Day 4 in Ho Chi Minh City 胡志明市第四天

2024年4月26日，星期五，新加坡越南之旅第7天 April 26, 2024, Friday, Day 7 of the Singapore-Vietnam Trip

今天没有什么特别的计划，连续的100华氏度高温让外出变得艰难。上午我们步行前往胡志明市歌剧院，这座具有浓厚法国殖民时期建筑风格的歌剧院幸未在战争中被摧毁，依然屹立在这里，象征着这座城市的历史和建筑遗产。

Today, we have no special plans as the continuous 100-degree Fahrenheit heat makes going out challenging. In the morning, we walked to the Ho Chi Minh City Opera House. This opera house, rich in French colonial architectural style, was fortunately not destroyed during the war and still stands here, symbolizing the city’s history and architectural heritage.

遗憾的是，除非购买演出票，否则歌剧院并不对外开放。我们发现明天晚上将上演莫扎特和贝多芬的古典音乐交响乐会，于是灵机一动决定买票参加。到了售票处，票已经几乎售罄，只剩几个相邻的座位，而且票价非常实惠，每人只需650,000越南盾。回到酒店后，我注意到票背后的注释要求正装出席。PJG并没有携带任何正式服装，而我幸好有一条长裙可以应付场合，所以现在有些担心明天晚上PJG是否会因着装问题而被拒绝入场？

But unfortunately, the opera house was not open to the public unless you purchase a ticket for a show. We discovered that a classical music symphony concert featuring Mozart and Beethoven will be held tomorrow night, so we decided to buy tickets. At the ticket office, the tickets were almost sold out, but we managed to find a few adjacent seats at a very affordable price of 650,000 Vietnamese dong each. After returning to the hotel, we noticed that the back of the ticket requires formal attire! PJG obviously did not bring any formal clothes, but fortunately, I have a long dress that is passable for the occasion. Now, we’re a bit worried whether PJG will be refused entry?

从歌剧院散步至西贡河畔时，我们发现可以乘坐游船游览西贡河。45分钟的游览只需每人339,000越南盾，于是我们便购买了下午5点的票，期待在船上欣赏到美丽的日落景象。午餐时，第一次尝试当地著名的越南薄煎饼，味道相当不错。然而第二次尝试的越南河粉，还是没有战胜美国的味道。

While walking from the opera house to the Saigon River, we discovered that we could take a river cruise. The 45-minute tour costs only 339,000 Vietnamese dong per person, so we bought tickets for 5 PM, looking forward to enjoying the beautiful sunset from the boat. For lunch, we tried the locally famous Vietnamese pancake for the first time, and they were quite delicious. However, the second time we tried Vietnamese pho, it still couldn’t beat the taste in America.

下午5点，我们准时登上了西贡河的游船。虽然沿途的天际线并没有特别惊艳，但伴随着小提琴悠扬的乐声和吹拂的凉爽河风，是一次非常惬意和享受的体验。

At 5 PM, we boarded the Saigon River cruise. Although the skyline along the way wasn’t particularly stunning, the experience was very pleasant and enjoyable, accompanied by the soothing sounds of a violinist and the cool breeze blowing from the river.

晚餐我们在一家名为“秘密花园”的餐厅享用了一顿丰盛的大餐。每一道菜都带来了独特且令人愉悦的味觉体验。这是我第一次品尝到与众不同的莲藕根，还有一种非常特别的蔬菜——夜香花，它是一种典型的越南美食，散发着淡淡的香水般的芳香，味道非常美妙。晚餐包括四道菜，搭配一罐啤酒和两杯鸡尾酒，总花费为1,125,000越南盾，大约等于45美元。

For dinner, we enjoyed a lavish meal at a restaurant called, “Secret Garden.” Each dish provided a unique and delightful taste experience. It was our first time having the distinctive lotus root and a very special vegetable called “Tonkin flower,” which is a typical Vietnamese delicacy. It has a light, perfume-like fragrance and a wonderful taste. We ordered four dishes, accompanied by a beer and two cocktails, with a total cost of 1,125,000 Vietnamese dong, approximately equivalent to 45 US dollars.

It was a lot of food and the waitress was surprised we conquered it all!

这真的是很多食物,服务员都很惊讶我们全部吃完了!