9/24/10 – 9/25/10 (ho chi minh city)

Ho Chi Minh City

After a full day of sightseeing yesterday we decided to enjoy the luxuries of the penthouse suite. We relaxed at the house catching up on our reading, podcasts, and blog. We didn’t venture far for lunch as there was a full service restaurant right downstairs. If we wanted to we could’ve ordered room service but thought the walk downstairs would be good for us. Even though we didn’t leave the building at least we could say we left the house. It is amazing how quickly the day goes even when we do very little because before we knew it Ross was home from work. We had very little to report on our day so the running joke became Ross asking us if we left the building each day. I guess he caught on to our routine quickly.

Jon developed a friendly rapport with the twins, Dana and Liesl, over Wii games. They even gave him the nickname of Joe and would only call Jon by his nickname. Each afternoon Jon looked forward to the kids coming home and asking them when they could play. But luckily the kids were well behaved and finished their homework first.

The adults decided to go out to dinner. We had drinks and appetizers at a Lebanese restaurant. It was a little strange to see Vietnamese men dressed in Lebanese outfits. The food was delicious. Kate and I developed a liking to the rose martini. There was just a hint of rose and made the drink go down very easily. Then we headed off to an Indian restaurant and I had the spiciest food of my life. After the first bite, my mouth was on fire but I couldn’t stop eating it. It was a slow burning sensation and I had to keep drinking the mango lassi just to cool my mouth. After a very full meal we decided to walk home. Ross and Kate live in district 3 bordering district 1 where all the shops and restaurants are located so it was very convenient for us to get around.

The next day we joined Ross for a hot stone massage while Kate and the kids relaxed by the pool. It was the first time Jon and I had a hot stone massage and it was very relaxing. We were in such a tranquil state that we all just lounged around for the rest of the afternoon. Later that night we went out to dinner with the whole family. Sara, their eldest daughter, flew in late in the afternoon from Australia where she was attending boarding school. The whole Hetherington family was together. Kate and I liked the rose martini so much that we decided to go back to the Lebanese restaurant. We had a great meal with great friends.