Bai Bien Cua Toi (I).... a vegetative state upon return

3:00
I think going to Japan messed up my time schedule again.....

my lower back muscles are still tense and I'm still walking slightly crooked but I think I appeased the underlying problem with good posture..... must keep doing that!

more dozing that actual sleep ;-(

5:45
Beach walk.....

....and that relaxed feeling is back.... the one I was missing in Tokyo... and the one that is always missing in Canada.... one of the few other places that I come close to this level of Zen is on a bicycle in France .....


7:00
di cho.... a trip to the market....

One Banh Mi Cha Lua, one pineapple, 4 cups of yogurt.... all for $2 ;-)



9:00
B&M&T are still sleeping.... what else is new....I talk to Tam.... and for the FIRST TIME, I UNDERSTAND what she is saying.... no doubt a fluke because by accident she only uses words that I know already.... but it's STILL a great feeling.... there is HOPE that I will actually understand tieng Viet one day....

I walk back to my room and I see this HUGE tropical butterfly making its rounds among the flowers.....  I am DREADING going back 'home'....

In the News:
The Surrey (Canada) RCMP detachment wants to raise a Pride Flag....... and there are protesters AGAINST that.... WTF?

The usual Ignants... Learn how to SPELL the word ideology before you leave your house, you retards !  And THANKS, Donald DUMP.... 


...thanks to YOU, all those lowlifes now dare to come out of their mole holes again....

...something utterly UNTHINKABLE under Obama .....



Dark Ages 2.0 are HERE NOW.....


... and I have to spend SIX WEEKS in THAT country/continent of IMBECILES ????   

11:30

13:30
what to do....?   swim now?... or nap more?
I finish the book.... what a sad and not so sad-ending.... but there is hope in one of the last sentences "One can NEVER leave this country"....

15:00

17:30
A visit to "Sweden"....

The G&T went up from 60k to 85k .... WTF?
Good thing I'll have my own home and fridge soon.... there'll be none of that gouging !

19:00
SO TIRED

HOMECOMING ! ..... NRT-SGN-UIH-BBCT

3:30
OMG, that is EARLY....... the coffee doesn't help any either......

4:30....and it's raining outside.....

....let's hope those pink umbrellas are still standing in the lobby, otherwise I will get wet !  Then I remember that I accidentally took the umbrella to my room last night ..... a 15 minute walk with luggage..... is that worth stealing one of the hotel umbrellas for .....?

A sneeze puts my back out..... oh it SUCKS getting old... or maybe it was instant Karma for the bad umbrella-stealing thought?

4:45
I'm showered and almost packed....nothing to do but drink wine ;-)

5:10
Grandma is in a good mood when I call her..... her first words without me mentioning it: "Are you calling from Tokyo???"   Yes, she should have traveled more in her active lifetime but I'm still slightly happy that I can be her Avatar ;-)
It's almost time to GO>>>>>

5:30
on y va !

Good thing I've taken the umbrella....it's raining in the streets of Tokyo .....

I find my train platform in the HUGE Shinjuku Station.....

I leave the umbrella leaning against the wall... 

....and even fall asleep a bit during the almost 1.5 hour journey....

The usual confusion at the check-in counter.....you gotta read my name in the bottom part of the passport...then you can find it in the computer.... bloody Umlauts ;-)

8:20
The plane is supposed to take off in one hour.... my gate is 50 meters from the nearest smoking lounge.... convenient airport ;-)


A nasty flight.... I pretty much get NO SLEEP in those 6 hours.... I watch half of Song Lang again .... and the only other relief is that gorgeous young Vietnamese steward ;-)

Then the plane wastes 20 minutes circling around because the airport is too BUSY .... 


I'm limping to immigration.... and the line is ENDLESS...I'm hitting a mental low.... but eventually I'm through..... and all off a sudden my energy is back....I'm back in Vietnam .....
.....and the men are simply so much prettier here ;-)

16:15 Vietnam time
I'm FINALLY back in my room

I'm on my way to Bun Cha.... a sunglasses-selling woman in my alley.... bao nhieu? I ask.... I know enough Vietnamese to haggle....I end up paying her asking price....because it really comes down to this ... ban vui, toi vui.... she shakes both my hands with a big smile .... 

On the way back to the hotel, I see two women with these wrist cloth bracelets walking in front of me... and one of them has a GORGEOUS one on her ring... Em oi!.... I do haggle, not seriously but mostly to keep up my Vietnamese and pay 40k ... but I do NOT need a new wallet, LOL.

A bit of Huyen hangout time......

20:00..... that's 22:00 Tokyo time.... and I got up today at 3:30 Tokyo time.... no wonder I'm DEAD TIRED....

3:30
tooooooo early....
but I have a long day ahead of me and I'm slightly stressed... especially since my lower back is NOT behaving .....

Again I am amazed how many bats there are in the night sky of Saigon.... where do they sleep?

