it was the fall of 2020 I was unhappy
depressed and lost not knowing what to
do with my life after quitting my job in
the US
many people thought I was crazy for
moving back to Vietnam and starting
again
all I knew during that time was I wanted
to travel and pursue a more meaningful
life
so I decided to book a flight to Ho Chi
Minh City and didn't know what to expect
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I remember walking on windhoi street and
seeing the colorful lights lit up at the
unique Cafe apartment
the locals were so happy and cheerful
and my senses were awakened by the
delicious street food aroma
I realized that I was too busy observing
and emerging myself in the hustle and
bustle lifestyle I didn't have time to
be sad and lonely anymore
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foreign
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is changing so quickly and in my opinion
is transforming into the New York of
Asia such that many parts of the city
feel like entirely different countries
even though I was born and raised in
Vietnam
I feel like there's so much to learn and
explore in my own country
so I decided to go on a food tour to see
Saigon in depth why the food tour
because it can tell you a lot about the
area's history and how the locals live
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oh my gosh I love your outside so
beautiful are you wrong yes I am
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foreign
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my tour guide home with beautiful
outside wrote me on a traditional
motorbike to every corner of Ho Chi Minh
City everything seems so familiar yet
very strange to me the heat the traffic
the architecture but one thing that I
feel very connected with and that's the
first reason why I fell in love with
Saigon is the people
I would use three words to describe
Vietnamese people
kind entrepreneur and optimistic
Vietnamese people might not seem
friendly at first but when you have a
drink with them they consider you as a
family member
Vietnamese people show love through food
they're willing to share or give you
extra food to express their hospitality
even when you fall they don't stop
giving love
coming back I almost forgot about the
street vendors culture that I didn't see
while in the US
in Vietnam as soon as the people have
the business idea they can try it out
and not get worried about being shut
down like the kids in the US who cannot
even run a lemonade stand without a
permit
unlike in First World countries with
strict zoning laws you can run
businesses straight out of your house in
Vietnam if you want to start a coffee
shop like this you can just buy some
plastic chair grab coffee condensed milk
and some cheap metal filters
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voila now you have a coffee shop foreign
lastly I feel proud to be Vietnamese
because of our perseverance and optimism
the highlight of my trip was when home
took me to Cho Zach where people
exchanged secondhand items and the
Mozart apartment where I see how people
live there with under minimum wage do
you know that the area under the staff
uh in front of us can you guess what it
is this area this one the dungeon now
basement now
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foreign for decades so people live in
there yeah a family of four are living
here so is it like downstairs or people
live so like they get new display under
the stair very little and Tiny that's
high and live here so many people here
they're very poor they cannot even
afford a place to live so they get used
any spray they can and to make the
shelter from the rain and the sea
so whenever the entire family they want
to use the bathroom or they want to take
a bath they would have to use the public
toilets nearby oh my gosh a husband used
to be a standalone driver before they
were mostly met in the city and now the
entire family make a living by selling
the chicken at the umbrella Market that
we went earlier where are they now
they're still living here
contrast of a glamorous downtown area
there are still people living in trash
houses having small driveways for
motorbikes using shelves to hang their
clothes and no air conditioning in this
hot weather
what shocked me the most was Hong used
to live here before she became a tour
guide
he was in 30 years wow
and I was younger and then there were 14
people living together in this single
apartment at the same time so with that
many people there wasn't even enough
room for everyone
so most of the time we just stay outside
until it was time to sleep and then we
come home
and with that many people there wasn't
even enough room for beds on my dresses
so everyone just slept on the floor
where there was room and as you can
imagine like sharing the bathroom with
that many people in this little
apartment was also a nightmare I can't
believe in the middle of Saigon people
still have squat toilets peeling paint
and dripping water from the ceiling what
impressed me the most was home is not
even complaining she always has a smile
on her face and keeps working for the
better future
little did I know she's now a co-founder
of EXO tours the first female tour
operator in Vietnam and it's the tour
that I attended today
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so Saigon is Vietnam's largest city and
is also the main economic Hub that's why
it attracts so many people from all
other parts of Vietnam to come here and
