Ben Thanh Markets

As you would all know from my previous blogs posts, I just love visiting markets. The Ben Tranh markets are the main markets of HCM. It's quite crowded and full of small shops selling a variety of things. You can buy lots of souvenirs (vietnamese handicrafts), or clothes (not really my style), knick knacks as well as a wet market where locals buy their daily produce. In the middle there are also lots of food stalls selling an interesting assortment of noodles, sweets, rice dishes and other great vietnamese food. Steve and I had strong stomachs but we were probably not brave enough to eat there (though we probably would have been fine!).
Here are some of my favourite shots!

HCM - A streetscape

In the morning we took a walk around the main part of the city near our hotel (District 1).
Here are a few photos from our walk - the streetscape was a real mix of the traditional and modern.

This lady is selling a street side snack which is similar to waffles. She just carries her basket and 'kitchen' with her around town.

Amongst the buildings, there are some really tall skyscrapers.

Every drives motorbikes around town.

Ho Chi Minh City

We have just come back from a wonderful trip to Ho Chi Minh City, Bangkok and Singapore.

We started our trip in Ho Chi Minh (formerly known as Saigon and was the old capital of South Vietnam before reunification) which is about an 8-9 hour flight from Sydney. We arrived into HCM in the evening and we were really surprised that we arrived into a pretty good looking airport (we found out later that it was only 2 years old). On our trip into town to our hotel, there was plenty of liveliness on the streets - lots of bright & colourful signage and the roads are full of motorbikes and scooterbikes. 

The above photo is of the Opera House which is quiet a famous landmark of HCM.

Me & my poufs

No, this is not about my adventures at a gay bar... :)

What else to do in NYC but to go homewares shopping...always dangerous when you have luggage restrictions...
But when we saw these two poufs at CB2 (like a Freedom but much much cooler), Steve gave me that face that just screamed "we have to have them and take them home!".

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 They are made of knitted cotton rope and look like a cross between a mandarin and sea urchin...but giant size.... but how cute and adorable are they!
They came in big cardboard boxes which we checked in - thankfully within our luggage limits. I hope you all get to check them out if you come over!

Brunch in NY # 1 - Balthazar

NYC does a lot of things well and brunch is definitely one of them. There are some great places to have brunch or brekkie and our first place was Balthazar - at Soho - which is an 'institution'. I'd been here for dinner on previous visits - it serves french brasserie style food and they do it well! But this was our first time for brunch.

Everything looked great on the menu and it was so hard to choose so we kinda ordered everything.......we indulged in smoked salmon bagels, waffles, granola, omelette, and scrambled eggs in pastry. Yummy yummy!!! Check out my later post when we gorge again at Pastis at Meatpacking!

NYC at night

We stayed at the beautiful Trump Soho while in NYC - it was a gorgeous hotel in a great location. I've been so lucky with my trip to stay at truly beautiful and luxurious hotels - wow, what a privilege!
We originally had a room on a lower level but the hotel was kind enough to move us all the way up to the 35th floor where we had the most amazing view of NYC. We could see all the way from the Brooklyn Bridge to Empire State Building - it's like landing that room in Paris that overlooks the Eiffel Tower! Here are some beautiful photos of the view and this gorgeous hotel.  When I look back on these photos, I remember why this is the best city in the world (except for Sydney of course!) - there is just something amazing about New York - the energy, the history, the mix of modern and art deco architecture, and the diversity - it re-energises & inspires me every time I visit.
Yes, and I pinched myself and I wasn't dreaming! I have posted these photos extra large as they are just so beautiful.

Empire State building lit up in red. The long avenue is 6th Ave (Ave of the Americas) heading uptown - it's busy day and night.

View looking out east - you can see the cables & suspension arches of the Williamsburg Bridge on the right

The view at day time

The hotel lobby of the Trump Soho

The Library (reading/chillout area)

Dinner out at Gilt, The Palace Hotel, New York

Yet another lovely dinner out - this time at Gilt @The Palace Hotel. For any of you who watch Gossip Girl (yes, I confess, I'm addicted even though the plotlines are so unbelievable!), the Palace Hotel was one of the locations used for the show.
The restaurant is located inside the hotel in a beautiful old hall but the food is modern and sophisticated which made for an interesting experience! The food was really lovely - it has 2 Michelin stars and I can understand why. It was certainly one of my favourite restaurants of the trip and it was Steve's favourite. The service was amazing - even though the waiter was somewhat impressed that this group of "Aussies" knew so much about food!

Here are some photos of the food and dining room.

Ruby Red Shrimp

Matsutake Mushooms

Me and my bambi (oops, I mean venison)

Dry aged strip loin

The grand old dining room - I thought I was in Versailles!

Steve, Ying and me - it was Ying's last night in NYC - it was so nice & fun to have him around

Outside The Palace Hotel - they really do amazing Xmas decorations there