-^-for posterity-^-

three motorbikes and no one knew where they were going. it was utter chaos.

jack and i mounted the bikes of two fellow teachers from can tho that decided that they would show us a good time. the third bike only carried one person: the boss. we were going to get something to eat and enjoy supper. if we only knew what lay ahead.

my motorbike was lost within the first ten minutes. we circled around a small park where we thought everyone was and emphatically gave up. my driver, the english teacher, decided he would try to find someone’s phone number. i sat around aimlessly for more than an hour waiting and drinking fresh coconut juice.

after another twenty grueling minutes had passed, we got a hold of the group. we met them at what appeared to be quite a festive place. there was a large archway made up of glowing dragons and crabs. people milled about. i would have liked to spend some time there but, because of our tardiness, the rest of the group was bored. we were off to supper.

no one told anyone where we were going and within ten minutes we were all lost again. my driver had asked directions but the leader gave him the wrong street name. we ended up in some back alleyway. we were looking for a bun bo hue shop. bun bo hue is a bowl of noodles, beef and chilies fashioned in the hue style. it’s quite good but there were no shops on this street. there was nothing but cigarette vendors and odd bums lounging about.

we found the restaurant after passing many bun bo hue stands. we ate our meal and, by this time, i was fed up. jack too. we were ready to go home but everyone was determined to show us the university in can tho. this is where most of the teachers at an giang received their education. the university was huge and ghostly. because it was the lunar new year, only the security guards and their dogs lounged about. the large, stone buildings stood firmly in the marshland. they glared at us like skeletons in the dark, cool, night air.

we were lost again. we were going to coffee but no one told anyone else where we were going. we ended up simply going home.

in the morning we met again but had the same problem. we couldn’t find each other when we went for coffee. three motorbikes and no directions. no one told anyone anything. i really could have used a cup of coffee. i yawned and yawned as we drove eventually ending up back at our hostel. no direction, no action, nothing.