bring their culture and their food
that's why when you come to Saigon you
can fly almost every type of Vietnamese
food and that leads to the second reason
why I fall in love with this city is the
cuisine the first dish how when I try
was
Loosely translates into fried cakes
there are three different types of fried
cakes Taro tapioca and chives it is one
single dish the cook mixes rice flour
with vegetable of choice the mixture is
then steamed cut into rectangle shapes
and then pan fried on very high heat to
create a lightly crispy layer on the
outside while the inside remains soft
and moist the cakes are served together
with fried eggs shredded green papayas
and chopped green onions local people
love this dish because it's so healthy
and affordable
the second dish is baked tofu with
seafood and assorted mushroom
tofu prawns squid and a variety of
mushroom are wrapped together in tin
foil and slowly baked in medium heat to
bring out the sweetness this sweetness
is known as Umami the fifth basic taste
that is highly rated in Asian Cuisine
and since the ingredients are all
mushrooms and seafood this is a great
healthy and yummy dish for a low carb
diet
the dish originated from yachang City
and was made famous by ticktalkers this
is one of the many perks that saganese
have to eat food from many other regions
without having to go too far outside the
city
the third dish is Grill goat meat
Vietnamese men love to have goat meat
with their beers and in fact Vietnamese
drink beer with ice I guess it tastes
better with goat meat because goat meat
has mild aphrodisiac effects for men
breast meat is marinated in fermented
tofu sauce and Coca-Cola to make it
softer sweeter and to help get rid of
the strong smell of goat
is it good okay my turn
thank you
it's not bad
it's chewy
I don't smell the the smell from the
goat yeah
but honestly like go pretty you consider
the more intensive meat and the lighter
part of the gold so that's like only
really growth in some special event okay
if you know that like in most of the
local market let us know because I mean
to sell
you have to go to very special Market to
get it so what do you like the most
about this job
they are happy the Happy Face of the
customer right at the end of the tour
and then I feel like that I do something
for the country honestly
the last dish is a traditional
Vietnamese dessert soup called Che
Vietnamese people love sweets and Chad
is my favorite dessert too
I remember driving 30 minutes from my
home to the Vietnamese Market to buy a
bowl of chebamo chair is an adaption of
Cantonese cuisine sweet soups the key
difference is almost every version of
chair is either cooked or served with
coconut milk and can be served warm or
with ice
this chair vendor has been open for more
than 40 years and the current vendor is
the third generation
chair is a perfect dessert to get your
energy to explore Saigon at night
I'm so glad that is not a typical food
tour where I only eat pho or bun me
learning about politics and War on a
personal tour like this I can better
connect with the locals and understand
my roots I feel more grateful for what I
have and fall in love even more with
this city
most people both foreigners and overseas
Vietnamese come to Ho Chi Minh City
because of its energy and that's the
third reason why I fall in love with
this city every day when I walk out the
house I see new restaurants new people
and New Opportunities it's a city where
the past meets the present the chaotic
traffic meets the harmonized flow the
mixture of eastern and western Cuisine
traditional and modern architecture busy
and laid-back lifestyle and it's a
perfect balance of
Saigon is where most Vietnamese expats
live which means you can find an
incredibly diverse amount of
international cuisine and culture here
there's Korea Town a Japanese area one
of the largest China towns in the world
and because Vietnam was once a French
Colony there's a lot of French influence
in the food and architecture Ho Chi Minh
City is known as a Sleepless City it is
most beautiful at night you can see
people walking on the Walking Street
with their kids or hands in hands with
their lovers enjoying and talking with
street food vendors
young people meet up and sit on the
floor to chit chat and have good drinks
you can see a peaceful Saigon with many
buildings under 210 Bridge
the people the scene the food bring me
joy and peace and I'm so happy to call
it home now this video will not be done
without the help of EXO tours thank you
so much for giving me a chance to
explore my own country
EXO tour is one of the first food tour
companies in Vietnam with a mission to
empower Vietnamese women and help more
people understand Vietnamese culture
they offer the highest customer service
accident insurance for all Gap and
provide valuable insight into daily
Vietnamese life whether is your first
time visiting Vietnam or you are a long
time resident the experiences that EXO
tour offer is very unique and authentic
they don't just run tours they also
share fascinating and touching stories
so that you can connect with the people
and the location you visit so if you
want to experience a tour like this I'm
Gonna Leave more information in the
description box below or you can visit
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Vietnam alright I hope to see you guys
soon in Vietnam bye
this is
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if you want to start a coffee shop you
can just buy some plastic chair so you
can just buy some
foreign