...on the beating in the alley
Bear with me, as this is a convoluted story, relying purely on my understanding of the situation (meaning...I may well have bits of it wrong...lol)
Turns out I had the residence of the victim wrong (the joys of translation..pfft)...he did not live in the side alley, but across from my room, to the left....the house that my ex coffee lady (she of moonlight flit fame) lived....it was one of her brothers!
I now know this, as a funeral is in full swing...yes, he died yesterday morning!
Turns out that the smelly liquid they threw on him (& around his house) was ACID...which explains all the hurling about of boiling water & frantic sweeping that went on...
Whether the incident had anything to do with the ex coffee lady's debt, that she buggered off owing, I dont know..
She arrived back during the night, & is strutting about this morning, looking very full of herself..
The neighbours are NOT happy! If looks could kill......
Apart from the fact that this family's penchant for not paying their debts, have invited the Saigon Mafia to commit dangerous deeds on our patch, the alley also has a strong police presence at the moment...dozens of them lolling about smoking & drinking coffee....
People who dont have permits/licences to run their little businesses out of their front rooms, are understandably nervous, & the alley seems to be full of closed doors....a strange sensation!
It is a Buddhist funeral...which is very odd, as the last funeral at this house, for another brother, was Catholic (I blogged about it at the time)....why would one brother be Buddhist, & the other Catholic?
I guess if your family is a bit dodgy, you cover your bets...lol
However....I am learning new cultural things all the time...
Straight after he died & was bought home from the hospital, then lying in the front room, I noticed the family were all dressed in black...this in itself was very strange, as Vietnamese dont wear black for a funeral...they dress top to toe in white!
The other bizarre thing was they were tucking in to a huge feast...scoffing it down as if they hadnt eaten for weeks...
I thought to myself "wow...this lot are really grieving (sic)"...
It eventuates that while the monks are reciting the first round of banishing the bad spirits (a 3 hr affair) the family wears black (the significance of this escapes me)....it is only at the end of this, they change into white....
The food thing is about getting as full as you can, because for the next three days you do not eat....too overcome with grief etc...
My guesthouse family appear to be the funeral florists for the alley...every time someone dies, great mountains of flowers appear in the foyer...my landlady & her daughter produce the most beautiful wreaths & great bowls of flowers...
The wonderful thing about this is that I always get presented with a large bunch of sweet smelling lilies for my room....I'm unsure whether this is part of the ritual, or just because they know I love lilies...lol
Whatever....it is always appreciated...
In fact, whenever I realise that a funeral is in progress, my first thought is "YAY...I'm getting lilies"
Does this make me a dreadful person? LMAO
Bear with me, as this is a convoluted story, relying purely on my understanding of the situation (meaning...I may well have bits of it wrong...lol)
Turns out I had the residence of the victim wrong (the joys of translation..pfft)...he did not live in the side alley, but across from my room, to the left....the house that my ex coffee lady (she of moonlight flit fame) lived....it was one of her brothers!
I now know this, as a funeral is in full swing...yes, he died yesterday morning!
Turns out that the smelly liquid they threw on him (& around his house) was ACID...which explains all the hurling about of boiling water & frantic sweeping that went on...
Whether the incident had anything to do with the ex coffee lady's debt, that she buggered off owing, I dont know..
She arrived back during the night, & is strutting about this morning, looking very full of herself..
The neighbours are NOT happy! If looks could kill......
Apart from the fact that this family's penchant for not paying their debts, have invited the Saigon Mafia to commit dangerous deeds on our patch, the alley also has a strong police presence at the moment...dozens of them lolling about smoking & drinking coffee....
People who dont have permits/licences to run their little businesses out of their front rooms, are understandably nervous, & the alley seems to be full of closed doors....a strange sensation!
It is a Buddhist funeral...which is very odd, as the last funeral at this house, for another brother, was Catholic (I blogged about it at the time)....why would one brother be Buddhist, & the other Catholic?
I guess if your family is a bit dodgy, you cover your bets...lol
However....I am learning new cultural things all the time...
Straight after he died & was bought home from the hospital, then lying in the front room, I noticed the family were all dressed in black...this in itself was very strange, as Vietnamese dont wear black for a funeral...they dress top to toe in white!
The other bizarre thing was they were tucking in to a huge feast...scoffing it down as if they hadnt eaten for weeks...
I thought to myself "wow...this lot are really grieving (sic)"...
It eventuates that while the monks are reciting the first round of banishing the bad spirits (a 3 hr affair) the family wears black (the significance of this escapes me)....it is only at the end of this, they change into white....
The food thing is about getting as full as you can, because for the next three days you do not eat....too overcome with grief etc...
My guesthouse family appear to be the funeral florists for the alley...every time someone dies, great mountains of flowers appear in the foyer...my landlady & her daughter produce the most beautiful wreaths & great bowls of flowers...
The wonderful thing about this is that I always get presented with a large bunch of sweet smelling lilies for my room....I'm unsure whether this is part of the ritual, or just because they know I love lilies...lol
Whatever....it is always appreciated...
In fact, whenever I realise that a funeral is in progress, my first thought is "YAY...I'm getting lilies"
Does this make me a dreadful person? LMAO
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