It was unusual that we were sound asleep at 9:00 AM when the front desk rang our room. Mr. Triet was downstairs. Of all the rotten luck to have finally found a hotel that was quiet in the morning when we set an early appointment. Phyl & I threw on clothes and went downstairs. We nailed down a few details and agreed to the tour. Unlike all other tours where we paid ½ at the start and ½ at the completion of the tour, Mr. Triet wanted ½ immediately. We did not have that much money as we had intended to stop at an ATM during the day, so I had to go out, into the blinding sunlight without my sunglasses, in search of an ATM. The first 2 ATMs would not give me money. I then had to walk 10 blocks to get the money, and by the time I returned to the hotel, was sweating. Mr. Triet was paid the requisite ½ and we returned to our room.
P- Baby, I can see by that look on your face that you are already pissed off.
P- I know, I know, and even without that look on your face I knew that you were very unhappy. You lie back in bed and I'll go get us some coffee.
G- You think that ass wipe could have waited until this afternoon or tomorrow morning for the money? I tried to make it abundantly clear that we were asleep when he called and that I didn't want to run around town just yet.
P- I think he could have waited, but he didn't think so. I'll go get the coffee and you try to get yourself into a better frame of mind.
G- Whah! Ok. Thank you.
P- Don't whine.
Several hours later we left our room in search of lunch and a tailor. The washrag that we had been using for the past several months would no longer come clean, so we had decided to have our hand towel cut in half. The first seamstress we came to, her sewing machine in the middle of the sidewalk outside of a clothing store, waved us off with utter disinterest. We entered a shop a few doors down and approached a woman sewing a pair of pants. She did not speak any English, so our entire conversation took place via pantomime.............. I put the towel on her table, pointed to her, then made scissor cutting motions, with my fingers, across the middle of the towel. Phyl then ran her fingers across the edge and pointed to her sewing machine. She smiled and nodded, took the towel, and pointed to 2 chairs.
G- Yes! That wasn't too difficult.
P- Good idea to cut this towel that we never use.
G- Now we'll have a washrag and a cloth to wipe sweat.
P- I wonder how much she's going to charge us.
P- Do you see the legs behind the counter? I just noticed them.
G- That must be the husband.
P- He's just sleeping on the floor. I'm sure that's comfortable.
G- I guess he had nothing to connect his hammock to and they sit on the floor so much I guess it's no big deal to take a nap there.
P- I know you think I can fall asleep anywhere, but even I couldn't sleep on the hard, dirty floor.
She cut the towel in half, then started to change the thread to a color that matched, but we waived at her and indicated that whatever color thread she had was fine. She sewed the 2 cuts ends in only a few minutes. I pulled out my wallet to indicate payment and she waived me off.
Us – (bowing slightly) Gam-on. (thank you)
P- OMG! Just when you think you've seen it all!!!! A sofa being transported on a motorcycle!!!
G- How did they strap it securely enough? I know it's not a big one, but that is amazing!
P- These people can transport anything on a motorcycle.
G- There goes an armoir type cabinet.
P- It must be moving day for someone. I guess he called all of his friends to move his entire apartment of stuff on motorcycles.
P- Definitely! We've made everything so complicated in the U.S.
Around 6:30 we went back to the river for a light dinner and apple pie with vanilla ice cream that we had seen on the menu at the restaurant where we ate lunch. Neither of us love apple pie, but we had the idea put into our heads by a friend who is currently in India and wrote, on Facebook, about eating apple pie. The power of suggestion! Unfortunately, when we arrived, a tour group had taken over the restaurant and we would have had to wait for an hour and a half, so we didn't get our pie.
