Friday, 30 December 2022

On the road again ...NO ICE.....Ferry ....End of Iwona .....Taxi .....Monkey Madness

 6:00 on Kho Rong

still groggy

6:30

NO BROKEN PIPES ....Jessica went to check ....what a RELIEF !

7:00

Iwona is her usual self....on her phone.... everyone else can wait for her..... I am SO sick of her over-privileged behavior ....


8:00

she said 8am for breakfast....and is L8 AGAIN.....SO SO sick of it.....

8:15 

she is there...already with all her luggage, which she leaves at reception

I leave to finish packing and from my porch see that she keeps running back between the breakfast area and her room (which already has been cleaned) .... DUH

We get into another little huff while waiting for the ferry..... My mistake apparently was saying "No" when she issued a false statement..... "I have to protect my boundaries", she says..... I feel sorry for her but I can not help her ....and I tell her honestly "We two can not travel together" ...she doesn't even seem to understand that there are people who get along SWIMMINGLY without all that bullshit..... 

9:45

I tell Viji "maybe in 4 weeks" .... I get on the ferry first and Iwona almost last..... the ferry goes to the other pier first...... Iwona didn't take her bag to her seat and goes to the front to make sure they don't unload it with all the other bags .....OOPS...they DID.....BIG DRAMA ...."My Bag, they LOST my bag!!" .... next stop is Koh Touch Pier..... again she runs to the front, shows pictures of the bag to everyone...... then the ferry leaves......we have to go back to the pier where we started (Thanks Ivona!) .... I don't know how the Khmer did it ...but one of the receptionists brings her bag .....THIS TIME she finally takes it to her seat.....and then moves seats.....far away from me..... would have saved a lot of DRAMA and TIME if she had carried that bag to her seat the first time...... But princesses don't carry their bags :-(

The ride is BUMPY....sometimes the boat crests a big wave and is in free-fall before it hits the next one ... no one pukes ....I keep staring at the horizon....

When the boat is finally in calm harbor waters, I noticed that the taxi guy called twice already... I call him back right away and apologize for not sending a message from Koh Rong..... but my word is my bond....so I always forget the fact that this is not always the case with other people....

I touch Iwona on the shoulder and say "have a safe ride" ....'you too' she manages to stutter back.... I don't think I will be communicating with her anymore....there is no point.... she annoys me....and she is NOT learning from my wisdom....

The taxi guy is standing behind the gate with a sign...... hands me over to his 'brother' and an almost brand new Lexus SUV...... and off we go on the nice new Chinese highway ....I sleep lots

14:30

The usual Phnom Penh traffic....Finally, we reach the hotel .... the 'brother' thinks $100 is generous.... by now I don't care....I'm just happy to get out of a car !

Ugly room, no kettle, glasses, nothing..... and that construction site that I have watched so often from Ohana ....is RIGHT NEXT to me.... the construction guys can walk onto my terrace !

16:15

I go shopping for booze, food & cigs at Smile and ask the owner for a glass and cutlery....

17:30

I call The Monkey and he tells me the most unbelievable story.......  Ba Nam told Lisa that I should be charged only 1 trieu/month instead of 1.5 trieu or otherwise she would cut their electricity..... WHAT THE FUCK?!!!!!!!!!   Ba Nam is my friend?!??? .....the Monkey just says "We are Vietnamese.....we are different....it's about RESPECT....... 

SHITE....While I have understood that right away (that is the reason why I LOVE this country).... Lisa and especially Tina will NEVER understand any of it.... SO SAD....

nap

20:00

awake again..... pain because nothing from Phap....he better NOT pull one of his weekend stunts again...

20:45

Tipsy and TIRED

nap

21:45

Phapie replied......"today I am happy but I'm always thinking about Han".......ooooooooohhhhh  I miss him so much !

happy sleep.....


Wednesday, 21 December 2022

Somewhere NEW.... LOTS of Love in Bien Hoa .... ICE worries ...... return to Saigon....

 6:00 ....where am I? .....

dark rings under my eyes.....

my laptop doesn't start... WTF?

I'm re-planning my day.....the computer: repair the old one AND buy a new one..??....

7:00

Talk to Eda....we're both cranky.....I because of the laptop.....she because she has to wrap Xmas gifts.....

7:30

another try .....and the stupid machine boots up this time ..... I think that fucking update switched the button assignment around...... FUCK MS


9:00  From Franz




9:30 Karma 

My hotel is 400 meters from a Coopmart......has a Medical Centre right next to it....and there is a computer repair shop just behind the Coopmart...... NOT bad ;-)

9:45

Talking to Chantal helps calm my fears about the NV house pipes freezing...

10:15

time to get my act together.....

pack & shower

11:00

One last trip to the bank machine.....another 5 trieu..... and a miserable ham and cheese sandwich and some yummy peach yogurt for Dong Nai....

11:30

Almost time to go..... somewhere new......it's been a long time.... an adventure !

