Day 31

Today we’re going to the countryside again but before that there are a couple of things we need to do. While the kids get ready, Xuan and me hop on the motorbike and go for breakfast at Phò Lé and it’s an easy breakfast as both of us are sleepy and no one talks more than needed. After, we stop at the bank and unfortunately we can’t do what we wanted so we head home.

When we arrive, Xuan’s brother is already there to drive us to the countryside so it’s time to pack everything we need and go on our way. Leaving HCMC is always tricky because of the traffic but as soon as we get on the freeway I can only remember arriving to the countryside… guess I felt asleep...

at the freeway

at the freeway

At the temple the kids go watch TV and I stare a little bit to and then I also close my eyes… it seems I’ve been bitten by a sleep bug and every time there’s no action I feel my eyelids close. For lunch we have vegetarian, which means steamed rice, mushrooms and a flower that I don’t know the name but it’s really good.

I need to make a couple of pictures of the temple so it’s what we do after lunch. When we finish cà phê sữa đá is waiting for us and I drink it as there’s no tomorrow or at least hoping that this sleepy feeling just go away. Xuan’s brother is heading back so we can go back home as Xuan has a meeting in the end of the day.

Guess the coffee didn’t do me any good as once more I fall asleep as soon we’re in the freeway and only wake up when the police make us stop before the motorway toll.

I don’t know if I should call funny to what am I going to tell you know or just weird and normal in Vietnam. Basically when the police stop you, you can do 2 things: give them a bribe or wait to see what they want and maybe pay more for a fine than if you had bribed them. Usually the good cars or the one’s droved by “long noses” are the target and that was what happened to us. While Xuan and her brother go talk with the police, I stay inside the car and witness what I think it was a bribe by a driver to the police. Basically, this policeman stops another nice car and the driver comes out with the documents. When they’re talking they turn their backs to us and I can only see the driver friendly slapping the policeman… after a couple of minutes the driver goes back in the car and when the policeman turns I noticed that inside the car documents he has a pack of banknotes. Well I guess I’ve just witnessed a common action in Vietnam and couldn’t do anything about it… just go with the flow…

We go on our way and when we arrive to the city we need to find a gas station as the car is low on fuel. The fuel prices here are so good that of course everyone has a motorbike or a car, mostly a motorbike as there’s no car parking spaces in the city, you just leave the car in the middle of the street… no comments.

23.000,00 VND = 0.85€

At home, we get the kids ready before Xuan’s meeting and when she starts I watch a couple of TV shows before we go for dinner. We go to the barbeque place, of course, it’s already late and when we arrive they already know what I want. In fact they ask Xuan why I always have the chicken legs and I don’t change to other thing. It’s always weird being the only “long nose” there but I think they’re getting used to me and that makes things much easier.

After dinner we do a little of window shopping while walking home but nothing catches our way and the things that do are way to expensive for Vietnamese prices. We’re dead and just want to go to bed and it’s what we do.

I take a shower and wait for my parents to connect Skype but that doesn’t happen today, which is really weird. I call them and they tell me they’re at El Corte Inglés with my grandparents. I talk with my grandma and I feel she’s really happy to hear me. Everyone’s ok and that’s what matters so it’s time to go sleep and tomorrow there’s no time to get up: it’s Sunday and I can do whatever I want!

Night night everyone, don’t let the bedbugs bite!