After a swim on Saturday morning, I decided it was time to venture forth out of Phu My Hung once more. I caught a Phu My Hung bus (smaller, cleaner, more expensive and more direct than a public bus) to Dong Khoi Street, which is a long street that has ritzy shops, some famous old hotels, like the Rex and Continental, the Opera House/Municipal Theater, the General Post Office, Notre Dame Cathedral and a big mall called Diamond Plaza.
We had seen some of these sights on the city tour, but this was the first time I had revisited them with a map and a clue about where I might be. I walked along for an hour or so ... looking at wedding parties, little parks, window shopping, chatting with vendors, and rubbernecking. Typical tourist. I noticed in my guidebook that there was a women's museum withing walking distance so I hoofed it up there.
I was the only visitor and only two of three floors were open because it was Saturday! It is a relatively small building, in spite of its fairly large exterior. The first floor had lots of traditional dress and jewelry and an interesting display on gods and goddesses worshipped in Vietnam.
The second floor was devoted to female heroines and martyrs of the American War, as they call it here. It was somewhat reminiscent of the War Remnants Museum. There was a lovely French-Colonial house on the property, but I don't know what its purpose was ... I think somebody important lives there.
I was the only visitor and only two of three floors were open because it was Saturday! It is a relatively small building, in spite of its fairly large exterior. The first floor had lots of traditional dress and jewelry and an interesting display on gods and goddesses worshipped in Vietnam.The second floor was devoted to female heroines and martyrs of the American War, as they call it here. It was somewhat reminiscent of the War Remnants Museum. There was a lovely French-Colonial house on the property, but I don't know what its purpose was ... I think somebody important lives there. 
After checking our the museum, I hopped on a bus, with the understanding that all buses go to Cho Ben Thanh Market. Well, it let me off at a different place in/near Ben Thanh. I needed to find the other bus terminal so I could catch the trusty #34 back to Phu My Hung. It was an incredibly busy and crowded area. However, I saw the distinctive clock tower and door of Ben Thanh (There is one in each direction.) and I thought I would cut through and go to my familiar terminal. But it was in a part of the market I had never been before. It had a pretty courtyard and fountain and one of the people reminded me of my students.
It was in a section of the market that sold shoes ... gazillions of shoes. I quickly got lost and went outside to get my bearings and got even loster. Oh my, was I lost! And I was in a REALLY crowded and busy side street with hundreds of vendors and hundreds of motorbikes and cyclos (like rickshaws) and a mass of humanity. I just plodded carefully along and eventually got to a street with cars and flagged a taxi and went back to District 7. Quiet, spacious, green Phu My Hung:-)
I was in a bit of a hurry, because I had an appointment to see my physio guy, David.I have noticed that my big toes have been numb for a while and after I went to Pokhara, I was pretty sure I had screwed up my knee. When I went to my ortho appointment this summer, my surgeon spent approximately 30 seconds looking at my x-rays and assured me there were no signs of arthritis. When I asked about other possible causes of my discomfort, he was less than helpful ... he said he just replaces joints and don't ask him about anything below the knee. Usually he has a resident or a fellow to do strength testing or range-of-motion assessment, but this time (after 4 years) he didn't do any of that. Grand total of face-to-face time ... less than 2 minutes. So needless to say, I was less than impressed. 
At any rate, David is different. Well, first I should say his photo doesn't do him justice. He is very handsome and seems to have a lively mind. He has a monkey on his clinic's logo and sure enough, when I asked him, that's his Chinese Zodiac sign. Very energetic, charming, and talented from what I can tell. And a bit of a brat. Laughs easily and is aware of everything going on in the office. Can all the monkeys we taught just a few years ago be 28 years old now? Oy. He seems to do a combination of chiropractic and physiotherapy and his clinic is very interesting. It's sort of a typical Chinese storefront clinic ... no IVs, though ... and sometimes it is quite busy and other times it is very quiet. 
First I met Anthony, who is the office manager and go-to guy. He is a lovely man and probably weighs 90 pounds. Anthony speaks two Chinese languages, Cantonese and Mandarin and English and Vietnamese. David is from is from Taiwan, but I have just heard him speak Mandarin with Anthony and some patients ... his English is limited. So Anthony does a lot of translating. I asked Anthony what happens when they get a Korean patient and he said that usually he can communicate with them in English, but if not, they will get a guy from the pizzeria next door to come and translate into Vietnamese and then Anthony will translate into Chinese and so on. They are looking to hire someone who can do that Korean translating. At any rate, David did a check and said (aha) I have a problem with my knees ... the ligaments and muscles are tight, so we have been working on stretching them. Yowser. There are several technicians who put on hot packs and do ultra sound as well as sadistic stretching exercises and muscle-releasing 'massage'. They all have elbows of steel. Kitty and Linder are the main ones. They have little English ... Pain? and OK? seem to be the extent of it. They are very sweet, however. I asked Kitty to let me photograph her elbows, but she demurred.
So far, so good. I am getting more feeling in my big toes and I am not sure about anything else ... it is all in process. It's interesting and I have the feeling that they actually would like to help me feel better. My ulterior motive is I am hoping I can engage Anthony in conversation so that he can tell me where to get great Chinese food in Ho Chi Minh City. But really, it's all good people-watching and very interesting.
Speaking of food, look what 140 Vietnamese Dong (a little over $8 CDN) will buy you at the local Korean barbecue restaurant ... I was a bit shocked at the price when I looked at the menu, because it is pretty expensive for here. But when they started bringing out alll the food .... omigoodness! Does it seem possible that they laid out 17 kinds of appetizers? And then rice, barbecued pork and soup? And a Tiger beer? I certainly wished I'd had the lads with me that evening. The lady who runs the restaurant is so nice and came and explained that she makes everything herself and there is absolutely NO MSG! She said it emphatically. And no ... I didn't eat it all:-)
Hope Labour Day was a good one and if you are a back-to-school-type person, that your year is wonderul. If, like me, you are not starting anything right now ... we will keep on soldiering on:-) Sabbatical takers and recent retirees ... enjoy! All the best!
