A city shut down

Our friends

Nothing exciting happened yesterday. I was stuck in the hotel with no employees. I am still doing some finishing touches such as hanging shower curtains and checking that everything is up to a clean standard. Following is a little walk around I did. I plan to change more things in the rooms, but will wait until I can turn a profit. You can download and view the Hotel here.

Everything was shut down during the day, but then a curious thing happened. The streets came alive with street vendors that I had never seen before, and most of them involved drinking. Let me tell you about Bia Hoi, translated as fresh beer. Bia hoi is available throughout  much of Vietnam, and can be found in small bars and on street corners. The beer is brewed daily and each bar gets a fresh batch delivered every day in plastic jugs or large barrels. It is a lager that is about 3 percent alcohol. It costs very little so it is very popular with the locals. It also has a clean crisp taste that leaves no aftertaste.. Bia hoi production is not monitored by any health agency, therefore the government has tried putting a stop to the sidewalk vendors selling it everywhere. In Saigon it is getting harder to find, but here in NhaTrang, and all the way to Hanoi, a person can find it readily. Last night one of these Bia hoi stands set up across the street from the hotel. I guess the police are not working also, so people are trying to make an extra buck. They served the beer with grilled dried squid. Not a pleasant smell.

The traffic picked up around 6 pm and the party was back on. I am getting tired just watching all the activity. I headed out for a drive, then returned to pick up Mai and visit some friends. Beautiful friends at that!!!  I’m the man, I’m the man……..

I am trying to imbed this video of medriving. If you cannot see it, you can watch by clicking on the high lighted words.

Just read this quote and found it funny. I will share with you

Q: Someone has told me that menopause is mentioned in the bible… Is that true? Where can it be found ? A: Yes. Matthew 14:92: “And Mary rode Joseph’s ass all the way to Egypt .”

A New Years Tale… and a few pics

At the moment it is New Years Eve. Only fifteen minutes until the fireworks start. I am sure it will be spectacular. The fireworks will be launched from the center of the beach over the ocean. I only hope that I will be able to see them from here. I am right on the beach, but there is a small bend that might impede the view. I would love to walk the short distance over to get a good view but I am forced to deal with a reality that exists here. I have mentioned before that the whole country shuts down at New Year. I should have suspected that it would affect me in some way, but live and learn. I am now short staffed…… no let me re-phrase that….. I have no staff!! They have all gone home for the holiday. Mai and I are now sleeping here to keep the place open. Believe me when I say that this will never happen again. I am learning, slowly. Soooo…. Let me tell you about a big mistake I made.

Being newly engaged in the hotel business, I was asked by a family in Saigon if they could rent my entire building for one of the days during the New Year. Happy with the prospect of having a full house, I agreed as long as a deposit was sent. They did send the deposit and everything was cool……. Until…. A person came to us and wanted to book the hotel for two days prior and one week after including the date I was full…. Sorry I tell them. They can have every night except Feb 17. Not good enough and they move on looking for another hotel. This has happened many times now and I could have been at maximum capacity for two weeks, but because I am full for one night….. none of them have stayed. Damn!!!!! Live and learn. I have no doubt that I will have a lot of customers in the days to come, but I am hoping that as the first hotel here offering full services with booze and other things, that I can profit a bit on the extras. My prices are low, but of course the more people consuming… the more profit. I do not care if I make any money for me, but I would be happy if the employees working for me got a bit of a bonus. It is a bit of a dilemma still. I am now sitting on the sidewalk in front of my place watching many younger people leaving the hotel next door. It is New Year, and many are consummating their love on an hourly basis, not the working gals. They are making some money, and alas, I could be too. For now, I will continue to stick to my guns ant try to be an overnight hotel. One problem I am avoiding by not going hourly, is a situation that happened nest door. A woman showed up with a large knife angry as hell that the spouse was cheating and was there to kill somebody.

It is amazing how quickly the human body adapts. A person looks at the weather reports from around the world and think “glad I’m not there” or other things of a similar nature. I was once the same. Well… let me tell you something about that. Firstly….. depending on the elevation, the heat of the day can be quite different than what you feel at home. There is also humidity and air flow factors that are involved. I have found that a persons body quickly adjusts to the local climate and things that some extreme are no longer so. For example: I have my bedroom climate controlled. In Canada, I have the temperature set at 23 c for my comfort. Many people have it set below. Here in NhaTrang I have the temperature set at 27 c. Very comfortable. On occasion I need a sheet or blanket, even at that temperature. Humidity is also a bit of a misunderstanding here. If a person looks at the humidity levels, you may think that it will be a muggy day, but it is not so. Ocean breezes and a sky full of sunshine changes things quickly. I have only been here a few months but I can tell you that regular days of +30 and ocean humidity is pleasant. You will adapt, and quickly. I think going home will be a very cold even for me… even in June. It is starting to get hard to imagine what anything below 24 is like.

It has been pointed out to me that I have been doing too much drinking and partying since I have been here. Perhaps they are right. It is New Year and the party is on, however, there seems to always be some reason that I have to join someone for a drink, or I am a host entertaining. I did spend the last couple of days dry, but it is New Year… and tonight not so. I promise to those concerned that I will dry up in the nest few days….. and get back to my fitness mode.

This is cool!!!! I have written tomorrow’s blog tonight. Maybe I get the day off?….. We will see…. It is New Years eve, the city is rocking, And I have had one too many.

An odd afterthought: I am sitting here at almost 1:00 am and people are headed home from the fireworks display. A large number of them are carrying a long length of sugar cane, untrimmed, just cut from the ground. A question that needs an answer.

It is morning and I have the answer Taking home something sweet is good luck.

Walk into the light

Oh My God!! The Vietnamese have discovered LED’s. It is a good thing. The people here are forever trying to save money on their power bills by installing very energy efficient bulbs or even just living with very low lighting. LED’s have started an amazing transformation where they can decorate things with light at a low cost, and now they have. I was in an electrical store marveling at the rolls of led wire being sold to people. I did not know such a thing existed, but let me tell you about the display they are creating. Lunar New Year is coming up shortly. For the Asians this is a big thing. Years ago it was displayed by flags being flown from every household and chains of firecrackers adding to the constant noise all around. Now the firecrackers are no longer allowed, and light displays and special events, many of them singing are all the rage. Now the city is being lit up by a cascade of light shows, all lit by LED’s. It is only day one of the celebrations, so who knows what other light shows will show up soon. I have the camera…. I will take photo’s.

All these lights and the coming of New Year has turned this city into a party. A person cannot travel anywhere after dark without coping with heavy traffic. Also, all the young men and women are dressed for the occasion……  Damn my eyes hurt!!! I truly wish that all of you could be here to experience this…. It is a slow climax building to some kind of finale in the next two weeks. It is not as before…. I do not know how it will end…. Just another part of the adventure.

One final thought…. Do you pee in the shower?….Admit it… I know…. I have heard that many do.. me?? I can proudly admit that yes in fact I do…. Ha!! My urinal is right below my shower head…. Ahhhh luxury…. Bwa Ha Ha

Witnessing beautiful light shows, driving in warm tropical breezes, seeing beautiful young people around me, and peeing in the shower……. How can it be better?  Now I am off to Saigon for a bit of business and pleasure. It should prove interesting as I had totally forgot about new year when I made arrangements.