I’m usually pretty good with jet lag.

For a few days before I travel long-haul, I go to bed a little earlier or later, depending on which direction I’m travelling, and then it never really bothers me. However we’re now into day 10 and I have been wide awake every single morning at 4.28am. (Yes, exactly).

That’s around 10/11pm in Europe, around the time I’m usually thinking about bed, so I have no idea why? It makes no sense but it does give me time to write the blog.  Suggestions on a postcard please…

We had the morning off today so we went to the beach to see if the typhoon was on its way.

The waves were huge and came right in so we couldn’t sit on the sand but there was a nice beach house to spend a few hours in and drink coconut coffee. (See later)

We’ve been lucky so far. It’s not much of a typhoon to be honest. A bit rainy but nothing too bad and it’s still high twenties so perfect for walking.

Whenever I travel it’s the cultural differences that I’d never considered that fascinate me. 

We’ve travelled through many areas now in different towns and cities in Vietnam and each street has a mixture of houses. Yes, they are all completely different architecturally (there seems to be no building regulations about conformity or style) but what I found interesting was the mix of properties.

Most properties on a street are the same width, quite narrow, maybe 10 metres wide because the frontage determines the land price.  However, you’ll see a property with a newly-rendered white boundary wall decorated with ornate wrought iron, behind which is a beautiful two-story house with modern windows, a balcony, a tiled roof with a nice car parked in the small front area, obviously well cared for. 

Next to it however, usually physically touching, is a single story ‘shack’, barely upright with corrugated roof, a tarpaulin for shade, open frontage, strewn with possessions such as cooking pots and plastic containers with an old scooter and its spares strewn around, looking quite run down, and this mix continues down street after street.

It took me a while before I formed a theory which An, our guide and fruit ambassador, confirmed. It’s about upward mobility, or the lack of the need for it.

In Europe, as people acquire more money they ‘better themselves’ by moving up to a larger home in what they consider a nicer area. We take it for granted don’t we? But do we do it for ourselves or to demonstrate our success and status?  

Here, people are more likely to stay in the place their families have always lived, as they value their family, their community and friends so they prefer to stay in the same place, often living in the same home for generations. If they become more successful they don’t move away, they just literally improve their lot, and consequently, their community, which seems a nice way to live. 

Confession

We had no idea what to expect in Vietnam food-wise so, a few months ago, I decided to research and book some nice restaurants in the places we were visiting if we had nothing planned in the evening.

It really, really annoys me that anything online now requires so much unnecessary information about you.

Surely they only need your surname, date, time and the number of people to book a table.

Nope, they now require your Title, (His excellency), Full address, (there’s never enough space for mine), Credit card details, (and, after you’ve entered it – ‘sorry we dont take American Express’ 😡). Then, Inside or outside table? (Is it going to rain?), Are you allergic to anything? (I always put snake-bites), Seating preferences? (comfy-chair please), If we are busy would you mind sharing a table? (Not a bl**dy chance), Preferred method of resuscitation should you start to choke? (Heimlich) Seats facing or side by side (seriously?). It’s really, really, really annoying.

They also all asked ‘Are you celebrating anything’ and, at the time when I booked in September, we were. It was Brigitte’s birthday, so I wrote this fact on every booking. It was the truth. 

So last night, some two and a half months later……..

I’ll keep you informed how her future celebrations go!

Talking of food, I saw an unusual item on the menu a few days ago – ‘Flying fish eggs’. I assume they just take off from the kitchen and land on your table, thereby reducing the number of waiters they need to employ, It’s incredible what they have here!

Ooh, and my new favourite drink. I told you about egg coffee in an earlier post but it’s now been blown out of the water by coconut coffee. Think upside-down Affogato. Served cold. It’s really good coffee, topped with frozen coconut milk and toasted coconut pieces. It’s the future!

I’ve had so many of them that I thought I’d add the count at the top of the blog along with days and massages but I don’t want to bury you in statistics.  

(Did you know that Vietnam is the largest provider of instant/processed coffee to Europe and the second largest coffee exporter in the world overall, second to only Brazil? You do now.

Fruit quiz

I can see that there were 73 visitors to this blog yesterday and not one person got the fruit quiz.

The answer was obviously an egg fruit because it’s shaped like an egg and it’s yellow inside.

Maybe the quiz has just run its natural course and it’s just losing popularity?

Strange things #1

Strange things #2

I think we’ll miss Torremolinos Hoi An.

We both love it here because, although it’s at times a horrible tourist trap heaving with bodies, it’s still friendly and everyone is well-behaved. No drunks, the street vendors are all polite and amusing and no-one is yelling or staggering around drunk.

It’s just a really nice atmosphere, quaint with interesting side streets, unusual stores selling interesting local crafts and nice restaurants all illuminated with thousands of lanterns.

We asked An to show us the old city and at the same time we spent a couple of hours sating Brigitte’s shopping addiction before saying goodbye to An 😫 and going for Brigitte’s birthday dinner #1.

Probably a no-news day tomorrow as we’re travelling from Hoi An to Ho Chi Min City for the next leg of our tour.

gặp lại bạn sau

Hoi An 20th November 2024