6 hours sleep without interruption.... must be the wave lullaby outside my windows ;-)
3:30
I'm doing "sink laundry" in a plastic tub..... because the actual sink is in danger of falling off the wall.... maintenance is not the German owner's strength..
5:30
OMG, that nap almost made me miss it .....
6:00
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| this indigo-dyed blanket from SaPa has travelled A LOT ;-) |
6:30
Chau is dusting the scooter when I pick it up.... what for?, LOL.....
I am relieved that the market hasn't changed at all....I'm the only white person there and get the usual visual attention. The yogurt vendor even points me out to her baby daughter....
7:30
it's already 31 Celsius and I'm sweating....
Already back in Canada I had noticed my backpack emitting an odour that can't be called fresh..... Good thing I'm back here..
9:00
I'm just going over to get some fly-paper (there is NOTHING more infuriating than trying to have a nap and have one or two flies land REPEATEDLY on the tip of one's nose!) but Tam is leaving..... grab the bike keys and off we go ... I'm her designated private driver by now, LOL.... This time we make up for just missing the bus the first time.... she gets off the scooter when I see the bus arriving behind her.
9:30
next task: sanitize that disgusting old suitcase of Grandma.... the glue holding the lining to the fiberglass has decomposed and turned to dust decades ago and little animals (now dead behind the lining) had been feeding on that.... GROSS!
10:45
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| LOL |
12:00
The Tuna Salad at Bobby's
I'm on the way to Song Cau and I see the handsome coiffeur peeing outside his salon..... if he's here, I might as well get a haircut... the sweat building up under the last 7 weeks of hair growth is overwhelming....
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| we NEED RAIN.... last time I was here, all those hills were GREEN ! |
I slowly cruise down that direction and park the bike in front of two beverage markets.... I check out the first one.... Yes, they have white wine.... and YES, there is the Grandmother in the back.... I've actually found the location they moved to, LOL.
And I start the ride home with TWO cases of wine wedged between my knees ;-)
Yesterday, I saw people digging at the side of the road and moving the remains of their ancestors somewhere else (hopefully safer)...
... it's tragic to see.... some of the most amazing sights I've had in this country were of never-ending rice fields, only interrupted by tiny hillocks with graves.
Mathias sends his 4 year old forward to chase away some Vietnamese kids who quietly had been using some lawn chairs ..... at least have the guts to do it yourself, you coward!
Then the shit hits the fan.... I'm not staying 7 nights.... he tells me that I only reserved 3 nights..... I have only TWO more days here and I've unpacked EVERYTHING in my room.... the worst part is that he is looking for lame excuses instead of trying to find a solution for his longest regular guest....
Steam is coming out of my ears, I stuff a bottle of wine and two glasses into my backpack and storm over to Quang & Lisa who are sitting on my porch watching the construction workers....
After a while I have calmed down..... I'll solve the luggage issue, I'll stay 2 days in "Sweden", travel for two days and then I can hopefully occupy a room at Lisa's...... I look at it as an adventure ;-)
From the house to back to my hotel....
..... nice chat with an Austrian... Ti/n shows up and we chat with Ani...... it's a revolving triangle..... Phi likes me, I like Ti/n, Tin/ likes Phi..... an impossible situation.... (Three months later I can only shake my head at that statement ;-)
20:00
tired & tipsy.... time to sleep
3:00
I wake up with a grin but then I remember the various UNPLEASANT events of yesterday afternoon....
.... but 45 minutes later I am vibrating with the excitement of not knowing what the next few days and weeks will bring, where I will be staying, and what will happen..... I've stepped out of my comfort zone (it was overdue) into a new adventure, LOL.
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| laundry |
Dawn should be rising by now....
Puppy is there to lick my leg ;-)
6:00
6:30
The gate is STILL locked......
The sight of the last bats cruising the air of an hour ago has been replaced by a myriad of Dragonflies hunting down any remaining little flying critters ;-)
6:40
Thanh arrives and gets the key..... and I go for a little bike ride....
 |
7:00
I'm sweating like a pig but I might as well keep up the exercise regime ....
 |
| the future Chez Kraut |
8:30
the suitcase is packed and loaded on the bike...
And the bike chooses THIS MOMENT to have a DEAD BATTERY....and the worst thing is... I can't even figure out WHERE the friggin battery is.... not that Mathias would have a battery charger .....
