We had a maintenance day today. Time to sleep in, chill, walk around at our leisure and get some homework done. Sleeping in doesn't usually work for Beth but she made it until 6, 7, 8 then 8:30 - impressive. Then it was time for some workout bands.
We spent a good while walking around the Ben Than market - it's really big and has a small food shop section and a full wet market there as well. We've really noticed a marked level of aggression by the vendors in Ho Chi Minh - they don't give up easily. In the market they were getting a little physical which invariably never leads to a sale. You'd think if they did this every day, they would learn how to try and engage buyers (we've seen the odd person that has done so, and their sales must reflect that). Instead you typical go down an aisle of, let's say 30 shops selling the exact same t-shirts and they all try the same thing - "hellosiryouwantsometshirtIgiveyouverygoodprice". It's all about "cheap" here - you here locals and tourists often talking about how cheap everything is.... But I don't really want anything :-). One time I passed a quieter aisle, looked down about 20 meters and a woman looked up from her phone and chirped "cheap cheap" - lol, I couldn't even see what she was selling.
After the market, the Trickersons (that's three Bickersons :-)) seemed liked they needed some excercise, so I suggested we go to a park and throw the frisbee. That was fun, though we did get told off by the police for playing on the grass (not allowed in parks!) and then I hit an old lady very lightly on the shoulder and she sat and rubbed it for twenty minutes. She looked like she was about to enter pain and suffering negotiations. I only know hello and thank you in Vietnamese... Sorry! How unCanadian of me.
After the potential lawsuit left, we enjoyed a little workout on the ever present excercise machines they have in a lot of bigger parks in the cities of Vietnam.
The machines are a great idea (though they offer zero resistance so I not sure how much of a workout you get on the stationary bike) for an overpopulated relatively lower/middle class city.
In the afternoon, we went to Starbucks for some decent wifi and Venti Skim Chai. The girls did a couple of hours of homework without too much teeth pulling so that was nice.... Maybe we will keep up the fresh air followed by homework routine, but don't tell them that!
While Abby and I were walking home, a moto zoomed up on the sidewalk in order to bypass about 50 motors stopped at a light, and I saw this little dog balancing expertly on the back seat....
The Mudfords spent the day on a Mekong Delta trip that sounded fun and action packed. When they got back, the power was out in our neighbourhood so they popped by for some beers before we headed out to dinner. DIY BBQ seems very popular in Ho Chi Minh and we stumbled upon an outdoor BBQ place that ticked all of the boxes - busy, lots of locals eating there, separate tables of four for the kids and the adults, and lots of cold beer coming out of our private table side tap!
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