Please be quiet
It’s Sunday, I’m trying to work on my website, to relax, and to write. I was hopeful this morning because I woke up to a rainy day. Hopeful that that would mean a quiet Sunday. But the rain is on pause for now, and all the little construction elves have come out to make as much noise as possible and drive me absolutely batty. This is one of my favorite things about construction in Vietnam….A truck arrives, blocks the lane (it’s a tiny lane) and all the motorbikes trying to pass believe they need to honk their horns the entire time they are squeezing through whatever space is left for them to squeeze through. Then, the back of the truck is unlatched and the entire load of gravel is dumped in the driveway of this villa. This sound can best be described as rocks being scratched on a chalkboard…about a million all at once.
Then, the workers pull up these little wooden carts and shovel the rocks into the cart, making sure to give their shovels a good scrape against the pavement.
The jackhammers have started up again (they are destroying the roof of the villa) and I am considering two options 1. Blast my TV volume or 2. Put in the ear plugs.
I’ll say it in Japanese this time cuz I love the word, “URUSAI, URUSAI!!!”
p.s. As I am about to publish this entry, I am now at my desk, which I moved into the bedroom. Someone banged around on the floor above me for an hour. And now the neighbors are in their swimming pool and the kids are screaming and squealing. I seriously want silence. Quiet. Peace.
Silly Saturday
I spent a lovely evening last night with my dear friend Mette at the Metropole’s restaurant, Angelina. We had the intention to catch a party at the tunnel bar, but as we often do, we talked and talked and laughed and shared and caught up. We arrived at the restaurant at 8:00pm. We left at 3:00a.m. That’s a good girl’s night out! We love dining here for the menu and cocktails, and because it’s a nice and civilized break from the grit and grime of living in Hanoi. The expense of it only allows me to do this once a month, but it is well worth it!
After just four hours of sleep, I dragged myself out of bed to go to work Saturday morning (oh that .5 in the contract!!!). As I was gaining momentum for the morning, got an e-mail from Pete at 8:58am “Lunch today then a massage? Want to go to Tamarind?” Tamarind Cafe is a great vegetarian restaurant in Hanoi. My response, “Oh my dear. Mama’s got a headache. Can do lunch. Decide about spa then? Need sleep!”
So lunch we did. First item ordered was fried cheese. Oh my yum. Perfect after a long night and maybe one more cocktail than needed. We also ordered crepes and nachos and bruschetta. Coffee, juice. We were both recovering from a fun Friday night. Slowly, the color came back to our faces.
We brainstormed some names for some of Pete’s new business ventures. The thing with Pete and I is that once we get creative, we get creative. And we start being silly and taking silly pictures like this one. Those are Pete’s glasses which he said looked good on me. I wasn’t willing to take a normal picture. Do the glasses look cute? Our lunch turned into a four hour+ conversation filled with lots of laughter and imaginative ideas, as well as concepts so stupid and comical we cried hilarious tears.
We stopped at the CD/DVD shop where I picked up the GLEE set, a few music CDs and where Pete bought me the DVD set of Little Britain. I’m set for entertainment for awhile.
Next stop was the spa and a total indulgence of a two hour hot stone therapy massage. Oh my silly putty. Had a quick bit to eat and now that I’m home and all squeaky clean from a hot shower and vigorous loofah, I am soooo ready to hit the sack and venture off to dream land. What a fun, spontaneous and totally wonderful day!
Tell me about one of the friends in your life you can be super silly with…
My daily dwelling spot
Ever wondered what my office looks like? Here ya go. I moved into this office back in April when our sales office for the boat moved and we rented the space to a third party. I am in the back of the building, all too near the restrooms, the service elevator and back stairs. I have no window.
This office makes me happy that my job includes a decent level of travel.
Do you like your office space? Is there someone’s office you covet?
Quiet please
I’ve said on any number of occasions that if you were to ask me to describe Vietnam in one word it would be “loud.” I really don’t understand how an entire nation of people have become comfortable and unbothered by all this noise. A year and a half later and it still drives me nuts.
You remember that when I first moved into this apartment, construction began right next door. I was woken up around 6:00am every morning to banging and pounding right on the other side of the wall of my bedroom. And that was seven days a week for five months. FIVE.
