The lockdown blog: day 3

 And on the third day she wrote again...

Once again I have food and coffee to report of. A date was arranged and we met outside Jolin's Vietnamese coffee house on Clanbrassil street near Portobello. How is it that I have been separated from my dearest Vietnam, *sigh-gon,  for a year and a half yet have only just visited this glory, complete with a bona fide Vietnamese owner, originally from Saigon? I guess, as they say, it takes a lockdown to 'get in touch' with your locality. I ordered the 'classic' Vietnamese coffee. It was not the classic however as I decided that I could not brave the iced version-- my fingers would probably provide that touch anyway. Cycling over to this joint (definite 'food blogger' credentials for using that word) I had been rehearsing how to order it in Vietnamese..."Cho em mot chai bia?" No, not beer--coffee.."cho em mot cà phê " brilliant. I'm a local. 

In the end, seeing the menu entirely in English and not wanting to be the 'white girl back from gap yah and thinks she's an anthropologist' I decided to stick to my own tongue in order to save embarrassment. The cà phê was hot and sweet, filled with condensed milk. Nostalgia in a cup. The perfect accompaniment for canal side strolls and swan watching. I do believe swans are loving the extra attention afforded to them these days. Gliding along the Grand like catwalk models preening and stretching their necks. Probably similar enough lengths. 

I read my 'pattern' again today (my sister would be so proud) and it tells me that "If something doesn't excite you, that's a clear sign to move on because it's not for you". I fear this has confirmed my worst fear about horoscopes, that they tell me nothing I don't already know and state the bleedin' obvious. Excitement? It's my middle name...*flicks out cigarette, turns on heel and sashays away* but just tell me this: how do I get the recommended dosage when locked in, isolated and restricted to move no more than five kilometers from the gaff? 

xoxo Stay local 

Comments

  1. Drniallmoore@aol.comJanuary 5, 2021 at 9:56 PM

    Atmospheric - please keep
    Writing and making me 😀

    ReplyDelete
  2. hedgerowartJanuary 6, 2021 at 9:26 AM

    Reckon visiting a Vietnamese is pretty exciting in my book...they don't make 'em down here! A walk is as good as it gets 🤣

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownJanuary 6, 2021 at 2:10 PM

    Hi I am a model and your sister. Everything you say is true.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A- DELT-ery

Image
Living and teaching in a homestay provides me with a healthy dosage of free time to explore my bustling new world. Realizing that my 'working day' all of this week did not begin until 7 pm, I quickly made plans to escape my four walls and experience a short wholesome affair with the Mekong Delta. Given that I am allergic to overly touristy experiences and tours, I wanted to find a sufficiently 'authentic' outlet for my time. This I found in the form of Countryside Adventures ( https://www.countrysidediscovery.com/ ) with whom I arranged a half day tour along my new love's red brown waters . The tour promised to be action packed and would include two of my favorite forms of transport; kayaking and cycling. The Delta spreads itself over a vast area of more than 40,000 square km and begins its life as a young river in the Tibetan Plateau continuing its teenage years through China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and finally ending its life in Vietnam. My countryside
Read more

The final countdown

In preparation for an imminent trip to South East Asia, specifically Malaysian Borneo for my first week 'out East', I am currently trying to pack as many light clothes into a large navy backpack which has definitely seen better days. I have also just spent an obscene amount of money for a mountain trek on Mount Kinabalu, a majestic 4095 meter peak located two hours outside Kota Kinabalu in Borneo's northern state of Sabah. World Heritage Site or not, I balked slightly at the cost required to summit the beast--will they provide us with a flying carpet if we can't reach it to the summit? My flight departs this Friday and with every passing day (and drop in temperature) the reality and excitement of my adventure hits me. My intention with this blog is that every week of my trip I will post a tasty morsel of anecdotes from my wanderings. My granny recently asked me "would you not just keep a diary or write home love?" but of course, times have changed ("lik
Read more

The lockdown blog: day 1

It's a new dawn, it's a new year and... here I find myself, once again, writing on the advent of a new lockdown. This one, for me, feels slightly different to the rest as I face into it alone. My flatmate will not arrive until February and with rocketing case numbers, heading back to Tipperary would be like traveling around with said rocket in my pocket.  In a state of productivity and insanity busting planning, last night I ambitiously vowed to keep a lockdown blog--previously I had cattily wondered if these should be called 'boredom logs' but I sincerely hope that this will not be the case. No, no, no, I shall be the embodiment of productivity, inspiration and creativity--the lady of the manor--and shall emerge from this period more enlightened and 'at one' with myself and, let's be honest, these four walls. Maybe I should even consider going full blown Gwyneth Paltrow goop on this. Given my name, this would make it... poop? Tempting I must say.   The idea
Read more

