A trip down memory lane

I'm in Saigon now and for my first day here, my Mom wanted to go to the center of the city and explore the area. What was supposed to be a nice walk around the touristy area to do a little shopping turned into a trip down memory lane for my Mom, who used the occasion to point out places where she and my Dad used to go to for their dates.

I heard about the ice cream at 'Kem Bach Dang' from my friend, Amy, who told me that it was delicious. Apparently, it is a famous ice cream parlor and so popular that it has two stores located side by side. It also was where my Dad would take my Mom on their dates. Considering that my Mom was a spoiled city girl, it is only understandable that my Dad, a poor country bumpkin, would take her to such a fancy place.


I had high expectations for this place, but it was alright. I got a cocoa ice cream and it honestly tasted like any other ice cream I could get in America. It was good, but nothing special.
It cost 45,000 dong, which is a little over $2 USD. Very cheap for US standards, but for the average Vietnamese, it is very pricey and the reason why there were only foreigners in this place.

Rex hotel, where U.S army soldiers used to stay. There's a cinema inside and my Mom and Dad would go there for movie dates.
This was the coolest site my Mom pointed out--the main postal office, where my Mom would go to send my Dad letters. I was told that back then, my Mom loved writing poetry and that she was very good at it. I imagine my Mom, skipping class to hop on her Honda motorcycle, to zoom to the center of the city to send my Dad a love letter she took hours to write.
It was sweet to see my Mom pointing out these places. She is usually too embarrassed to talk about their courtship, so seeing her open up about the places they went was really cool. They just had their 35th wedding anniversary (they were married exactly one month after the Fall of Saigon, in 1975) so obviously dates at these places worked out as planned.

That's all for now. Here's a pic of my swollen mosquito bite on the sole of my foot. Have a good Memorial Day!