Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Life in Vietnam

Haven't updated my blog since I arrived in Vietnam 3 weeks back on 24 Apr 06. Life here is pretty sedentary but I am still pretty occupied with my own things at this moment and feeling quite okay.

Last week, Piggy's boss asked if I wanna work for them in Singapore as they are going to set up an office there and needed someone to help with the setup. Actually, I wasn't too sure about it so I said I would think about it cuz the reason why I took no-pay leave is to be here with my little Piggy. If I were to be back in Singapore, it would defeat the purpose of my leave and I might as well have stayed on in my job in Singapore. Then his boss said that Piggy would probably be in Singapore very often next time and would only fly occasionally. I was really happy to hear that cuz I kinda miss Singapore. Having been to Vietnam a few times really makes me appreciate the goodness of being a Singaporean and living in such a beautiful, safe and cosmopolitican city like Singapore.

Vietnam is really nothing compared to Singapore. There really isn't very much you can do outside of the house on any normal day. To me, walking out of the house feels like walking down a kampong and the air is always so dusty. Well, probably apart from going to the Casino, which I have no interest in, whatsoever.

Talking about going to the Casino, I really wonder how Apple can go to the Casino everyday. She told me she is really bored here and her life basicially comprises eating, sleeping and going to the casino. What a statement man! I told her that she could probably find something she likes to do, but for every suggestion I made, she had a statement to rebutt, which basically shows that despite the fact that she was bored, she was clearly happy staying the way she was. I suggested that she read and she said that it was hard to buy books here (which was partly true), suggested that she did some cross-stitch (like me) but she said she was no good at such things. Suggested that she picked up English at the language school but she said it was difficult for her. Basically, I just feel that she is happy to live her life like this despite all her complaints. Actually, I can't really be bothered so long as she doesn't ask me to go to the Casino with her. I really can't stand the smoke in the casino. Out of 5 persons there, at least 3 are smoking. Of course, she isn't bothered but I am. I think it's really bad to be taking in second-hand smoke and not from just one or two persons but from a casino of persons. Going there occasionally is fine but everyday is really going overboard.

I was actually quite pissed last week cuz I felt that I was "tricked" into going to the casino. Usually Apple's habit is that she would head for the casino once she wakes up in the morning cuz there is free food in the casino, she says. On that day, I went to Piggy's company cuz his boss wanted to talk to me about the job. So Apple said she would meet me near the Casino for some shopping after that. But when I reached there, which was about 2-3 hours later, she was still inside in the Casino and asked me to go up and look for her. But once inside the casino, it was another 2 hours before we left for shopping. I didn't really enjoy it but well, I told myself, it's not everyday, just that day. After that, we really did go shopping as planned but only for 1.5 hours. And I thought we were heading for dinner as earlier mentioned but instead, she said, "Let's go back to the casino for another 2 hours, try our luck again". Wah Lau, you can imagine how pissed I was. So I went in for a while and because I really couldn't take the smoke any more, I went home first. It's not that I wanted to be picky about this casino business; it's just that I feel that she visits the casino so often that she might as well be a permanent resident in the casino itself!

Yesterday was another classic example. As per her usual routine, she was at the casino after she woke up, coming back in the afternoon. So she said she was really sleepy during dinner time and wanted to go home very badly to sleep. But well, because we had dinner at the hotel where the casino was located, I had a hunch we would end up going there again. And true enough we did, and of course the mention of the casino really perked her up and miraculously, she didn't feel sleepy anymore.

Today, she said she was going to the office for lunch and asked if I wanted to go along. I wouldn't have minded but I didn't want to end up at the Casino after that so I politely refused. It doesn't really matter cuz I had cooked some noodles and eaten at home. Anyway, she offered to help me "ta pau" food but she isn't back yet. I think she probably headed for the Casino after that although she had mentioned yesterday that she would take a break today.

Actually, I can't really be bothered with what she wants to do cuz it's her life. If she is happy living it that way, so be it. I just can't stand it when she always tells me not to be cooped up at home, saying that it's very boring staying at home and asking why I dun go out and "play". As if she is doing a lot of meaning things or activities outside of home. Day in, day out, she is also at the Casino, gambling away. I m just very contented doing my own stuff at home and I feel that it's more meaningful this way.

Still thinking about the job, I think I may do it for a few months to decide if that's really what I want to do. Cuz Piggy said they probably can't offer me the same kind of benefits and leave as what I m getting in my current job. And I dunno if the hours would be long. To me, my current job is very family-oriented and would be greatly conducive when we have kids.

I really hope to go back to Singapore soon. Dun really like the fact that we need to drink distilled water here and the water that we used for bathing is from the ground. I heard from Apple that it isn't very clean although it appears to be and there may be health consequences in the long run. And everytime, we go out on the streets and see all the motorcycles buzzing by and the conditions of the surroundings, I ask myself why we are giving up our nice comfy life in Singapore to be in a place like this when it's not like Piggy's pay is double or triple what he was getting in Singapore. In fact, it's the same and he doesn't even have expat or spouse benefits. And to add to that, he works almost 7 days a week with an occasional off day here and there and after he comes back from work, he is still reading work-related stuff!

Yup, perhaps people might say that because we have had such a nice, secure and steady life in Singapore, we can't take hardship anywhere else in the world (i.e. chi1 bu4 liao3 ku3). But then I think it really depends on how you look at it. I always go back to the purpose of why we are doing this. I know some people visit 3rd-world countries to help out and experience the hard way of life so that they can better appreciate their comfy life, because that is the purpose they set out to achieve. They want to experience it and know how it feels like, so they take time off to do it. For me, I dun see any purpose. I m basically here because I want to be with my hubby but I really hope we will go back to Singapore real soon...

Kimmie scribbles
4:34 pm |

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