One would expect that we would soon despair of shopping in the extreme heat and humidity ...but one would be wrong!
For the past two days it has been an endless round of fittings at tailors where they now know us by their first names, eyeing off everyone else's purchases and dashing off to new shops, ordering jewellery which are beautiful genuine fakes, trying on yet more clothes that stick to us in the heat, getting feet measured and shoes copied, buying silk lanterns we don't really need, and least of all visiting cultural sites. Well, some of us managed a visit to the famous Japanese bridge and a free Museum.
Of course these important activities were punctuated by frequent stops for cold drinks and refreshments to keep the flagging energy levels high: Vietnamese stuffed pork rolls on crisp baguettes ( thanks for the Secret Garden recommendation Ursula!), crispy Hoi An pancakes with peanut sauce, papaya salad with prawns, and beef wrapped in lot leaves....
We have devoured a number of iced coffees made from Vietnamese coffee and sweetened condensed milk working on the principle that the caffeine will keep us going.
Then when we stagger back to the Hotel we indulge in baskets of hot chips and fabulous passionfruit daiquiris. Oh, it's a hard life!
Of course various massages of feet and other body parts have helped lift our flagging spirits, and pedicures and manicures have helped us look more glamourous.
The only fly in the ointment is the weather forecast which is predicting heavy storms and a possible typhoon to hit sometime in the next couple of days. We're a little undecided as to whether this would be good or bad as we fly out tomorrow afternoon. Perhaps a few days stranded here would be OK? Or maybe not!!
Tonight we are off for a farewell dinner at the beautiful Red Bridge restaurant.
Your bargain shopper correspondent
Dianne
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