Chuc Moong Nam Moi!
(That is the full extent of my Vietnamese, that I only get to use once a year).
davidt
On Sun, Jan 22, 2023 at 06:23:10AM +0700, Ken Norton wrote:
> I???m on vacation. Yes, an actual vacation. I decided to take a couple of
> weeks off (close to 3 total) and visit my daughter in Korea.
>
> All well and good on its own, but we couldn???t leave well enough alone so we
> went to Vietnam for a few days.
>
> It isn???t often that I???m totally captivated by a place and the people. To
> say that I???ve fallen in love with Vietnam is an understatement. As I travel
> anywhere I have this tiny analytical thought in my mind of ???would I want to
> live here???? This is only the second country I???ve been to that the answer
> is
> YES!
>
> I don???t understand it either.
>
> Not all has been good though. In the act of avoiding getting run over by a
> scooter I stepped on a curb edge wrong and broke a bone when I rolled my
> foot. As a result I got to check out the healthcare system. $56 USD and two
> hours fifteen minutes. Exam, X-rays, meditations, foot brace and not a
> single question about insurance later I???m on my way.
>
> The broken foot has made getting around a little more difficult and painful
> but I???m surviving and powering through. Tonight we take the red eye flight
> back to Busan.
>
> We are staying in an Airbnb type of apartment in downtown Hanoi and one of
> the main fireworks displays for New Year celebration was right here. It was
> so close that the balcony and window was being hit by the paper bits from
> spent shells. That went on for 15 minutes. I haven???t looked at the street
> yet but it???s probably covered in debris from the fireworks.
>
> The apartment we are staying in is on the top floor of the building. 5th
> floor. 20 flights of stairs. On a broken foot. Yup. The shower can best be
> described as no flow. The drip drip drip of water is hot though! It takes
> 3-5 business days to come out but it eventually gets there. The flow is
> about 1/2 a pencil in diameter. Other than that and my need to hobble
> around on my broken foot, it???s exactly the type of adventure we were
> wanting.
>
> For me, the exchange rate is amazing. I think we are spending $12 per night
> here in Hanoi. In Da Nang it was $20. And that was because we upgraded
> rooms! Meals? I can???t even nuke a bag of popcorn back home for what a huge
> meal costs here. The most we spent was $15 for two people and that
> included the beers.
>
> We went to Ha Long Bay yesterday. Wow. Just wow.
>
> Olympus content: I have my EM-1 Mk2 with the LUMIX 12-32, 45-150, and
> 25/1.7 lenses. Pretty close to a perfect travel kit.
>
> Would I love to return to Vietnam to spend more time here? Absolutely! I
> was told that the people are special but I wasn???t expecting to what degree.
> There is much more to this story that will continue to evolve, but it
> involves an Alaska connection. :)
>
> Would I recommend a trip here? Oh my yes. A resounding yes!
>
> AG Schnozz
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