I went to my usual hotel ($16/night) where I was greeted with a smile by the sweet girl who always remembers me and speaks excellent English. If I didn't already live in a hotel, staying here would be very exciting. I had forgotten to contact anyone I knew in Saigon or line up anything special to do, but I figured I'd just treat myself to a nice meal and have an early night. Well I ended up having a fantastic time just walking around District 1 because it had been completely bedazzled with Christmas lights. I had no idea they were so into it here. Christmas Day is not a public holiday or anything, but there is a large Christian population, and I think they are just generally into anything that's cute and sparkly. (I can't wait to see Valentine's Day.) Click here to see all my Christmas pics.
I had wisely thought to look up a restaurant on Lonely Planet before I left, and it turned out to be a gem - a cozy little place in District 3 called L'Etoile. It served French food on the ever-popular compartmentalized metal trays. The food was tasty, and with a glass of wine, the bill came to about $8. I then wandered around taking pictures of the lights, enjoying the wonderful freedom of travelling alone. It hasn't happened often here since I have a group of people to do things with, but it's a nice treat every now and then. I stopped in a fun-looking Irish bar called O'Brien's, but it was mainly populated by obnoxious American businessmen talking loudly about global markets and sports cars. (How come I never notice these people in America??) My next stop was a popular ice-cream place on the corner across from the festive Saigon Center. As I was slurping my yummy Cafe Liegois, I felt a tap on my shoulder, and turned around to find an old Korean who asked why I was there by myself. That question annoys me and it usually sounds creepy, but he was there with his Vietnamese wife and was actually quite friendly and spoke decent English. He said he had been in Vietnam for many years; I asked if he liked it and he said, "Well, I like her" (his wife).
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| Christmas in Vietnam is just a little more stylish. |
I continued on to Ben Thanh, the labyrinthine market (similar to a Turkish bazaar) that is way too hot and claustrophobic for me to enjoy by day, but they set up a night market outside which is pleasant to walk through. I spied some rose-colored bloomer pants and thought I'd take a shot at bargaining for them. I asked the lady how much, she said 200,000 dong. Using my Morocco technique, I offered 100,000, and she said OK. Huh? That is not how "bargaining" works. Yes, it worked out fine for me in this case (I paid $5), but I still have to chuckle at what crappy salespeople the Vietnamese are. Sometimes they'll just refuse to lower their obviously inflated price and let you walk away, as if they couldn't care less about moving any products that day.
I ended my night at Hideaway, a new bar near the hotel where some of my co-workers had hosted a dance party a few weeks prior. I knew there would be plenty of expats/teachers there on a Sunday night because many of them, like me, don't work Monday. Much to my dismay, I discovered that there is a thriving hipster community in Saigon. There were guys with mustaches and hair pommade everywhere. There were girls with tattoos and short bangs. There may have even been lensless glasses. Ugh. I talked with one girl from Mobile, Alabama for a few minutes, had one beer, and retreated back to my hotel where I stayed up later than I intended, sucked in by Asia's Next Top Model, a fascinating program.
The next day, I had a banana pancake and headed down to the French Hospital, where I had my Hep shots as well as a consultation with the head of Dermatology about some minor spots I've had for a while but could never afford to treat back home. That consultation plus the medicine cost me $35. Heck, at those prices, I'll go see the guy every week. I may even be able to get something like preventative care here. The only downside is that I have to trek into Saigon for it because the hospital in my city is rumored to be pretty disgusting.
The last event of note that weekend was lunch at an "upscale" place which was served with a complimentary live caterpillar. He was hiding under some lettuce leaves. I let him live and ate the rest of it, lol.
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| Teaching my first dance lesson to some very attentive students. |
Girls' Night Chez Lucy
Salsa Night
Other Fun Activities
