Our 36 day adventure was escorted by Overseas Adventure Travel, OAT, the second tour company that we have used preferring to travel on our own. Our other tour was through China Focus for a 30 day tour of China in 2007.
I was impressed with the OAT travel philosophy that is built around travel, adventure, and discovery. This resulted in an in-depth exposure to the country, and culture of the countries visited. Beyond seeing the big cities and the usual tourist attractions we went to small out of the way villages, had dinner with families in their homes, visited schools from elementary level to university and were able to interact with the people of Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam. However I felt that the tour focused more on the failures of the countries rather then the successes of the countries. I never saw a nice home in Thailand or any of the beautiful beaches and resorts of Thailand. I left Thailand with the impression that the monarchy holds all wealth and the country and citizens spend a fortune praising the king and queen. If Thailand would spend the money that they spend on bigger than live banners, billboards, and monuments of their king and queen on sewage disposal, garbage pick-up and street paving in their remote villages the country could take a major step into the 21st century.
The real asset held by OAT is their tour was the tour guides. We were assigned a guide from each country who escorted and coordinated our visits in each country. Our Cambodia guide, Thai , grew up in a floating city and was chosen to be sent to an inland school and continued his education to become an extremely knowledgeable and personable guide, as a part of our trip he took us to his family home on the water and introduced to his family. He was able to provide a knowledgeable and insightful answer to every question ask. His knowledge of Ancor Wat that the other temples and their history was inspiring.
Our Thailand guide, Poupe, a 46 year old single mother is one of the most personable and versatile people that I have ever met As well as a knowledgeable guide she sang, danced, and educated us on virtually every aspect of Thai live. At times she provided TMI, but it was done in good spirit and with the best of intentions.
Our Vietnamese guide Dy, pronounced Yee, was a true professional, maintaining control of the group, sharing his knowledge, and giving us a valuable exposure to the Vietnam people while helping many of us answer the many questions that we brought with us about the Vietnam War. Dy also introduced us to his family, which I believe to be a part of the OAT program, thus allowing us to see how a successful middle class Vietnamese family lives.
The hotels were for the most part very good, we only had one that I would have not stayed in if we were traveling on our own. Although it was on a beautiful setting on a river with nice grounds and pool the room was not clean and the facility had fallen into disrepair. The hotels for the most part place you in the middle of the activity of the bigger cities and with easy access in the smaller cities, we were never in the suburbs where activity might have been out of reach. A cab fare to a market or restaurant never was more then $3.00. Although it was on a beautiful setting on a river with nice grounds and pool the room was not clean and the facility had fallen into disrepair.
Currency was difficult to adjust to; 3400 Bat equaled a dollar and 17,000 Dong equaled a dollar. Thus I found myself getting one million Vietnamese Dong out of an ATM to get spending money. So a cab ride would cost 34,000 Dong.
The food was good but I did tire of Thai food before we moved on to Vietnam. Lunches and dinners provided through OAT were always from a fixed menu and many times were excellent, but the best meals that we had were those that we had when we sought out top quality restaurants when we were on our own. We were able to find them through our Lonely Planet travel guide or through internet search. With the low cost of transportation you could get the best meal in town including cocktails and wine for $30.00 as long as you stayed out of the multi-national hotels.
We choose not to take any of the optional tours, about seven offered, choosing instead to explore the cities and countryside on our own. In the one cases that we wanted to go to the same location that the optional tour, the Cu Chi Tunnels, we were able to purchase the tour locally at the Saigon Post Office for less then half the price that OAT asked; ours did not include lunch but eating in Vietnam is quite cheap. It was also nice talking with another tour guide and getting their perspective on the was, the government and the economy. Some of our best times were striking out on tuk-tuks to the Chinese Market, or a temple, or a restaurant on our own and experiencing the country at our own pace.
The only real issue that I have with OAT was their tipping policy. In the pre-trip information they informed us that tipping was optional for the exceptional service of our tour guide and $7 to $10 per day per person was customary. Upon arrival we were given an orientation pamphlet that repeated the $7 to $10 tipping to the tour guide but added $4 to $6 per day per person for the bus driver, $2 to $4 for the driver assistant, $1 for the room maids, and additional for boat drivers, local tour guides, elephant drivers and elephant snacks. On our China trip we tipped our tour guide and he took care of all additional tipping that was required or expected. Several of us felt this was a shirking of the responsibility of OAT to take care of their hired employees and independent contractors. If you met their suggested tipping the total would amount to 10% of the tour price.
