01-01-2015 through 03-01-2015
Days 134 through 136
We had to check out of our hotel on Saturday, so we had three more days in District 1, and we really didn't do much over the next few days—aside from dealing with credit card companies and taking a cooking class, that is.
Getting your wallet stolen really takes the wind out of your sails.
A lot of my emotional energy was spent trying to cancel and then get replacement credit and debit cards sent to Vietnam and dealing with what you can do about a stolen California driver's license when you're overseas (short answer—not much).
Fortunately, there was still Fanny's, and I could drown my sorrows in a bowl of ice cream. Fanny’s advertises an all you can eat ice cream buffet on the first Friday of the month, so we went to check that out (of course), but January 2nd didn't count—it wasn’t happening until the 9th. We ate some ice cream anyway.
I have no wallet, but I still have ice cream.
One day, Samantha and Jackie went to a cooking class (a post from Jackie about it soon), and Frankie and I went to Bookworm's Coffee to play a few rounds of Pass the Pigs and Connect Four over breakfast.
On Saturday, January 3rd, it was time to relocate from the Blue River hotel in District 1 to an apartment over in District 7. We couldn't arrive at the apartment until 4:00 p.m. and we had to check out of the hotel by Noon (that old situation).
So we hung out at the always accommodating Bookworm's Coffee, our second home in District 1, and Sozo, another nearby cafe where Jackie could get a toasted bagel with cream cheese, much to her delight.
Around 3:15 p.m., we jumped into a Vinasun Taxi (we were told to only use Vinasun; the others will rip you off) and took a quick drive out to District 7. It only took about 20 minutes
Vinasun to District 7.
Soon enough, we were in a spacious two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment on the 18th floor with air conditioning, a kitchen, reasonably good wi-fi, plenty of outlets, and a washing machine. All that for $50 a day wasn't bad.
It was good to be in a proper apartment.
Tom Fassbender is a writer of things who really hates dealing with the aftermath of a stolen wallet. He also drinks coffee.
