A final day & night in Saigon...

It's the final morning at Ma Maison here in Saigon and the roosters/chickens were very cooperative and stayed quiet until 730a.  Yay!  Today will be a relaxed day with a little shopping and walking around to get me a little tired for the flights tomorrow.  

It's quite a lovely day here today ~ warm, but not roasting hot, so it was good to walk around District 1 and then we ventured back to District 3 to find a shop that sells tea pots (or kettles, as they say here).  I was successful in finding the tea pot I wanted for a friend in Omaha.  :)  Then a nice simple lunch of Bahn Mi with egg (sandwich) and a little watermelon juice (sans ice). 
I had time to pack earlier today and I am now ready for my departure tomorrow morning.  It always takes a little longer than I think it will as some creativity is necessary to make everything fit!  I am basically on the 3rd floor of Ma Maison and a nice young Vietnamese gentleman has to carry my bag down those stairs, so I want to make sure it doesn't crush him!  (not really possible at this point, but I can try to make it as light as possible)  He carries everything on his shoulders and it is impressive to watch, but does make us feel bad about the size of our bags!
Here's a few photos from our wanderings today...

Memorial to a Buddhist monk who burned himself alive in 1963 in protest of the government (at that time), as they were persecuting Buddhist monks and closing down temples.

His name and birth/death dates.

Flowers at the market.  They were gorgeous.

Runaway crab...unfortunately his escape ended here.

Snails

Runaway fish...he too was caught again.

Clearly a crustacean...great colors!

Cantaloupe...which is definitely imported.

Life vests...just in case

Swim floaties for babies. 

A very old building we passed while walking

Happy Flowers!!  They say 'flip flop' on the front of them.  This picture is for my niece, Meredith.  :)

I am so happy I can purchase my Oscar dress here in Saigon!!!

Great tree

Magnolias!

We've had dinner tonight with Yen, the former director of the Rehab department at the Pediatric Hospital #1 here (who is now also a speech therapist and is basically Director Emeritus of the Rehab department) and her friend, Huong, who has been her friend since high school.  They also attended their Physical Therapy training together many years ago.  She is the Director of the Rehabilitation Department at the University Hospital here in Saigon.  These 2 ladies together are such a powerhouse and we had such a nice time at a lovely dinner.  After dinner we took a taxi to District 1 and went to an outdoor coffee cafe as well.  It was a really nice evening!

We went to a restaurant called Cuc Gach.  It is such a great place and apparently is owned by a gentleman that is an architect, now turned chef.  He apparently inherited 2 houses from a family member and he basically combined them to make a very interesting restaurant with several different levels and eating spaces.  I would not want to come to this place with high heels on, as you'll see below there would possibly be some stairs to climb.  

Outdoor patio.  It was a gorgeous night here in Saigon...cool and breezy. 

Standing on the 2nd level of the restaurant...looking at 1 of the 2 roofs, as it's made of 2 buildings that kind of wrap into each other to make all of these interesting spaces.

Interior of the slanted roof.  The brick tiles were amazing.

An outdoor view

The stairs...they are about 12" apart.  Railing is definitely required!

Zucchini flowers, sauteed...so tasty

Catfish with lemon-pepper sauce

Banana flower salad with shrimp and peanuts

Lotus...for dessert

After dinner drink.  This was an 'iced chocolate.'

A great group with which to spend my last night in Saigon!!

 In the restaurant was a printed essay done by a young student in 1965.  It was printed both in Vietnamese and also in English.  I thought it was so well-written and beautiful, so I have included it here for you to read.  

Vietnamese version

English version

A wonderful final day and evening...

xoxo
Stacy