Goodbye Hoi An, Hello Saigon

Our last day in Hoi An was spent with a leisurely walk through the town sampling the street foods and picking up some souvenirs for back home. We stopped to pick up the coat Sonja had made and, of course, we were talked into having a second one made that could be sewn in two hours. Aside from the fact that these are beautiful wool coats, custom made to fit, was the art of bargaining with the tailors. For both of these gorgeous coats we paid less than $100 total.

We stopped at one outdoor restaurant for a cold beer and a snack and had the only negative incident of the entire trip. The waitress was a lovely young girl (we later found out her name was My) who had a beautiful smile and was as nice as she could possibly be. But a few tables away were a couple, Aussies from their accents, that called her over and read her the riot act because they only had 6 shrimp in their dish and they felt they should have had more. You could see how upset My was at the criticism and we couldn't understand how someone could treat a person this way. Especially when you consider that for a meal that would cost $20-$30 in the states, they were paying less than $4. My's manager came out to the table and she went and stood by the kitchen. We called her over, just to tell her that we thought her service and the food was fantastic. As we spoke, she broke into tears and the hurt that this couple had imposed on her was heartbreaking. She told us that she had finished her studies at the university and wanted to work in the restaurant before starting her career in environmental technology so she could improve her English skills but that she thought maybe she had made a mistake and would have to quit her job. We told her how wonderful the meal was for us and how special her service was. Calling her manager over, we wanted him to understand that this one incident was an aberration and that My was very good at her job. He thanked us profusely and her tears were now one of happiness.

The Vietnamese have been so very kind to us. It is beyond my grasp how someone could be so petty as to berate a young girl over the number of shrimp in a $4 dish.

Coats and souvenirs in hand, we packed a box and shipped it home (to arrive in 3 months via ship) and then headed to the airport to Saigon. Sonja's next surprise awaits her.

--B