I cycle to nha Chau... Muoi says that Chau would be here by 9:00.....
.... it's a no-show, so at 9:30 I feel like a nap ;-)
9:35
There he is...Chau has arrived...... I offer a drink and make the mistake of taking a bottle of wine to the kitchen area.....
10:15
The bottle is empty and even Thanh had a sip... but most of it went into Chau's digestive system.... I feel less like an alcoholic now ;-)
Chau takes the bike key... we'll see what will happen ...
10:25
I get first-degree burns on the sole of my feet just trying to walk over to "Sweden".... FUCK, it's HOT ! But no-one is there.... now I need to run back over that hot coal sand ...
10:45
12:30
I feel less intoxicated and less hurried.... even though I still can't make plans on account of the demise of the scooter......
There is NO ICE in "Sweden".... so much for having a G&T now ;-(
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| The view from my terrace: Lisa's feet and Lisa's palm trees |
15:00
I'm back from the house...... I tried to raise the saddle on the bike .... and I buggered up the thread on the seat-elevation retaining screw...... that's TWO means of conveyance that quit on me today .....
16:00
A knock on my door when I try to fall asleep.... Chau!.... apparently the scooter has been fixed!
I finally deliver the suitcase to Quang's house.....
When I come back, Chau and his older older brother are there... OK, another bottle of wine....
I excuse myself to go swimming...
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| more beach food ... |
Time to visit Lisa at nha Quang.....
They're going to eat but I'm not hungry and TIRED....
19:30
Still jet-lagged: I'm WIDE awake between 11:30 & 1:30
5:00
 |
| Dawn with Puppy |
Ti/n actually remembered to put the key on top of the pillar ! I unlock the gate and ride around the block twice.....
I run into chickens,
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| WHY did the chicken cross the road?..... |
let sleeping dogs lie
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| Yesterday morning they were still barking at me.... today they lazily open one eye .... "oh just that Nuoi Tay again" and go back to snoozing |
I meet the supposed Austrian, who has lived here for 15 years and supposedly (according to Thanh) speaks Vietnamese at the 90% level..... He is actually an American..... a really nice 65-year old guy too.... and he removes a boulder from my chest by saying that he understood nothing in his first 2 years in the country.
10:00
A lunch invitation at Chau's.......Oh Thank God it's NOT lobster again.....
11:30
Sweden and the bird...the dog and the kids want to play with it.....
14:45
2 hours at nha toi with Quang & Trang.... and that young painter guy is staring at me.... and then he takes his shirt off to expose that tattoo ... OH YUMMMY!
17:00 back at the house...
17:45
Last errand of the day...
20:30
4:30
Grandma seems sluggish in the head today.... she got a new shredder after all.... I hate to think of all the important documents she is shredding right now.... The brilliant mood I was in when I woke up has changed to something much less stellar after talking to her.... action at a distance ....
walk
And the particular feeling I associate with HERE is FINALLY back in full strength (don't know where it went the last week.... too much traveling?)....
7:00
I'm going for a bike ride.... but the chain& derailleur interact in a sub-optimum manner..... back to the yard, remove dirt from the toothed wheels, add some oil.... I hope that will do the trick.... right now I'm sweating too much to try it again....
ooh...good nap....
10:30
G&T & Tuna Salad in Sweden...... I'm already walking over the sand following the shadows of palm tree fronds but I still BURN my feet on the remaining few meters..... it's HOT.... 35 Celsius, which the weather site says feels like 39....
12:30
I'm checking out rooms in Quy Nhon for in a few days...... and I am dismissing a NICE room that costs CAD$12 per night just because it doesn't have a proper work desk... it's so nice to be back in this country ....
12:45
The bike rides well again..... oiling the chain and removing crud got rid of the chain rattling ;-)
14:00
Q la mot nguoi uong chuyen nghiep ;-) The cute painter is working on the second floor out of sight ;-(
more hectic.... now we're going to Song Cau @ 16:00 to pick out lamps & ceiling fans..... but that's a good thing because I need cigarettes & wine and I had been to lazy to go .....
rush rush rush....
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| the fridge that will never be delivered! |
19:30
I just spent an hour sitting and chatting and laughing with Tam, Thanh, and Tin.... SO MUCH FUN ! I am SO going to miss these bright- and kindhearted people.... and not only because my Vietnamese is improving in leaps and bounds ...
21:00
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