Category: Vietnam

Social distancing

Clockwise from top left: Black sesame seed milk, coffee, Banh It ( rice cake ), duck eggs, coconut, and red pepper

Yes, I kept my social distance gathering the morning haul pictured.

The Black Sesame Seed milk is a new discovery, a fat-rich ‘milk’ with a few carbs ( NZD 40c ) , made by a roadside vendor, and fresh every morning.

That’s ca phe mang ve ( takeaway coffee, NZD 1.00), since the cafes stopped allowing ‘gatherings’ a day or two back.

The Banh It is spiced pork wrapped in cooked and cooled rice, my excuse for a cheap ( NZD 20c ) carb-fest.

The coconut fresh and ripe, ‘meat’, water and all, ideal for hot afternoons. Another recent heat remedy came after pondering the phrase ‘cool as a cucumber’ ( sliced, with a pinch of salt, and apple cider vinegar ).

There could be worse places to be ‘stuck’ in.

covid-19 Vietnam

Covid Exercise Kit

Compulsory according to Govt. directives, when out in public
Compulsory according to Govt. directives, when out in public

The roads and footpaths are 'filty dirty' ( Mrs. Robson ), and so are my feet at walk's end
The roads and footpaths are 'filty dirty' ( Mrs. Robson ), and so are my feet at walk's end

And, apart from the obvious shorts and a singlet, that’s about it.

For a while now, I’ve been walking and running barefoot, and see no good reason to change. It feels good, once your feet are adapted. The roads and footpaths here are clear of nasty stones, but as you see, dusty.

Exercise recently has all been in Zone 2, at a heart rate aimed at training the aerobic system. Right now, that’s ridiculously slow, or Old Man pace, and almost all walking.

Afternoons are probably ideal performance-wise, but by then temperatures are in the mid-30’s, and not even bearable for mad dogs.

So mornings it is, along with hundreds of Vietnamese out moving their carcasses.

Back to Running(?)

This morning, I even ventured a few little trots, without my system hitting red alert for a change.

I think lots of protein, and a decent run of sleep, is doing the trick, but thus far only baby steps on the way back to running.

covid-19 Vietnam

Covid-19 and me part VII

The Vietnam government has just extended the social distancing order for Khanh Hoa province for another week, and maybe more.

Which means that school’s still out , as it has been since February 2.

Now, the earliest that schools will return here in Nha Trang is April 22, and likely later.

My Vietnamese friend ‘Henry’ and I are a little puzzled as to why Khanh Hoa has been put in the ‘high risk’ basket. There’ve been no new cases here since the province was declared virus-free after our one case was cured on February 26.

There are noises from the peanut gallery about school re-opening here in May, but these are coming from chrystal-ball gazing. For now, no-one knows.

Flights leaving Vietnam are few and far between, and a recently-announced NZ Govt.-organised flight from HaNoi to NZ would be nigh impossible to get to. Travel restrictions.

My Visa here is paid until June 1, so for now at least, I’m staying put, and working online.

Vietnam

The Ongoing Quest

The ongoing hunt for the ideal apartment is still … going on.

A few days ago I was set on returning to an old haunt at 20 Van Kiep St, from where the dogs had driven me in December.

In a disguised blessing, the apartment owner told me – a few hours before I was due to move – that the police hadn’t approved their application for me to move in. A blessing because, on reflection the apartment manager is too intrusive for my liking. An imp whose mischief borders on malice.

So I remain at 25 Quang Duc where I have spent 2020 so far, and where I’m paid up until May 3.

However, I’ve now decided that I can no longer bear the traffic and dog noise.

So I’m now on the hunt for somewhere which isn’t going to drive me to distraction and crime. Somewhere a little peaceful.

It turns out it’s a renters’ market. With tourist numbers way down, manager are dropping their prices.

Two possibilities are afloat – Anh Phu apartments, a few hundred metres from here, and Home Vu, about 7 minutes’ drive closer to the city, and to my ‘Claytons’ job.

