Wednesday morning. I message the dentist at 8am and say that if a root canal truly is the only solution to my toothache, then I would like to have the root canal. 30 minutes later, they message me back saying “sorry, with your departure being Saturday, there is not enough time to perform the root canal, the build up of the tooth and install the crown”. I’ve heard people say that after a root canal they don’t recommend flying, as air inside the tooth can expand with the change in air pressure, so I message back saying “we’re leaving by train, and we leave late Saturday, I can come in for the third appointment on Saturday”. I don’t get a response, and mentally try to settle in with the thought of not getting it done.
Joe went out early and got some banh mi bread this morning, and 10 eggs from a random street vendor selling eggs. These eggs don’t come in a carton, they come in a plastic bag. Joe transfers them into the dwindling egg carton in the fridge, and boils the ones that don’t fit.
We are head down in suitcases this morning, as on Saturday we have to bring all of our stuff back onto the train, heading to our next destination. Téa has five books that we bought in Osaka, and I ask her which ones I can swap, if possible. I take the photos and post them into the Nha Trang expats and locals Facebook group, in the hopes that there are other English speaking pre-teens around that have books they want to get rid of as well.
At 10.30am, the dentist replies back to me: Please come for root canal tomorrow at 3pm. I thought it was a matter of urgency, but sure, I can wait another day. I accept, and now my mind is back on “OMG I have to have another root canal”. What a roller coaster! I don’t like this at all, I like a firm yes or no, all this anxiety is so unnecessary!
One suitcase is packed and sealed and at the max of 23kg, hopefully not to be opened again until Hong Kong. The others are in limbo, with all the stuff we need to use before we leave. There’s also laundry, and a Norwex load, and it all requires planning and coordination. I’m dizzy and depressed. How will I fit another dental ordeal into all this?
The only answer is lunch. We go for a walk, just to see what’s out there. We walk left, then right and another right. We went looking for one place, only to find it closed, so ended up visiting the kind of Korean restaurant that we saw that time we went to the actual Korean restaurant on the other side of the street. This place has pizzas and burgers, is it really Korean?
When we get back to the AirBnb, I notice a poster in the elevator. I see it’s in Russian only, but I’m of the curious sort, so I take a picture, aiming to translate it later. It says something about Thursday and Friday this week?
We go swimming for a bit, as we are running out of time fast. Every time we go down to the ocean, I try to appreciate the opportunity. I grew up smelling the ocean, anytime I wanted to while growing up in Oslo, I could get downtown and smell the sea. I tell the girls how the oceans are all connected, that in theory, if we touch the water right here, the other side of this water is touching both Norway and Canada, the North Pole and the South Pole. We watch the waves and what they bring to shore. Luckily, there’t not much that doesn’t belong, but every once in a while there’s garbage. It’s sad to see, and sad to think about. All of it is learning!
We were supposed to cook tonight. After swimming and showers, Joe and I look at the kitchen, in the fridge, in the cupboards, and decide that tonight is not the night. I suggest going back to the place we got takeout from the other night, and luckily, Joe agrees. We had congee, noodles and fried rice last time, but their most famous dish is steamed fish. We love steamed fish, and this is one we haven’t tried yet!
We sit down at the restaurant, on teeny tiny plastic chairs, and tonight the place is not full. I’m guessing because it was Sunday, it was packed with all the locals? Tonight it’s just us and a couple of other tables, and they’re all local. Staff still doesn’t speak English, so asking for clarifications doesn’t really work well. We place our order, steamed fish for Joe and I, and egg fried rice for the girls. There is another fried rice option, but it doesn’t translate to anything understandable, so we don’t dare order it.
Step two: Fill with lettuce and other green stuff.
Step three: Top with fish.
Step five: Dip in sauce and enjoy!
We thoroughly enjoy our meal. We sit crouched on our chairs, wrapping fish and veggies, dipping rolls, while the girls enjoy their rice. They try the fish, but yell “spicy, spicy!” and turn back to their rice. We observe what other tables do, and wonder what they ordered, as their foil wraps are so much smaller than ours. We watch as a table of tourists walk in and try to make sense of everything, and we feel like old regulars already.
After dinner, we decide to take a walk. I want another coconut ice cream from the beach coconut ice cream lady, and so we aim for that area. Every night that I’ve taken the girls out, they’ve begged me to ride the colourful baby rides outside our building. Every night, I’ve told them no, we’ll do it a night when Joe is with us. Well, tonight he’s with us, and the girls excitedly decide on a vehicle.
After the girls are done with their first driving experience, we head over to hunt for coconut ice cream lady. We find her cart, but she’s nowhere to be seen. We decide to walk along the beach and drink in the atmosphere for a bit, in the hopes that she’ll be there when we get back.
Coconut ice cream lady is not back. Coconut ice cream lady’s friend, the fishballs on a stick lady, is looking around, it looks like she’s been tasked with looking after the second cart “for a bit”. She gets on the phone when she sees we are back and looking at the coconut ice cream cart again, and she’s yelling. Then she turns the coconut ice cream cart lights off, and her own cart lights off, and stomps away. I guess there’s no coconut ice cream for us today.
We head back upstairs, stocking up on grocery store snacks on our way instead. We put on a movie, and call it a night. Only two and a half more days in Nha Trang!