Tigers made of fruit, in the park near Pha Ngu LaoWe went up to Saigon early on Saturday, planning to do some shopping and general sight-seeing. I definitely was not expecting to spend so much - after Tra Vinh, though, any city is bound to seem expensive. Food and drinks are double, sometimes triple the price in the Big City of Vietnam. Anyways, no matter, compared to London, ANY city is a good bargain.
Upon arrival, Fellow Canadian and I hoped onto the Number 2 City Bus (dodging taxi drivers offering their services) and headed straight to our hotel in the backpacker area (which Mr. America had kindly booked for us - since he was going to Saigon too). We left our bags in our room (which had 3 beds and a private with Western toilet, but no toilet paper or towels unfortunately - gotta remember to bring toilet paper next time!) We decided to head to Ben Tanh market and do some souvenir shopping. I managed to restrain myself for the most part, but ended up buying a gorgeous blue skirt by a Japanese designer...all the while thinking "ok, the price I paid for this could feed a family for 2 or 3 weeks in Tra Vinh!"(this was in one of the boutiques, not in the market).
After the shopping experience (we were getting really good at bargaining by the end of the afternoon), we walked around for a bit & then headed back to our hotel for a nap. For supper, we picked a place just down the street from our hotel, an Indian restaurant called Mumtaz (apparently, the local Indian community really likes this place. So do the tourists). Had a delicious fish masala curry and a glass of mango lassy. The naan was great, too.
Following the Lonely Planet's recommendations, we decided to head to the Acoustic Bar (after debating - I also wanted to check out Apocalypse Now, a well-known bar in the upscale Dong Khoi area) for some live music. We had to stop for directions a few times; when we finally got to the address, we found a nice café down an alley with a jazz singer, keyboard & violin - not quite the Jimmy Hendrix hommage we were expecting, but still kinda nice and relaxing after a long day of walking.
The next day, we decided to have pho for breakfast, then head to the Annan Gourmet Market and then to Cholon (also known as District 5, or Saigon's Chinatown). We met with Mr. America and discovered that he had been to the Acoustic Bar the night before! Turns out we were in the right spot but we should have gone all the way down the alley to get to the right place! Still kicking myself, we headed out for some more sightseeing & shopping. We ended up not having enough time (or energy) to go to District 5, but did manage to get our fix of Western food at the Gourmet Market. After debating (do I REALLY need this?) I got some oatmeal...yummy! Had lunch at a Wrap & Roll (I ordered two main courses - delicious spring rolls and beef wrapped in grape vines) and then it was time to head to the bus station.
Prochaine destination: le Cambodge! Nous partons jeudi soir et y serons jusqu'à mercredi.
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