4:15
Early but that's just the way it is when I'm here....
5:45
the usual Vietnamese beach CROWD is out for morning calisthenics ......
6:00
A Vietnamese family is walking back from their sunrise time at the beach..... I can see them looking at me shyly.... and as soon as I wave at them, they frantically wave back ..... God, I love this country !
6:30
The atmosphere in the kitchen area is joyless.... even Tin is too BUSY writing accounts to talk..... only later do I realize it is SUNDAY and he wants to get out of here .....
It's time to leave
Do I want yellow tigers and blue rats on my grave?
I wouldn't mind the dragon though ...
The view of Xuan Hai and its beach never gets old
12:00
Life at Life's a Beach is more relaxed than at home .... but the pressures that a foreign boss puts on the local employees are also evident here.....
13:00
Dong is sleeping on the office bench when I arrive so I QUIETLY put my bags inside and walk to Coopmart..... wine, coffee, a new shirt..... and another opportunity for a woman selling cigarettes out of her living room.... but as is normal around here.... she doesn't take the opportunity and charges me the normal price..... maybe it's just due to the fact that I greeted her (most tourists do NOT greet, they just say "I WANT ..") and that I proceeded with "toi muon mua hai thuoc la" ;-)
Dong is awake when I come back.... they are still sleeping in the garage ....his old 2-storey house is gone now to make place for another 5-storey hotel...
17:30
Since Dong and his wife live in the garage during the construction of their new hotel, the scooter is parked in some other old woman's living room..... Yup, they do things differently around here....
19:00
Maybe some food will shake my mental sluggishness, melancholia, or mini depression or whatever this is ...
 |
| ga cai |
Time to drink some wine with Dong...... he explains to me the 30 day thing with babies..... when Muoi invited me to the ba muoi ngay event for her new son, she invited me to the naming ceremony of the baby. I realize how much that means here and I am SO SORRY to have missed that ....
Dong is a never-ending source of information on Vietnamese food and culture.... and he's happy that someone is interested ..... when I tell him the sentence I saw in my language lessons "Existing is trying to win, Living is trying to share", he reacts exactly like I predicted .... not just his eyes light up, his whole face is beaming with joy while he shouts "Yeah!" and slaps my thigh. It's nice to live in a culture where being-a-good-person is reinforced from all sides.
21:00
3:00
That's OK, I can sleep in the plane .....
Lot's of e-mails to answer .... nice start to the new day .... Tin in going on holiday today... and does he ever need one!..... P&M are on their way here on a plane from Germany via Doha.... I'll see them tomorrow .... Sheila & family will arrive in Saigon in 5 days from Canada .... Is Vietnam on its way to becoming the new Paris?
6:30
A plane crash in Ethiopia..... YET ANOTHER BRAND NEW Boeing 737 MAX 8 shows erratic altitude behaviour and kills everyone on board..... I actually check what kind of plane I will be flying with today.... and I'm relieved that it will be an Airbus 321 .....
The fact that the brightness controls of my laptop are disabled after the latest 'upgrade' from Microsoft shows me how DUMB engineers in Seattle can be.... hint: Microsoft & Boeing engineers work in the same city ...
Later in the afternoon I read that China agrees with me and GROUNDED ALL 737 MAX 8 planes of all Chinese airlines ;-)
Let there be light over Quy Nhon
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| Dong's house is NO MORE |
8:15
I'm ready to roll..... I love my daily Duolingo time.... toi hoc nhung tu moi moi ngay ;-)
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| Dong's wife in her street garden ;-) |
9:00
The taxi is already there..... thanks to Dong, I will pay only 250k for the trip to the airport, the same I just paid for last night's room.
Check in this time is EASY and quick, I get an aisle seat at the front of the plane... instead of the 9.6 kg on the way here... my two backpacks only weigh 5.9 kg this time..... I left everything behind so I wouldn't have to pay for overweight luggage.
10:00
There is no point going through security already.... they have Bun Cha Ca and beer in the cafe outside.... the veggies don't look too fresh but I haven't had Bun Cha Ca in quite a while and it tastes great....
11:00
As usual in Phu Cat, security is FAST.... and I'm sitting at the gate when my plane hasn't even arrived yet ... Dong was right.... I should have left later ... but then I managed to finish 2 blog posts already while at the airport .... I check Flightaware and see that the plane took off 40 minutes late and is only halfway here now....