5:00

A cunning plan is formed.... I'll be back here in one week.... so I'm going to travel with MINIMUM luggage today.... just a day pack should be enough to get to BBCT .... after all, I still have stuff there ....

7:00
Trang is already at work.... now that I have Chuong's shoe size, I provide him with a choice of shoes.... I'm curious whether this will come to fruition ...

With only my day pack and a small plastic bag, the walk to the bus stop is a breeze ....

9:15
At the airport, I DOUBLE sin...

...
NOT only do I violate my diet restrictions (NO French Fries) but I also do NOT boycott American companies (Burger King).... and trust Burger King only to carry Heineken beer and NOT any of the fabulous Vietnamese brands..... Karma's punishment is instant.... some of the WORST fries I've ever eaten, LOL... and about Heineken beer... there is a reason why it is so popular.... it appeals to the largest spectrum of taste buds... which is NOT a good thing, LOL.  I'd rather have a Bia SaiGon any day....at least that has flavour!   

And HOW did Burger King every survive this long with their own brand of ketchup..... it's absolutely TASTELESS.... I feel like I'm eating cardboard fries with cardboard sauce !  It's absolutely DISGUSTING...for 90 k VND!   HOW am I going to survive 6 weeks in Canada ????



9:40
The scheduled boarding time has arrived.... but nothing is happening yet.... typical Vietjet

A NASTY flight....

....all those children screaming... the uncomfortable seats.... 

13:20
I'm HOME.....

 When I collect the scooter from Chau's house.... the display STILL says "Oil Change".... ah well, I tried.... 

I'm dead tired and try to nap.....but I'm too excited to be back home ;-)


There is one last thing I do..... as is customary within the last week of being here....  I book my return flight to come back here, LOL 


20:30

Tokyo Day 4... back to the hospital, being pinned under a giant rock, and a birthday party

5:30
a nice LOONG Sleep ;-)

Waking up with a view of the overcast concrete jungle in front of my Tokyo suite, I particularly enjoy Lisa's e-mail..... a view of Chez Chris & Bai Bien Cua Toi..... apparently they finished tiling the roof.... now it can rain.... ;-)

7:30
Let's start running those necessary errands... I need a train ticket for early tomorrow morning!  Which means I have to walk to Shinjuku Station...

I even try one of those machines.... there is an ENGLISH button after all.... but it only will sell me Narita Express tickets for today,  but not for tomorrow morning.......

I keep wandering around.... the tourist information does not open until 9:00.... 

...until I finally find the JR Lines ticket office ... I get my airport train ticket for another 2990 Yen.... and it will get me to the airport by 7:18.... perfect timing!

9:00
Now is the time that I SHOULD get into a taxi.... does the Inner Schweinhund win and I'll have a nap first?....

The Schweinehund won and I have trouble waking up at 10:30.... I better get going....

Again, the hotel calls me a taxi.... some confusion this time.... again the driver with the gloved hands.....

As I had feared.... the pills were already included in my hospital bill.... but now I'm paying CAD 100 for the return taxi to pick them up, LOL.

I have to wait for a few minutes for a taxi to arrive......and the Hotel Address Card does its trick again.... THANK GOD they gave me one of those, LOL.

As I suspected.... I get to the hospital and pick up my pills for FREE.... If I only had known that yesterday, LOL.

I get another taxi reasonably quickly (I'm on a hospital driveway after all;-) and the hotel address card does the trick again...

Political campaigning?

 The Ginza District..... when I was younger I'd never thought I'd say this.... Replacing Palaces for worshiping God (Cathedrals) or Palaces for worshiping wisdom (Universities) with Palaces for worshiping consumption (Shopping Districts like Ginza) is NOT a good thing..... it fucks up a society's collective mind !

I'm back in my room at 12:00....

Need a meal to go with this ....

A sandwich will have to do..... and then .... OMG ... I can't stand or sit... I need to SLEEP !

For the first time in my life I experience that feeling "of being pinned under a giant rock".   It takes every last bit of will I can muster NOT to simply stay in bed and sleep....

16:30
A last shopping trip....after all I don't want to be starving in the morning... but maybe I went a bit overboard ;-)

18:00
I turn on the TV.... WHY? .... I have no idea... Karma intervention? ...because it's worth it.   CNN is airing The Keepers, a show about traditional Vietnam ;-)

LOL....I've been there and shed tears at the beauty

18:30
Time to go....there is a birthday party to attend to ....

.....walking through Shinjuku at dusk..... new and interesting, but not really my thing...

a bit Blade-Runner-ish

I find the restaurant on the top floor of a shopping mall within Shinjuku Station:

Happy 50th, Mr. Poon !

On the way back towards our hotels, right after Alan gives voice to his theory that rain water makes one's hair fall out, I finally get a picture of one of these signs...

It is really TRUE

22:00
Full, Tipsy, Happy, Tired..... what a fun night....  DoDsche Mr. Poon!