Recalling trip to Hong Kong's Jumbo Floating Restaurant

 When my wife and I visited Hong Kong seven years ago in an effort to boost her chances of getting a U.S visa, we hit all the highlights: a Disney theme park, a huge aquarium, wax museum and tons of restaurants. One of the restaurants where we dined was the iconic Jumbo Kingdom, or Jumbo Floating Restaurant. The restaurant has entertained famous people like Bruce Lee, Jimmy Carter and Tom Cruise. Last week on CNN I was shocked to see that the restaurant reportedly sank in the sea where it was towed for maintenance. The story about the sinking has become more muddled as time goes on.  I've read several online articles about the incident, one saying it's still afloat somewhere near the Paracel Islands. Conspiracy theories abound. Apparently, the owners have back-tracked on the sinking claim. One story that I can believe said that the restaurant was struggling financially since Covid, and the protests and unrest in Hong Kong. Insurance?  Unlikely, the news reports say. Anyway, I don't remember much about our meal -- it was OK I think -- but I recall all of us in the tour group getting into a little boat to get to the restaurant, which was designed like an imperial palace; our trip was whirlwind and we always seemed to be tired. No one knows or will say now exactly what, if anything, happened to the Jumbo Kingdom other than the fact a tugboat pulled it out to sea. The only thing that's certain to me is that my wife and I can say we ate there.

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Vietnam is changing rapidly these days, mostly for the better. Many of the improvements are long overdue, such as public trash receptacles in parks and on the streets, or the ability to purchase with a bank card in some of the bigger retailers. The trash cans have reduced litter, which has reduced flooding since sewer drains aren't as clogged with discarded plastic. That's crucial this year since rainy season is prolific. The card purchases most likely have boosted spending by foreigners living here, especially on big-ticket items. I know I've bought more necessary items, such as hammocks and book shelves. Actually, the toaster oven I bought a while back is the most used item in the house, other than beds and bath soap. A new fridge is on the wish list and most certainly will be purchased if my wife doesn't get the waiver. There are so many more cars here now than when I first arrived, and most folks on bikes are smart enough to get out of their way. Bigger means right of way on the road. That's led to more bikes on sidewalks, probably out of necessity, which is unfortunate for me and my daughter, who are daily pedestrians, a real rarity here other than the women and few men who sell lottery tickets.  Line cutting persists, but not to the extent of even a few years back. Covid barriers helped cool off that obnoxious behavior to a small degree. The staring continues but no one has yelled f@#% you! at me for no reason in at least four months. Ah, let the changes and good times roll.
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I'm wrapping up the book Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky. 931 days in a row of Kindle reading. The book was better than I initially stated, but I'm a little too obtuse for some of the details provided.  ... The Jumbo Floating Restaurant news got me thinking about another site we visited which was tragically in the news: the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok was the site of a 2015 bombing that killed 20 people. ... My daughter is close to being able to swim, but progress is slow. She remains a little spooked by deep water since falling in a fish pond at a coffee shop. Understandable. ... I saw Roe v. Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court and that same-sex marriage, contraception and other rulings may be in jeopardy. I'm also following the Jan. 6 hearings and war in Ukraine. No wonder I enjoy watching BabyTV so much with my 2-year-old son and daughter.

We get 4th Covid shot; I pull struggling girl out of pool

My wife and I got our fourth Covid vaccine dose. We debated if we really wanted or needed another shot, but since I'm approaching 68, have had some lung issues, and live in a city with dirty air where masks are becoming less fashionable, the debate was a short one. I didn't even feel the needle go in, but I developed some real tenderness in my shoulder that evening. It disappeared after two days. No other side-effects noted. I've said it before: I'll be a human pin cushion if it keeps me out of a hospital. My wife had the same shoulder soreness and some minor chills, but otherwise she's doing well.  Our soon-to-be 6-year-old daughter Joanna is next in line for a shot. Not sure about our 2-year-old son Elijah. I read where kids in the U.S. will be getting shots.  I would like our daughter to get jabbed before she starts school, either here or in the U.S. 
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My daughter had floating devices on and was swimming widths last week in the bigger pool where we go. She swims well with floating devices because she doesn't have to keep her head under water for very long. This was the first time ever I stayed in my street clothes and didn't swim with her. So I'm squatting down next to the water talking to her, when a 12-year-old girl comes splashing toward us. Her mother stands next to me and is shouting to the girl, who starts to struggle a bit in the water. I see that the girl is in trouble about 4 or 5 feet from the side of  pool and starting to go under. Her mother is screaming at this point. I was hoping I wouldn't have to jump in the pool fully dressed with cell phone, shoes on and wallet in my pants to get the girl to safety. Nonetheless, I was certainly willing even though I'm a very mediocre swimmer. Just as I was ready to leap, the girl surfaced. I yelled for her to reach for my extended hand, which she did. I grabbed her hand and arm, and pulled her out of the pool. The girl just walked away coughing, and she seemed a little angry and perhaps embarrassed; I have no idea since the girl and her mother spoke zero English. The mom thanked me profusely in Vietnamese. A short time later, the girl played with my daughter in the kids pool, then returned to swim in the big pool's deep end. I don't know what to make of the whole deal. One of the reasons I didn't swim that day was that there were 28 kids in the pools, splashing, jumping, frolicking, and so on. Joanna wants the interaction, even if it's awkward due to language. She enjoys playing chase and race with the kids, but really hates being grabbed, and she's not afraid to make that point to any kid of any age, or adults as well. In fact, she hates being touched by anyone she doesn't know, and will let whoever touches her know she doesn't like it or want it. I encourage, love and respect my daughter's strong character.
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Reading Salt by Mark Kurlansky, and it's becoming a slog. I like the substance and have mildly high blood pressure to prove it, but the book, while very interesting in parts, has a textbook flavor, so to speak. The facts and details are piled on high and are overwhelming at times. Like everything else in the world, Kindle is getting more expensive, so obviously I'll finish to keep my Kindle reading streak going (it's at 922 days in a row) and get my money's worth. ... I found a decent restaurant near our house, Hong Kong Seafood, and our whole gang walked there Thursday for dinner. We had shrimp, octopus, ribs, black eggs and tofu, and garlic with some kind of  cooked lettuce ... thanks to my wife, who did all the ordering and talking in this one-language eatery. The last time I went there with my daughter I got scallops and tofu that was put in to-go boxes, which wasn't my intention, so we ate out of the boxes at our table in the restaurant. The food was OK, but expensive, and the experience was weird. That wasn't the case with my wife there. ... I got my precocious daughter a hammock as an early birthday present and she loves it. Not even 6 years old yet and she understands chillin'.

