I had the hotel wake me up with a call at 7:00 am and somehow Sasha was still sleeping. I was able to get ready before I got her up. We ran downstairs for a quick breakfast (Trim and Tasty -it's two poached eggs on a piece of thick toasted sesame bread with a few pieces of cooked asparagus and a grilled tomato with the sauce that comes with eggs benedict on the side. I had that and tea for $6.00. I went down to the lobby and the travel guide was there. It was the travel guide, a driver, Sasha and I. The first stop on the tour was Ho Chi Mihn's mausoleum, his first and second houses (both very small and very simple), the pagoda, and the museum. I understood the tour guide a little in the car on the way there, but less and less as the day went on. I should say the HOT, HOT day went on. We got in line for the mausoleum, where I found out you cannot bring a baby under one year old. He held Sasha while I went through. I know I had just met him, but the hotel knew him because he was a friend of one of the guys who works at the front door, and it is not like in the states. And it was for ten minutes. So I waited in line and went through. The line keeps moving so it goes quickly. It was interesting to see Ho Chi Minh there and how many people were there to see him. We went to the museum then and the tour guide stayed down stairs while I looked around. Some of it was in English, luckily. We got in the car after I was finished and we drove to the first university in Vietnam. Or so I understood it to be. I understood less and less as the morning when on. It went something like this, "SMenimly an rudkxlf fafidlng tre sfiemlgong chair skcuplwent." I think I was understanding about every tenth word. He was a realy nce young guy though. He just had a strong Vietnamese accent. I nodded and read whatever signs that were English that I could find and hoped that some knowledge was sinking in even if I didn't understand what he was saying. (That sounds a lot like my time in high school now that I think about it). Anyway, we saw the university and it was really interesting and I would like to read about both places and learn where I went later. I bought a book about the first place while I was there (yes, it is in English) and I hope to learn about the second place on the internet. In an air conditioned room preferably. With a cold bottle of water. Some days I feel a trickle of sweat run down my back every now and then. This wasn't one of those days. Today I felt whole families of sweat rolling down my back. The grounds of both places were very pretty and I really did like what I read about them while I was there. Sasha didn't make a sound, she just happily sat in the front pack. The tour cost $40 for half day and I would have gladly paid an extra $40 to go back to my room right then. Luckily, the tour was over! It is supposed to end at the lake, but since I have been there almost every day I didn't feel the need to go again right then. So he dropped us off at the AIR CONDITIONED hotel and we went up to our room.
My plan was for Sasha to take a nap and I was going to read a little. I bought several books I haven't had a chance to read. Sasha's plan was for me to hold her, hold her, and then hold her some more. I tried to work on a compromise, but she won. (I know you are thinking I am spoiling her, but I think she deserves 100 % of my attention now. And the one time I didn't get her right away when she cried a little in her crib, she knocked down this bar in it that keeps it from folding up and it had hit her in the head.) I finally decided to walk around inside the hotel with her in my front pack until she fell asleep. We went down to the restaurant to see if anyone I knew was there (they weren't-a lot of Aussies were though), we walked around by the pool area and playground area, and then went down to Highlands Coffee, which was perfect because that was one of the things on my list of THINGS TO DO. I had been told to have an Innocent Passion and french fries. The drink has raspberry syrup (I think) on the bottom of the glass, a clear soda for the rest with ice and a bit of whipped cream on the top. VERY GOOD. I'm not usually into fries and never finish them when I get them with a burger, but these were good. Kind of one of those things when you eat one and then need to eat one more and then just one more. I ate about half. Very good. The bill came to around $3.50. Great, because I'll be back for another Innocent Passion! ( I didn't think to take a picture of it until after I drank it). I sat by the window so I was able to watch the traffic, which is always entertaining. I also met a nice couple while I was there. He is originally from the states and she is from Vietnam. We talked for a while until I noticed that Sasha had fallen asleep so I left to try to lay her down for a nap. Crazy now that I think of it, I have been looking for people to talk to for days and then I leave when I finally meet people. Oh well. I tried to put Sasha down but of course she woke up right away. Finally, I lay on the bed with her next to me and we both took a nap. It was perfect! We woke up just a few minutes before two nice women from housekeeping knocked on the door to clean our apartment. Again, nice life.
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