I look back on the tour now and feel it was more of an education than a vacation, and that is not to say that I didn’t enjoy the trip and that I will not use OAT in the future. We were up every morning at 5:30 to 6:30 AM and on the road by 8:00 AM and our day ended after dinner at 7:30 to 8:00 PM. Some of our fellow travelers, there were 15 of us, often chose to skip dinner and get to bed early. The average age in our group was probably 60 years old, but all were relatively fit and able to keep up the pace.
I feel I know Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam, I know their people, I understand their economies, and I understand their culture. If I’d taken a cruise that stopped in these countries I don’t think I would have been able be achieve the level of understanding that I have today.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Our Last Day in Saigon
Saigon is a city of 8 million people, many motorcycles and few cars, this is because there is a heavy import tax on automobiles ranging from 100% to 250% so a $50,000 German car will cost a Vietnamese $125,000. They also only allow the importation of new automobiles. Today we traveled to the Mekong Delta which required us to go through southern Saigon. This is where the growing upper-class lives, this is where you see the imported cars, the larger homes, the upscale shops and the massive apartment complexes. We didn’t see any of north of Saigon in any of the other cities that we visited. We proceeded to the Delta where we boarded a tour boat to see how the local fishing industry worked the river, the China Sea, and the growing fish farms. This was the area that the US Gun Boats patrolled winding in and our of the numerous islands in their attempt to drive out the Viet Cong. The government of the north had two army’s, the Viet Ping, recruited men and woman of the north who served the Peoples Republic of Vietnam and the Viet Cong the people of the south who either sided with the political views of the north or more often the people of the south who wanted to rid their country of the invaders.
We got out of our tour boat and boarded a san-pan, a small three passenger boat that was able to navigate the shallow waters that ran between the numerous islands. Our passage took us to a bee farm where we sampled the honey, had snacks and played with their python, an opportunity which I couldn’t pass up.
We then took a mile walk to a coconut candy factory that wouldn’t meet OSHA standards but did put out a unique and tasty form of taffy. Then a trek through the coconut plantations where we saw deserted plantation homes that had been the property of South Vietnam supporters that fled the country at the end of the war. We stopped in a small village for a fish dinner Vietnamese style (see the pictures) the young lady presented a grilled fish which she stripped the meat from and combined with rice, herbs, and vegetables to make a spring role which you wish you could buy in the US. Back on out tour boat and back to our bus we made our way back into Saigon.
Our Vietnam farewell dinner was held at Po Cho, a stylish restaurant, but not memorable food. After our meal our group went to the Grand Hyatt for a cocktail, a Chocltini, which I will be drinking more of in the future. The pianist vocalist was an added treat to a very sophisticated room that added a new element to your 36 day journey.
In the rain five of us made our way to one of Saigon’s most famous bars, Apocalypse Now, dating back to the early 60”s and the Vietnam War. It’s now a techno-pop club with loud DJ spinning and strobe lights. Although we found the bar unique the balance of the young Vietnam patrons found us unique; American 60 something’s that were willing to get-down to their music. We were truly an oddity in their domain and they welcomed with smiles, pictures and dance. It will be one of our cumulative captured memories.
This morning we board a plane back to Bangkok for a nigh layover and then a 23 hour flight through Tokyo and back to Atlanta.
Vietnam is a beautiful country that will change dramatically over the next ten years, the people are friendly, and most of all forgiving. They have a long history of wars with the Chinese, the French, America, and Australia, and they now welcome them all to their country as tourists.
Tomorrow morning we catch a 5:00 am flight to Tokyo than on to the US.
We got out of our tour boat and boarded a san-pan, a small three passenger boat that was able to navigate the shallow waters that ran between the numerous islands. Our passage took us to a bee farm where we sampled the honey, had snacks and played with their python, an opportunity which I couldn’t pass up.
We then took a mile walk to a coconut candy factory that wouldn’t meet OSHA standards but did put out a unique and tasty form of taffy. Then a trek through the coconut plantations where we saw deserted plantation homes that had been the property of South Vietnam supporters that fled the country at the end of the war. We stopped in a small village for a fish dinner Vietnamese style (see the pictures) the young lady presented a grilled fish which she stripped the meat from and combined with rice, herbs, and vegetables to make a spring role which you wish you could buy in the US. Back on out tour boat and back to our bus we made our way back into Saigon.