Both are at least 500,000 VND cheaper than here, and will offer at least some more peace of mind.

Less than three weeks and counting…

Vietnam

Low finance II

Following up on the recent ‘low finance‘ adventures, more fun and games with gold dealers taught me two things.

Both have to do with the patience or otherwise of natives of North Nha Trang. First, they don’t stand for any nonsense, and second, they ( mostly ) don’t stand for any Russians.

The place is crawling with Russians. This partly because the Russkis had a military presence in Cam Ranh Bay , about 20 km south of Nha Trang, from 1979 til 2002. And, the Vietnamese continue to hire Russian consultants to direct the construction of ship-repair facilities.

On the ‘ground’ level, it’s most apparent in two things – 1) the Northern beaches are full of Russians, easily pegged by their excess flab and audio volume, and 2) business signs in Russian.

But while here they may be, liked they maybe not.

A case in point – I went to a gold dealer recently, and asked for a price for a conversion USD -> VND.

I didn’t like the offer, so went down the road, to another Vietnamese gold dealer, where the offer was .. .worse!

When I trudged BACK to the first gold dealer, waving my USD$100 bill, I got the Royal Vietnamese Wave. It’s like the Royal English wave, except here it means ~~piss off Noddy~~ please go away.

When he wasn’t sure the message was received, I got shouted at – loudly.

“NYET! NYET! “

covid-19 Vietnam

Maybe baby

It’s possible that my school will re-open April 20th, according to the Head Teacher.

However, we’ve heard this before, so there won’t be any breath-holding happening.

Meantime, I now have a third job, apart from teaching online and the above , er, Clayton’s job.

That is transcribing audio files. I’m about to start today, after passing the entry tests two weeks ago, and finally getting some files assigned.

It’s USD$38 / hour , but that’s per hour of audio, so it may turn out to be an effective hourly rate of … pittance.

It’s a ( backup ) job, Jim…

Vietnam

Bucket List

Ain’t it amazing how fast a change in POV can change everything?

A friend on messenger yesterday jolted me out of whingeing jag quick-smart, with this

Think big picture man…you are living a bucket list right now

And he’s right. It’s stinking warm, I have plenty to eat, I’m not in lockdown, and I have my own apartment and bike. I can almost earn enough online for rent + food. And I get to explore an exotic culture a world away from cold old NZ.

This in reply to me fretting about passing up a chance to save $100 NZD / month on rent. The cheaper place ( “covid-19 discount” said the manager ) had its downsides.

It’s three rooms only – 1) bedroom/living room/kitchen 2) bathroom 3) balcony. But lack of cooking gear & furniture, a construction site on the doorstep, and inertia ( AKA laziness ) meant I stayed put. For another month at the Vinh Quang, where I have been all year.

There comes a point where living cheaply has to take a back seat to living comfortably. And there’s not much to be gained by being miserable while I’m here. I can do that soon enough at home.

On that note, I’m getting slightly more adventurous when it comes to food. This time of year the heat is getting harder to manage. Thus, below is one remedy I tried today. It works well enough.

Juicy coconut, hydration weapon – ~=1 NZD

Vietnam

Money, money, money

Three down, none to go, as far as the refunds from the cancelled trip back home.

I’ve just gotten off the phone with a friendly American, who talked Nervous Neil here through the process of applying for the refund for the DAD – KUL – SYD leg.

It may take a coupla / few weeks, but it seems that I’m likely to get a full refund credited to the account I paid from. This young player learned afterward that using an agent ( kiwi.com ) rather than the airline itself was a risky move. The jury’s out, but it seems the agent has come through.

Air New Zealand, for the final leg of the trip, SYD -> WHG, was the easiest to deal with, as you might expect. From them I have a credit to use within the next year.

Vietjet, the standard budget Vietnamese airline, was the most difficult. Note to self – Learn some more _damn Vietnamese before this whole caper is over.

So it’s all far from signed, sealed, and delivered. But it’s a weight off nervous shoulders to at least have done the legwork to have ‘in my back pocket’ the eventual trip back.