I’ve mentioned on Facebook about the neighbor who had a rooster which took to crowing at 3:30 in the morning. I’ve never been so happy for someone to get rid of a pet. Although I still wish that the neighbors would get rid of some of their dogs. The reality about that, though, is that usually if an animal has been silenced, it also means it’s been eaten. Yes, the dogs too.
My friend Mette, who’s apartment looks over West Lake, has endured about two years of construction noise and had her west-facing windows completed blocked by a new building constructed next to her. That same building and another next to it have essentially blocked my view of the lake. Mette and I can no longer wave at each other!
There is construction happening all over my neighborhood as older buildings get torn down or villas get renovated so that foreigners will come in and rent these places and the owners can make oodles of cash. My rent is $1000 a month plus utilities and quite frankly, for Vietnam, I think this is bullshit. My apartment is nice and I’m lucky it’s well constructed, also lucky I have nice owners, but still, $1000 for a 1.5 bedroom apartment is nonsense. Add the fact that I’ve never had so many problems sleeping and I think I should be paid to live here. Jeez!
Now the villa across the way is being renovated and from 6:00 in the morning until late at night, there is noise. Big, loud, obnoxious, makes-you-want-to-scream, head-banging noise. It’s everything I can do not to yell “SHUT UP” from my windows!
Escape to Halong Bay
As we all know by now, I have a chance to travel from time to time and certainly have the need to visit our properties on a regular basis. I was scheduled to go to Halong Bay this week to work on a book project for our boat. I always enjoy the chance to be far away from the honking horns of Hanoi. What I didn’t expect, though is how hot it would be on the Bay…I had hoped to escape the heat of Hanoi, as well.
Summer in Hanoi is usually hot. And the high humidity makes for really an unpleasant season. One can only hope for rain storms, which tend to cool things down a few degrees. The weather has been hovering around 100°F and humidity sitting at about 60%. Yuck. Soupy thick air and no breeze for relief!
Surprisingly, it was about the same at shore. The breeze didn’t kick in until we had been cruising for about an hour. And even then, many passengers opted to stay in their cabins and cool down, versus the usual activity of chillin’ on the sun deck. I tried like crazy to hang out on deck, but the heat got the best of me even and I retreated to my room to cool down and get some work done. This is really too bad, as the whole point of going to Halong is to take in the views and the boat’s Sun Deck is designed specifically for that.
Regardless of the persistent melty weather, I was thankful for the change of pace and environment. Always nice to get out of the office!
Hmong Mountain Retreat
Now that I’ve returned from Sapa and managed a couple days aback at work, plus the big Friday Night on the Terrace party at the Press Club, I wanted to make a mention of Hmong Mountain Retreat. This is where we celebrated my friend Pete’s 40th birthday. It was such a lovely party and absolutely beautiful surroundings, I’m still thinking about it.
And that’s just the kind of place Hmong Mountain Retreat is…the beauty and peacefulness you feel when you are there stays with you even after you’ve left. Perhaps that’s the whimsical details lovingly placed throughout the retreat. Perhaps its the terrific chef’s who cook with super fresh foods. Perhaps it’s the way the retreat lives in harmony with the surrounding nature, which just soaks you up and takes hold of you. Or it could be the dainty little fireflies which danced through the night (I still can’t get over the fireflies. Only the third time in my life to see them and I am simply in awe.)
Whatever features have caught me, l can’t wait to escape Hanoi again and visit Sapa and refresh and refill at Hmong Mountain Retreat.
Happy Birthday Pete!!!
I’m blogging from Sapa today, as I am up here to celebrate Pete’s 40th birthday! Woo hoo!!!! We’ll be having lunch soon and then head over to his new project, Hmong Mountain Retreat. We’ll have a party tonight and head back to Hanoi on the overnight train on Thursday.
Of all of the things I’ve gained in Vietnam (experience, weight, patience, etc.) one of my favorites is my dear friend Pete. We met when I traveled here in 2008 and have had frequent visits since I moved here. One of my favorite people in the world, I’m so delighted to escape the heat of Hanoi and celebrate this milestone with my amazing friend.
Love you Pete! Happy Birthday!!!
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