Strike me pink

Been too long since there has been a mystery photo posted - sorry about that.

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.

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!