Vung Tau

The day got off to an early start. By 8am we had a load of laundry done and hanging out, had a good play in and I'd been able to access the internet better than the night before.  I decided we should head out to get the few things I needed to make out stay here even more comfortable.  It was a toss up between the Imperial Plaza and Coop Mart.  Given the Plaza is on the water I chose that and off we went in the cab...only to discover the mall opens at 10am.  So fine, we needed breakfast.  Basicallt next door is the Imperial Hotel,  which has a lovely and lavish breakfast buffet.  Expensive for sure by Vietnamese standards, but just perfect for me to fill up, given the previous day had been a bit short of good nutrition.  Then we toured the lush pool landscape of the hotel before heading back to the plaza.  The supermarket opened earlier than the rest of the mall, so we started there.  And after a fairly brief tour around, and a score of a new pair of sandals for me, I decided we should hit the coopmart before heading home for lunch.  Honestly, it is surprising how much ground you can cover with only a babe in arms!

I found items that would suit our needs, and we made a beeline back to the hotel for noon.  If you are headed here, you might want to bring from home a bit of laundry soap, dish soap, dish cloth, face cloth, and baby blankets.  I was also glad to have some cup of soup, a jar of peanut butter, some tea bags and some individual coffee packets which I snagged from the room at the Somerset.

We spent the afternoon resting and playing, very low key.  There is actually some pretty decent tv programming too.

We headed out to a Vietnamese seafood restaurant listed on the hotel recommendation sheet as a good place to eat with a view of the water.   Not the place to go solo.  It was like crashing someone's wedding.  Lots of large groups out celebrating.  And the plates of food were the sharing kind.So I threw myself at the mercy of the waitress who spoke a little English and she agreed to bring me 'food for 1 - house specialty'.  I'm all for trying new things and it was the kind of place I felt confident must have safe food.  First came the seafood salad.  Then 4 fried spring rolls.  Then a plate of prawns.   I have never had prawns.  They were steamed intact.  Even if I had wanted to eat them, I could not shell that many while holding a baby in a sling.  Nevermind, I was full of salad, springrolls and shrimp chips by then.  230,000 dong later (less than $15) I hopped a cab back to the hotel.

Trinh made it through the day just fine.  Very little crying.  Pretty much content to go with the flow.  She is still a little cautious, but each day will bring new confidence I am sure.  She is rolling well and also making attempts to get up on her knees.

Check in with Loan and no date yet.  Hopefully this week.