Day 4, continued (June 3) #TheAsianAdventure

I went on my first solo walkabout that evening... crossing intersections by myself, like a boss.

There are some beautiful buildings in Ho Chi Minh...

And the oldest buildings have balconies:

I should mention that at no point did it feel unsafe to be walking around by myself at night.
I should also mention that all of the pics posted above were taken while I was looking up.

This (below) is what the city looks like at street level:

And then I found myself at gelato place that had outdoor seating right on the corner of a busy intersection. So I handled the transaction All By Myself, probably paying $1000 for a scoop of mango - but whatever.

Then I claimed my spot on the sidewalk and watched the world whirl around me. Better than anything on Netflix. I coulda sat there all night.

This fella was sitting on his scooter on the sidewalk beside me. He was on his phone the entire time.

There was a bit of prolonged Girl Drama with this one (the one with the red face mask). Needed much attention as she worked through her crisis.

These two waited patiently, for like 15 minutes, while Red Mask sorted through her issues, then they all went off together.

Notice the street sweeper.
It's a guy.
With a homemade broom.
Sweeping the street.

I walked back to the hotel ...

THIS?
Was a common sight.
A guy on his scooter on every intersection.
He'd offer rides to pedestrians all evening long.

And this?
Is universal.

We are going to become a generation of cell-phone-zombies.
It's everywhere in the world. Not just North America.

I met Sue and Minh at the hotel only to turn around and head back out again.
Time for a late supper.
Italian is what we were hungry for.
So  we went for a walk.

Sidewalks = scooter parking lots.

And sidewalks = people parking lots. Sidewalks are where friends gather. And hang out. On little blue and red plastic chairs.

And then we arrived at our destination. This is Minh and her pizza.

And this is mine. (Chicken.) And Sue's.
(Mine just looks bigger because it's in the foreground. Really? They're all the same size.
And really? We each were able to eat only 1/3 of what we'd bought.)

Complimentary prosecco when we arrived.
Complimentary lemoncellos when the bill was delivered.
And complimentary jasmine bracelets, which smelled like heaven.

Seriously cozy and quaint restaurant, with amazing food and incredible service.
I would highly recommend this place but I have no idea what it was called.

And then?
The day was done.