Just a few minutes…

One interesting aspect of Vietnamese (and other SE Asian) culture is the whole ‘estimating’ thing. Whenever a Vietnamese gives me a rough estimate, I go a little crazy inside.

“Just a few minutes” means anything from 5 minutes to three hours or more. “Just a little further” can mean many kilometers, or it can mean 20 meters. It’s so hard to say.

This morning, I had to drop someone off at a bus station on the main ring road that surrounds Ho Chi Minh City. I wasn’t sure at all where it was, but was told: “You remember Susi Cafe? It’s just a bit past there.” It turns out that “just a bit” was 9 km.

Things are, overall, pretty laid back here. Nobody worries too much about stuff like this. If you’re going to live here (or some place similar) you have to relax and learn to let go. If you, for example, schedule a tradesman to come to your house, you’re generally lucky to get a day, let alone a time. If they say “Tuesday at 10am”, expect them Tuesday.

Stacking up…

Driving quiz…

Say you’re driving a truck on a narrow road also occupied by scooters. There’s a puddle up ahead. Do you:

A) Slow down before hitting the puddle so as to minimize splash to the other road occupants?

B) Swerve suddenly to the right, ignoring any scooters that might be beside you?

If you chose A, you’re not ready to drive a scooter in Viet Nam. On a positive note, nobody gets splashed.

Catching up…

It’s been a while. Things have been very busy and hectic as we wind down the really hot season and move into the merely hot season.

We’ve moved to a new house in the Vinh Loc area of Ho Chi Minh City. It’s a little further out from the centre than our previous house, but it’s a much nicer and quieter place.

The rains have not yet officially arrived, but there have been auditions. The other night there was so much rain that our trash basket began to float away. Some kind soul happened by and moved it to higher ground.

As usual, I have immigration issues to deal with. We’re off to Cambodia as a family this time, and the boys and I will tour Angkor Wat. Daniel is looking forward to seeing the temple of the Tomb Raider.

I have a bunch of blog posts saved up in my head, and I hope to get them out over the next few days. Sorry for being so slack in keeping everyone up to date!