Danang (more specifically, MyAn, near the beach) was such a welcomed change from Hanoi. A much slower pace of life exists there and it is FULL of expats. This was also where I witnessed the first bike accident I had seen since being in Asia. I couldn’t tell if the riders were foreigners or not, but the two of them T-boned at a quiet intersection. Fortunately, it wasn’t too hectic and they seemed okay.
South Africa was due to kick off the 2023 Rugby World Cup that first night. It was suggested that I go to a sports bar called The Shamrock. A big bearded Australian slurred in my direction while I ordered a drink. I asked him if he was looking forward to the big game. “We already won that!” said he. He then went on to say that Georgia had won the World Cup. He later fell off his stool and was asked to leave. A kindly Irishman paid his bill and ordered him a taxi.
There were only a handful of people left at the bar after that. I sided next to a white-haired man who seemed to care about the big game. Turned out he was a well-traveled Scot who was sat with his Thai partner. (Scotland was the rival team on the screen). He had travelled the world working as a top-level data analyst. I asked where he considered the best destinations to be, and he said that apart from all the expats who fall off their stools blind drunk, it was Da Nang. Before the end of the rugby match, a couple of wrecked Brits scooted off without helmets.
I also learnt something VERY interesting from him that night. I was still bowing in thanks towards the Vietnamese since being relatively fresh out of Thailand, but apparently the Vietnamese find this extremely rude! I’m told it can make them feel that you think they are less superior than you. Good to know!
A final learning came from a rough-seeming Canadian woman who had been living in Da Nang for 3 years, and confessed to getting ripped every night. The fun fact is that the Barbie movie is banned in Vietnam because a few seconds of the film shows an offensive line on a map. According to the Interwebs, “The ban stemmed from a drawing of a world map in the film that authorities in Vietnam said depicted the “nine-dash line,” which is a feature on some Chinese maps indicating the disputed territorial claims of China in the South China Sea. Vietnam believes that the nine-dash line violates its sovereignty.” Said Canadian and her liberal crew decided to go to some party dressed up as Barbie after this news broke.
Compared to Thailand, Vietnam seems very stingy with their WiFi and data, which really slowed things down regarding my work commitments. I was therefore very ready for the weekend and was scheduled to meet a good friend of a good friend that Friday evening. While busy getting psyched for the occasion, my one eye which had been feeling itchy, had begun to feel puffy. I relayed this information and he responded with, “Dude. I hope it’s not Pink Eye! That is currently running rampant in my school!”
It was Pink Eye / Conjunctivitis… I spent the night in my Summer Beach hotel room googling what I hadn’t experienced since I was a little sprout. Best thing to do was determine if it was viral or bacterial. Waking up with my left eye welded shut, it was the bacterial variety, so I could get eye-drops for this. All things considered, it was a pleasant visit to “The Family Hospital”, and I was issued with THREE different eye-drops, some antibiotics, and a multivitamin. All that, plus the consultation, only set me back 600K Dong. I was told that Vietnam was currently dealing with a Pink Eye epidemic!
So apart from the two-hour long walk to the clinic, which allowed for some passive, one-eyed site-seeing, it was not a very fun few days. It also rained. A lot. It feels very antisocial slash suspicious-looking wearing my sunnies in public after the sun had ducked down, but that beats looking like a wannabe pirate who left his eye-patch in the wash; and looks as if he had been hitting the bottle; and is a drug addict; who spent a weekend staring directly into the sun. Arrrg.
Next: Vietnam #11 – IENNN, IENNN, IENN!
Previously: Vietnam #9 – Security Matters
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