Vietnam was visually different from Japan and China because we were amidst a lot more poverty. Ho Chi Minh City itself was a really fun city but it was really insane. Since so many people there are poor, very few can actually afford a car so everyone drives motorized scooters everywhere. I am talking massive numbers of these things all over the road driving every which way. Traffic Lights are merely a suggestion as they are rarely acknowledged. Crossing the street is a game of chicken because they do NOT stop for pedestrians. It is a really wild experience. I took some video of the craziness but the files are too large to upload on my incredibly slow internet connection on the ship so you will have to wait until I am home to see them.
Everyone knows that Vietnam is known for being extremely inexpensive, especially when it comes to massages, manicures, and other personal care services. Well as a massage regular, I just had to take advantage of being in Vietnam and spoil myself a little. So, no more than a few hours after docking in Ho Chi Minh City, a group of us staff members went for some pampering. I got a 1 hour foot massage for $10.00 American. Can you believe it? Besides for their slightly violent massage motions it was actually a really enjoyable experience. A couple people got full body massages, manicures, and pedicures, but since we all went in at the same time they didn’t have enough employees to take all of us, that was all that I was able to get at that time.
Next we went to the Ben Then market with one goal and one goal only in mind…get clothes made. That’s the other thing that Vietnam is known for-amazingly cheap and high quality custom made clothes. After a little shopping around for which material vendor we wanted to give our business to and a little bargaining by Anna, we got some great deals! One RD had a few dresses made based on some magazine pictures that she clipped and brought with her. Anna had a skirtmade and I think the guys had suits made, but the rest of us just had pants made. After spending over an hour waiting for everyone to pick out their material, the vendor took us (and our material) to her tailor to be measured so that we could place the order. Can you believe that I got a gorgeous pair of custom fit work pants for $10 US and a pair of silk pajama pants for $9 US? You would not believe how they fit like a glove. The Vietnamese tailors are SO talented. I just LOVE my clothes and I actually wish I had even more made. Next time I come to Vietnam, I am going all out and having an entire wardrobe made.
For dinner we went to a very well known Pho restaurant in Ho Chi Minh (Bill Clinton has eaten there) that was so inexpensive. I had a large bowl of Pho and 2 glasses of soy milk (I was very thirsty) for only $3 US! And, it was so much food that I didn’t even finish it all!!
As our designer clothing was being made over the next 2 days, I flew to Cambodia for 3 days on an SAS sponsored trip.
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