Sadly, Cassidy and I had to go to the dentist. I had been going to one right outside of my compound. It was so wonderful convenient, but they had no English speakers. The first time I went in they literally had a patient come out of the dental chair to help me with translation. I had my crown replaced that had come off, and I enjoyed the work, but no communication was not appealing. Like most people I don't need to hold a conversation with my dentist, after all, your mouth is out of commission, but to know in general terms what is happening puts my mind at ease. We were given a new dentist to try and boy oh boy, what a surprise. Here is the main lobby, the marble staircase to get to the actual rooms. I think its funny you can see Cassidy's nose ring. You get this picture outside of the x-ray room while they are taking it. As they cater to those without Chinese we had a handler in Max. You will see him on the right hand side picture below in the suit. He would lead us from x-ray room, up the marble staircase to the first room for general looking over the teeth. We was the translator and our basic handler. Who knew you need a handler for a dental visit? But it made our lives that much better. Then there was another room for the cleaning. And for Cassidy a third room to fix a chip in her tooth. Each time, we had more people waiting, for something, for our needs, I suppose, but we have limited needs and it was really a "wow" experience. The best part is that it was really the same price as the other place. Waiting on the second floor for Cassidy. The had "The Shawshank Redemption" on. That was a surprise. This is actually about as pain-free of dental visit as one can have.
We ate a lot in Hanoi, because the food was always interesting and full of discovering new flavors, new dishes, new ways to eat! We were in Hanoi long enough that we were able to revisit places we enjoyed. Culturally we found a lot to keep us involved as well. There is still much more we could have done and seen. The streets were always vibrant and full of life. People talking to each other, taking time to engage and were warm and wonderful. The streets never were dull, and always was finding out senses being given new things to look at, smell, and ponder. Look at this! Granted bikes are used more as hand carts or mini cargo movers here, look at this bike and for a moment think about she is moving all breakable delicate things. First, how did she load it up? Second, how far is she bringing it? Third, how will she unpack it? Fourth, perish the thought, but what if it went down? Five, think, about this is her life. Moving these items on a bike to make her ends meet. My guess is she doesn't get a weekend. Nor does she have vacation days, or medical insurance. I am in awe, and again, thank my lucky stars for my origin of birth. Notice she has the center post to hold on to and the sandbar is modified, and extended. This isn't a one time thing or a surprise, but this is her job. Day in and day out. Get these breakables delivered.....wow! We went to the infamous Hanoi Hilton where US solders were held during the Vietnam War, including John McCain. It was interesting. We had seen a guillotine at another museum, as well, as part of the French influence in the region. The French used it alot on the locals to help quell the calls for the French to leave their country. This wasn't a very imposing prison really, but any prison is just that, a lack of freedom, and that in and of itself is a pain I hope to never have to endure. Hangin' with the locals..... Open air butcher...... Its a little hard to see, but this is a family that mixes home and business. Notice them serving street food on their sidewalk. There is a table just on the inside, and the two guys on the back left, are now in the living part of the house. Watching TV. Home and work, life private and public blurred..... The last gallery of Vietnam, enjoy.
Time permitting I hope to update with some videos later... Other things first... Cassidy found a friend...this little guy was so so so skittish and it took a long time for him to be convinced to come over. He was a cutie! But I don't think anyone in our family has found a dog we don't like. How mean is handled in Hanoi, and I assume Vietnam as a whole would shock Americans. Every morning I came by a lady with an open air meat stall. She would hand grind the meat for you but no refrigeration. No, we didn't get sick, not at all. Nor did we make our own food, and one can say the a restaurant would handle their meat better but its hard to say, as there isn't as much of a concern here. We had an amazing meal and we were lucky that they owner also helped us prepare the food. Often when traveling there is customs or ways to put things together that we just don't know. We were fortunate to be the only ones there and the owner walked us through preparation as there was cooking at the table for what Trish and I ordered. It was one of our best meals. Ha Long Bay, and forgive me.....Ha Long Bay has thousands limestone pillar like islands. Its a UNESCO World World Heritage Site and its very cool. We spent over night on the boat after a 4 hour drive to get there. The food was wonderful, we made spring rolls, with some guidance, went to visit a cave, saw how people use to live in the water in floating houses and how they make cultured pearls. And we made a couple of friends. Now I am sorry, but it was a very grey couple of days. So the pictures are unflattering. I contemplated going and editing them so add some punch, but I just don't have the time. So sorry about that. It wasn't as bad as the picture make it look, but it was amazing. Yum! A rare picture of us! One of them think its cold! A cave, cultured pearls, living on the water...Cassidy was much more excited then she looked. Her and our table mate at meals took a kayak around a few of the islands and got to see how people use to live on the water. I convinced Trish to get in a boat that she didn't trust. So she wasn't too happy. We made it back without sinking, and that did help with her overall mood. |
TimShare something about myself it tells me, so who am I in a nutshell? Archives
March 2018
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