It was a whirlwind trip to Ho Chi Minh - 3 days of fabric buying sprees and intensive tailoring, plus some shopping along the way. I spent more than I budgeted but I have no regrets, will just lay low on the shopping front till Christmas!
Here's a round up of the trip:
Day 1 (2 Oct 2008)
Nick drove me to the airport and we had breakfast at McDonalds after checking in. My luggage was overweight with cloth and samples to copy! I barely walked around DFS, the bloody gate was so far away, it took ages to walk to.
It was an uneventful flight to HCM, I watched ‘Baby Mama’ onboard. The flight was faster than scheduled so I had to hang around the airport till Joanne reached. While waiting, Nick smsed to say that Nat had fallen from the bed! Geez, I had only been gone 3 hours and already an accident had occurred. She wailed apparently but was right as rain a while later. My poor baby!
First stop was the tailor's where I offloaded practically all my luggage! Seriously, about 80 percent of the weight!
We spent 2 hrs going through my alterations and orders before heading to town for lunch with some of Joanne's friends. There was Elsie, Chantal, Praveena and Nitya – the latter three had all given birth within the last 3 months while Elsie is still searching for Mr Right. We had Thai food at Golden Elephant and then Joanne and I went off to the Chinatown material market.
It rained off and on and we went from shop to shop. I tried to exercise some control but still bought about 6 pieces of cloth. Thank goodness we had rented a car for the day so we didn’t have to go back to her place to dump luggage before our shopping spree and we could leave our purchases in the car!
Next up was An Dong Plaza, we didn’t buy much but I persuaded Joanne to buy a top in the name of research! After An Dong, we headed back into town so Joanne could check if a ring she had ordered was ready. Unfortunately it wasn’t, but we tried on other jewellery and I succumbed into customizing a necklace for myself. You know, like the “Carrie” one except with my name? I made a ‘Mita’ necklace for just US$130 and it would be ready before I left.
I was in the mood to cook and had brought some pastes and curry powder with me. To show my appreciation to my hosts, I attempted a chicken curry that first night. We made a pitstop at 2 supermarkets to pick up some groceries before making our way back to Joanne and Tarek’s abode in An Phu.
Everyone pitched in to prepare the curry and I must say my first attempt was a success! Tasted just like Ma’s! Yay, I am a complete Indian woman now! Ha ha, Nick is going to be expecting curry every other day from here on!
One of their friends Hisham was alone for the weekend and came over for dinner. Tarek needed rice to go with his curry and popped some in the rice cooker. However, it was not plugged in so we waited 20 mins for nothing and then had to wait another 20 while the rice cooked eventually! Ha ha.
I was knackered by the time I tucked into bed, had been awake since 6 am and finally slept past 1 am!
Day 2 (3 Oct 2008)
We left the house late morning but not before I snapped pictures of Joanne posing in her customers’ latest orders.
Went back into town so Joanne could collect her bling while I succumbed and made another item for myself – a trilogy ring! I got lured into a boutique selling dresses and bought a scarf print halter dress for U$55, which was a bit silly since I had bought the exact same material the day before and could have tailored for half the price. But this dress fit me just nicely and was purchased in the name of copying for future dresses!
Thereafter it was to the Pho 2000 outlet next to Ben Thanh market where we both indulged in some hearty beef stew and fried spring rolls.
There was a small crowd gathered outside the restaurant because there was some filming taking place. One of the persons being filmed looked so familiar to me, I had definitely seen him on TV, on BBC’s Top Gear. Was quite sure it was one of the hosts, Jeremy Clarkson.
I bought 5 more pieces of cloth at Ben Thanh and then it was off to Saigon Square. I bought Nat and Gigi some baby clothes and 4 dresses for myself, along with a top and a sweater. I regret not buying more! Joanne was rushing to catch her Korean drama so we left to pick up Elsie but when we got back, we had some cleaning up to do because the maid did not show that day, having to tend to her sick mother.
We freshened up for dinner at The Deck, which was a short walk from the house. It’s a stylish, modern restaurant bar serving fusion food and facing the Saigon River. Praveena met us there and we shared some appetizers and side dishes. Had a watermelon martini but throughout dinner was very distracted by the countless lizards on the walls and ceiling.
I HATE lizards and having them overhead was nerve-wracking. I kept imagining them falling on me as they criss-crossed the ceiling. Brrr, I shudder to think of my reaction. Probably run kicking and screaming into the river, which was 10 feet away! Thank goodness none fell but I am still a little traumatized!
We didn’t linger too long, plans to go into town got shelved so Joanne and I convinced Elsie to stay over and have a girly night in since we were shopping together the next day. We watched Joanne’s wedding video and then sorted through materials and purchases before calling it a night.
Day 3 (4 Oct 2008)
Elsie made breakfast and then we were off to Hai Ba Trung, another stretch of material shops. I bought 11 pieces of cloth this time! One of the shops was having a sale and we dug through heaps of fabric scraps in our bare feet. Felt like stomping grapes in a vineyard!
We went back into town, making appointments for a mani/pedi at Joanne’s regular salon before having a noodle lunch a few doors away.
I did my nails and had a foot treatment plus hairwash for about S$35. Cheap huh? Midway through our manicures, Marina , Joanne’s MIL walked in. She was in town for a few weeks and had no idea Joanne would be at the salon too!
Parted ways with Elsie after that, and Joanne and I headed to the tailor’s to drop off more of my materials and collect my earlier alterations. Some of the orders I placed on Day 1 were ready – 5 new dresses, woo-hoo! On the way back to An Phu, we stopped to collect my ring and necklace. So pleased with how they turned out!
We had another quiet night in, this time with Tarek. Ordered pizzas and shepherd’s pie for dinner and watched ‘Get Smart’ on DVD. Packed my stuff to see how much my things weighed and what I could carry for Joanne, then helped her decide what samples to make for the next Diva’s Day Out.
Left early in the morning the next day, the nice lady at the counter let me check in 30kgs! Watched ‘Then She Found Me’ in the plane on the way back but as usual the over-enthusiastic stewardesses collected the earphones before the movie ended, despite me fast forwarding bits!
I thought I could catch up on my sleep this trip and have a relaxing holiday but it turned out to be an intensive shopping spree! This is my 3rd trip to HCM in 3 years, it’s turning out to be an annual affair although I can’t predict if I will go next year. Depends on whether I'm still welcome! Joanne?
Her face has changed a bit, she’s a lot rounder but still whines over everything. She has slept through the night a few times, because she drinks so much during the day. She spaces out a lot, just like her mother and hates discomfort of any kind. But she’s a pie. Nat is so going to bully her when they are older!
