June 21 Our Final Hours (Katie)

We avoided our hotel like the plague during our final 24 hours in Vietnam. It was our last chance to soak up as much Vietnamese culture as we could before heading back to Alaska, and we'd be darned if  we were going to spend that time cooped up in our room. The evening before take-off, we took about an hour walk through the streets of Saigon (admittedly, the length was due in part to a couple wrong turns I may have made) and found ourselves back at the Backpacker's District where we enjoyed a couple Saigon beers and I splurged on an $8 60-minute massage. Later, we had dinner at the Ben Thanh Street Food Market, where there was live local music and dozens of individual little food stands with oodles of ready-to-order food options... the choices were almost overwhelming.

My Dad and Kira at the Ben Thanh Street Food Market

The next morning, as we didn't have to leave for the airport until 3:00pm, we ventured out once more, first meandering through the maze of the Ben Thanh Market. While it is fun seeing all the products being sold in the hundreds of stands packed into this market, it's almost a relief when you escape back onto the street, as the merchants are extremely eager to make a sale and you will without a doubt be urged to buy something at every one you pass. And if you actually stop to look, brace for the pounce. We learned to keep moving continuously while admiring the goods through our peripherals and kindly but firmly dismissing the merchants' relentless attempts at attracting our attention. There was a huge array of goods from marble carvings and handwoven bags to produce and bins of live seafood, though we only have photos of some food stands to share.

After we had our fill of the market, we strolled down some streets we hadn't explored yet. To our surprise, we found a craft brewery! So we treated ourselves to a couple glasses of local microbrew that offered a much more robust flavor than what we'd become accustomed to over the past month. It was a welcome change and a fun last-day discovery.

Saigon East West Brewing Co.

Another unexpected bit of fun awaited us just outside the brewpub... a very friendly Hornbill! It seemed especially interested in Kira's hair and my father's face. It kept cocking its head and staring intently at his eyes... they must have looked like nice juicy pieces of dragonfruit.

An uneasy father, with the hungry hornbill eyeing his pearly blues

Check out this video of Kira with the Hornbill

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An update to a comment made in an earlier blog post: Kira did indeed convince her Grandpa to go parasailing with her back in Hoi An...

The trip has officially reached its end, and we've said goodbye to Vietnam... but not to you! Stay with us, as we still have a post or two left. We are now sitting at LAX waiting to board the final leg of our journey home.