12:00

Meeting the Grab driver on the main road.....someone shouts Koenig from behind.....it's LONG....small world !

vids...

I sleep on the rear seat bench ....I wake up.... check our location....1 minute away from the hotel..... Dong Nai is UGLY.....reminds me of An Nhon.... roads and shops and dust and dirt .....

13:15

The receptionist asks me 1 or 2 people.... I say maybe 2.....she starts the rant about a marriage certificate being necessary if a white and a yellow person stay in one room.... ONE person, I say..... 

Dong Nai Hotel.....the first room is large but has no balcony (well it does but I would have to climb through the window to get it).....the second room has a balcony but is small.....none look even remotely like the room I booked...... I'm not even complaining anymore.... there is no point.....

Now I understand why Phap said  " Bien Hoa khong dep"

14:00

I message Phap where I am... I can hear a train passing not far away ... what to do next? maybe nap?

15:00

back from Coopmart......I bought the last bottle of white Dalat wine....but managed to score a bottle of the bubbly .....plus Good baguette and cheese and ham and grapes.....  it is fucking HOT out there......


nap

16:00

messages from Ivona and Joanna....

18:`15

I call The Monkey..... let's keep it short...just in case Phap calls..

18:25

Yup...Phap called....he's outside the hotel.....

happy Happy HAPPY

we both can NOT believe that we just met YESTERDAY..... WTF?!!!

20:55 

He's going home..... :-(

22:00

sleep

5:30

kind of wobbly...... maybe because of drinking bubbly

8:00

breakfast.. nice buffet...I try to keep it small.....

8:30

Call Eda.....she is kind of blah....keeps mentioning the ice....NOT what I want to hear .....

10:00

Call Andrea..... OMFG....it's her birthday and she will file for divorce tomorrow.....

11:00

to Coopmart..... 3 bottles of wine and a fresh baguette

11:30

book hotels and flights...... the weather forecast for early January in VH looks UGLY.... -10C at the house in NV......holy SHIT..... I left in June and I forgot about winter.......

nap

19 degrees in VH

I order my Viet Evisa for January 4......the webpage says "payment failed"....but the payment showed up on my RBC credit card........ it's starting to get ridiculous ....

I just realized that my penthouse suite at Velkommen is on the 6th floor.....and no elevator..... good for me ;-)

14:15

Let's go for that walk to the Park...... Google Maps says it's CLOSED....but Google Maps is WRONG....

It's a fucking MIG 21..... I built plastic models of this as a 7 year old.....and an American Huey chopper.... Apocalypse Forever..... I hate weapons .....but this brings back MEMORIES.....

15:30

Laundry is done, calisthenics are done.... time for a nap 

17:00

Shave and shower...... he should be here within an hour (happy thoughts)

17:30

the door is unlocked and I have a nap....

sleep

18:45

NO PHAP

I message him....where is my love.....I will come soon

19:30

Not soon enough.....I start thinking about Phuong.....

19:45

He is here.......almost 2 hours late because he went to get a haircut... why not get one tomorrow when I'm not waiting for him.... he says that he wants to be pretty for me.....

20:30

I drop my phone off a 3rd floor balcony onto the street below..... OMFG..... it doesn't have a scratch.... THANK YOU Karma !

holding hands, hugs, kisses, naked stuff...he gets off, I don't ...again... napping all intertwined.... and the lovely snoring.....

22:00

He leaves and I feel empty and alone..... 

22:30

Talk to The Monkey for half an hour..... some BS about electricity cables along the Ba Nam road.....5 trieu every month just to have the cable?...... and why didn't Lisa tell me about this?!!


0:15

try to sleep

sleep

6:15

OUCH.... both my shoulders and the fact that I'm waking up ALONE again....

Marion wrote....

7:00 swollen eyes and tired....and almost out of wine....

7:30

breakfast

8:00

Ask for late check-out (NOT 10:00 !)....and buy more wine at Coopmart....

8:45

Call Eda.....

10:00

call Hans

10:15

communicate with Mr. Bikini.... who wanted to visit me but unfortunately relayed that message through the Monkey

nap...shower...

12:50

I check out.....the receptionist does not have the Grab App..... she calls me a private taxi

13:55

I wake up on Le Loi..... 2 minutes away from Home Away....WTF?

I want to pay and he's talking to someone on the phone....540k....I give him 600k and he is HAPPY.....what's that saying?   "Make someone smile today".

15:30

I have a box of wine and incense.....

16:15

Lisa doesn't answer her phone.....again..... it was SO nice without her during the Covid years....

I drop off laundry and the new backpack to be washed

5 trieu from the bank machine....

17:45

I'm watching SNOWDEN again..... brilliant movie.....my room door opens and people walk in.....Long gave them the wrong key !.....KHONG chuyen nghiep !!!!

Walk over to Sushi.......food

Lisa calls back....

22:30

I miss him SO MUCH.....