Chinatown

Chinatown (Cholon) is a district in HCMC that is a 30-minute cab ride away. Because of the sprawl of the city, I didn't get a really good sense of our direction. We must be thankful for both Lonely Planet and the "HCMC Survival Guide" I pulled off Amazon for not getting ripped off on this ride. The first cab we approached wanted 200,000 for the ride -- $10. Very reasonable by American standards, but Lonely Planet and guide indicated the fare should be 100,000. We negotiated, but he would not budge below $150,000. We then went out to the street and hailed an official cab....with a meter. When we asked the price, he pointed. When we finally got to Chinatown, price was 87,000....

Bing Tay Market - a huge wholesale market (Chinatown) There are multiple buildings - French built -- but with Asian decorative motifs. In the middle was a courtyard with a lovely fountain. We strolled through with vendors telling us - wholesale - and found the food court for a cup of coffee. We sat at a table with a middle-aged woman eating snacks...a sticky rice ball filled with pork, corn, various Veggies. She kept smiling at us an offered me some of her lunch...so sweet.

Have I mentioned the treacherous mess of walking in HCMC? My panic at most intersections where Barbara says, here, let's go, and I say "no, no, not yet" and we stand that way as time passes. Frequently a young man will take pity on us and escort us across the street, telling us when to walk, to stop, to continue. I think my recent fracture (lifetime first) has made me much more afraid --- injuries can take a long time to heal and they hurt! Why should I put myself through this?

All this to say that it took us two hours to do a one-hour walk from the market to the Phuong An Hoi Quan Pagoda. There are many pagodas in Chinatown but we decided to just see the most recommended one....so we walked and walked and walked. I panicked at most major intersections, adding time to the trip. And we walked. The pagoda itself was quite small compared to the temple complexes in Thailand. This is a Taoist pagoda -- first I've seen. It is quite elaborate with flashing neon at the three alters and incense burning everywhere.

Traditional Herb Shops. We knew we were close when the smell of herbs wafted into our nostrils as we exited the cab on a side street. There were no vendors at the drop-off point so we followed our noses up the street until we found the shops. Herbs and mushrooms poured out of sacks or were packaged in elegant gift wrap. Giant reishi mushrooms --  bigger than your head -- greeted us along with bags of  tiny lacquered versions of the same.

We wanted to try some artichoke tea, but could not find on our side of the street and were afraid to cross to see the remaining vendors. 

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