Funky Chicken

` Jan 30, 2016

Should I share this?  Why not?  Oh my gosh, I nearly had a heart stoppage in the shower this morning.  I was soaping my armpit and felt something under there.  When I flung it out, I saw it was a 4” long centipede.  Ick.  I’m still feeling heebie jeebie about it.  We’re going to permithrin that little nasty when we get back.

Gary has been chatting with everyone he encounters. Making friends everywhere. He’s been on a mission to find the kind of beer he used to drink, and the wonderful bread he remembers, etc.  We just have to remember that it doesn’t all have to be crammed into the first few days.
 
We were out and about the city yesterday, and it was really hot.  We went to the big market and did some shopping.  Those vendors had a ball when they got their hands on Jan.  Poor thing… she’s so new at the barter game, then hampered by MN nice, and add on top of it the confusion of trying to keep the currency exchange in your head.  We’re rounding our numbers and just saying 200,000 VND is $10.  It’s actually a little more than that, but it’s harder to hold odd numbers in mind.

Dinner last night was at the recommendation of the woman at the hotel desk.  We sat in the upstairs of the restaurant, which seems to be the family section.  Lots of families with little kids, birthday celebrations, etc.  At one table, the entire family had their cell phones out taking pictures of each other and the “hotpot” – a boiling kettle to which you add your own vegetables, etc.  Was kind of funny… the same thing you would see at home.  People are the same everywhere.

Jeff ordered the stuffed young chicken.  We were a little surprised when it showed up at the table with its head still attached.  It had been completely deboned, then stuffed with a delicious savory rice.  SE Asia is no place for the squeamish.

We picked up our sleep sacks yesterday, which was on our list of things to accomplish for the day.  Jeff got them sprayed with permithrin yesterday and we had them hanging on our balcony to air out.  We still have some spray left, so we can treat a few other things if we want to, plus spray the shower.

The sun is up and the day is warming quickly.  We plan to tour the Cathedral and the Presidential Palace today and then see what else we might be interested in doing.