On this week’s episode of
“Adventures with Team Kaleo”
Un-Converted
Shayne, Brooke and I decided that for our off day, we would head to the beach. Now, Da’Nang has some of the prettiest beaches in the world. Like seriously gorgeous! The sand is so soft under your feet, and the ocean has this beautiful teal color. Our day off included a picture of serene relaxation and fun. So, with towels, snacks and sunscreen in hand we set off to enjoy the South China sea.
On our way to the beach, Brooke expressed interest in a little coffee shop, called “Fin Cafe”. Shayne, who is never one to turn down coffee, shouts with glee at the prospect of a good cup of joe. We see the sign and head for the beans!
(I should tell you before we begin, cafe’s in Asia can be set up anywhere. So seeing a cafe down a street with homes is no unusual thing.)
Walking down the street, we pass this beautiful Vietnamese grandmother sitting outside of what I assume was her daughter’s house, just chatting. Out of respect, we walked over to say “hello” and love on her for a moment. As we walked over smiling, she returned our greeting with a grin and I was in love. She had a typical asian head wrap, wrinkled eyes, red lips and the sweetest disposition. Upon smiling though, I noticed that all her teeth were black as night! “Oh gosh!” I thought, they look like rocks.
I said a little prayer and then we walked on. We passed a small garbage dump on our way to the cafe, that, should have been our first clue that we were in for something. As we walked towards the cafe, we saw that they were doing some construction on it, but before we could turn to leave, the owner (who looks like the Asian version of my uncle David) stops us and goes, “Come in, come in! I speak french!” In my head, “Yep this is gonna end up a story”. As we walked in, we realized that this cafe, was actually this man’s LIVING ROOM! Like the living room of his personal house. But much like anything that’s happened on the World Race, we were too far in to just walk away, so we sat down.
At a table.
In his living room.
Next to the garbage dump.
“Do you have cappuccino?” Brooke sweetly asked. He stared.
“How about regular coffee?” Shayne suggested. Again, he stared.
Now it was my turn. “Do you have Saigon coffee?”
“Oh yes! Yes! Saigon coffee, how many?”
We ordered 2 and Brooke asked for regular coffee…
Let me just fill you in on Saigon coffee. It’s very sweet. The Vietnamese take coffee and sweeten it with sweetened condensed milk and ice, along with more sugar. Most days when we get it for breakfast we pour water about half way in our glasses and it’s drinkable, otherwise it’s like drinking coffee flavored syrup. I ordered the Saigon coffee because it was familiar and also because we were going to get nowhere with suggestions such as “Caramel Macchiato, Americano, and Latte”.
We sat and giggled about how many “World Race” experiences have happened these past 10 months. Just to name a few, taxis in Africa, which involved standing in the beds of old pick-up trucks. Riding on the backs of motorcycles in China into oncoming traffic (sorry mom and papa) Eating pig brains, caterpillars, goat fat, fermented horse milk, the list goes on…
In the midst of our laughter the coffee comes.
(There is no filter on this picture, that coffee is THAT black!)
Brooke’s coffee comes with a silver steeper over a highball glass. As we watch the process I am noticing that her coffee is thick and dark. Next, our saigon coffee arrives. It is black. Like grandma’s teeth, black. I get a little nervous. I look at Shayne, she looks at me. I put my lips up to the straw and took a sip….
A few seconds later, after I finished sprinting around all of Da’Nang like “The Flash” on crack, I sat down again. My heart was pulsing and I felt like the enamel on my teeth was beginning to peel like bad wall paper. This was by far the sweetest, thickest, grossest thing I had ever tasted in my life! I look at Shayne and she takes a sip. Immediately one eyebrow shoots up, and the bitter face comes out. “Oh gosh! This is terrible, I can’t drink this.” Immediately panic sets in all of our faces, because we know that there is no way we can just leave these glasses full. We don’t want to insult these people in their own house, but OH MY NERVES, HOW DO WE DRINK THIS?!?!?!
I begin to drink mine as fast as possible. Short quick sips, thinking the faster I drink this, the sooner this misery is over. I get done, look over at Shayne and she’s just shaking her head, “I can’t, I can’t do it” I look at my empty glass, I look at Shayne’s full glass, and as I did, I heard “Eye of the tiger” play in my head, I knew what I had to do… I had to drink her coffee for her. I switched drinks and began to drink the sweet tar.
“Don’t you gag Kimberly Elaine!” I said to myself on my last sip. Saying a prayer over my heart, we all finished, and I had gone from being super hyper, to wanting to see if they rented out their beds along with their living room cafe. We paid and left to go to the beach. Our once joyous and hope-filled voices were silent as we walked along the street.
Tune in next time for a continuation of “Adventures with Team Kaleo!”
Side note:
I started the race back in January being an avid tea drinker. My friend and brother Valters got me to drink and ENJOY coffee while I was in Eastern Europe. He is responsible for converting me to coffee.
I am now back to being solely a tea drinker. At least for a while, until my gag reflexes can stop engaging every time I see coffee. Tell Earl, I’m back! (Earl Grey tea that is. He’s never been too bitter or too sweet. You just gotta trust the relationships that never let you down)
