Just a few parting thoughts as this week winds down, and I look forward to a weekend excursion to Mai Chau, an enclave of mountain villages about 4 hours NW of here.
Last weekend, while I was strolling a local park, I ran into the first example of a local just staring at me. Admittedly he was only about 10 years old, but he just stopped and stood in the middle of the path, arms down and mouth open, looking at me. Most people are more discrete. Maybe he was just more openly honest than most.
The father-and-son duo I mentioned regarding the B-52 cache bears more commentary. I was wandering, hopelessly lost, in deep back alleys of Hanoi when I chanced upon a lake that looked like it might have been the one in which the B-52 crashed in 1972. No luck, but a kindly gent shouted over, asking what I was looking for. He volunteered his son (senior in high school) to walk me to the small lake where the plane remains are located. They were most hospitable. The father is an entrepreneur, focused mainly on importing and selling trucks. He also mines gypsum in Cambodia and Laos to mix into concrete. The son who showed me around is headed to college in Japan on a full scholarship, kinda following his brother who is on a full scholarship at Drexel in Philly.
The at-home son, Tu, is also an accomplished sax player. We parted (after the father snuck off and paid the café bill), promising to meet during my trip at the jazz club where he plays.
It is just totally amazing how wonderful people can be, wherever one is.
To me, I am a bit skittish knowing I am in a country that we tried to bomb back to the stone age 40+ years ago. Yet, to a person, if the topic comes up, the response is “The past is past. Move on.” We Americans should be so intelligent.
Over the long holiday weekend, I wound my way back to the bai hoi (beer today) dive a couple of blocks away. It was pretty crowded on the sidewalk (their dining room) and decided I should have some food to justify taking up a table and (too low) stool. So I pointed to a plate of fried stuff, topped with greens, that many tables were savoring. Well, about midway through the tasty treat, I realized that it was deep fried baby frogs. Whole…bones, intestines, and all. But, 3 days later, my GI tract hasn’t rebelled.
Returned to the French Hospital yesterday morning for a checkup on my cyst removal. That incision was fine. The doctor applied a deeper liquid nitro app to the growth on my back; then we agreed to have her remove about a dozen moles from my neckline. Again, a very professional procedure. Much less costly than back in the States, too.
I had to recharge my local cell phone yesterday…bought a 100,000 VND (less than $5) card to carry me through. Like most reasonable countries (USA excepted), only the sender of a call or message pays. I can send a text on this network for about 1 ½ cents.
One of the many attendants in the hotel saw me in the lobby earlier this week and, after a few minutes’ conversation, said he also cleaned rooms and asked my room number. He then told me I was “neat”. I was tempted to respond “Groovy, man!”, but figured it would only confuse. I hope it meant that I did not leave a mess for the staff every morning. They have better things to do than to attend to slobs.
I got a nice surprise when I returned to the room this evening. Two surprises, actually. There was an envelope with a cert for a glass of wine at a local restaurant. Also, the front desk manger left a bottle of Chilean merlot, with a thanks for booking a trip to Mai Chau through the hotel this weekend. This hotel does know how to acknowledge its loyal guests.
With that, I will close. Many pics and descriptions of the upcoming weekend’s trip to the mountains to follow.
Enjoy your lives!
