A month in England is now gone, and I can't say that I am missing Saigon. Don't get me wrong, guaranteed sunshine and warm temperatures, cheap restaurants and bars, of course they are missed. But that is missing the lifestyle, not Saigon. Saigon to me is being stuck in a traffic jam in a shirt and tie at 7.30am already hot under the collar. It's reading reports of failing infrastructure, suffering, incompetent governance and corruption. It's witnessing in front of your very eyes the misery and inconvenience caused by the aforementioned list (I'm grateful to have missed the floods the other week of which I have heard horror stories). Saigon has a 'boy who cried wolf' problem for me, no matter what you read about 'improvements'...it is hard to believe. Yes, after three and a half years, I am a Saigon skeptic. It's appeal as a tourist is undeniable (
Connections) and I will espouse them to anyone. It's livability is in serious decline, mainly due to traffic conditions and air quality.
It is unlikely Chi will convince me that it is worth living in the city again. I'll be off to stay in the burbs just outside Disneyland rather than in it (this is an analogy I just can't get out of my head..).
That was completely off topic, what I really wanted to post about was the effortless glide that Chi has made into life in England. Her cooking has taken my household by storm, we even have a special chopstick compartment in the knives and forks drawer now. Chi has already whipped up a couple of batches of spring rolls (with homemade fish sauce), a huge pot of bo kho, a mango salad followed by pho and a banana cake.
It's a terrible pic but you get the idea, Chi preparing her Vietnamese feast for my family on mum's birthday.
In all its glory - yes that is Buoi in the salad, available form the 'Asian foods' shop at the top of the road.
Here she is enjoying a picnic on the hill above
Swanage, a part of Dorset's
jurassic coast we are lucky to live by. The girl from the city was blown away by the view on what was a perfect summer's day.
Yesterday was a trip to London to see Manchester United vs Portsmouth in the FA Community Shield, along with 85,000 English football supporters.
Baby was treated to a deafening 90 minutes, kicking mum nice and hard to say 'What the hell is going on out there!'.
Ultimately however I think Chi was most impressed by the police and their horses....
