Smeagol

Bob I though th temple club so so but maybe it was because the service was so off, cute place though. I got some really cute bangles from a store just before the temple club,maybe Karen should take a look. Beautiful leather boxes and lamps shades as I recall.
Are you going to cu chi?
The driver we had via come and go was excellent, spotless car and it felt like he was a safe driver and didn't rely to much on the horn!!

barefootbeach

We also thought the Temple Club was one of our best meals in Vietnam...the Hue style crispy spring rolls were the best I've had....and I loved the atmosphere.

If you can, have a cocktail on the 9th floor terrace of SaigonSaigon, inside the old Caravelle Hotel. It's lovely looking down on the city lights...directly below you is the Opera House and across from that the Hotel Continental....beautiful in the night. You can almost imagine being a war correspondent and watching the bombing while imbibing....(not such a good thing)

A great place for lunch or breakfast is Cafe Au Parc, a french style cafe that also has mediterranean type food (hummus, etc). It overlooks the huge park that fronts the Reunification Palace, and there's also great upstairs seating overlooking the park.

Enjoy! Wish we had spent more time in Saigon instead of using it as a coming and going place.

kmkrnn

Saigon is another big city..I have to say we enjoied the laid back feeling of Hoi An better. But....The history here that we lived thru in our life time, is neat to see in person. I am off to check out Ben Thanh market for awhile.

dgunbug

I'm sorry we didn't spend time in the Ben Thanh market. It was so unbearably hot that I couldn't bring myself to go in more than a few moments. Our Liberty Hotel was just around the corner and I kept planning to return, but never made it there.

Robbietravels

Glad you and Karen are having a good time, cancelled flight and all. Thanks for your report on Saigon so far. I decided to skip it when we went so I am interested in your eye witness account of what we missed. And yes, it rained daily in Hoi An when we were there. Keep bringing us the good words. Bob I have an unrelated travel question for you,so I'll email it to you.

rhkkmk

just a clarification... saigon is a huge and somewhat uninteresting city in comparison to the rest of the country and hanoi in particular...

we lasted less than 1/2 hour in ben thanh mkt... k bought one pr of knock off japanese designer sandals... 100,000 dn ($5), asking price $15...

robbie, ask away...

i have not mentioned it, but i have suffered with vietnam belly for a week---much better today....

our newbie friends arr in bkk tonight after their first asia flight...

last vn report later...

Smeagol

Bob muffin lasted 10 minutes in that market it's was SO hot and crowded.
I liked HCMC but it's no where near as lovely as other SE Asian cities IMHO.
Actually preferred it to KL though?
.
Sorry to hear you have been unwell too.

rhkkmk

Quiet Friday

Hung around until late AM... just could not get moving---me, not k...

took a walk up the street 1/2 a block to the ben thala market... it is a large covered marketplace... foods, dry good, etc... it is a tamer and smaller version of the market we went to yesterday... full of tours and westerners... way less busy, but still busy enough... we found it less interesting and a tad boring... more expensive too, but still cheap comparatively...

K bought one pair of sandals...

took a taxi from the main door.... rigged meter, but we did not have far to go...meter jumped from 10 to 32... k had decided we would have lunch at mojo cafe at the sheraton, as they had some western items which might help my tummy...

we both had the grilled beef tendeloin sandwiches with bbq sauce, cheese, salad and large fries... they specialize in using a heavy western style bread with the crusts cut off... the sandwiches were delicious... we each had a pastry dessert too...K had iced tea and i had a rasberry lassi type drink... $50....very expensive, but worth it..

taxi back to the hotel..

we nipped into an optical shop directly across from the hotel... i need to replace my every day "car" glasses...
I found just what i wanted with a "local frame", sort of chartreuse colored frames with 1/2 frame bi-focals... $37.50, including eye exam to verify reading taken from current glasses... my script was re-verified in june...

K ended up with two pairs, both progressives... one designer frame (spain) and one "local" frame for new sunglasses... total cost $279... can't beat it... her last pair at home were over $750... they changed her current script slightly..
they will be ready by 11 tomorrow.. we leave about 2:30.

spent the rest of the afternoon in our room...

thinking italian for dinner..

rhkkmk

we had a fabulous dinner at La Hostaria, 17B Le Thanh Ton St....opposite end of the strret where our hotel is...

Not much to look at at first, but nice inside... owned by 2 italians... fantastic vn staff... really good food...

i had a filet grilled ouside... it came with home made fries made in small chuncks, grilled eggplant and zucchini, all presented on a bed of greens... k had linguini with seafood and a light red sauce.... 1/2 litre of good house white... large tiger beer; Tiramisu and crepe suzette... 900 dn...
everything is very fresh and well presented...

beef twice in a day... wow... the owner personally cooked my steak to a medium rare...

pizzas looked excellent as did all the dishes which passed our table... no vn food...

watching the release in burma with interest...

Marija

There's an obvious explanation for the Vietnam Belly. Stop letting strangers rub your belly...

rhkkmk

brilliant... that is surely the problem... but if i stop it would i be creating an international incident??

bookchick

Bob, one way or the other, you create an international incident wherever you go. (Even in Boston!) Glad to read that it was a good day. The restaurant sounds terrific! I love places that grill outside to the customer's specifications.

BC

BostonHarbor

Are you going to the Cu Chi tunnels? It's a bit kitsch, but given the stories of the tunnels during the war I really found seeing the actual tunnels fascinating. The also have a firing range and the constant sound of gunfire makes it pretty chilling. You do have to watch an annoying propaganda video, but they did win the way, so I guess it is their call. It's always fascinating seeing the war from the other side.

(BTW, it is pronouced "Koot-Shee" ) .

I love following your journey. Sorry Tam Tam didn't work out. It was great when I was there.

Hanuman

Bob is no tunnel rat!

BostonHarbor

LOL, the one tunnel that is available for crawl-through is pretty small, even though it has been doubled in size for tourists.

ekscrunchy

How did the custom boots and shoes turn out?

What about the clothes you had made at Yaly?

tengohambre

Forget the shoes, the boots and the clothes. I want to hear how the eye glasses they had custom made turned out. I can hear it already: "we were walking to the correct gate at the airport, past the departure lounge, but, with these new darn glasses we read gate 3 to be gate 8 and wound up back on the HCMC flight sitting next to the same monk by mistake."

Have fun.

Maybe you want to get back to eating some local food and such, and not the filets. Just a suggestion . . .

sharona

Bob and Karen, I'm following along and loving every minute of it! Thanks for all the details.

rhkkmk

just finally paid for internet... marriott "status" does not work at executive apartments...

more to follow when i can again see through my $37.50 bi-focals

kmkrnn

The glasses turned out great. He gave me an eye exam and updated my RX.. I can tell the difference between 3 and 8 now. Shoes and boots all fit well. i am not sure about the qualitiy of finish work, but they are comf and wearable. Yaly clothes are great also. When we went to pick the things up from Yaly , there was a big pull in the back of one of my tops. This was at 12:15. By 2pm my shirt was at our hotel with a new back in place.