Tailor Made

Day 9 - March 25th

• Didn't do too much today. Woke up late as we partied too hard last night. KA had a hangover. Went out for breakfast with our parents and uncle (who has returned from Saigon). Had Bun Bo Hue (again). Seems like my cousins enjoy eating hot soup in the boiling hot weather. :-) It's a spicy soup too so I was sweating at the table.
• Paper napkins in Nha Trang is not what we're use to. We each pack our own little pouches of Kleenex. The paper used in the restaurants reminds me of writing paper - little squares of Hilory paper. Not absorbant at all.
• When we enter restaurants that are a bit higher class than the local street vendors - they put bag of "iced" towels on dishes. When KA and I first encountered this service we eagerly popped our bags and wiped our bodies with it. Our little cousins didn't use their bags. We later found out that they charge for this "service". :-) But we don't care as it's like 40 cents a pack in CDN. So much more cleaner and more refreshing. Apparently they only offer this to "foreigners". Lol - everywhere I go I'm treated as a foreigner. Sometimes this is good and sometimes it's bad.
• KA and I have gotten to know the local beggers. We see certain ones daily. Some of them keep pestering us. We liked this little girl and bought some gum from her the other day. So now when she sees us walking around she waves and says "hi auntie" (in vietnamese).
• I got my skirt and dress back from the tailor this afternoon. I really like the skirt (as I gave him one of mine as a model). The dress is alright but cost of fabric and labour - the skirt as a MUCH better deal (about $9). I think the key now is to find high quality fabrics for cheaper. That or find a seamstress that doesn't charge as much for labour. KA and I are still waiting for our suits to be finished. Hopefully we'll get them in the next couple of days.
• We had lunch with my grandma on my mom's side. We like going to her house more than my grandma on my dad's side as it's much more peaceful (she doesn't have extended family living with her). Plus she is the one with all the pets. One of her dogs has taken a liking to us and we adore it as it reminds us of a skinny version of Meiko (Carol's dog).
• We went to see the giant white budha today. Budhism and prayers are big over here. I realize how lucky it is that my dad has not made the alters in our house the size of some of my uncles alters. Wow - some of them take up a whole room with multiple sections. We did some praying to various gods and took lots of pictures. KA and I bought some rosary bracelets for Micheal and Chicky - to bring them safety & luck for their cars.
• We had dinner with my grandma on my dad's side. That house has so many people living in it - it's like a circus over there.
• We passed by my grandma's neighbor - who had someone pass away the other day. They oldest son was still dressed in the ceremonial costumes. I think that he has to wear that white outfit for a month or more. Everyone else had white bands tied around their heads. My mom is superstitious and doesn't like us even looking towards that house as she's afraid that it will bring bad luck to our family. Apparently Vietnamese ghost hang out on earth for 49 days before "moving on". Plus they're really polite when asking about who has died. They refer to it as "gone to sleep" - referring to the dead person as if he had just went to his room to take a nap.
• KA and I checked out a travel agency today to see if we can book a tour to go to the northern region of Vietnam. We're done with waiting for our parents to get away from the main family - as it looks like they're stuck with the routine that they've established. There's a bus tour that we might sign up for. A greyhound bus ride up north 10 hours of driving - costs $9.
• My mom has decided to come home with us - instead of coming home a month later. She can't take more than a month with the relatives. So she came by the store last night and wanted me to book her flight home. Of course the time difference between here and Canada is like 14 hours - it was really frustrating trying to reach the travel agent. I gave up at midnight. I woke up at 6am to try again - found out that she was away for a couple of days. The company wasn't helpful at all and referred me to Eva Air Saigon. I called Eva Air Vancouver as I didn't want to try to change plane reservations with my limited Vietnamese. Eva Air Vancouver wasn't helpful either (chinese woman with limited english skills). To make matters worst my mom forgot to give me her plane ticket so I was trying to get them help me with not much information. Very frustrating for both parties. I gave up after awhile as each time I call - I have to use the VOIP (computer phone) here and the connection isn't always good. I will get my mom to call Eva Air Saigon later in the week - at least they will be in the same time zone as us and it will be more convenient.
• Going to bed now. Have an early morning. KA is going running again and I said that I would go down to the beach for a morning swim with Anh Hoan (he and I aren't runners). There's 3 things people do here: get up super early for a morning swim in the ocean or a stroll on the beachfront, ride motorbikes and go for a walk on the beachfront at night.
• I forgot to mention. The store is across from the city speaker - which are posted all over the place. Every morning and night the speakers come blaring on with the news. I think it's cause people don't own tvs so that's how they hear the news - through the speakers. They're really loud too and tend to wake KA and I at 5am. The store opens for business at 6:30am - there are kids that come in to play games at that time. Not everyone goes to school over here - drop out rate is SUPER high.