Good Morning, BMT!

Buon Ma Thuot, December 31st 2010

The night before when I called Mom and she asked where I was, "Errr..." I answered, "It's difficult. Something like 'Bu...' something."

I looked up at the signs of hotels and shops above. That's how I usually try to find out where I am. But this time, all the signs above my head only ended with "BMT".

"It says 'BMT'." I said to Mom still over the phone.

So, good morning, BMT!

Wiwik needed a kettle to boil water for Gabe's porridge. I myself wanted to start the morning with a cup of Vietnamese hot coffee. So I went downstairs to the front desk. Mr. Vu was there already.

"Excuse me. Can I borrow a kettle please?" I asked the hotel staff.

"What?"

"Kettle."

"What?"

At the meantime Mr. Vu looked at me closely.

"Do you have a piece of paper?" I asked.

I drew a rough picture of an electric kettle. And then I drew a line with my finger on top of the kettle. "Water..." Next, I stroke my finger along the kettle. "Hot..."

"Ah! Hot water!!" cried the hotel staff and Mr. Vu together. "Hot water! Ya, ya, hot water!"

The hotel staff went to the other side of the room. She handed me a big thermos, which I think would be more than enough to wash my face.

"No, no. Just a small one, will be fine," I tried to explain. I thought she was being too kind.

But she replied, "No have. This okay."

"Can I bring this to my room?"

"Okay, okay."

When I entered our room with that big thermos, Wiwik paused a second at it. "Okay, okay. Let me tell you the story," I hurriedly said.

Done with my coffee, I went back down to explore the vicinity. It was a very sunny day. But still it was chilly.

This kids were playing in front of a hotel several doors next to ours.

Awww... cute winter clothes!

Before I was satisfied enough with my shots, an adult appeared in front of the door. He looked at me. I'm sure of that, because there wasn't anybody there. I was standing across the street. Not long after, these cute girls were in. Ah. And then a motorcycle stopped in front of me. He spoke something to me in Vietnamese and I just shook my head. It happened twice. I didn't see any foreigner. It seemed that this place is not quite a familiar spot for foreigners.

I returned my EOS 50D into my backpack. These next shots are done with my Nokia N86. A cellphone camera.

This is it, Eden Hotel, where we stayed a night in Buon Ma Thout. Our room was by the corner with one side facing East. The bright Vietnamese sunshine sprung in through the wide windows on two sides of our room. I really love to wake up to a bright sunshine. The room itself was spacious enough for the 3 of us. For me, compared to other similar hotels I've been in Vietnam, so it was.

This is the street in front of Eden Hotel. Obviously there are more electricity lines crossing the street than vehicles.

I kept on walking. The streets were very contrary to Sai Gon, not to mention Hanoi.

I like the design of this house. Somewhat has an American touch, I think. It's also not at all like the traditional Vietnamese cubical houses.

This one still has the authentic cubical sense but in a modern way. The windows on the side are like the ones I used to see in Da Lat. Western-Europeanish.

Don't be amazed by these electricity lines. I tell you, this is the neatest electricity line system in a city I've seen during all my 5 trips in Vietnam!

This area didn't look like an industrial area, neither a shopping town. Therefore, I was curious when I saw this building. I stood out among the residential houses.

I tried to to check the website written on top (www.daihungdaklak.com) but still couldn't fine out what this is because the site is in Vietnamese. The only clue I can get is that this is somewhat a function hall that serves delicate meals.

Breakfast in Eden Hotel is served on a balcony. It reminds me a lot of Paloma Hotel in Hanoi. Breakfast on a balcony accompanied by morning sunshine... oh, how I love that!

However, very unlike Paloma Hotel in Hanoi, here when you look down the balcony, there are only trees and trees. Dense trees like a forest.  It seems that Buon Ma Thout a.k.a. BMT, was build through a forest...