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| 45 minutes to SGN |
Today I don't feel duty-bound to stay true to my 152 bus.....
Out of the bus window, I see groups of tourists with angry faces gesticulating.... probably lost and ANGRY at the Vietnamese for not speaking perfect English..... Go Home, PLEASE !
I grab 2 bottles of white wine and 13 packs of Winston before I even check in..... Tran, the ice princess is as cold as usual.... and again there is NO towel in my room..... I call the reception desk to see whether she has a spare one under the table..... she wants "to bring it up". NO NO, since my last discussion with Huyen I know that Tran will send SOMEONE ELSE up the stairs to the 5th floor. Might as well do it myself.
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| Huyen wants to fatten me up ! |
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| The poor puppy had those hair clips stuck to its head. She's much happier without them! |
16:30
Showered and feeling a little more awake ...
A Vietnamese movie just won an award at an Egyptian film festival.....
I Watch the Trailer ....
and I start to cry .....
A quick visit to Huyen, then Bun Cha.... and on the way back to the hotel THIS happens:
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| NOT the woman at my corner .... this woman sits on a street corner in The Philippines |
A woman with a baby squats at the street corner and holds out her straw hat. Yes, I have heard all the arguments AGAINST giving money to people like that.....some say that the baby just gets handed from woman to woman and that the money just goes to the big crook boss..... at least that is the excuse used by many to NOT give any money to someone asking for HELP...... is it true or is it just another urban myth?...... I don't know...... I don't have that absolute certainty in my mind that the cold-hearted people seem to have .......
.....you know those people who seem to think it's better to punish a truly needy person by NOT giving than to give by accident to a scammer.
Did that last sentence ring a bell ????
It should have, because less than 40 years ago there was someone who followed the same logic
"It is better to kill 10 innocent people than to let one guilty person escape"
Who said that?
Pol Pot, who manage to have 21% of the Cambodian population killed before Vietnam invaded Cambodia to stop him, while Vietnam was still starving just 4 days after winning against the Americans.
Pol Pot also thought that there was method to his madness, that his inhumane actions were justifiable.
But I'm not willing to do that..... because I might miss the one person who REALLY needs help....
18:00 time for a short nap ....
OMG, it so hard to get out of bed ... and maybe I should have stayed in bed ....
21:00
I end up drinking with Huyen and Koniko Hotel guy in the street again....
Huyen is her usual self...
.....she grabs my nose and twists it.....
IT HURTS
.... then she discovers something under her fingernail ....
SKIN
.... and I discover that blood is streaming down my face...... |
| CLAWED ..... |
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| That's right..... cover your face in SHAME |
Oh, it is SO GOOD to be back home .... even though I think I might have a tiny bit of a hang-over tomorrow ....
That's NOT enough sleep but I am wide awake ;-(
There is another SNOW fall warning for Vancouver LOL....it's the middle of friggin MARCH and it's STILL snowing ?
6:30
I've completed my Vietnamese lessons..... it's amazing, it really feels like it's becoming easier and easier .... but on the other hand, I still don't understand a word of what people in the street are saying ....
And another sunrise ;-)
IN the news: Airlines worldwide have GROUNDED the Boeing 737 MAX 8...... but Air Canada and WestJet will continue to fly them....... yet another reason not to fly Air Canada ;-)
P&M make contact.... I'm going to meet them at noon ....
Time to wake up and get going.... sink laundry .... pay for the room..... and start WALKING to meet P&M !
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| The Vietnamese even have nicer bird cages than Canadians ;-) |
My GPS is acting up... I walk around at least two giant circles around their hotel
Bun Cha 145. Where else would I be taking them?
13:00
Then it's time to empty a bottle on my terrace ....
16:30
No wine left, no food... time to walk towards Rong Vang....
P finds a Converse store and just like a kid looking at candy... he can't help himself and buys a pair of BRIGHT RED Cons.... not bad for a 72 year old ;-)
We can't find a decent bar on our way so we end up drinking beers in a Cafe across from the Waterpuppet Theatre...
18:00
Time for the show!
Everyone is waving their brightly lit cell phones around to take pictures. There are even some particularly retarded specimens in the back who use the flash on their SLRs to disrupt the enjoyment of the other guests.
