Guest bedroom

This is the guest bedroom, all plumped up with fancy cushions and pillows. This is not the type of guest I envisioned.

There were two of them, I didn't photograph the second one because it only strutted out from under the cushions when I started shooing away the first one. From the gifts left I could tell they'd been there for quite some time. Lesson learned: leave windows open by all means but check the soft furnishings for stowaways before closing up for the night.

Visitor

Our house has airconditioning in all the rooms above the ground floor but we spend most of our time on the ground floor. To maximise air circulation we keep the front and back door open and often open a door on the roof too. So we get visitors.

I think it sets off the indoor scooter parking facility beautifully.

Coconuts

I like coconuts. I particularly like the way they're trimmed here into a handy container shape and how sweet the southern ones are. I usually buy them ready opened but today invested in a coconut opener.

I was too scared of the machetes so went for the wimp option. I wasn't particularly confident but managed to get the coconut opened without loss of digits or dignity. In fact it sliced through the top as easily as taking the top off a soft boiled egg. Now I can stock up and indulge my coconut whims whenever I feel like it.

Coconut costs: 4,000 VND to 5,000 on the street, 7,000 to 8,000 in the supermarket, 10, 000 to 20,000 in a cafe and 30,000 and upwards in a posh restaurant. This one cost me 28 pence or 42 US cents.

On the up

Avid readers will know that our house has four floors.



You can count them. Last night we went to the roof with a bottle of wine and plans for a chilled evening in and found this...





Obviously I waited for daylight to photograph it because flash, chrome and me are an untried combination and the camera was on the ground floor.

It leads to the flat space where the water pump and air conditioner units live. I don't know why it's there, I don't know when it got there and I don't know what's coming next.

I'm off on holiday for a few days and slightly fear returning.

Frog

Nothing more interesting than a picture of a frog but I was particularly pleased to capture it so clearly.

Shoes in the house?

I'm going to take some pictures of the house but haven't got around to it yet, To motivate myself I'm putting up a mini-posting which ought to shame me into being more productive. Time will tell though, I have a high shame threshold.

We are good tenants and don't wear shoes in the house, neither does anyone else so there tends to be a big collection at the front door at times.

On permanent display are the "gate shoes", rubber flip flops for shuffling back and forward the three steps from the front door to the gate when visitors or bill collectors arrive.