02 November 2008
On the money
We went along to the Saigon horse racing track a few weeks ago - an annual event that we missed last year. Not sure why, but actually I have never really been that interested in horses. And I haven't known how to place a bet at the track.
I got there a bit late - since I had a wedding to go to as well - and tried to catch up with the others. I hadn't dressed up in the spirit of the day, so needless to say I did not get chosen for the prize! What a shame...
Anyway, the last race was upon us, and I decided it was really now or never. So I went the window and placed a bet for a first placer and a tri-fecta. Horse 6 for the win and 3, 6, 12 for the boxed trifecta.
And what do you know!?! They ran home: 3-6-12! Very exciting - first bet at a race and I won!
And so for the winnings. Lost the 200,000 (dong) that I put on the win, but I got 864,000 from the 60,000 I put on the trifecta. Too bad I hadn't reversed that bet!
That's Duane and Mattie hamming it up with the grinning winner. Good fun, but I don't think I will take it up punting as a hobby.
I got there a bit late - since I had a wedding to go to as well - and tried to catch up with the others. I hadn't dressed up in the spirit of the day, so needless to say I did not get chosen for the prize! What a shame...
Anyway, the last race was upon us, and I decided it was really now or never. So I went the window and placed a bet for a first placer and a tri-fecta. Horse 6 for the win and 3, 6, 12 for the boxed trifecta.
And what do you know!?! They ran home: 3-6-12! Very exciting - first bet at a race and I won!
And so for the winnings. Lost the 200,000 (dong) that I put on the win, but I got 864,000 from the 60,000 I put on the trifecta. Too bad I hadn't reversed that bet!
That's Duane and Mattie hamming it up with the grinning winner. Good fun, but I don't think I will take it up punting as a hobby.
01 November 2008
Surprise em Hilly
About a week before the real day, the PC conspired to have a surprise birthday for Hilly. My job was to get the present. Right.... Right!- that photograph down on Le Loi. Managed to sneak down the road under pretense of a haircut or something. Bought the old fisherman and arranged for the shop to deliver it to Duane and Andrea's, who live near the restaurant. H and I taxied over to Le Jardin in An Phu and had a few pre-dinner drinks.
Duane called me a few times - "they still haven't come". But finally it did - on the back of a trusty motor-cycle - in one piece. D and I snuck it in to the court yard and then sprung the trap!
We have a bit of a tradition that the host pays for the birthday dinners over here. No worries really, except that when I went to give the manager my card, he sheepishly stated that they do not take credit cards! What - a french restaurant in the middle of an expat street that doesn't take a card? Of course I could have scraped up the dollars from our friends, but that wouldn't be right. So I told the manager that I would need to come back tomorrow with the cash. And he agreed - even though it was the first time I had even stepped foot in his place! Remarkable anywhere else I guess.
Happy birthday Hilly. I hope we can celebrate in another french restaurant again soon, but maybe next time in France!
Duane called me a few times - "they still haven't come". But finally it did - on the back of a trusty motor-cycle - in one piece. D and I snuck it in to the court yard and then sprung the trap!
We have a bit of a tradition that the host pays for the birthday dinners over here. No worries really, except that when I went to give the manager my card, he sheepishly stated that they do not take credit cards! What - a french restaurant in the middle of an expat street that doesn't take a card? Of course I could have scraped up the dollars from our friends, but that wouldn't be right. So I told the manager that I would need to come back tomorrow with the cash. And he agreed - even though it was the first time I had even stepped foot in his place! Remarkable anywhere else I guess. 
Happy birthday Hilly. I hope we can celebrate in another french restaurant again soon, but maybe next time in France!
26 October 2008
Twins together
Finally managed to convince Karen that we needed to be together and it had to be in Vietnam. Kezza (to her bro) gathered up the necessary courage and left the country she has been bonded to for ohh-so many years and flew to HCMC, via Singapore. She managed to "drag" daughter Grace - who made perfect compamy for her Asian extravaganza - so fly she did......And ended up right in the middle of Ho Chi Minh City!
From traffic to taxis to tunnels, there was no holding her back. The heat, the noise, the people, walking here and there.
After awhile in the big smoke, the three blondies headed up to Hoi An for some flirting with the seaside. Glen had to keep the nose to grindstone while the girls fired up. Beachside resort, lanterns, cafes galore and local shops.
After the jaunting up north, the girls were seen together in many of our favourite spots around HCMC - The Rex, Dong Khoi Street, Benh Thanh Market, Mekong Merchants. And Glen managed to tag along from time to time!
And in between the bargaining at the market and buying lots of clothes and stuff, we celebrated Hilly's birthday - the song was sung by a madding crowd, but none louder than the twins.
And while Kezza wasn't exploring, she would sit by the window and just check out life along Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street. She now knows more about the schedule of the little ladies across the street, understands the nuances of Vietnamese construction procedures and the crazy habits of our horn-honking scooter riders.
Hurry back you two. It was fantastic to have you both here!
From traffic to taxis to tunnels, there was no holding her back. The heat, the noise, the people, walking here and there.
After awhile in the big smoke, the three blondies headed up to Hoi An for some flirting with the seaside. Glen had to keep the nose to grindstone while the girls fired up. Beachside resort, lanterns, cafes galore and local shops.
After the jaunting up north, the girls were seen together in many of our favourite spots around HCMC - The Rex, Dong Khoi Street, Benh Thanh Market, Mekong Merchants. And Glen managed to tag along from time to time!
And in between the bargaining at the market and buying lots of clothes and stuff, we celebrated Hilly's birthday - the song was sung by a madding crowd, but none louder than the twins.
