November 21st: Phu Ly to Ninh Binh – 34.7 km / 21.7 miles
Day 39
I woke up to the sounds of trucks thundering by under our window before 5am. Such is our old friend – truck stop motel! Hoping for better we set off for Ninh Binh. Nothing exceptional happened on our short ride, and we were both happy to have an easy day. We arrived in town and found ourselves dropped off somewhere completely different than what we expected, again. For the first time we saw groups of westerners and the hotel staff / owners speak enough English, quoting prices in US dollars for modernly equipped rooms – soft bed with freshly laundered white linen sheets, working toilet plumping, non-moldy walls, etc.
We settled in at a cheap hotel, and for the first time in a month, we had a soft bed. Just as I was going to have a cup of coffee and relax, I broke the hot water bottle. Million pieces of shiny glass were shattered on the floor, with hot boiling water flooding all over. For those of you unfamiliar with the concept of having hot water bottle, here is some background information. Most of the hotels in Vietnam don’t provide you with a kettle in the room, but if you ask they will bring you an insulated hot water bottle filled with hot boiling water, with which you can make a cup of tea or coffee. This is how you avoid buying bottled water in countries that don’t have drinkable tap water. A hot drink is very enjoyable after a day of travel, when we were usually too lazy to use our SteriPen or fire up the grill. The shell of the hot water bottle is usually plastic or aluminum, but don’t be fooled by the sturdy looks. Unlike the Thermos bottles, the inside of the hot water bottle is a layer of mirrored glass. Although fragile, its retention of energy is amazing. Usually it keeps the water hot enough to make coffee and oatmeal in the morning if you fill it up the previous night. As long as you don’t knock it over, or bump it into something else, or put it down too hard. Treat it gingerly.
After mopping up the broken glass, I shamefully brought the broken hot water bottle downstairs and the owner immediately told me it would cost 150,000 VND for the damage. I reported to Cher, who grew up with this technology and she assured me that they were definitely much cheaper than 150,000 VND. So we set out to find a replacement from the local market.
Now this isn’t just a boring story about a water bottle. It’s a story about how we are finally feeling confident in our ability to navigate, locate, and haggle for the things we need, however still boring in some people’s eye. In the midst of a busy market with hawkers hounding you and even grabbing you to get your attention, it can be difficult to manage to get what you want, in the amount that you want, for a price that is reasonable, while making sure to check that you got the correct change and walk away with everything that you came with. Vietnam adds to this complication, since things can easily cost millions of Dongs.
Nonetheless our mission was a success. We found a hot water bottle for 50% less than what the hotel owner asked for, after some haggling and comparison shopping. We also got groceries that we needed, and, most importantly, our own electric water kettle, only as big as a mug and relatively light weight to travel with. We returned triumphantly and showed the hotel owner the replacement, who looked it over, and said it was good. But after finding that we paid less, he responded, it’s ok, it looks the the same but it’s not as good. Having given the old one a thorough inspection before we left, which the cap was missing and the bottom was broken, we could only agree that it was different. Despite his misgivings, it was accepted and we both walked a little straighter today, with our shoulders back and the blades almost touching.