Kid who snatched my credit card off counter tracked down

 I took my daughter on our weekly field trip to Vincom mall on Thursday and did some shopping. I purchased clothes, toys and food. My biggest load of purchases came at the bookstore, nearly 800,000 Vietnamese dong (about $40 U.S.) for some books for my son Elijah and daughter Joanna, paper, and toys. This is one of the few stores in Bien Hoa that allows me to pay with my debit card with a chip. I gave the clerk my card while another clerk and I examined a computerized sketchpad I bought to see what kind of battery it needs. While we fiddled with the sketchpad, a boy about 7 or 8 comes up and starts hugging me, acting a little strange. I sent him away and reassembled the sketchpad. While this was all happening, the clerk laid my credit card on the counter. After everything was put away and bagged, the clerk asks for my credit card again. I don't have it, I told her ... you had it. The clerk started looking, and then her search got a little more frantic. Three other clerks joined the search and the card was nowhere to be found. We emptied the five bags I had with me, looked under the counter and behind the counter. No card. I checked my wallet three times. No card. Then the manager said she would check the security camera. She came back right away and said the boy had taken it off the counter. Immediately, the security guard and three store employees fanned out through the mall. After an agonizing wait, one of the girls came back into the store and signaled they got the boy and card. I can't express my relief, since the card is my only source of cash here and it's nearly impossible to get a replacement sent into Vietnam from the U.S. Actually, the boy's father (I guess) came into the store and handed me the card, with no apology or anything, just a silly smirk on his face. And away they went. My daughter Joanna was remarkably patient through the whole ordeal. For some reason I thought about all the times people have scolded Joanna by using harsh or sharp tones for something "horrible" she had done: touching a fish on ice in a supermarket; leaving her shoes (like everyone else) in front of the shoe rack at the swimming pool; opening a glass door at a bakery to get a closer look at a fancy cake. Nobody said boo to the boy or his dad to my knowledge, and the boy took a credit card off a counter. Interesting world and times we live in ... Regardless of my percieved inequities, I want to thank the store employees for their grit and effort in getting my card back to me. Thanks, ladies, you were wonderful. Earlier, I won a stuffed pig and candy for Joanna at the video room playing one of those impossible claw machines. Turned out to be an OK day. 
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It can be awkward for me when the pool we go to is crowded. A lot of kids want to practice their English, which means sometimes I'm being interviewed while I try to watch my daughter. I'm in the pool with Joanna 95 percent of the time, but the 5 percent breather or bathroom break is when the kids will usually pounce. Sometimes they try to talk when I'm in the pool, but I'll just go under water or hack around with Joanna. Often, parents will push their kids to approach me for speaking practice. I don't mind so much, but I really do need to keep an eye on my daughter, who's a bit of a risk-taker, which I don't like around water. When she wears floaties I breathe easier, but she's getting braver as she gets closer to being able to swim. One 11-year-old boy was firing a lot of questions at me and I saw that his mom was video recording the conversation. I have to wear a tiny Speedo here because it's the only suit in my size -- I've got a body like W.C. Fields these days and don't really appreciate being surreptitiously recorded. And I don't really appreciate the mirror in the bathroom when I change into the Speedo. Anyway, I put up a towel to block the video recording and the lady and her friends said sorry multiple times. It was all good-natured but I'd still like to know if someone is recording so I could say no thanks until I get in shape again.
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I don't expect a ruling anytime soon on my wife's waiver application to get a visa to enter the U.S. As a result, I'm considering enrolling my daughter in an expensive private school in Bien Hoa, the only English-only school in town. We visited the campus and were impressed, and Joanna seemed to like it as well. 
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I took my daughter to Ho Chi Minh City for an eye appointment, and the doctor said her vision and eyes are in tip-top shape , unlike her dad. Those were his words, not mine.