Ben Thanh Market

After a lazy morning sleeping in we were ready to explore the 'hood.  I exchanged USD for dong at a nearby gold/jewelry store (which apparently have better rates than banks).  Be careful though, because you get a crappier exchange rate if your bills are anything but new and crisp, and smaller denominations also get crappier rates.  The folks beside me had their older US bills rejected outright. 

In typical Yeneric fashion we stopped for a snack on the walk to Ben Thanh Market for lunch, about 10 minutes from the hotel.   The fresh fruit stalls on the way were too enticing!  Ava had the best mango of her life and I had the best jackfruit ever.  It was orange, unlike the yellow ones we get in Toronto.  DELICIOUS and perfectly ripe and sweet. 

After the fruit intermission, we were ushered into a food stall in Ben Thanh Market for lunch.  Eric had pho and (the first of many, I'm sure) durian smoothie, Ava had pho and passionfruit juice, Oren had a pork noodle soup and young coconut, Iyla had banh canh soup and a lychee slush, and I had fresh summer rolls with a young coconut.  We were all very happy with our choices!  Not bad for $30.

Sorry, I can't figure out how to add pictures that aren't sideways!