Well, the days have flown by and I seem to have done not much but repacking. I didnt even make it into the Tam Ky townsite. Ya know, Ive always admired my sisters knack for travelling lightly and now Ive been dealt a lesson in the practicalities of doing so. It will be cheaper to restock in Cambodia than to transport it. So Ive spent the last few days picking through the gotta take / give to Hanh / leave/store. Tough choices but a lesson well learnt ... and perhaps some good advice for future long-termers. Hanh tells me that one of the regular, long-term visitors had a sale (I guess wed call it a garage sale) and got rid of everything before she left. Its a plan for my next visit here. For those of you whove been here, youll know that there is a huge project to widen the national highway. The roadworks have nearly reached Hanhs place. Theyre excavating the road outside Phan Boi Chau school, opposite Hanhs restaurant. Cant believe that next time Im here, therell be a 4 lane highway at her front door. I remember the crumbing little 3-room shack I stayed in when I first arrived in Ke Xuyen. Ive been away just 3 months and the restaurant has a much greener outlook now that the trees that were newly transplanted in April are in full leaf and the trees that had been trimmed to within an inch of their lives have come back larger and bushier than I would have thought imaginable. God, they looked dreadful. Now its a little oasis. Moreso with the addition of 15 or so potted topiaries. Knowing the price of them, I thought Hanh had won a lottery but theyre from a local nursery. Patrons can purchase them. Nice business symbiosis. The covering on the kitchen side of the restaurant has been completed. When I was last here, the men had almost completed the framework. Now it doubles as a carpark - well motopark - and cafe. Its a nice place to drink and eat because theres often a breeze from the rice paddies behind the restaurant. I suppose that when the roadworks are finished it will become a full time parking space. Dividers have been purchased and set up inside the restaurant. It allows diners to have their own space. I havent seen them in action yet - only here for 4 days and just one event in that time. Ive included photos so you can see how they arrange the space. I also managed to get photos of the new girls, Lien and Phuong. I asked Hanh how she got them and she told me she put up a notice. Hanh demands a lot from her workers so theres been a few come and go. Having said that, shes had her cooks and Thinh from the beginning, along with Kiem, Hua and grandad, of course. They all seem happy so this might be the staff for a while. Gotta hand it to everyone here. 7 days a week is a big effort. Next project is to put a ceiling in upstairs. At the moment it is just the tin roof. From what I gather, this is a bit spooky and they dont like sleeping there. I occurs to me that most houses I visited have rooms that are exposed to the roof, but perhaps not the bedroom. And definitely not places as big as this, e.g. hotels and guest houses. As the saying goes: Who am I to judge? Im certain Hanh knows whats best. Good news about Kiem. He passed his exams and begins university in October. I got a photo of him holding his uni offer but Im not allowed to upload it. :) He is perhaps the shyest kid I know in Vietnam. So thats it from me for a while. Looking forward to updates from future travellers. Tell us everything!!!!!!
Posted on: Sun, 24 Aug 2014 10:32:44 +0000
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