Our time in Ho Chi Minh was pleasant and relaxing. Maybe a bit too relaxing, as we started to get a bit lazy about planning trips, lounging in the pool! We are starting to miss the comforts of home so our base in HCMC was becoming a little too comfortable ....
Julia & Bart's home is nice, spacious and welcoming. And the pool is a much appreciated addition! We had a few days there of simply eating, sleeping & sitting in the pool--something we really needed! We were able to finally slow down a bit during our week in Ho Chi Minh---enjoy good food, good company and did I mention pool time? :P
Julia & Bart took us to a few great restaurants in the area, particularly a great French place---it was almost weird to have a fancy French meal in Vietnam, where the essence of the place is street food. Nonetheless, always up for new experiences!
Looking back on it, we still managed to do quite a bit while we were there. We went to Julia & Bart's tailor to order clothes--- for me a few dresses, shirts, and skirts & for Tom a few suits, slacks and shirts---at bargain prices!! They are not finished yet and we will get them when we return to HCMC in early May to gather the rest of our stuff. I have to admit that I thought I would love the whole process of getting things tailored but I actually hated it. Getting fabrics from the market was hell ---I am clothing retarded and I don't know how to haggle about cloth or how much cloth I need for a certain item! It just felt like a useless endeavor. Eventually, our tailor recommended a store with fabrics where they would just cut a sample for me and name the price of the fabric. Then I bring those samples to her and she determines how much I need & buys it herself. That solution was just fine with me even if it cost a few dollars more! Another reason I didn't like the process is that I really didn't know what I wanted made. I had ideas, I had printouts, but when you get there & look at colours and designs, different ideas pop into your head that might completely change your mind. So, during the whole process, I never felt quite sure about what I wanted, which could get quite frustrating. Once the fabrics, the prices, and the designs were sorted out with the tailor, it was time for the measurements---this part was the easiest!! :P As cool as it is to have a custom tailor, I really need to learn a few things in this area first before I can really enjoy this whole process!! Our friend Richard would feel right at home!! :P However, I am grateful that we used their tailor because quality and trust are important when you get stuff made so we were happy to have the inside scoop on a good tailor! Thanks Julia & Bart! :)
The tailor was also near the central market so during our hectic times at the market we took breaks for Pho & spring rolls--funny enough, the food moments were more enjoyable for me than the clothing moments---I am such a foodie!!
After the tailor we looked for travel agencies in the backpackers area to book a day trip to the Mekong delta. We settled with the first one we found and paid $10/person for the whole day including food! Not bad! I also found a nice purse for $5....just thought I would throw that in there :P
In our usual style, we did the whole day by motorbike & loved it!
