Saigon 3

It's still hot!

This morning Flash was not feeling too well when we woke up. So the first order of the day was another trip to the pharmacy in search of LemSip or similar. What he came back with was a dubious drug with 4 active ingredients, at least one of which I believe to be illegal in both of our home countries. I don't think he'll try and bring the unused capsules home with him. ;-) But seems to have worked, because he had perked up when we went out later in the day.

So, instead of dragging him around being miserable, I took off after breakfast for a quick tour of the markets. There are three within walking distance of the hotel, or so I thought. First stop the electronics/electrical/industrial market. That place was cool. Switches, dials, bolts, hand tools... Watched a small, pretty vietnamese woman cradling a power drill she was buying. It was almost as big as she was. Of course there was also a bunch of stalls selling clothes, boltts of fabric and other stuff. I'm rather captivated by a lovely ao dai, that I might go back and buy tomorrow. There were also a bunch of guys working with sewing machines and canvas (making the awnings that protect shops from the sun). I realised they would be able to fix the broken strap on my backpack for me, so I trapsed back to the hotel to get the missing strap.

I almost expired walking to the market and back! It was probably about 35 degrees and 80% humidity or more! Decided that all further forrays will be on motorbikes to capture the breeze and spend minimal time in the sun. So of course, the ever present Honda Oms weren't around when I started back to the market. I got all the way back to that market and on to the next one before I fianlly found the ride who brought me back to the hotel again.

After a cold shower I went back and had my backpack repaired for the princely sum of $2 (I paid a bit over $3, because I can). I waited on a plastic stool in the shade on the sidewalk and conversed, via sign language, with a small boy playing with a broken piece of motorbike fascia. :-)

Walked on to the old market, no Honda Om :-( That market was much smaller that I thought it would be. Mostly food stalls and regular street shops. I may have missed the proper market, but I did walk all around the block. Went into a 'grocery store' and was amazed to find that it had all brand I recognised. This must be aimed at expats and tourists who want to avoid "having their experience" in vietnam. Or maybe at vietnamese that want the taste of something exotic (cheetos for example, similar to twistees for those of you antipodean) For me it's, when in Rome... I say! And, yes I had ice in my drink again tonight. ;-)

Made my way 'home' via Honda Om, at last. And finally met Dalat!!!! Read the Mad Hatter's entry in his guest book. My sister's suggestion to describe her as the fat woman from Australia worked perfectly. ;-) He was as sweet as she suggests! Arranged to meet him and a friend cyclo at 4PM for a trip to Ben Tranh market and Dong Khoi (which is supposed to be where vietnamese 'it' people go to be seen). It had cooled down considerably after my next cool shower and waiting in the air con until 4PM. This was to be Flash's first forray beyond the pharmacy, breakfast and bed. The Ben Tranh market was pretty good. Quite big, plenty of invitations to buy. Some of which we accepted. Can't tell you good stuff we bought, or it would give away the nature of gifts we're bringing home. :-)

Found our waiting cyclos again and made our way to the Saigon River. Stopping along the way in "shoe street" to check out the merchadise. Falsh hasn't yet found the cheap imitation brand-name shoes he's after, but I ordered the most fab black "nikes" with bright orange trim. They didn't have my size but offered to make them for me while I went for dinner. :-D I'm wearing them now, along with a dress I brought at Ben Tranh. They clash, but what the hell, they're new!

Dong Khoi was boring. Pardon my asessment, but we're here to see Vietnamese culture. Prada stores and Sheraton Hotels don't interest me here. This seems to be where the rich vietnamese come to shop and be seen. Imitating European and American style... I was a bit concerned about being toured around all the non-cyclo streets. I suppose they figure that we'll feel sorry for them and pay their fine if they get stopped. Which we would, of course! Learned about Dalat's kids (5 and 8) and wife in the Mekong area. He sends money home to them. Only work in Mekong is rice (I know about that!) and he said he can't do that. He said that in another 2-3 months he'll go home. Didn't discover if this would be to visit of for good...

When asked how long Flash and I had been married I responded with "oh, forever". lol. We had agreed before travelling that we were married, if it ever came to questions. Culturally easier. In fact I asked for it because when I asked Dalat to organise another cyclo for Flash, I said "for my husband". So the answer to do I have kids was "not yet". :-D

We asked Dalat and his friend (pronounced hue, I think) to recommend a place for dinner. It became apparent that they were going to take us back to the "new open today" restaurant that the girl in the post office told us about yesterday also. This is a place right outside the hotel, on Buu Vien street, so I guess it was better for our cyclos if they could drop us 'home' and go home for the night themselves. Of course, Dalat refused to let us pay... it's a clever strategy they have for making sure they get your business again the next day. We're meeting them at 9AM :-)

We duly had dinner at the new restaurant, Four Seasons, and it was pretty shocking. The waitresses spoke vey little English, which is not so good in the center of the tourist district. They didn't have half the drinks listed on the menu. I could find barely two or three entries on the menu (translated in French and English) without a spelling error of some kind. I assume the French verison was as full of holes. I ordered a dish which must have been their intended 'signature'. It was expensive by the standards here, and HUGE. They should have advertised it as enough for two people. It's not bad value for money for two people, but not for one. It also wasn't particularly to my liking. Neither was Flash's meal to his. And they kept trying to turn on the hotpot for my food, which I kept turning off because the heat was killing us! We gave up in amusement. I recommend anyone going to Saigon waits until they have been open for a few months before trying them again. Maybe they'll get the bugs ironed out after a while. :-)

So, then I realised that I hadn't picked up the shoes I'd ordered. So Flash took off for the pharmacy (slightly illegal night time medication this time) and I grabbed the Mad Hatter's Honda Om (yes, he said she was the fat woman too. Well, he probably weighs about 40kg, what do you expect?). We raced round to pick up fab shoes (shoes!) and back in no time flat. He tried not to charge me for the fare, "friend of Dalat" and all that. So he ended up with 20,000D instead of 15,000D. That seems to have also been a successful strategy. ;-)

And now we swelter and pass time before sleeping through until tomorrows mayhem. The plan is The Imperial Palace, The War Remnants Museum, a quick tour of Pagodas, the markets in Chinatown (Dalat insists!) . On a cyclo I doubt we have time for it all. The Pagodas are in exactly the opposite direction from Cholon (Chinatown), and it's about 3km each way. Cyclos are slow, if nothing else. We shall see. We need more custard anyway...

Anyway, there is no air con in the lobby of the hotel where the internet terminal sits, and the badly dubbed chinese movies are always playing on TV... So I'm going to skulk back to the room and snuggle up in front of the refrigeration unit. :-)

It's all nearly over... :-(
Love and Hugs
GBFSB