It could have been a bank
disaster this morning, as one of our $100 bills had a tear! Luckily, the manager on duty must have been
in a good mood as it was nothing a little tape couldn’t fix!
Since the bus was
approaching as we got to the bus stop, I skipped the coffee (and am very glad I
did, more on that later) and we hopped on the bus and were off!
When we got to the orphanage
we met two nurses from Australia who were there for the day cleaning up some of
the kids (especially Thoung’s legs, which get cut up (we assume when he falls,
he has zero strength and don’t heal properly).
We gave Yen the rest of the
medicine we bought, and then decided to take George the 2nd, Thoung,
Bob, Katrina and Pixie (new name, the little girl who is not disabled but likes
to be carried) outside. We were very
excited to give everyone the t-shirts we had made with their pictures on
them! Last year we did this as well and
while they were good, they were really ruined in the wash, but this year we
used Walmart and they actually came out really nice! The kids get a HUGE kick out of them!
After t-shirt distribution
we had some fun with music and some games, and it was a mellow crowd, which was
good after yesterday was so busy!
When then headed back inside
for brunch, and Kap and Dorothy were back from school and they loved their t-shirts! Mom and & I both had easy kids to feed
(the best) so we were able to hang out with some of the kids as they were put
down for naps. We had a blast with
George and George the 2nd, as they seemed to love playing with the
light up rings we had.
We left the orphanage and
since I didn’t get my coffee in the morning, decided to stop at a place we had
seen on the road between the bus stop and the orphanage (it’s about a 5 minute
walk). It looked Western, the sign said
“coffee”, it had free wi-fi and also sold spaghetti and fish & chips! When we went in and we were greeted by the
cutest Vietnamese woman! I asked for a
Vietnamese iced coffee (my favorite) and we started chatting and it was
awesome! Jiao was born near the Mekong
Delta, and then moved to the UK, where she met her husband Jamie (also in the
coffee shop). They had been living in Edinburgh for 10 years, but just moved back to
Vietnam, and their coffee shop had been open for 10 days! Jamie is now teaching English at a Government
school (he said his class has ~50 students) and they have a 4-year-old son,
Alexander. It was so fun to talk to
them, and they were so sweet, so now I am looking forward to getting my coffee there
(and maybe some spaghetti). Unfortunately, I don’t know if her coffee shop will
make it, as the area does not see a lot of westerners, and she had said how the
locals haven’t really been interested.
However, I am really looking forward to stopping by, as the inside is
really cute and relaxing!
We left there and got a cab
back to the hotel, as we had time to shower and eat because Charli’s flight was
delayed. She and her friend Tiana have
been traveler for 18 days on a tour through Thailand and Cambodia, so it worked
out perfectly that she could overlap with us for a few days in Vietnam!
After burgers we headed to
Chill Skybar, which offers really nice views of the city, and is a cool way to
see the layout. It’s also beautiful at
night, as the temperature is usually very comfortable and usually has a great
breeze, and tonight did not disappoint! They
try to be very “Hollywood” in that we had to make a reservation and there is a
dress code (feel free to read old blogs if you want to read about my Mom’s
experience!) There is someone to escort
you along every step (to the elevator, from the elevator, to your table,
etc). It’s a little too posh for even ME! But, it’s a nice break from everything else,
so we had a good time! 
We also took a stroll
through the backpacker’s district so Charli could see the chaos, before
retreating back to the quiet and peaceful apartment!
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