Sharon's Big Day Out

I must admit that I was initially feeling a little tinge of "Sheltered Wife Syndrome" during our first week here. I was happy to go out and explore with Steven by my side, but when he was otherwise engaged with his school activities on Sunday and Tuesday, I was happy to while away the day in the hotel room, answering emails, researching local publications, doing our laundry in the tub. But yesterday, after chastising myself for being an unadventurous shut-in, I decided to head out on my own.

I had a singular mission, to buy an electrical voltage converter, and I assured that I wouldn't get caught up in email again and never leave, by leaving at the same time Steven did that morning. I rushed out without proper footwear, without sunscreen and no bottled water, but I was out! I initially walked through the Ben Thanh Market which is a big indoor local market two blocks from our hotel, selling everything from bulk portions of dried fish, to shampoos, to clothes and house wares to tourist souvenirs. But no converters.

I left the market and walked down a little street away from the hotels hoping to leave the hotel district and find the electrical converter district. After making a few turns, I came upon a bike store and pantomimed my way to quote of 50.000d (or $3.03) for a bike pump with a special attachment for our tires. Not on my list for the day, but a good find nonetheless. I rounded the corner and came upon a little Hindu temple that I knew Steven had wanted to see. Another success. Walking further out onto the main road, I crossed the street without getting run over (another success) and found a little store not half a block down selling electrical voltage converters! I forgot how much fun it is to accomplish the smallest thing in a new place.

On my way back, I picked up a 5 Liter bottle of water and half a kilo of rambutans, my favorite Asian fruit.

Pleased with the success of my morning mission, I set out that afternoon to Pham Ngu Lau and Nice House where I wanted to meet with an agent about our apartment search. I decided to take a different way since our normal way has became a well worn path and found myself lost and wandering around in District One for an hour. I did come across a Co-Op Mart and wandered in to see what they had. I was stunned to see that they carried my favorite cereal, Crandberry Almond Crunch (if you haven't tried this stuff it is delicious), but it was over 70,000d, around $4.50, the same price as at home and I couldn't see spending that much for cereal when Steven and I can both a nice meal for that price. But once we have our own place, I might treat myself... I bought some yogurt and cheese for Steven because I know he's been craving them and then asked another western shopper for directions to where I was going.

I made it to Pham Ngu Lau with an hour to spare and had lunch at my new favorite restaurant in the city, Zen, a vegetarian restaurant with an extensive Vietnamese, Indian and Mexican menu. I ordered stir fried noodles and vegetables and a bottled water for $1.51 and ate a delicious meal while reading up on my Vietnamese pronunciation in my Lonely Planet Vietnamese Phrase Book.

After lunch, I went over to Nice House and met with Anh, who told me that he had a one-bedroom available in a house in District 3 that he could show me tomorrow. We confirmed an appointment at 2:00 p.m. and I headed back to the hotel for a quick break before meeting up with Steven at the school at 4:00 p.m.