Vietnam, Ooops, Vietnamese Hospitality, War and Kiev

We are staying in a very lovely city called Nha Trang at a hotel owned by a French Canadian family. The hospitality has been the best we have received on this trip so far. It's true Canadians are the best people in the world (I really miss Canada). The city has a lot of things to do and today we are going to a remote beach via scooter and tomorrow we are going on a day trip to get mud baths and to learn how to make straw hats and rice. Remember pictures of Vietnam where women and men wear straw hats, its true they really do that here. They also have some bad habbits. They cough without covering their mouth. They touch their feet while eating. They pick their nose in public. They scream at each other very loud.

Yesterday was a very interesting day. I will tell you in detail exactly what I did. It was time for me to get a manicure/pedicure. Marc gave me the bank card to take out money (it was the first time I took out money on our trip). At the bank machine I took out 4 million vnd (Vietnamese dong) its equal to $317 and as I was counting all the money I was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of it. I wrapped the money with the receipt and away I went. I got a beautiful manicure/pedicure for $5 (Vietnamese are the true masters in this craft) bought a really nice top and went back to the hotel all smiles. When I got back Marc took the money and examined my purchases. Everything good so far. He then asked me where the bank card was to which I replied I think I left it in the machine. I checked all my pockets and bags and yes I left the card inside the machine without logging out of the ATM. I had the worst thoughts as the realization of what I did hit me. At first I thought that someone just took our card, then I thought that whoever got the card also emptied out our entire account for the trip. Needless to say I was really worried. Marc was a gentlemen as he always is and went to retrieve the card by himself (it was really hot at this point). I didn't do that good of a job explaining where the bank machine was and he didn't find it. He was gone for about 40 minutes and I was thinking the worst.



First, I thought he came to the machine found someone took all our money and started a fight with that person and was arrested by the police. The second scenario was that he didn't find the card and went to the Internet cafe to check our balance and realized that it was emptied out and he was postponing telling me the news. When he came back he explained that he couldn't find the machine. At this point I was a total mess. I was sure that all our money was gone. When we got to the machine our card as you imagine was missing. The next idea I had was to check the online account for the balance. However, without the card you cant login in to do online banking. So we decided to use skype at our hotel to call the bank. All the numbers for TD online are 1800 numbers and you cant call those from skype. Marc wanted to call his dear friend Massimo who is also his banker but it was 3am Toronto time. Sometime later we ended up finding a 416 number and called it using skype. The headphones in our hotel were not working properly so we had to find another Internet cafe with skype and call the bank not having the card number. In the end, miraculously all our money was there. No one took our money just the card. Before we left Canada we made another card and kept it in a separate bag just in case this one got lost or stolen (or in case i just left it inside the machine without logging out). We cancelled the old card and activated the new one, thanks TD.



When events of such magnitude happen, all the little things that I started taking for granted on this trip take on new meaning. As soon as we realised everything was fine we went for ice cream and to buy new books. I bought a book about the war in Vietnam and now I'm learning about the history of this country and the involvement of the US in the war. We also went to a private pool bar located on the beach called Louisiana's. The pool is free with a purchase from the bar or menu. At this point we had very little money with us (the 4 million I took out was at the hotel), just enough for one beer and coconut. The waiter took his time before he approached us and when he did he let us know that we don't have to stay at this particularly expensive place, we can go outside to find a cheaper bar. I can imagine that from the side, Marc and I looked like poor tourists, we had to count our money and cross reference the menu price to make sure we had enough. No wonder they advised us to go elsewhere. Viatnamese hospitality I guess!!!

While at this pool bar we ended up playing a game of War. The last time we played it was a pretty bad conclusion. I was tired of the game it was over 40 minutes long with no end in sight and forfeited the game. Well ladies and gentlemen second time is the charm. I won at War, fair and square. Although Marc came up with a bunch of theories as to why I won, and how he will win next time, I won.

Some exciting news..... drum roll.... we booked our tickets for KIEV!!! We will be travelling there on May 19-May 27. We will be staying with my family and Helen and Andrei will join us. I cant wait to see the city where I have such beautiful memories from and where I spend the first 8 years of my life. Marc is really excited as well. He is half Ukrainian and will get an opportunity to see where his roots are from, who knows maybe we will find some of his distant relatives in a phone book. May 27 we will fly to London and then to Amsterdam where we will meet Olga, Timmy and Alana. Im so excited about seeing all of you I cant wait. Till then enjoy the weather in Toronto and let us know how you are doing!!!