Wednesday, July 22nd

Note: Just scroll down to read about Tuesday. Aha! You thought I forgot. No, just a little tired.

Okay now for Wednesday...Portia started the morning bright and early as Alex had arranged for her to have some swimming lessons in the hotel pool. She did a great job as the instructor taught her proper breathing techniques. We followed with a good breakfast and although our beds seemed to be beckoning, and it was inevitable that it was going to rain, we fought against our laziness and hopped a taxi. We picked up Renny & Lia and headed to Don Khoi street. We made the driver drop us off at the very end of the street where the waterways and ports are. Just walking along the pathway was like walking back in time with ships and boats of long ago passing us by. We occasionally got stopped by vendors selling their wares, either books, sun glasses, gum and a variety of tours. With just a few dollars Alex bought himself a pair of glasses that I think you can get back home for free with a Burger King Meal. After a short while, we headed back on to Don Khoi street and started what we came to do...shop. Franca started the pace at an authentic Vietnamese store where she found some beautiful scarves. After a good walk and many shops later, we looked for a reasonable place to eat but in the end, landed back at Pho 24. Renny & Lia headed back to their hotel and we moved on to the Parkson's mall. This is another very high end mall with not much traffic however we were impressed with their variety in the food court and will come back to try some of their fares. We did however make a pit stop at Highland's cafe with their cosy couches and a good cup of coffee, so hard to find here. With the Tax Department Store highly recommended we continued to find someone who knew where it was. The trouble was also finding someone that spoke english (english that we were able to understand). Alas, success. When in doubt, go to another hotel and ask the front desk. They were very helpful and little did we know we were standing 1/2 block away from the Tax Department Store (a.k.a. Thong Xa Tax Market). We entered and realized almost immediately we hit the jackpot. We shopped and shopped until we felt an obligation to get the children home and feed them. I hate when that happens! WE WILL BE BACK!!