West Hollywood. It is full of locally made goods, inspiration boards and cool black and white photography. It’s at 8747 Beverly Blvd. until the summer!
Nars Boutique I am a huge fan of Nars Cosmetics and can’t wait to checkout their new shop at 8412 Melrose Ave. West Hollywood
The End of the Night If you are a fan of French film and French art check out this exhibit at Lace Gallery at 6522 Hollywood Blvd Los Angeles through April 28th.
TOMS Flagship Store
This boutique, along with a cafe and coffee shop is just a stones throw from where the company began. 1344 Abbot Kinney Blvd. Venice
Thomas Lavin If you love interior design and high end furniture check out the Thomas Lavin showroom and in store events. It’s the perfect place to get inspired! 8687 Melrose Ave. West Hollywood
Garry Winogrand This photography exhibit is one not to miss if you are going to be in The Bay Area before June 2nd! SFMOMA 151 Third St. San Francisco
The Bay Lights Artist Leo Villareal has transformed the Bay Bridge with 25,000 LED lights and it will be on display for the next 2 years!
SF Jazz Center This new jazz center is open for business and includes a mural by my friends and neighbors Sandow Birk and Elyse Pignolet last mentioned here!
