please note:

Neighbour — Vung Tau, Vietnam

A long Ha Long — Vung Tau, Vietnam

She is sitting. Smoking. Drinking cane juice. Talking on her phone. Suddenly she urgently asks for my help, holding her hand in my direction.

‘What is it?,’ I ask.

‘Something stung me.’, she wails slightly.

I pull out what appears to be a stinger and she continues to blubber a little.

‘What do you want me to do?’, I ask.

‘Find the bee.’, she requests.

‘Then what?’

‘I kill it!’

Legs post jellyfish-sting-itching-scratching — Vung Tua, Vietnam

When most people do not understand what I’m saying (but even in the best case scenario do they really?) my humour and subsequent laughter becomes largely monastic (but isn’t it usually?).

The streets are full of scooters and bicycles transporting Marigolds, New Years trees and boxes of Heineken beer. In spots the sidewalks are made impassable by miniature forests of the same trees and plants in addition to obstacles such as watermelons. People have carts hawking plastic coins on red strings and decorative envelopes for ‘lucky money’ to be presented to—mostly—children.

And last minute clean up efforts are in full force from people’s homes to businesses to the piles of trash in the streets requiring a small army of cleaners and the might of a front end loader. The motorcycle cleaners are doing a brisk, last-minute business as everybody wants to sparkle and have only a few hours left before many places close for the remainder of the week.