Hi Dave,
this finds me at a bit of a loose end , feeling 98% rather than 100. So, as per my usual self-interest, I’m writing to cheer myself up a little. This will be a stream-of-consciousness spiel, so you might want to skip some bits.
The caffeine, or more likely, what I’m adding to it ( various mixes of butter & coconut cream ) , isn’t agreeing with me lately. I begged off this morning’s coffee with Henry. I found myself very nauseous after a catch-up two or 3 days ago. When I made it home, I discovered that I was more dehydrated than a ship-wrecked sailor . I tried to fix that this morning by forcing myself to skull water, but the gut still isn’t happy. I’m unsure what’s going on. The first suspect is the butter – rather than the coffee – which is good quality stuff, supplied by Henry, who’s an a-grade foodie. Anyway,
I’m generally a little on edge as there are things which need doing over the next 16 days, in rough order of descending importance;
- get my passport back, with the updated expiry date, Oct 1. It’s on it’s way ( tracking via post ) , but still a little nerve-wracking. As a foreigner here, you’re screwed if you lose it.
- finish the insurance claim for the bike accident June 17. Bureaucracy here is decades behind us. Everything has to signed 15 times, stamped by the school, original documents, etc etc. Because medical treatment only finished two weeks or so ago, I couldn’t organise documents before then.I’m now waiting on a required stamp from the school ( the insuree ) before I can send it off. They’re taking their sweet time. The money ( in the high three figures, so not to be sniffed at ) will go to Henry, who I’m trusting to forward it to me. He’s a good friend, and happens to be a wealthy man, so that doesn’t worry me. What does worry me is not getting the documents in the hands of the insurance co. ( have to post to HaNoi ) before I leave. It’s possible that Henry could do it, but I’d rather not burden him with it.
- visit DaLat for a day or four. Can’t do this without passport, required for hotel bookings. It’s one of three places I wanted to visit while in
VN ( others are Nha Trang, and Da Nang ) . It’s inland, mountainous, elevated, and cool. Ideally I’d want to be back from there at least a week before I leave, to get all my ducks in row. - work on re-habbing the ankle. That is going well. I’m walking – slowly – every morning, and swimming of an afternoon. It’s still swollen, but the range of motion is improving every day.
- Sample some more local food. As ever, I over-stocked on my supermarket outings – best option economically – so I’m still working my way through that.
- Visit some more of the local tourist-y sites around Nha Trang. There’s a waterfall a bit to the North I haven’t yet been to, for example.
So that’s more or less the agenda for the next while. All the time, of course, still getting some funds dribbling in with the online teaching.
OK, I must continue my slightly manic streak here, and get some sh*t done.
( Hope to ) ‘talk’ soon,
cheers,
D