Our Vietnam farewell dinner was held at Po Cho, a stylish restaurant, but not memorable food. After our meal our group went to the Grand Hyatt for a cocktail, a Chocltini, which I will be drinking more of in the future. The pianist vocalist was an added treat to a very sophisticated room that added a new element to your 36 day journey.
In the rain five of us made our way to one of Saigon’s most famous bars, Apocalypse Now, dating back to the early 60”s and the Vietnam War. It’s now a techno-pop club with loud DJ spinning and strobe lights. Although we found the bar unique the balance of the young Vietnam patrons found us unique; American 60 something’s that were willing to get-down to their music. We were truly an oddity in their domain and they welcomed with smiles, pictures and dance. It will be one of our cumulative captured memories.
This morning we board a plane back to Bangkok for a nigh layover and then a 23 hour flight through Tokyo and back to Atlanta.
Vietnam is a beautiful country that will change dramatically over the next ten years, the people are friendly, and most of all forgiving. They have a long history of wars with the Chinese, the French, America, and Australia, and they now welcome them all to their country as tourists.
Tomorrow morning we catch a 5:00 am flight to Tokyo than on to the US.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Saigon and Cu Chi Tunnels
Monday morning we flew to Saigon, our first stop was the Scars of the Vietnam War Museum. The Museum consists of a collection of photographs taken by photographers from around the world in an effort to explain what happened in the Vietnam War from the North Vietnamese point of view. A major part of the display was devoted to the US’s use of chemical weapons in particular Agent Orange, and the initial effects as well as the lasting effects. This is not the place for me to express my feelings on what I saw and what I felt.
We ate lunch at a hot pot shop, Vietnams fast food. Hot Pot is a little meat and a lot of vegetables and noodles submerged in a hot chicken broth and seasoned to taste, it was quite good filling and very low calorie. It’s easy to see why the Vietnamese are so thin, I have yet to see a fat Vietnamese. The day was concluded with a bus tour of Saigon, a vibrant city of 8 million that is more western than any other city that we have seen in Vietnam. That’s not to say it looks like your city, but it is cleaner, laid out more like a western city and wealthier. The average Saigon worker makes $400 a month and that has been pulled up with the major investment in their Technology Park by Intel which pays its average worked $800 per month.
Tuesday morning five of us left the hotel and went out on our own to see the Cu Chi Tunnels 24 miles outside of Saigon. For decades the Cu Chi people had dug shelters under their homes to hide from intruders then the French and then the Americans. They soon learned that if their enemies discovered their subterranean hiding place they were easy killing so they started to build tunnels from one hideout to the other. Most of the tunnels were 9 to ten feet below ground while some went as deep as 36 feet all leading to underground bunkers. By the time the Americans set up their Army base outside of Saigon and neighboring the Ch Chi land the tunnel city had reached over 200 miles of tunnels and bunkers. This served as an excellent hiding and staging ground for the Vietcong. While the American used the latest technology and military hardware to fight the Cu Chi people the Cu Chi’s used the tools that they had been using for centuries to trap and kill animals, including punji pits, leg spikes, and
Punji sticks would be placed in areas likely to be passed through by enemy troops. The presence of punji sticks may be camouflaged by natural undergrowth, crops, grass, brush or similar materials. They were often incorporated into various types of traps; for example, a camouflaged pit into which a man might fall . They were often smeared with human feces to increase the risk of infection.
Sometimes a pit would be dug with punji sticks in the sides pointing downward at an angle. A soldier stepping into the pit would find it impossible to remove his leg without doing severe damage, and injuries might be incurred by the simple fact of falling forward while one's leg is in a narrow, vertical, stake-lined pit. Such pits would require time and care to dig the soldier's leg out, immobilizing the unit longer than if the foot were simply pierced, in which case the victim could be evacuated.
Punji sticks were sometimes deployed in the preparation of an ambush. Soldiers lying in wait for the enemy to pass would deploy punji sticks in the areas where the surprised enemy might be expected to take cover, thus soldiers diving for cover would impale themselves.
The time spent in the tunnels served to again present the Vietnam War from the Vietnamese people point of view. I find it amazing the this same company is now under the rule of the same Communist Party that ran the Americans out and now is dependant on companies like Intel, Microsoft, Coke and Budweiser for its future development.
We ate lunch at a hot pot shop, Vietnams fast food. