Today I woke up at 1 PM.
Since last night my heart has been racing badly, and when I looked into it, it seems to be withdrawal symptoms from stopping hormone medication. It made me think again that I should avoid taking such strong drugs as much as possible. Because they forcibly put the hormone cortisol into the body, when you stop you apparently end up in a low-cortisol state. That can cause palpitations and anxiety.
Resigning myself to it, I ate a banana for now.
I was a bit late, but I also took the antibiotics.
After that I showered and got ready to go out. But some work came up, so I did that first. Before I knew it, it was already 4 PM.
Today I decided to go back to the mainland.
It takes about 30 minutes, but this time is really enjoyable. I rode my bike toward Quy Nhon City.
I stopped a few times to check the map, but I could mostly go without looking. Somehow I felt like I was blending into this city, and into Vietnam, and it made me a little happy.
And with that, I arrived at a Japanese restaurant.
Even in Vietnam, no matter where I go, seeing Japanese food makes me want to eat it. The only place where I felt the cuisine suited me as much might be Russia. Of course, I think Vietnam has the best food in Southeast Asia. Still, when I see a Japanese restaurant I can't help but be drawn to it.
The Japanese restaurant I went to today was a very tiny, cozy place.
But it was pretty authentic, and even though there were about six staff, there were only two customers. I thought, surely something's wrong here (lol).
I ordered fried salmon sushi and katsudon. Miso soup came with it, and it was very tasty. The miso soup was almost the same as what you'd drink in Japan — I thought it was maybe a little less salty. Everything else was perfect. The sushi was a fried sushi you don't see much in Japan, topped with mayonnaise, and it was really delicious.
However, I couldn't finish it all, so I asked for a takeout box.
All the staff were barefoot wearing sandals, and I thought, ah, this is really Vietnamese. It felt like an expression of this country's tendency not to worry about small things, and I kind of liked it.
After eating, I headed to the sea.
I think there are parts similar to China, but it's still different in some ways.
It's really interesting, and I think I like it.
There was a small, cute amusement park nearby, so I walked around there too.
In that way, I strolled slowly, taking in Quy Nhon's beach. Satisfied and thinking it was about time to go back to the hotel, I found another appealing spot along the way, stopped the bike, and walked the beach there as well.
I was too full to have any energy to work, so I went to the sea for now. In the plaza there was a group doing a typically Vietnamese dance, and at the beach, even though it was 7 PM, families were spreading mats and having picnics. It's so Vietnamese, and I don't even know how to express this uniqueness.
At that moment I realized I had grown to like Quy Nhon without noticing.
If I hadn't rented a bike, I definitely wouldn't have had experiences like this. Again, I'm glad I rented the bike.
The joy of riding a bike, the touring feeling you can only get from covering distance. I really like it.
With that, I decided to head home.
On the way back I got a little lost again, checking the map as I rode. A cow was walking along the way; I thought it was cute and tried to take a photo, but it mooed, and I got a little scared and left right away.
And finally, I arrived at the hotel.
Being here, something occurred to me.
The fact that I can eat Japanese food here in Vietnam, and that I can find it 'delicious' — how fortunate that is.
Usually, people think 'I want to eat something delicious' and search for food, right?
But have you ever really thought about how grateful and happy that feeling of 'delicious' is?
When traveling alone, meals might not suit you, and you may not often encounter something you can truly call 'delicious.' That's precisely why, when you do feel something is 'delicious,' the happiness multiplies many times.
The delicious food we take for granted in everyday life is actually an incredible source of happiness.
That's something I realized again today.
