A haphazard chronicle of my inevitable misadventures during a year in Vietnam and points east.

p.s. I'll be pitifully grateful if you send me email during my exile: TravelerKaty@hotmail.com

October 2002 November 2002 December 2002 January 2003 February 2003 March 2003 April 2003 May 2003 June 2003 July 2003 August 2003 September 2003 October 2003 November 2003 February 2006 March 2006 May 2006

 
Went shopping for shoes this weekend. Since I'm now living in a Vietnamese home and must take my shoes off every time I enter (which really keeps things clean, incidentally -- that place is spotless), my Tevas are becoming increasingly annoying and the velcro is really getting more of a workout than it deserves. So flip-flops or slip-ons seem to be in order.

I headed down the shoe aisle at the Ben Thanh Market, the huge indoor market that sells everything from Frosted Flakes to electronics to yards of silk. Basically anything you can imagine needing. Mind you, by "aisle" I mean the 2 1/4 feet between the stalls, populated by vendors, children eating, other shoppers, and some of the more intrusive displays.

After a thorough study of the offerings, I decided that the reason why pedicures and foot massages are so popular here is that every woman's shoes are unspeakably uncomfortable. Little cushioning if any, no arch support, and high heels. Many of the shoes had designer labels -- lots of Tevas even, which resembled absolutely nothing in the official Teva product line. I watched one vendor actually crafting a Gucci shoe, complete with "Made in Italy" label, by hammering a synthetic "upper" to the sole with little metal studs. I also spotted the most uncomfortable looking pair of "Aerosoles" you could possibly imagine -- open-toed slip-ons made with plastic upper and some kind of black shiny composite 4-inch heel. No padding, no arch support, as usual.

I eventually bought some red leather-like flip flops which are half a size too big but it was such a miracle that she had anything close to my size that I felt compelled to buy them. They have some padding (miracle!) but they really aren't that comfortable. I'll limit them to trips to the internet cafe (50 yards) and to school (3 blocks), and hope the velcro holds out for all my other outings with the Tevas.

© 2002 Katy Warren
posted by Katy at 5:07 AM