I’ve been running about a day behind on my entries. Mostly because the last two have taken over two hours apeice to put together (surprising, I know, based on the quality of the writing). I probably shouldn’t spend so much time in Photoshop resizing and adjusting the levels of the photos.

Looking back over what I’ve posted so far, I realize that it’s barely scratched the surface of my experiences. For example, I haven’t really mentioned how hot and humid it is here, and how that means making as few trips as possible up to the 5th floor (technically 6th). Basically once we leave, we stay out all day. I also haven’t mentioned that Yonna is perfectly happy with the apartment being 90° most of the time, which seriously impacts the operation of my brain and my laptop.

It’s 6:30am now, and I’ve been up for the last hour or two, catching up on news from the US, the stock market, my credit card statements, etc. I’m about to start into a day of work. So I probably won’t leave the apartment except to get some food and cold water.

I worked most of the day yesterday too. So not much happened. When we did step out, I snapped a couple of pictures of the side street and alley leading up to the apartment building.

These are the views from the end of the alley, looking left and right respectively.

I didn’t think to take a photo straight ahead for some reason. There’s a car repair shop directly across from the alley.

We were headed to a late lunch at an Indian restaurant yesterday, but we arrived too late and they were closing until dinner. Apparently most places close around 2-2:30. So we walked to a restaurant that caters to Western tourists who stay at the upscale hotels nearby. Apparently, it’s Yonna’s mom’s favorite place to eat in Vietnam because she can get steak. In fact they have everything from eggs and bacon to hamburgers. We split an order of stir-fried seafood and vegetables and a Chinese sausage clay pot. The food was pretty good, but I’m really starting to miss the ubiquitous glass of ice water that gets constantly refilled in most restaurants in the US. I think I’ve lost 10 pounds since I’ve arrived, purely through dehydration.

As we wandered back in the general direction of the apartment, we stopped at Như Lan, a bakery that has been around since the French colonial period. We weren’t hungry, but Yonna introduced me to a drink made from Custard Apple. It was basically a smoothie made from a very delicious (and custardy) apple. The shop is open 24 hours, and offers full meals and ready-to-eat food to take away.

And before publishing this and moving on to work, I have to say for all its flaws, sometimes technology can really help you put things into perspective.