Saigon

I know the official name is "Ho Chi Minh City" but the locals still refer to their port city as "Saigon" so I've decided to do the same. Not to mention, Ho Chi Minh was a very bad man!


The Marketplace
We thought we would find a local beach to spend some time vacationing from our "vacation" but with Tet, the new year celebration in full swing for the majority of the week, flights and hotels were all booked. So we decided to get as much out of the port city as we could.

The ship had a shuttle bus that took passengers to and from the city center that left on the half hour making it very easy for us to get to the Bên Thán market.

The boys LOVE to haggle. Something they got from their dad because it is not at all fun for me. They have 2 different styles which seem to work equally as well. Jeremy is confrontational..."Meet my best offer or I'm walking." He got a couple of shirts and and some glasses that way. I ruined it for him as he tried to get a better deal on a watch. I'm too soft and agreed to a price with J rolling his eyes at me.

Ben turns out the charm. He haggles with a huge smile on his face and never budges from his final offer but never walks away either. Just stands there smiling until he gets what he wants. He earned a watch, shoes and a couple of shirts : ) Ben could easily get the Vietnamese discount too. They all look at him and want to touch him. When they get his attention they smile, nod and give him a "thumbs up" ; )

I tried to buy a couple of things with no success. I think I have either gained my "freshman 15" all over again or the asian sizing charts are WAY off! I picked up a pair of shoes to have a closer look and then had them ripped out of my hands, "Shoes too small for you!" I finally gave up when the dress shopkeeper, after bringing me bigger size after bigger size to try on finally, suggested that I look in the "big girl section"!

Jeremy had a similar problem. He was on the lookout for a pair of loafers. After haggling price all day and disappointed when they didn't have a size 12, his opening line became, "What is the largest size you have?" He actually got laughed at by one store owner who only carried up to a size 6! Ben, on the other hand said that he would like to live in Vietnam and have a vacation home in Roswell ; )

When Will We Learn?
Chris and I decided to go out to dinner for Valentines Day. The boys were given the "ok" by the Executive Dean to stay onboard unsupervised then he recommended a French restaurant for us to try.

It was dark out but the city was decorated in the full spectrum of colors for the holiday. And the scooter traffic was unbelievable! Thousands of scooters clogged up the streets. Single passenger vehicles carrying a family of 4 plus whatever bags they had was not that uncommon of a sight. Infants being bottle fed as the pregnant mother rode side-saddle behind her husband locking in their 2 year old between his legs. Crazy!

Au Manoir de Khai was about a 10 minute ride from the ship but once we walked inside, it felt like we had gone thousands of miles away to a quaint French corner of the world. It was a dimmly lit courtyard restaurant with fountains to drown out the sounds of the street, lamp post lighting the walkway and wrought iron chairs with white linen covered tables...quintessential Valentine's Day ambience. The hostess approached us, "Good evening. May I help you?" "Table for 2 please. ", Chris replied as I snapped pictures to document our dinner.
"You have reservation?" We looked at each other and back to the hostess, "No."
"I'm sorry, I can not help you."
"Can we have drinks at the bar?"
"I'm sorry, I can not help you."
Failed at the planning again!
WHEN ARE WE GOING TO LEARN?!

The hostess kindly recommended a Thai restaurant around the corner. As we walked in, we were again asked the same STUPID question about making STUPID reservations. At least this time they could accommodate us. The host shook his head and pointed upward. 3 flights up and through all the air conditioned floors, we were escorted to the outdoor seating area for all the other sweaty, non-reservation making, spontaneous fun-seeking idiots. At least the food was good and the company couldn't be better ; )

We took a walk around the city center and ended up at the bar of The Caravelle Hotel, the first hotel to open its doors after Saigon fell. It was so nice and comfortable that we decided to bring the boys back the next day.

A Vacation From Our Vacation
Chris and Jeremy woke up bright and early to play golf at the Vietnam Country Club so Ben and I were on our own for most of the day.

After breakfast I told Ben to pack a bag because Chris and I decided to stay in a hostile for the night so that the boys could have the experience a lot of their college aged friends were having. If you could have seen the look on Ben's face, you would have thought I had just told him that the world was coming to an end!

He begrudgingly stuffed his bag with essentials and I packed up for the rest of us. He dragged himself onto the shuttle bus probably thinking that he had the worst parents ever. We reached the city center and I told him we had to walk the rest of the way. Again, he gave me that look of "why me?" We only walked 4 blocks when I steered him into the Caravelle. "This is your hostile" I told him. A huge sigh of relief and and even bigger smile overcame him, "Oh thank God!"

We had a relaxing rest of the day lounging by the pool and using the awesome wifi. Ben even Skyped some friends while he was in the pool!

We went out to the market for a bit and when we returned, we found Chris and Jeremy back from their round of golf. We took it even easier and got dinner from Pizza Hut!

Last Day
The 4 of us were scheduled to take a cooking class on the last day. But at the last minute, Jeremy and Ben got a better offer...2 of the students invited them to go "ice skating" and bowling. Hesitant to let them loose in Saigon and hesitant to allow their first double date, I was comforted by Ben who told me they were "just friends" ; ) Even more comforted when I found out that one of the other kids and his dad were going to tag along.

Chris and I were happy to see that our friends Marissa (MU Golden Eagle) and her husband Mark were on the roll for the same class. They are a nice couple that we have talked about getting to know better. It was also Mark's birthday so I figured we were in for a special day!

We arrived at the Hao Tuc restaurant. It is known for its authentic Vietnamese food with a French flair. It is not fusion cuisine, but only inspired technically by the French. It is like a bistro "au pleine àir" that you would find on any street corner in Paris.

We were taught to make 3 different dishes which put together, became our lunch for the day: spring rolls with pork and prawns, green mango salad with grilled chicken and beef pho. Each table of students had its own chef to guide them through all the techniques including how to julianne vegetables, reconstitute rice paper wrappers, and make beef stock from scratch. I never knew we were such good cooks! But we are still much better eaters ; )

Afterward we went to the top of The Rex Hotel at the city center with Mark and Marissa to celebrate Mark's bday. We all ordered the local beers, Tiger and Saigon, and I quickly realized I had lost some of the Milwaukee in me as I opted to use the ice cold mug and Marissa latched on to the bottle.

A couple of rounds later and with new found "courage" to do last minute haggling, we headed to the market. Chris and Mark kept up their "confidence" at every Tiger vendor they saw.

The challenge was to get good prices but also use up all the Vietnamese Dong that we had left. I'm sure you can imagine the conversation between the 2 of them on how best to use their dong!

I found Chris wheeling and dealing with 2 young ladies trying to sell him every pair of shorts and all the shirts in their kiosk. Chris, like Jeremy and Ben has his own unique style if haggling..."Look how cute you are, how can you offer me such an unfair price?", "I'll buy it at your price if you'll take a picture with me!" Finally, the last shopkeeper felt so comfortable with his flirting that when Chris pretended to sneak off with some souvenirs she gave him a slap on the rear! As we headed out, Chris waved the little dong he had left at the street vendors and got in the cab with a brand new pair of "Versace" sunglasses!

We are on our way to Singapore. We LOSE an hour tonight! Must mean we're getting closer to home ; )