Ho Chi Minh City
Lacquerware? Check. American war-era Zippo lighters? See the nearest street stall. Repro antique furniture? All over the place.
Visit Ho Chi Minh City - still known to all but the Vietnamese government as Saigon - more
than once and familiarity with its ubiquitous goodies can breed consumer contempt. But even the jaded don't have to delve too deeply to find a tasteful souvenir, a worthwhile gift or something new and unexpected in the world of lacquerware. Prices are in dong and US dollars and even small stores accept credit cards.
The Shanghai Tang of Saigon is Khai Silk (107 Dong Khoi Street, tel: 84 8 829 1146; www. khaisilk
corp.com), a classy joint with serious-looking, black-uniformed staff patrolling premises divided by a carp pond and bridge. Pashmina scarves (869,000 dong), linen shirts (853,000 dong) and billowing silk trousers (790,000 dong) are all invested with a certain elan.
More ethnic are the northern Vietnamese creations at Sapa (223 De Than Street, tel: 84 8 836 5163). Aladdin slippers (180,000 dong), cotton shirts (200,000 dong) and woollen, Tibetan-style cloaks (360,000 dong) abound.
Stop your shopper's foot rot by enjoying a refreshing snifter in an atmosphere of old Shanghainese and European chic at the vaunted Temple Club (29 Ton That Thiep Street, tel: 84 8 848 8299; www.
templevn.com; below left). It's hardly a shop, regularly sitting atop the hippest hang-out league, but almost everything is for sale (and if it isn't, you can order copies). So pull up an original Hanoi stool (US$80) or antique bar table with marble inlay (US$170) with that martini.