Dragon Diaries #7 – Dragon City Comes Alive

It went as fast as it came. We went from no cases to a complete lockdown within three days. After a six-week lockdown, we have gone from intense restrictions to getting our haircut and walking the beach in the same amount of time. We are open, eating from restaurants, shopping for supplies for our shop, and cruising the boulevard in the cool afternoon breeze. Dragon Diaries #7 – Dragon City Comes Alive.

The shop has been approved for reopening, and we had our first customers today. Things are looking up. Barring a sudden surge in cases or some apocalyptic catastrophe, the feeling is that it may finally be over. In 8 days, international flights will resume from Saigon and Hanoi, neither place close to me, to 6 locations outside of Vietnam. These destinations do not help me much, but they are a positive development. Discussions are in progress to expand the destinations week by week. The outskirts of Asia should follow quickly, and though I don’t expect direct flights to the US to resume anytime soon, I need to get to Doha.

Emerging From Hibernation

Getting out into the city after six weeks, mostly indoors, was strange. The extended periods in the tropical sun, the more significant numbers of people about, and stores that weren’t boarded up. Our priority was getting to the shop. It was becoming clear that things would move quickly once easement began, and we needed to be ready. So Diem and I headed across the bridge towards the old section and our shop.

What was open was hit or miss—a few clothing stores and restaurants for takeaway. We did drive by the multistory KFC in downtown Da Nang. It was still closed—no finger-licking chicken tonight, aww. We crisscrossed the city streets before settling down in front of the shop. We immediately got to work on preparations. It was discovered while we were preparing everything that we could operate the next day. Scrub the dusty floors, a few wall touch-ups, and bring all the supplies back from our apartment. Tomorrow we will be ready.

An Unfortunate Casualty

As we wrapped up our preparations and headed home, we stopped by a beauty supply row for some final supplies. As I’ve stated in previous posts, everything in Vietnam is usually grouped. You name all the shoe stores on one street, helmet shops, and gold shops. They are all in the same sections of the markets and on the same streets. So we stopped in front of the shop Diem usually uses, and she entered. I stayed on the motorbike and enjoyed the shade.

I’d been here before, but I usually peruse the aisles with Diem and have never really sat outside and examined the street. Across from the beauty shop sat a building that looked incredibly familiar, and a feeling of intimacy in the area grew beyond the beauty supply shop I’d been to with Diem several times. Next to the shop sat a bright yellow abandoned building that I knew but couldn’t remember why. I knew Diem would take a while, and I, against better judgment, decided to check it out.

A Little Exploring

It was a large two-story building with beautiful colonial architecture. The ceiling was falling in, and the windows had flash spots implying a fire may have occurred. However, the interior showed no signs of fire damage—just months of neglect and abandonment. I walked around and took a few photos. I found the bathrooms in the back, or what was left of them, and as I headed back to the front, I could make out a floor area where a desk or some other permanent fixture once sat. As I returned to the show, I peered out the open doorway and stared at a rose on a sign across the street. What this place once was hit me like a punch in the gut.

A Sad Revelation

I was standing in the very spot where my wife Diem and I had our first meal together, a breakfast, as I recall, my first meal in Vietnam; I will wax sentimental for a moment, so bear with me. It is the second significant place in Da Nang to be a victim of the times. Just before this lockdown, we rode past the restaurant where we held our wedding reception. It, too, looked like it had been abandoned for years. All the walls and ceilings were removed or fallen in. Only the concrete shell remained. It’s sad to see these things happening.

Da Nang, and Vietnam generally, is a dynamic and growing economy. Things like restaurants and coffee shops come and go with the seasons. I guess I’m used to those generational staples we get in the US. The institutional memory machines we enjoyed as a child and now take our children to. The Varsity, Chick-fil-a, In-n-out Burger, and countless others. These things don’t yet exist in Vietnam, at least not across generations. But they will. They are already here. Only time stands in the way. Su and Xu may one day take their children to the places they now enjoy as children.

A Sensible Approach

Though the current mood towards these stability standards is mute, things have changed so fast and so much in Vietnam over the past 40 years that there is little sentiment in stuff like that. I was emotional when Diem saw me writing about the restaurants and asked why. I told her I felt a bit sad to see these things. In her Vietnamese sensibilities, she said, “Their time is gone.” I responded, “I know, but we had our first meal there.” She quickly and, with a laugh, quipped, “Then you give her the money so she can reopen.” It was a very matter-of-fact and sensible view of the world. Everything changes, we change, the world changes, we move on.

A Scooter Pup

Exiting the abandoned building and loading onto the motorbike, I saw a very uncommon thing. A purebred dog on a leash. Not the most common sight. Most dogs appear to be owner-less, though somebody is feeding them. They wander the neighborhoods and villages in search of scraps and handouts. So to see a “pet” in the Western sense was interesting. And it was scooter trained, which was funny to watch as it hopped on and rode off, its head hanging out the side, tongue flapping in the wind.

Open For Business

By the 7th of September, we were open for business. The shop is ready; we are ready. I have my little writing corner carved out and look forward to being in the shop daily with Diem, getting our post-lockdown routine going, getting the kids off to grandmothers in the morning, and opening the shop. Enjoying fresh coconut water all day, one of our neighbors owns a coconut business, so the coconuts are opened to order for our pitchers. Hanging out listening to woman gossip all day while writing, then heading home for dinner and a quiet evening.

I will be back to regular posts in the next few days. If something needs to be reported, I have decided to continue the Dragon Diaries as an update column for updating actual events in real-time. So the Constant Epicurean posts will resume without any complex updates other than telling the story of our adventures, which at this point, I’m two months behind.

A Return to the US

It looks like I will return to the US on Nov. 1st. Of all that is happening with the reopening and resumption of flights, this looks like a solid bet. So I will hopefully return to the US in time for the elections and the holidays. Unfortunately, I will be coming alone. With Immigration grinding to an almost halt and Visas becoming increasingly challenging to acquire, we have no idea when Diem’s visa may be approved. It is just a waiting game.

Leaving her and the girls behind is not ideal, but unfortunately, necessary. I get everything I need done as fast as possible, rebuild some funds, and hopefully be back for the Lunar New Year. If they let me back by then, they will make provisions for spouses to return even if the borders are closed to tourists. So I should be able to return by then. We will see.

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