20/5/25
We had a good nights sleep. Time was starting to pass more quickly. As it always does when we stayed in one place. Four nights had passed now. Jonathan was pleased to manage 7 hours of continuous sleep without waking.
We went to do our laundry after a cup of coffee. Probably best to start getting some things done. The closest self service laundry shop seemed viable. Everything is washed only with cold water. We soon realised that it automatically added softener and it couldn’t be turned off. Great for most people we are sure. But it’s bad for your clothes and your skin. Particularly problematic was its effect on synthetic workout clothes: it reduces their wicking.
So we went to the next closest place. The softener and detergent was sold separately. Still only a very short, cold wash. A mere 25 minute cycle. It was very unlikely to clean well. What could we do? We paid 10k for some detergent and then 40k for the actual cycle. All via an automated touch screen. A couple of Spanish people arrived and struggled to know how to do any of it. We helped them understand the process. They seemed a little miffed by our use of translation apps.
We almost used the dryer but realised it was pointless. We marched home and hung the washing up on one of the hundreds of wires coming out of a telephone pole outside. When it started to rain we ran out and relocated them.
Jonathan spent a long time fiddling around to find the right postage option for the new rims and tyres. It was hard to know who to use. What the taxes would be. Whether we’d have to grease the wheels. A lot of people seem not to receive their packages but they only post online if they don’t receive it. Right?
We went round the nearby market stalls for dinner first. Then Jonathan got his haircut for the second time this trip. It wasn’t a very special haircut. The barber spoke great English. He’d opened his own hair salon a few years ago but the pandemic had forced him under. He left Jonathan’s hair on top quite long.
When we got home we cooked up some kind of coconut milk and mushroom deliciousness. It was thickened with squash and sweet potatoes so it was quite sweet and warming. We made fried tofu and aubergine to go with it.
Lawrence, Jonathan’s brother, now had our package of rims and tyres and readying it for shipment. We couldn’t pay for the shipping until we knew the dimensions and weight. So it would be another day before it could be posted.
We hoped there was going to be enough time to get the new wheels made before our time in Hà Nội was up. It was getting a little tight.
We had some vegan cake that we’d bought at iVegan earlier. There were three flavours, chocolate, matcha and red velvet. But they all tasted the same. Someone else had reviewed them saying they were tasteless too but we had to try them. A bit disappointing. Luckily we had plenty of fruit and nuts to peck
Surly They Won't Make It 