We left the hotel at around 1 pm and went to Tonkin Garden Cafe & Eatery. My class is at 6:45 pm (Philippine time) so we have more time to spare. Anyway, I read from reviews online that it has the best egg cream coffee in Ho Chi Minh and I don’t want to leave Vietnam without trying it. (I’m writing this at the Tan Son Nhat airport).

The review I read is true. Their egg cream coffee was soooooo good! I was not disappointed. They used robusta coffee and fresh egg. I’m not a coffee person (I prefer tea over coffee) but I was curious of the taste. I thought that it would taste gross because it has fresh egg, but it was surprisingly good! Yum!

Mama had matcha with coconut milk and papa had black coffee. The bahn mi was also good. Their food and drink items are also affordable. For three different drinks and two bahn mis, we paid 290,000 VND. In some restaurants here, you can get one dish for that price. It was worth it.

When we first got here at midnight last Friday, I was frustrated because the Grab driver charged us sooo much for the ride. He took 570,000 VND from us when it only cost us 122,000 VND plus the 10,000 VND airport surcharge to get here from our hotel. (We used the 389 Php to 1 VND conversion rate.)

Then when we got to the hotel, it looked so different from the pictures. Although at the back of my mind, it was reasonable for the price. (I am all for budget travel. Just because someone can travel, it doesn’t mean he should splurge.) I wasn’t expecting much but it was way beyond my expectation. 😅

Our neighbors would smoke cigarette every day and we were suffocated by the smoke that seeped through the cracked wooden door frame. The bathroom ceiling leaks and the shower stopped working after 2 days. (We just used the faucet and our make-shift tabo. Maparaan ang Pinoy!) Babawi ako sa parents ko next time.

I didn’t make plans for last Friday because I wanted it to be just a day for rest because I knew we would be able to sleep late. (We slept at around 4 a.m.)

When we went out to get something to eat for brunch, it was raining and we didn’t know where to go and it was hard to communicate with the people because most of them don’t speak English. Admittedly, it’s also my fault because I didn’t buy a sim card with internet connection.

We also learned how difficult it is to cross the street. It’s like the motorists don’t care about pedestrians because they don’t slow down for you even when you’re on the pedestrian crossing. Thank God we didn’t get into any accident.

We used Grab most of the time because we didn’t know where tbe bus stations are and which bus station to go to. They also don’t have trains. I think we would be able to save more if they have trains. We also don’t trust taxi drivers much because of our first experience so the best way to get around is by Grab. We took the bus three times, I think, in our entire stay. However, using Grab is helpful for my parents who have back and feet problems. Also, Grab rides here are cheaper than Grab rides in the Philippines. Ang saya!

Also, the weather got better and we were able to explore much of the city. We also met people who speak English and they were very helpful with giving directions. Most of them pulled out their phones and checked on the internet to show us how we could go to the places we needed to go. There was one lady yesterday who helped us book Grab. Her name is Susie and she said she has Filipino colleagues. She was really nice.

Also, I must say that we were all able to sleep well in our hotel room. We didn’t have bad dreams. I would hear papa snoring most of the time. It means that he was able to rest well. (I believe that praying over our room and the entire hotel helped a lot.) The cigarette smoke is really a no no but if there’s any consolation, it is that we all had good sleep there. I was decided to cancel our booking the next day and I actually did inform the receptionist about my concern (using Google Translate) but our stay there had been good. (I remembered later that on the website where I booked the hotel that there is no cancellation.)

I made our itinerary before coming to Vietnam and we were able to do almost all of them. I didn’t get a package tour because I wanted us to feel relaxed especially with our time. The time we would be able to spend in the places that we wanted to visit would be limited and we wouldn’t enjoy much if we got a package tour.

I think it’s easy to judge a country after a couple of days of staying there, but we will really only get to know the people and the place when we stay a bit longer. Not that we stayed that long but we get to meet more locals and see more of the place. My perspective changed and I started to like it. It has a lot of similarities with the Philippines.

I haven’t been to a lot of countries yet but so far, if there’s one country I’ll visit again, especially for the food, it’ll definitely be Vietnam. Everything we tried was superb. Their food is also healthy. Almost every dish has herbs. They are very creative with recipes. It’s just amazing.

Yesterday, I told God that I am grateful for everything–for the good and the bad. I’m not referring to Vietnam but life in general. I think people tend to grumble when we don’t see God’s hand in our situation. When we see the bigger picture, we will understand why God allowed some things that we didn’t like to happen. However, we will not always understand so we should learn to trust God in everything. We should trust that God’s plan for us is good no matter what (if we believe in Him and obey Him) because He is good. Recently, I have been asking God to help me trust Him in everything at all times.

I am beyond grateful for this experience. I had always wanted to go to Vietnam because I am really curious of the floating market (Babaw ba? 😅) We didn’t get to there though, because of the time constraints but I’m content with everything that we experienced in this city.

I am grateful that God has perks like this for us. He didn’t have to give it to us but He did. He doesn’t provide only for our needs but also for our wants. I know He will not always give us what we want but I am grateful He allowed this.

My new motto is “Everything is a blessing”. Oh, I can’t help but sing. The song I’m singing in my head right now is Every Praise by Hezekiah Walker. Truly, every praise is to our God. I am grateful for His blessings, but He will always, always, be my greatest blessing. I enjoy the good things He allows in my life, but my utmost satisfaction is in Christ alone.❤️