Miss Saigon

Image
I am in Vietnam! The golden boy of my trip and the location that I have been slowly meandering too ever since my journey began in the orangutan's jungle clad pad of Borneo. (6,220 km away) . Since my last post I have been cruising through Cambodia, taking in the cities of Siem Reap and Phnom Penh before departing on a 6 hour bus over the border to Ho Chi Minh city or (as everyone here seems to call it), Saigon.  Irish people have an apparent skill for sniffing out both Guinness and fellow compatriots; I found Adam from Dublin in Krabi and we rejoined to become travel buds for the Cambodian leg of my adventure. The city of Siem Reap is of course famous for the ancient temples located just 7 km from the city. Tourists flock there and inevitably take a cheap Tuk Tuk tour around the stoney wonders. We poo pooed this option and opted instead to hire mountain bikes and cycle the distance (Be grand sure, how hard can it be?). With a predictable lack of planning and prior knowledge of th
Read more

Sabah, Borneo

Image
In typical backpacker style I booked only one night at my current hostel and ended up 'sticking' as seemed to be a similar affliction for anyone staying in 'Zoku Lifestyle hostel'. I spent the majority of my trip in Borneo with an ozzie pal whom I first met working in the US three years ago. Our only plan for our time here was the hiking of Mt. Kinabalu which we proudly summited and from which my legs have only just forgiven me for. This was a two day one night feat which included staying in the 'Laban Rata' mountain hut, which we like to call base camp. We set off on this hike confident in our abilities 'to smash it' and soon realised training may have been a good idea! The track to the summit is comprised of never-ending and very steep steps through thick and beautiful jungle. The air is heavy with the only sounds (apart from your own heavy breathing) being birds screeching and insects screaming. We set off at a hearty pace which gradually began to
Read more

The lockdown blog: day 4

 Back to work day. My work during lockdown has been, most consistently, childcare. Jobbing in the often misunderstood 'arts', the effect of Covid was for obvious reasons, pretty grim. Child minding, I am incredibly grateful for. It offers excellent job security and the craic is, as they say, mighty. Today we were playing a highly competitive game of Lollipop Brick.  Ah, you don't know this game I hear you say? Well, let me explain: it involves a basketball hoop, shed wall, rugby ball and 2-3 very loud and hyperactive kids. I am including myself in that category. One team is shooting the ball into the hoop, the other--myself and child A--shoot against the shed wall. In order to score a point, it is imperative that once the ball has hit off the shed, a member of that team touches it. This is harder than it seems especially when child B arrives like a bulldozer charging in between the hitter and the shed, intercepting that crucial 'touch back' at stunning speed and vol
Read more

The lockdown blog: day 2

Image
Sitting down to write this, entry 2 of the lock blog, I am at my kitchen table facing three tin can lanterns hung up last night. I am ridiculously proud of these creations which were made by filling empty chick pea cans with water and freezing them. Once frozen I could bash holes to my hearts content without creating dents. I did this as an activity before Christmas with the child I mind. She told me, whilst enthusiastically yielding the hammer, that this was "very satisfying". I made a mental note to only do this with her when she was in a good mood. That glint in her eye was worrying.  I met my sister this morning outside the ever hipster Bread 41 for a coffee and pastry. I ordered my flat white 'for takeaway' before realising how blatantly obvious this was. Holly laughed at me. "You haven't been broken yet". I think it may have been my most endearing moment and I have decided that from now on, whatever the level of lockdown, I shall always order my t
Read more

There is a 2nd time for everything...

Image
Six hours is a long time to sit still on any vehicle and most definitely on the back of a motorbike. This, however, was what I perched on all the way to Can Tho in the Mekong Delta; my Vietnamese student Huong at the helm. Our differing approaches to the motorbike ride were stark: Huong wore denim jeans with a protective apron covering them; a cloth shield over her face; scarf, woollen gloves and her helmet. I wore a helmet, crop top, harem pants, sunglasses and a smattering of factor 30 sun cream. My red back and black face at the journeys' culmination confirmed my rookie approach however it did not knock the feeling that I had cultivated a true 'roadie' experience. We breakfasted on noodle soup slurped whilst sitting on small plastic stools and drank coffee from hammocks slung inside a roadside 'cafe'. Each of these stop-off points were located within spitting distance of large, busy roads populated by fellow bikers weaving through the endless traffic like fish in
Read more

The lockdown blog: cohabitation edition 1

 Do you wanna build a snowman? I do.  I sang this line to child A and B this afternoon, whilst playing Rounders in the snow globe. It was met with scornful faces. I think there is clearly a child 'C' in the mix.  The snow we have at the moment is called 'graupel'--this I learnt from the trustee RTE radio 1. It is pellet snow which, to me, looks like ash, lending a post-apocalyptic vibe to the already, admittedly, rather apocalyptic situation. It's all good though, I have a flatmate now, ah you heard?  and we keep each others spirits up by speaking to each other in clipped South African accents. I think we're excellent. Until we go off into the Rrrrussian and then we're in trouble. There's no getting out alive, until someone opens the vodka or, preferably, switches on Killing Eve. I must tell you about Killing Eve, I must tell everyone about Killing Eve. A murderous, murderess psycho-path who waltzes around in flouncy pink tulle dresses, flitting effortle
Read more