Decadence for the undeserving

I have gleaned that one is supposed to visit a spa while in Saigon. I'm not entirely sure why: Lena says its because the spa services -- the massages, facials, waxes, manicures and body wraps -- are cheap. But they're not that inexpensive. Regardless of my unsure justifications for this splurge, I decided that Lena and I should spend the afternoon in one and chose L'Apothiquaire, in District Three. She was up for it!


We had a 75-minute massage, then sat by the pool under a heavy layer of gray clouds for a half hour.

When the depressing sky became too much, we headed for the steam room and sauna and tried to sweat away the impurities that are currently clogging our facial pores.


Lena, by the way, said the massage was "orgasmic!" I thought it was pretty good, like a warm cup of green tea.


The spa itself was in a beautiful four-story French colonial villa. Some other decadent and likely undeserving person lived there once.

It was huge, with many rooms and winding hallways that turned corners into secluded courtyard patios surrounded by flowers. Muzak was being constantly piped into the various "treatment" rooms.