the first day i arrived in saigon, i headed for the pagoda to attend the dharma talk. i tried to find a seat among the delegation. moments later, a vnese lady came along and requested me to give up my seat (as i'm not part of the delegation). i was so disappointed. i've made my way from hanoi and i'm not allowed to listen to the talk. isn't the talk supposed to be public? then brother phap bi came along and tried to persuade the lady to let us (there were two other ladies who came on their own) could join in. i felt relieved. and there, i met oanh who sat beside me and lent me her jacket when she saw I was cold. she speaks little english but we somehow got along.

the next day, there was a dharma talk at hoa binh theatre. i planned to go to dinh y vegetarian foodshop to have my lunch, but have misread 171 as 191. so i went in search of 191, but i could never find it. disappointed, i went on along the road in the direction towards hoa binh theatre hoping i could stop for lunch on the way. there wasn't any vegetarian food, however. I was famished and tired. I've walked a long way but I couldn't get myself to stop for food that isn't vegetarian. i made a silent cry to the buddha. finally, after an hour of walking, i arrived near hoa binh theatre. it was two hours before the dharma talk, and there, oanh spotted me. she then introduced me to two sangha members, one of whom is sc. cung nghiem. the venue of the talk was changed to another location near to hoa binh theatre. i wouldn't have known if I hadn't met oanh there. sc. cung Nnghiem, conversed with me in english after oanh told her about me. i showed her the schedule i've downloaded from the internet and she pointed out the wrong address of chua phap van (there is another talk there). she gave me the correct address and even offered me some food for lunch. i was very lucky.