BBCT (I): Hardly any sleep, Hellish Heat, a crazy Hat, a Haircut.... and Happy Hour

I am awake at 1:00 again????

Yes, I SHOULD be sleeping at this hour .....

.... but sitting on the terrace under an almost full moon in balmy 28 Celsius with the only sounds coming from cicadas and the gentle waves of the ocean ain't bad either ;-)

Breakfast at 2:30 consists of the mango Tam gave me last night .... 

I never was a fan of mango, but THIS one tastes just fine ;-)

And no wonder I can't sleep.... the excitement is just too much.... I've stayed with two ancestral female members of my REAL family during the last 6 weeks.... and didn't get a single smile but only grief instead....

HERE, in this village alone, there are at least 3 pseudo families who are HAPPY to see me again and have NO problem showing it .... WTF?    Nguoi tay co nhung tim lanh ! 

3:00
Is there any point in trying to sleep NOW?   I might miss the sunrise, LOL, so I do sink laundry instead.

the wall decoration is UP again !

4:45

I surprise myself when I actually FIND the location of Tam's house on Google Maps...... after all, I've only been there once and at that time I was following her daughter on a motorbike ...

It's actually getting brighter quite a bit earlier this time of the year....it's light at 5:15 !

the office

7:00
I ask Tam what time her bus leaves tomorrow..... apparently I'll be taking her there at 7:00 tomorrow morning..... AND....OMG, they are SPOILING me..... Chau already delivered the scooter to the yard!

7:15 (in the MORNING !)
It's time to go for a SWIM...... and it's already HOT, 29 Celsius.... maybe that's why the water feels COLD? 

I haven't uploaded one of these for way too long !

Of course, it simply CAN NOT be cold....and after a minute it's just perfect ...

At 9:15 the sun is higher in the sky than it EVER gets in Vancouver and it's scorching HOT outside.... it's 32 degrees and UV index feels as if it's in the triple digits !

11:00
Since I was AFRAID of going on the 1 hour scooter trip to town and back to buy wine (with THIS SUN, I am VERY likely to come back BRIGHT ORANGE!).....

..... I settled for 2 G&T and another overpriced bottle of wine from Mr. Sweden next door...

... Sure, I'm paying for his 2+? wives but that's still better than a nasty sunburn.

11:00
I visited Muoi's family to thank them for delivering the scooter early this morning..... but not without telling them that next time Chau should knock and not vanish quietly..... their 3-month old kid is TALL and gorgeous (and I don't say that about many babies ;-)....

Even the Vietnamese are complaining that it is too HOT today, LOL.... I am relieved that I am not the only whiny one ;-)  
It is SO HOT that warmer than lukewarm water is coming out the COLD water tap!

12:30
I am grateful for every single cloud that provides a tiny bit of shade.....

On y va!

Oh, the doors of the coiffeur are actually open..... he's not there but he shows up 10 seconds after I put my backpack in the corner.... his house is 50 meters back from the road and he can SEE his customers arriving...... COMMUTING TO WORK ?   Hell NO, leave that to Nguoi Tay Dien !
20,000 VND and I won't have to worry about looking shaggy for another month !

Vasek flags at the entrance to Song Cau

Moments I wish I would never forget:..... Going 70 km/h on the highway....the guy on the scooter in front of me looks like he is staring strangely into his review mirror.... when I pass him, I realize that he is talking to the rooster that he is carrying in his bare arms while driving....


14:30
Tam is knocking.... she is leaving today already.... OK, time to get ready to drive her at 15:00

14:45
Should I really be doing this? ??? YES.... I think I should.... Chuong gave me these socks as a present to remember him by.... but now I also have his shirt.... and the socks are just WAY TOO SMALL for me ....

I think the universe will be much more at balance if I give them to someone whom they will fit ;-)

Tam likes the socks, they have a new home, and they are definitely more her style than mine. 

During the drive to the bus stop, she tries to shade my helmet-less head with a straw hat..... I shout to her "toi muon co mau nau!" (I want to be brown). 

Most Vietnamese women do NOT want to have a tan....

.....that is why she is wearing a cotton face mask, a slightly disheveled straw hat, and my helmet on top to complete the fabulous ensemble.


I've JUST arrived back in my room....thinking about another swim or a nap..... and who walks up to the terrace?  I was JUST thinking about visiting him today... it's Quang!   He asks me to walk over to the site to have a look......

At the site... HE is busy using a water hose to solidify the sand.... I can see in his face that he has been working his ARSE OFF for the last 7 weeks ..... but NOT for his stuff..... he looks WORN OUT because he was working to organize the building of houses for L & me..... of course I feel bad.... but I have an idea of how to make it up to him when all this craziness is done with.

these babies should be able to contain years and years of bowel movements

18:00
International academics who left Vietnam in 1972-1975 are my new neighbours..... interesting ;-)

18:30
DAMNED..... I want to go to SLEEP.... but I have a dinner appointment....

19:00
OMG. Long story short summary.... my suggested restaurant is CLOSED, his suggested restaurant is CLOSED, so he suggests we just drink wine on my terrace.... we finish it in 1.5 hours and we talk.... HOW?   In Vietnamese, LOL.

What a kindhearted nice man.....   and while I tell him that he is more family to me than my blood-relatives, I get the same in return.  

It reminds me of that quote.....
... the Vietnamese can take you apart, tumble the pieces around, and put you back together in a completely different way, sometimes all in the course of a single day......and this just happened to me....again !
HOW could I ever go back to the life I've lived before?????