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lsandersonWe got up early the last day I was in Saigon and Men, Thong, Tin and I walked from Thong’s parent’s house to the main road. At the main road we caught a bus to the pho restaurant we usually ate at. I almost got clipped by a scooter crossing the intersection by the cemetery. At the pho place, we had the usual beef noodle followed by hot tea.
By then, a taxi arrived, and we climbed in to go downtown to a main market at rush hour. Traffic, as always, was spectacular, with much horn honking, and slow progression to the market. At the market, we shopped for some gifts for me to take home, and for silk for Men’s daughter’s wedding dress. Men and Tin picked out two lengths of silk embroidered and woven to be made into a dress. The colors were in the peach and cinnamon family. We ate at the market again. I had pork and rice, which Thong considers safe for me, and he had duck soup. On the way out of the market, we stopped at a fruit vendor that had what must be custard apples – at least I think that’s the right name aka white sapote = zapote blanco = matasano = casimiroa = custard apple. They look like apples, but taste like mild custard with a milky juice. We also bought mangos and mangosteens. (And now I’m very much regretting that I did not eat the last two mangosteens…)
We hopped another taxi to find an ATM. The taxi took us to an ATM at a department store, which was not going to be a wise choice. It worked fine, but we tried to get $300 out, and it would not dispense that many bills. Thong punched a button that got rid of the warning too fast, and we hit it up for too much money again. By the time we entered an amount It would dispense, we’d passed a time limit, and it dumped us out. I suggested we hit a bank, but the first bank the taxi driver took us too ATM didn’t do foreign currency. Then I threw a minor fit and said we should go to Citibank, and after the driver stopped at a bank, which probably would have worked just fine, we went off to the post office to mail the postcards.
At the post office, Thong and I waited a bit, then ended up with a bunch of stamps, which Thong had previously assured me they didn’t do at Vietnamese post offices. We went to a table with a large pot of glue, which Thong insisted we needed to help the stamps stick. My first attempt was a disaster, and so Thong glued the stamps on the cards. Then we took off back for home.
Men got carsick on the way back. We should have put her in the front seat. Back at the house after another exciting drive through traffic, we hid in the bedroom with the air conditioning. The last meal was pork ribblets, water spinach, rice, and potato & pork soup. We ate the custard apples, mangosteens, and mangos. Men had recovered.
Afterwards, we loafed around again upstairs. I took a shower around 1:30, and a huge plate of watermelon appeared. We ate that, and laid around talking until the taxi appeared. After a bunch of good byes, it was off for the airport.
At the airport, the three of them waited while I picked up the boarding pass – a process that seemed to take a long time. I checked one suitcase for Minneapolis, and carried the rest.
Thong had been giving me more instructions about the airport than I could remember… you have to purchase an airport tax/permit to get out, and there’s two desks to do it at. There’s one hidden in plain sight on the main floor, but not that you’d notice unless you knew it was there. There’s another one just before the take part of the receipt before you enter customs. I bought the ticket at the main one, and went up to find the gate. I was still early, so I wandered off to look around at the airport.
I ended up sitting across from the first class flight lounge and scrounged off their wireless internet for a bit before going back to the gate (where there was no wireless internet). By then, the plane had changed gates…
I boarded the plane around five o’clock, and it was off to Singapore.
At Singapore, I went to the 2nd terminal, and wandered around for a bit and then checked into the Transient Hotel where I’m sitting writing this. Off in a few minutes to get a boarding pass and something to eat. Then off for the long flight back to Minneapolis.
By then, a taxi arrived, and we climbed in to go downtown to a main market at rush hour. Traffic, as always, was spectacular, with much horn honking, and slow progression to the market. At the market, we shopped for some gifts for me to take home, and for silk for Men’s daughter’s wedding dress. Men and Tin picked out two lengths of silk embroidered and woven to be made into a dress. The colors were in the peach and cinnamon family. We ate at the market again. I had pork and rice, which Thong considers safe for me, and he had duck soup. On the way out of the market, we stopped at a fruit vendor that had what must be custard apples – at least I think that’s the right name aka white sapote = zapote blanco = matasano = casimiroa = custard apple. They look like apples, but taste like mild custard with a milky juice. We also bought mangos and mangosteens. (And now I’m very much regretting that I did not eat the last two mangosteens…)
We hopped another taxi to find an ATM. The taxi took us to an ATM at a department store, which was not going to be a wise choice. It worked fine, but we tried to get $300 out, and it would not dispense that many bills. Thong punched a button that got rid of the warning too fast, and we hit it up for too much money again. By the time we entered an amount It would dispense, we’d passed a time limit, and it dumped us out. I suggested we hit a bank, but the first bank the taxi driver took us too ATM didn’t do foreign currency. Then I threw a minor fit and said we should go to Citibank, and after the driver stopped at a bank, which probably would have worked just fine, we went off to the post office to mail the postcards.
At the post office, Thong and I waited a bit, then ended up with a bunch of stamps, which Thong had previously assured me they didn’t do at Vietnamese post offices. We went to a table with a large pot of glue, which Thong insisted we needed to help the stamps stick. My first attempt was a disaster, and so Thong glued the stamps on the cards. Then we took off back for home.
Men got carsick on the way back. We should have put her in the front seat. Back at the house after another exciting drive through traffic, we hid in the bedroom with the air conditioning. The last meal was pork ribblets, water spinach, rice, and potato & pork soup. We ate the custard apples, mangosteens, and mangos. Men had recovered.
Afterwards, we loafed around again upstairs. I took a shower around 1:30, and a huge plate of watermelon appeared. We ate that, and laid around talking until the taxi appeared. After a bunch of good byes, it was off for the airport.
At the airport, the three of them waited while I picked up the boarding pass – a process that seemed to take a long time. I checked one suitcase for Minneapolis, and carried the rest.
Thong had been giving me more instructions about the airport than I could remember… you have to purchase an airport tax/permit to get out, and there’s two desks to do it at. There’s one hidden in plain sight on the main floor, but not that you’d notice unless you knew it was there. There’s another one just before the take part of the receipt before you enter customs. I bought the ticket at the main one, and went up to find the gate. I was still early, so I wandered off to look around at the airport.
I ended up sitting across from the first class flight lounge and scrounged off their wireless internet for a bit before going back to the gate (where there was no wireless internet). By then, the plane had changed gates…
I boarded the plane around five o’clock, and it was off to Singapore.
At Singapore, I went to the 2nd terminal, and wandered around for a bit and then checked into the Transient Hotel where I’m sitting writing this. Off in a few minutes to get a boarding pass and something to eat. Then off for the long flight back to Minneapolis.
