26/5/25
It was a lazy morning. We didn’t have the impetus to get moving without Seb. Instead we watched multiple episodes of The Resort. In our defence, all the museums are shut on a Monday. We feel like we’ve visited all the other worthwhile attractions.
Nothing was happening with the package either. It had arrived in Leipzig and then stopped. Presumably for the weekend. The customs notice had now vanished so that was positive. We hoped.
It was mid-afternoon when we stepped outside. Fish fed, we went to a clothes market that was close by. It was almost completely hidden in a fancy new building. A small hanging sign the only indication visible from the outside. Frankie bought a new t-shirt. A ‘trendy’ secondhand top that had a colourful drawing of ‘The Banana Splits’ on it. It’s an American kids show.
We bought some bread. Only small rolls were left and the tried to get money out of an HSBC. We were assuming it would be free but it tried to charge us 100k. So we declined. We had just enough money for our dinner. We bought a pile of tofu. The more you buy the cheaper it is of course. We were shocked to find we could buy 10 pieces for 20k. A mere 57 pence.
After stocking up on vegetables we sought some dragonfruit. A lady tried to charge us 100k for three. Her surprise and anger when we said we didn’t want them was confusing. A woman with a bicycle stall, 10m away, sold us three for 50k.
Jonathan made a dessert while we watched the last episode of The Resort. Smushed banana, crushed nuts, tofu and chocolate on top. Then we went about preparing dinner. Frankie had been hankering after a burger. But we realised a bánh mì is basically a burger anyway. We fried tofu as usual and prepared a load of salad items. We picked some bolder items for variety. While we were making dinner, and somehow arguing about salad, a shipping alert interrupted us.
The parcel had been delayed in Leipzig, Germany. It hadn’t made it very far. Apparently a ‘local issue’ had caused disruption. We asked Lawrence to call them but only then did we find out it was a bank holiday in the UK. Not in Germany though. We could do precisely nothing.
It was then Jonathan received an email. The subject was entirely in Vietnamese. It was from DHL. It confirmed that the parcel was actually in Hà Nội! Hurray! The lengthy email was requesting all sorts of detailed information, much of which was already on the customs form. A copy of the invoice from the UK shop as well as a passport was required. We filled it out quickly but it was already half past six. No more progress for today.
We ate our dinner and watched Code of Silence followed by Sirens. We’d been succumbing to the idea we would need to stay an extra week. Perhaps we wouldn’t. It was even possible we’d be getting our hands on the new rims in a day or two. Then came the task of actually having them made into wheels…
Surly They Won't Make It 