19:20
While they take a taxi and I walk back to my hotel..... when I'm back I have completed a total of 8 km of walking today in 30 degrees.... and I'm starving....
Quoc & Huyen invite me for spring rolls on the street but they are not ready yet ...
Chips & a beer for 127 k outrageous ... but they're very good fries ;-)
I am exhausted but I end up emptying a demi bouteille of Dalat Red wine over food and talk..... Huyen, Quoc, the semi-mousy guy (Hien?), and the one-eyed Cambodian (I will learn their names in time !).... 
Chuong was busy working (there is more to it!) and again is a darling ..... Chris, I saved your book for you ...
23:00
time to sleep......
5:30
The alarm clock tears me out of pleasant dreams ... it's time to get going!
In the news: European air space is CLOSED for any Boeing 737 MAX 8. Airlines worldwide have grounded the plane. EXCEPT of course the US (after all Boeing is a US company) and its 52nd state, Canada. Let's hope that no group of passengers has to pay for that decision.
In the mail: News from Mother's caretaker in Germany... NOT good news...
6:00
6:30
FUCK, time is running out .....must rush ..... but I buy myself 15 minutes by using VietJet online check in..... now I only have to print it out downstairs .... actually, now I only have to arrive at the airport by 9:00 and not at 8:15 as planned .... toi dang hoc....
6:55
I'm READY to leave.....
Tran is thawing in her behaviour towards me...... so probably it was just insecurity......
As I walk out the door, someone is touching my shoulder....
7 minutes until my bus arrives says the modern display board at my bus stop.
I am really enjoying my bus ride today..... another epiphany.... too many beautiful people.... NOT because there are only models on the streets... but because they smile and keep their heads high...... and yes..... as Peter pointed out last night ..... those black eyes with that endless depth .... LOL.
I still have to exchange my online check-in document for a real boarding pass.... but I keep my 9C seat..... a slight advantage when boarding the plane but a big advantage when deplaning ...
b.delicieux for breakfast....
I am emptying my pockets in the security line-up.... WTF..... there is the ROOM KEY ...... AGAIN ! We'll see whether I mail it or just keep it for the 10 days until I'm back ;-)
9:10
In the news: Vietnam says NO to Boeing 737 MAX 8 ....
Canada is still flying them..... except to countries where they are banned from landing ....
9:30
NOW flight attendants of some American airlines no longer want to fly the 737 MAX 8..... lOl.... toi hieu ho !!!!
10:35
all the passengers were in the plane by 10:05 but for some reason we only take off now.... that's OK, because I slept ...
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| This is what it looks like if airplane food is RE-HEATED too often |
The usual 50k airport bus, buying a flower for vo cau Dong right next to the bus stop, offer of a free hotel room to sleep, but I end up affronting Dong by getting out my scooter and leaving early (I just waited TOO many times today)...buy 4 bottles of wine & coffee at Coopmart.... and off I go .
what a BEAUTIFUL country !
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| More evidence of how DUMB tourists are.....there are NO true homestays in Vietnam and this one was built in the last six months! |
14:00
Life's a Beach for a quick glass of wine ....
FINALLY someone in Canada reacts..... SunWing grounds its 737 MAX 8 planes
Another LIMP hug from B when I return ..... but she is happy to see me and I feel the same ...it's good to be back home.....
15:00
.... and I'm HOME .....
Bobby G&T, the bar tender (WHY don't I know his name ....?) is lifting weights when I arrive..... maybe I should do the same tomorrow morning ?
16:15
Life for the hosts is a touch hectic..... miscommunications about what the guests want.... and erratic owner shouting "Zack Zack" at the Vietnamese staff who has NO IDEA what that could mean..... panic propagating down the ranks..... but then I'm used to it and enjoy my time in the kitchen area anyway.....
but there are also quite a few issues in my life swirling around in the back of my own subconsciousness ..... Dealing with Grandma's issues, dealing with mother, dealing with the construction of Chez Chris, health issues, finally doing my taxes for the last 5 years .... I have no idea how I am going to manage it all but surprisingly I am not too worried about it. Old and wise? Maybe I have learned something after all. Whatever the problem is, don't let it destroy the NOW. It will all sort itself out.... and if not.... too bad, lOl.
22:00
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