Exploring the Back Alley's of Saigon

Today was a fun day! We took our twins (and nanny) on a little adventure; an unplanned exploration of the alleyways of District 4, Saigon. Up to this point, we've gone to the main attractions and have explored where we live in D2, but we've not gone down the small alleys, the areas where the locals live.

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Our adventure started off at Xom Chie Market.  A sprawling market filled with food stalls, fruit and vegetable stalls, dried goods and meat and fish.  The smell was overwhelming at times but the colors all around were vibrant. The only annoying thing was that everyone tried to touch our babies. We constantly had to say no and block them with our hands. I really enjoyed that no one was hassling us to buy from them, but there was a lot of pointing and laughter when we walked by!

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After the market, we kept veering down side streets and would get lost in the alley's. I was nervous; between hearing stories about getting mugged, trying to navigate around the motor bikes, seeing stray dogs and on top of all of that, being weary of mosquitoes (supposedly there is Zika here).  However, looking back, we were in no danger and we had a phenomenal time.

The kids were amazing -- we wore them the whole time. They loved interacting with everyone and joining on our adventure. We brought them lots of snacks, including water, rice cakes, pouches and some animal crackers.  As soon as we got into the taxi to come home, they passed out!

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More adventures to come...