Vietnames currency. Food. A night on the town (sort of).

Money! Moola, dough, scratch, clams, bread, bucks, spondulicks, sawbucks, greenbacks, samoleans, smackeroos, fins, two-bits, ducats, c-notes, you get the picture. If you don't here are a couple for you to look at...

 This 1,000 note is worth about 5 cents U.S. It is not even the smallest, there is a 500 note that is about 2.5 cents.

 This is the largest bill, about $22 - $24 in U.S. dollars. At the cash machine you can withdraw up to 2 million VND (Vietnamese dong). Coins are no longer minted although there are still some in circulation, however, only banks will take coins now. There used to be some 200 and 100 dong notes in circulation, but they are essentially worthless. The VND is the highest denominated currency in the world. 

On to other subjects. How about food? The food here is for the most part cheap and delicious. You can pay U.S. prices for a meal if you're in a touristy part of town or eating at a high end restaurant. However, if you're willing to eat street food or in local eateries the price is astoundingly cheap - Don and I ate a very tasty Thai dinner at a place called Tuk-Tuk Thai Bistro (with A/C which is so important if you don't want sweat dripping into your meal) for about $11 USD and this was in an upscale neighborhood, close to big hotels. If you want to eat street food or in local eateries where the menu isn't in English then expect to pay maybe $1 for a banh mi sandwich on the street or a bowl of pho (while sitting on a plastic chair or milk crate on the sidewalk) or $3 for a meal in a cafe that might have A/C. However, you can spend the bucks if you're going to eat and drink in hotels and high end places. 
 
Things I have eaten for breakfast: The room here at our hotel includes a buffet breakfast. There are some typical American style breakfast food (made to order omelettes and eggs, bacon, fruit, pastries and bread, cereals, potatoes) however, there is some Vietnamese items (fried fish, tofu with schezuan sauce, pho, sugar cane with shrimp paste, beef and broccoli) and some American food that I would consider to be lunch or dinner items - green salad, potato salad, spaghetti carbonara, steamed vegetables, soup, chicken in garlic sauce, etc. I will admit to having the spaghetti carbonara for breakfast one morning. I've had the pho and it's really good. But I've been sticking with traditional American breakfast food most mornings, except I do eat dragon fruit every day and the tofu with schezuan sauce, it's just that tasty. The sugar cane with shrimp paste was not to my liking, however.


We stopped in at the roof top bar, Saigon Saigon, at the Caravell Hotel, where there is a live band (we danced!) and we had a martini, a cocktail, and one bottled water. Price, with tax and tip added, was close to $30 US! That's more than what we've paid for any full meal so far on this trip. However, the view was great and the band was fun, so it was worth it. Also, the taxi back to our hotel was $2.50, I'm going to taxi around town for the rest of our stay here!