Today, after our morning workout, we headed to a little noodle shop on the street by our gym. When we got to the shop, we heard a huge commotion on the street behind us. We turned around to see a woman lying on the ground with another woman and her motorbike lying on top of her. Quickly, people began swarming the scene and yelling at one another in Vietnamese. The woman who was hit was picked up and brought to the sidewalk. She had a bad gusher on her knee and elbow, she had lost her sandal, and the three drinks she was carrying were all over the road. The woman that hit her on the bike obviously blamed the pedestrian and began to scream and gesticulate wildly in the poor woman's face. A few men came over to argue (we think about who was at fault) and the woman on the scooter went crazy -- literally. Before we knew it, she was off her moped with a hammer in her hand. This old woman started threatening everyone in her path and swinging the hammer in their faces. She was angry because the glass she was carrying on her motorbike had all broken upon impact. She obviously wanted someone to pay for them and was going to keep swinging her hammer until that happened. This process went on for close to 5 minutes before people began to walk away from the crazy granny and her hammer. No police were called. None would come even if they were. The little pedestrian just hobbled back over to the restaurant where we were eating and, after cleaning her leg with a bucket of dirty dish water, began to serve customers again.
After this crazy experience, we decided to keep the intensity up by spending our afternoon busing around, and walking CAREFULLY around the city to pay our bills. In Saigon, bill collectors come to your door and collect your money. If you are not home, they shove the bill under your door and you have to go to their office to pay. We managed to locate the roads our offices were on and bus to their general location. Then, we had to wander, into and out of alleyways, to find the offices. Of course, all this walking happened during the hottest part of the day on the hottest day we have had since moving to Saigon. We were elated when, two hours and 14 ounces of sweat later, we had paid our bills and been handed receipts for proof of payment. After we were completed, it was time to head home to regroup and cool down with some air conditioning and a chilled bia (beer).
Adam with proof of payment in his sweaty hand. |
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