Egg Headed… that’s me

Today I saw that our hotel is now listed on Trip Advisor……. one small step

I saw a very encouraging sign this morning. There was a crew of workers raking the beach free of seaweed and other things that have washed up on the shore. This is the firs sigh that this northern beach is now becoming noticed. I hope it does not become too noticed. Right now it is the perfect place for a beach vacation. I would hate to see the same hustle of hustlers cruising the beaches here. Most of the people who stay here end up loving it and say that they will be telling others to stay. There are some though, that get a sour look on their face when they realize that there is no hamburger next door. I have no problems with that, and I happily direct them to a good hotel in the main tourist area.

When Brad left for Canada, I bought his motorcycle to use as a rental for the hotel. He had complained before of the front brakes

 being useless, and I agree with him. I decided to get them fixed. I replaced the whole undercarriage assembly and kickstand in order to have it not lean too much….. and then there was the brake job.  They started out by having an apprentice replace the pads. That being done, the brakes still would not grab. The poor apprentice struggled for half an hour to get them to work, but to no avail. The owner of the shop took over instructing the apprentice on how to do things correctly. After his hard work to correct the problem….. same thing…. No front brake! This is now a mystery. Three mechanics crouch down and tackle the problem. A lot of yelling at the bike did not seem to resolve the issue. They finally decided to try to replace the cable to see if for some unknown reason this could be the problem. No Luck. We were now up to two hours of hard work by 3 mechanics. We decided to leave and have a coffee and come back. One hour later, one of the mechanics drove up and gave a nod. Time to go and pay. I have to admit, there is some brake power there now, but still not as it should be. A total mystery! The cost for 3

 mechanics working on my vehicle for 3.5 hours with all parts included????? 165000 dong or about 9 dollars. I almost feel guilty paying this little.

Speaking about paying little. You can get many different kinds of eggs here. I have discovered that they are all good. I have had quail, duck, and chicken eggs. Today I was offered goose and ostrige eggs. Wow!! They are big. I am salivating at the prospect of trying them. Speaking about eggs. I have finally got through my thick skull that everything does not need to be overcooked. There is a street vendor across from our hotel that makes a fantastic fried egg submarine. It is a husband and wife team….. Very tiny people. I would bet that the pair of them do not weigh 180 lbs. Anyway….. They throw tow eggs in a little pan and just as the eggs get to the point of hardness, but still are a bit wet, the heat is shut down and the egg put into the bread. Next comes some Vietnamese sausage. Spiced with salt and pepper, soya sauce, and chili sauce…..wow!! Fantastic. I now have one every morning for breakfast, and my customers also. It must be the pleasure on my face when I have one that prompts them to ask where they can get the same thing.

This morning we are going on a jewelry hunt. A guest wants to purchase some jewelry, but does not know how to bargain or is afraid of getting taken advantage of. We understand completely, so we are off to help negotiate a purchase. One of the great things about buying jewelry here is it is priced by the gram. It does not matter about the quality of the craftsmanship or the labor involved. When you go to the store you will be given a price per grams. You may select any item regardless of the quality and the price will be the same. A great bargain for us.

Lastly a random short topic. There are endless ways to make money here. One of them is street karaoke. Yep, I am not kidding. A young man or woman will show up on a bicycle in front of a restaurant or coffee shop full of patrons, and they will start their battery operated karaoke machine and belt out a tune for the captive audience. Some of them are very good, and I have given them a tip or two. After collecting what the can, they move on to the next location. A person never sees this in the tourist area. It is a small part of what I love about being in the location I am.