And while Kezza wasn't exploring, she would sit by the window and just check out life along Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street. She now knows more about the schedule of the little ladies across the street, understands the nuances of Vietnamese construction procedures and the crazy habits of our horn-honking scooter riders.
Hurry back you two. It was fantastic to have you both here!
17 August 2008
And Holly in the middle
So, it has been many a month since the Purple Circle has been in the same place at the same time. But today was the day. And in the middle of the circle is little Holly Emma, who was definitely the most photographed person in Ho Chi Minh City today!
Today was lunch at the Riverside, mainly to welcome home Jenna and Nigel from their England holiday. Two weeks with bJ's family, ending up back here wondering why!
Jill and Mattie joined us, and despite the encouragement provided by the piano, there was not a lot of singing. Just a lot of pounding on the keys!
12 July 2008
Nhat-a-tat
Here are some photos of our miracle boy, Nhat. We will get the full story together soon, but we thought you might want to see these now.
The photograph above was taken of Nhat about six months ago. Not long after that the girls decided that they really needed to do something - and yesterday he was operated on. A local doctor plced a shunt somewhere inside that beautiful head of his to enable the excess fluid to drain out of his skull. If this procedure was not undertaken, his head would have continued to grow and he would have certainly died due to the pressure on his brain. Hydrocephellus.
These photos were taken yesterday and today.
This is little Nhat and Ms Hoa. Hoa means flower in Vietnamese, but this woman is the gem that is sitting with Nhatty night and day during his recovery at the hospital. She is from the orphanage.
Thanks to all of you that lent a helping hand.
08 June 2008
Mekong Merchants
The big sale day finally arrived last Saturday. And since H is still frolicking at Glen Maggie instead of being here - my sales services were required.
I got to Mekong Merchants at about 0830 and things were already bumping along. (Forgot the camera, so once I helped Jo and Rob get things out of the car and on to the table, I shot back home so that you V4As could have this vicarious experience with the help of fairly average images!)
The pillows looked good and the sales started to roll in - a little slower than Jo had hoped. By 1100, we had sold no more than 6 pillows and things were looking grim. The customers (the majority being German and American women by my reckoning) seemed more intent to buy things that they could wear home. Well, this seems to be the world we live in.
But I have to admit that I had fun regardless of the rate of sales. And despite my partners slightly despairing mid-day feelings, there were lots of people circulating through the bazaar, checking out the jewellery, the pots, clothes, pictures, baby stuff and all manner of other neat stuff.
Meet Birgit, a lovely German who was set up on our left. She has been stringing natural pearls and other cool things together to create classy jewellry for the last few years. A slow but steady stream of female customers came to admire and buy these unique trinkets. I liked the belts - but they weren't long enough. So I had to buy H a surprise - shhhhh!
And these three young ladies were on our right, selling T shirts and a crazy "monopoly" board game that is based on property around HCMC. I wonder if Parker Bros with ever catch up with the crazy entreprenuer, Hilde, who came up with the idea.
Apparently these pots are made from sand dredged up from the bottom of the Saigon River. (I wonder how you separate the sand from everything else down there...) Anyway, they are beautiful, translucent pots and vases that look great with a candle in them. The local manufacturer donates all his 'spare stock' to this regular sale day. All the proceeds go to a worthy cause.
By the end of the day, we had sold about 40 pillows. We decided that this was a top effort for the first time around, and that it was all worthwhile. Hilly's split of the loot will go into our 'MAD' (make a difference!) fund.
And just to finish off - this bit of nature floats in a pot pond just out by the front door of Mekong Merchants. Kinda nice - but wish I had a real camera....
I got to Mekong Merchants at about 0830 and things were already bumping along. (Forgot the camera, so once I helped Jo and Rob get things out of the car and on to the table, I shot back home so that you V4As could have this vicarious experience with the help of fairly average images!)
The pillows looked good and the sales started to roll in - a little slower than Jo had hoped. By 1100, we had sold no more than 6 pillows and things were looking grim. The customers (the majority being German and American women by my reckoning) seemed more intent to buy things that they could wear home. Well, this seems to be the world we live in.
But I have to admit that I had fun regardless of the rate of sales. And despite my partners slightly despairing mid-day feelings, there were lots of people circulating through the bazaar, checking out the jewellery, the pots, clothes, pictures, baby stuff and all manner of other neat stuff.
Meet Birgit, a lovely German who was set up on our left. She has been stringing natural pearls and other cool things together to create classy jewellry for the last few years. A slow but steady stream of female customers came to admire and buy these unique trinkets. I liked the belts - but they weren't long enough. So I had to buy H a surprise - shhhhh!
And these three young ladies were on our right, selling T shirts and a crazy "monopoly" board game that is based on property around HCMC. I wonder if Parker Bros with ever catch up with the crazy entreprenuer, Hilde, who came up with the idea.
Apparently these pots are made from sand dredged up from the bottom of the Saigon River. (I wonder how you separate the sand from everything else down there...) Anyway, they are beautiful, translucent pots and vases that look great with a candle in them. The local manufacturer donates all his 'spare stock' to this regular sale day. All the proceeds go to a worthy cause.
By the end of the day, we had sold about 40 pillows. We decided that this was a top effort for the first time around, and that it was all worthwhile. Hilly's split of the loot will go into our 'MAD' (make a difference!) fund.
And just to finish off - this bit of nature floats in a pot pond just out by the front door of Mekong Merchants. Kinda nice - but wish I had a real camera....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)