We woke up early and took turns performing the Fajr prayer. After that, we headed to the accommodation where Groups 1 and 2 were staying to prepare breakfast together. The plan was to cook our own meal. While everyone took turns helping in the kitchen, my friend and I finished our part fairly quickly. Since breakfast wasn't ready yet, we decided to look for a small snack to keep our stomachs busy.
We walked back toward the house where Groups 3, 4, and 5 were staying to grab our wallets. The moment we stepped inside, heavy rain suddenly poured down. We had no choice but to wait until it stopped.
When the rain finally eased, we hurried back to check whether breakfast was ready.
Well...
It was.
And it was also gone.
We had been trapped by the rain long enough for everyone else to finish eating. So, the four of us decided to buy breakfast instead.
There was actually one local food we had been wanting to try after hearing our friends rave about it. Naturally, we were curious. It didn't take long before we found the stall, and without thinking twice, we placed our orders. The dish was called Bánh Mì Gà Xé Phô Mai—a crispy Vietnamese baguette topped with shredded chicken and cheese. It cost 35,000 VND, or roughly 27,000 Indonesian Rupiah at the current exchange rate. It had just come out of the oven, so it was still wonderfully warm.
The taste?
Don't even ask.
It was delicious.
This was the first meal during our trip that truly felt worth every đồng we spent. The balance between the savory and slightly sweet flavors was just right. In less than three minutes, there wasn't a single bite left. After finishing, we took a photo in front of the stall before heading back to the accommodation. Once we arrived, we cleaned up, performed our prayers, and took a short afternoon nap.
At around four in the afternoon, we went out exploring again. Some of my groupmates still hadn't tried the bánh mì, so we brought them to the same stall. After that, we split into two groups. One stayed behind to enjoy the sandwich, while the rest of us, including me, decided to search for another authentic Vietnamese meal.
Earlier that day, we had noticed a restaurant that was packed with customers. Back home, there's a simple rule: if a place is crowded, the food is probably good. So we walked in and, using a translation app, asked the owner whether the food contained pork. He replied that it didn't—it was beef.
Good enough for us.
He handed us the menu and asked us to choose, but since none of us could read Vietnamese, we had absolutely no idea what we were looking at. Luckily, there was an older gentleman dining alone who happened to speak English. He kindly offered to help us place our order.
While waiting for the food, we struck up a conversation with him. He shared stories about Vietnam, taught us a little of its history, and even introduced us to a few Vietnamese words. He told us his name was Bình, which means "peace" in English. He smiled and said that every name carries a meaning, then asked each of us to share our names and explain what they meant.
When he mentioned that his name meant peace, he asked us to make the peace sign with our hands.
The problem was...
My injured finger from the fan accident was still healing.
I couldn't straighten it properly, so he gently grabbed my hand and tried to adjust my fingers into the correct pose.
"Ouch!"
I don't think he realized my finger was still injured, but all I could do was laugh through the pain.
A little while later, our food arrived. It turned out to be fried rice served separately with beef and a bowl of soup. The fried rice itself was fairly standard, similar to what we have in Indonesia, although it had a unique aroma and a distinctly Vietnamese flavor that made it feel different. The beef was slightly sour, probably because it was cooked together with vegetables. The soup, on the other hand, was rich, comforting, and full of flavor. Overall, I'd give the meal a 7 out of 10. Not bad at all for 45,000 VND.
As the day came to an end, we returned to the accommodation, cleaned ourselves up, washed our clothes, performed our prayers, and transferred the photos from our camera to the laptop.
Then, we called it a night.