Some women cleaned and sold fish, while others squatted along the street, preparing breakfast on small coal stoves. And in a crowded marketplace, women hunkered down on tabletops to sell vegetables and live frogs. Alphenaar, who offers a weekly market tour, said his greatest challenge was training the kitchen staff to work standing at a table, not squatting on the floor. He made flipping an omelet and caramelizing in a clay pot seem easy. But our pork and scallion pancakes and fish soup tasted better than they looked.
Silk plays a big part in any Vietnamese tour.
I hooked up with a seamstress, picked out beautifully woven colored silks and got fitted for pajama-style pants and a jacket. They cost less than a cotton blouse back home. Many of the old buildings, such as Notre Dame Cathedral and the former Presidential Palace, convey the city's former elegance. The only spot I felt out of place as an American was at the Cu Chi Tunnels, the mole holes where Viet Cong slept, hid and nursed their wounded. They aren't the real thing, but are made in a factory nearby.