The weather here has been wonderful for the past two weeks with temperatures in 23 - 28 degree range. With these temperatures our windows are open all day until bedtime. The noise of the night shift on the school being re-constructed beside us forces us to close the windows at night. In fact right now I am about to shut our office window because the noise is at a rather high level as I write (8:00 pm).
I remember many months ago people saying things like "there is always construction going on" or "its always noisy, no matter where you choose an apartment." Over generalizations, true. But not far from the facts. This is simply reality in a city where wealth is increasing and the population is increasing.
On the other hand I enjoyed some lovely peace and quiet yesterday. With a businessman and a leader of an NGO, I ventured to play golf for the second time here in Vietnam. We rented a car with driver for the day and drove for about 90 minutes north west of Hanoi. The golf course is located in what might be called the foothills of some low mountains. It was one of the few sunny days we have enjoyed in the past four months, so it was a treat to walk the beautiful course, surrounded by hills, far from city noise. So a day after rejoicing in our God of the Resurrection, I took a few pause moments to ignore golf and rejoice in our God of Creation. What amazing handiwork we find all over the globe.
Of course we were not allowed to carry our own golf bag. A young female caddy was assigned to each of us - at least the course gives them a pull cart for each bag. Cost of the car and driver (split three ways), greens fees, lunch and customary tip to each caddy, came to about the same as the price of an average Canadian greens fee (and much cheaper than many Canadian courses). Of course we did play on a Monday, when greens fees are half price.
I remember many months ago people saying things like "there is always construction going on" or "its always noisy, no matter where you choose an apartment." Over generalizations, true. But not far from the facts. This is simply reality in a city where wealth is increasing and the population is increasing.
On the other hand I enjoyed some lovely peace and quiet yesterday. With a businessman and a leader of an NGO, I ventured to play golf for the second time here in Vietnam. We rented a car with driver for the day and drove for about 90 minutes north west of Hanoi. The golf course is located in what might be called the foothills of some low mountains. It was one of the few sunny days we have enjoyed in the past four months, so it was a treat to walk the beautiful course, surrounded by hills, far from city noise. So a day after rejoicing in our God of the Resurrection, I took a few pause moments to ignore golf and rejoice in our God of Creation. What amazing handiwork we find all over the globe.
Of course we were not allowed to carry our own golf bag. A young female caddy was assigned to each of us - at least the course gives them a pull cart for each bag. Cost of the car and driver (split three ways), greens fees, lunch and customary tip to each caddy, came to about the same as the price of an average Canadian greens fee (and much cheaper than many Canadian courses). Of course we did play on a Monday, when greens fees are half price.
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