So much happening so fast…

Let me start off by saying that things are happening very fast here. It is like I am a newborn, with so many new experiences that need to be soaked into my brain.  I want to talk about specific topics, but the days happenings are an interesting topic in itself.  I guess as time goes on, I will be able to focus more on specific events, but for now, I will just fill you in on a few of the days adventures… I have just come back from lounging on the corner of a busy intersection, watching life go by….. and consuming a few beers. Hopefully this blog will be coherent.

If there are any topics you wish me to investigate, or talk more on, please respond in the comment section.  I tried to do a traffic bit yesterday, but I had trouble uploading videos, so I ended up posting nothing….  Damn!  I have to work that one out. Now, on with the days adventure.

Our dollar took a bit of a jump so Mai wanted me to convert some cash. The owner of the hotel we are staying at was in checking on things and offered to do exchange for us. Hmmmmm. I was a little suspicious about this and after hearing that the exchange rate was the same as the bank, I agreed. As it turned out, she did not have the cash we required, and in conversation with her, she came to understand that we may be in the sae business as her, so she opened our eyes to one of the ways to make a small profit for our business… and you by me telling you, getting a better deal.

There is a black market in Vietnam that can offer you better exchanges than a bank. Many gold/ jewelry dealers have an area in the back that offers currency conversion. Today the bank offered 17500 dong for 1.00  The black market pays 18500. When you  have a currency that is 1000’s to one it is a big difference.

We spent much of the day shopping, pricing things that we will need or want to make life comfortable. we came across this pooch who seems to be more comfortable than we could ever be… Dogs are not the same as in Canada. They seem to be much smarter and know what their role in life is. This is something I will have to look into in more depth another time.

After  a long day, and other interesting events that need to be left for another time, we were relaxing at a corner cafe when a westerner hops the curb with his motorcycle and bellows out his food order to the girls working there. Curious about this guy, I ask ” Hey!… you live here?” He sand yea, ant told me I was drinking the wrong beer… I liked him immediately.

Jacques is from Montreal…. a damn nice guy. ( never knew I would ever say that about a Quebecois) He was a truck driver who came to Vietnam on a holiday. He went to a flower shop to make a purchase and met his love… he proposed the same day he met her, and now 5 years later is a very happy resident of Saigon. He is assuring me that our decision to come here is the best decision I could have ever made.He says he was nothing before he came here, but the Vietnamese people sucked in all of his experience and knowledge of English. He is now an English teacher making an OK wage, and loved by many……   I asked alot of questions about living here. Even though he lost his healthcare and he has serious health problems, he loves it here and would never go back to Canada to live.

How reassuring.

Coming up soon…. A talk about the girls and the bar scene. 🙂

I have to say…… those of you that thought I was mad….  no!!!!  this is getting closer to paradise day by day. In the future, I will have to describe how this place affects a person emotionally, but it will be a long and involved post that I will have to give some thought to…..