The Hand that Rocks the Cradle

Today I woke up feeling Ok, and we did our usual routine of getting the kids bathed and dressed. Doug and Audrey went down to breakfast (they are quite fond of the vegetarian noodles) with the kids and I stayed in the room to get ready. While getting ready, I started to feel dizzy and a little nauseous. Audrey came back to the room while Doug took the kids to the playground in the hotel. She was sent by Doug to get me so we could get going for the day. I was feeling really dizzy so we decided that it would be a good idea for me to lay down. I laid down and quickly fell asleep…

Audrey went downstairs to tell Doug that I wasn’t going to be coming with them. She said she had an odd feeling that this was like the plot of an old movie – “Sorry, your wife isn’t feeling well, but I’m happy to help you with the kids and then systematically replace her in your life.” Meanwhile, the wife is upstairs gagged, locked in a closet, and screaming to get out. Indeed, there was such a movie, thus the title of this post, in case anyone is confused (Mom).

So, off they went. While I was suffering (did I mention the terrible vertigo?), they enjoyed a cyclo tour around the city. A cyclo is a bicycle with a reclining seat on the front. The driver peddles behind you and you can see a lot of the city (so I’m told). Word has it that this is a great tour (I wouldn’t know, having spent the morning convalescing), but two important things: (1) establish the price up front (e.g., for one hour’s worth of a tour) and (2) keep track of the time. When the tour was up, the driver tried to convince them that they had been out for two hours rather than one. Also, the driver keep encouraging them to take their time and look around at each stop – trying to get them to stay out longer and thus pay more. Audrey recommends that people do a cyclo tour early on in their stay in HCMC as it really orients you to the city and the drivers are good to point places out to you. She says stay firm in the price that was set because they’ll keep trying to change things on you.

I felt better in the afternoon (and Audrey finally let me out of the closet). Loan and I went to get Luke’s Vietnamese passport and then did a little shoe shopping (I got a really cute pair, in case anyone is interested). Lance, a former grad student of Doug’s (you may remember him as the cat blogger from when we went to China) came to visit as well. He now lives in Singapore and is here visiting for a few days. We went out to dinner and then for ice cream. An interesting day all around!

All ready for the cyclo tour

Audrey's picture of Doug taking a picture of Norah and Audrey

Hair whipping back in the breeze

Doug's picture of Audrey taking a picture of Doug and Luke

The man and manchild (Doug's little term of affection for Luke) enjoying the ride

The happy family at the Jade Pagoda (why didn't we take the cyclo tour sooner and save ourselves the pilgrimage?)

Picture from the Kingdom of Lacquerware (lacquerware is BIG in Vietnam) on the tour

Self-portrait on cyclo. Notice Luke's typical sweaty head! And the soother (foreshadowing, foreshadowing!)

Norah's flattering picture of Lance at dinner

The last time Luke was seen with his precious soother in his mouth (you know, the one that keeps him relatively content?)...

Where Luke's soother ended up after Doug held Luke with his head over his shoulder at dinner. The restaurant is upstairs and it was perfect that Doug was holding Luke one of the few times the soother fell out. A dump of garbage was directly below Doug's shoulder. The floor was directly below everyone else's shoulders. Needless to say, we didn't try to find the soother! Luckily, we bought a back-up soother the day after receiving Luke and finding out about his addiction. Unfortunately, he doesn't seem to enjoy the new one as much, but we're hoping, as with us, he'll grow to love it over time.

Our smorgasbord of ice cream - Doug's was the pretty one - he's a sucker for little umbrellas! Some interesting flavors, such as soursop, taro, and durian (which is a fruit that has been described as smelling like stinky socks). We didn't order that one.