This morning we had even more choice at breakfast with a bahn mi station and pancakes with maple syrup!! Dave couldn’t find any condensed milk for his coffee though! 😀
Our first activity of the day was learning about coffee making at the International Barista School, an institution providing local students with an international accreditation in the art of coffee making. They arrange training and competitions, have various publications and tests for several levels of latte art.
We all had a welcome coffee, with Dave sampling a hot pistachio coffee and me trying a cold coffee with orange. We then witnessed an impressive standard of latte art as you can see in the photo.
We learned about the two main types of coffee produced in Vietnam – Arabica and robusta and how they are processed. We then did a smelling test focussed on these flavour groups:
Nut and chocolate, Floral and Fruits and citrus. Mavis and Chris did quite well but most of us have a lot to learn! 😀
We then made a robusta coffee with a ratio of 1g coffee to 4g water. We tasted it under a red light. It was very strong so we were all very wired ready for our city orientation walk.
Thin then took us to see the colonial district of the city. By coach, we passed the 1960s style Independence building which stands as a powerful symbol of national unity and the end of the Vietnam war. There were lots of beautiful parks.
We then walked past the Cathedral, saw the building where the last helicopter took off from at the end of the war and the historic Hotel Continental where Graham Greene stayed whilst writing his novel The Quiet American (which I’m reading the moment!) Jayne had stayed there in the same room as him some years ago!
We then had some time to look around the central post office building. The Saigon Central Post Office is one of Ho Chi Minh City’s most iconic landmarks, known for its beautiful architecture and historical significance. As a key part of the city’s development, this post office (built in 1891) represents a blend of colonial French influences with traditional Vietnamese elements. From there we walked to the Opera House and photographed the stunning colonial style facade before getting the coach back to our hotel.
Dave and I spent some time in the afternoon planning out the next few days of our trip. Thin recommended a local agent who helped us to book transport and a hotel for a few days relaxing by the beach in Ho Tram. We then strolled down to the central market and had a nice look around before our second showers of the day!!
I managed to make a phone call while Dave had a beer in the rooftop bar and organised his photos. We then headed off to meet the group for our last supper together! This was in a nearby restaurant which Thin knew. The highlights of the meal were Dave’s beer cocktail and the beautiful pork belly dish cooked in coconut water. We also ate a light vegetable soup, spring rolls, morning glory with garlic and spicy pork and peppers. Donna had organised a whip-round and thanked Thin for being such a brilliant tour leader. We rounded off the meal with watermelon, pineapple and guava before heading back for last night drinks in the hotel rooftop bar.
