living in an alley.

sorry i meant to finish writing about my trip to dalat but i got distracted and forgot. so lets see, oh yes, the third day there. so i woke early because of the construction noise under my window that i of coarse had left open to enjoy the cool, clean, mountain air. not so enjoyable at six in the morning when the light breeze brings with it sounds of jackhammers. the hotels power was out, which is quite common here in nam, so instead of closing the window and turning on the fan, i got up and set about my day exploring the historical attractions and city streets of dalat. after a wonderful candle light breakfast at the hotel i headed out to the crazy house. the crazy house is a hotel in dalat that was designed by the daughter of a politician. to raise awareness of the environment, her vision was to create a dwelling that mimics forms from nature. for a small fee tourist can explore the unrented rooms. most people hate it, likening it to cheap disneyland maze, critisizing the confusing lay out and narrow walkways that cant acomadate two people passing that seem to go nowhere. i loved it. growing up i went on allot of house tours. every family vacation included the exploration of at least one architecturally signifigant building. everywhere i travel i pay attention to the local design features and love seeing someone using space in a new and unexpected way. it felt lake a whimsical antonio gaudi design. walking around the outskirts of town and delighted with the magic of the crazy house, i wandered towards the old train station. the views of steep ravines and terraced farmland were lovely and glimpsed from winding roads that at times felt like highland drive and others like lakeview.

alright im back from dalat. it was great to get out of town for a few days, breath some fresh air, and walk the streets without being harassed to buy sunglasses, lighters or massages. the ride out to dalat which is in the south central highlands, was a beautiful nine hour trip through jungle mountains and coffee fields. when i got into dalat in the afternoon i got a room at dreams hotel and took a soak in the hot tub. being that dalat is in the mountains it gets cool at night and when i went out to dinner i actually was able to wear a jacket. the next morning i woke up early and signed up for a mountain bike tour. the pamphlet about the trip made it look like a gentle ride through the hills and past some farms which would be ok but i had hoped for some real trail riding. less than an hour into the trip we where off the roads, in the mountains and i was gettin g my wish. tons of difficult climbing, and nice fast descents and beautiful vistas. this was not a tour for unskilled riders and i often had to wait at the top of climbs for the guides to push there bikes up. getting back into town after the ride i was grateful that i had chose to pay the extra money for a hotel with a hot tub and steam room cause i was sore.

i found a house to move into. its only for seven weeks, im just riding out the lease for someone. but its nice and big and it has a kitchen and a patio on the roof. its a little closer to my school and its out of the tourist area, thank god. i move in on friday and in the mean time in gonna get out of town for a couple of days. i'll be heading to the central mountain town of Dalat where there's mountain biking and cooler temperatures. it will be really nice to get out of the madness of Saigon for a bit and collect my thoughts, breath some fresh air, and maybe i'll even get to wear a sweatshirt in the evenings.

on a different topic of things that i found the other day, is the mouse in my toilet bowl. at first i had thought it must have climbed through the ventilation slats high on my bathroom wall and then scaled the outside of the toilet bowl only to fall into the water and get stuck. this must have been some expert climber i thought, there's nothing to grip from the vents high on the wall and then free climbing the over vert of the commode itself seemed like quite a feat. i felt bad having to end this little adventurers journey with a swirling flush. the more i thought about the impossible lengths he would have gone through to end up in the bowl i began to consider an alternative and more probable route. he must have climbed straight up the pipe i had flushed him back down. realizing this, the cute little adventurer of my fantasies quickly became a disgusting little sewer monster. im just glad i didn't follow my first instincts to try to save him from a watery grave by picking him out of the toilet by the tail and delivering him outside.

some scenes from the prettier side of town

woke up today to a half dead cockroach on my bathroom floor surrounded by ants. i thought they were pulling it apart but after watching the scene for a minute, i realized they weren't eating it they were pulling it across the floor and trying to take it with them whole. a truly impressive show of strength.

later in the day i went to the bank to open my new account, and afterwards i went for a ride along the canal. its gross but strangely intriguing. children play in the garbage along the muddy shores and boats filled with bananas drift slowly along the water.

as i rode along a street by the zoo the sights and smells of grilled meat reminded me of my hunger and convinced me to take a seat at a sidewalk table and have lunch. i got allot of smiles and more than the regular amount of snickers as i hunched over the child sized table and rolled my own spring rolls with the delicious mystery meat. it was a spicy and sweet ground meat some of it wrapped in a leaf before grilling and some was in a casing. i really liked it but the language barrier kept me from finding out what i was eating what ever it was im glad i stopped and spent the 25,000vnd on the best lunch i've had since being here.

wow so another week has gone by. i've been working a bit, i now have four classes at VUS. that only amounts to 12 hours of work though so hopefully i can get a few more soon. the classes are going well and i think for the most part the kids like me. it kind of feels strange being a teacher, i wear a tie when i go to work and if it wasn't for my long hair people could confuse me for a respectable member of society. i need to start looking for an apartment this week, i cant afford to stay at my hotel for another month. well i guess i could afford it but it would be nice to pay less in rent and have a kitchen and a living room and some roommates around to talk to. anyways no much new or exciting happening, oh except i went to karaoke last week with the girls who work at the shop under my hotel. what a surreal experience. getting drunk and singing with eight vietnamese girls i a saigon karaoke bar and of course i forgot my camera.

i got to bed last night at a reasonable hour (1am) knowing that i had to get up at 8am for a meeting at 8:30. but instead of sleeping like a normal person i rolled back and forth from my left side to my right as my mind raced from thoughts of bicycles to thrift store shopping. every hour i would turn on the light and read some of my book hoping that it would calm me down or at least make my eyes tired. after a little reading i would attempt sleep again, but without success. at 6:30 i considered just getting out of bed and starting my day. the sun was already up, and i could here the sounds from the street of people starting there day, riding a motorbike to work, setting up there stalls on the street, and hammering away at construction sites. i could get up now and it would give me the opportunity to get some breakfast before the meeting, and besides, how was an hour and a half more of lying in bed gonna help me anyways. inevitably as i considered this i finally drifted of to sleep. and of course my alarm went off, shortly there after, telling me it was time to get up and go meet with the head of the school about the curriculum for my new class. i got to the meeting on time (exhausted and looking like shit) only to find out that the appointment was actually for 9:30 and since she was running a little behind this morning it would be pushed back to 10. just my luck, i had been hoping to be back in bed by 10. oh well, just like an old pool hustler in NYC once told me "some days you get the chicken, some days you get the feathers." today all i got was feathers. at least i stopped on the way back home and got a nice breakfast. now im going to further throw off my internal clock by going to sleep at noon.

i've been feeling sick for a couple days but today i finally felt better and was gonna go for a bike ride until it started to rain heavily. i think we are really entering monsoon season now. these are some cool old cars i've seen around town.