Lights Out

Yesterday morning about 6:30 am the power went out.  I was able to get up, shower, and eat breakfast without any difficulty, however, it was starting to get a little bit warm in my room (AC is my best friend in Vietnam).  I thought it was just a temporary outage, you know the same as in the U.S.  Wrong.  My first clue came when I went outside.  No rain or wind, just hot. 

I walked to work and asked one of our secretaries about the situation.  She said it was planned.  Funny, nobody informed me in advance.  So I asked when the power was going to be restored and she said about 4:00 pm.  BTW, the office had electricity, so I was perfectly content to absorb some of their AC.  About 3:00 pm, I had to come back to the room to get some of my teaching supplies (I teach at night).  I noticed the power was still off, but I was not really concerned.  Before I left campus at 4:30 pm, I asked the office worker the name of a hotel, just in case.  Then I took a taxi to the other campus where I teach. 

After returning to my dorm around 8:30 pm, I noticed that the area looked a little bit spooky.  Or should I say spookier than normal.  It's the same look when power is out downtown.  Sure enough, I opened the door and my room was pitch black.  Fortunately, I had brought a flashlight with me, but unfortunately, the batteries were in another drawer.  So here I am, fumbling around in the dark, trying to find and put in the batteries.  Presto.  The light came on (flashlight, not room).  By this time, I was sweating like a pig.  There was no way I was going to sleep in my room, so I found the paper that had the hotel written on it (in Vietnamese).  Thank God for foresight. 

So I packed up a few items and headed to the main gate where I hailed another taxi - this time to the hotel.  I was never so glad to find a receptionist who could speak English.  And I was delighted to discover that a room was available.  And, the price included AC, a great mattress, and a buffet breakfast.  It was the best $45 investment I have made in awhile.  Slept like a log.  Another day in Vietnam.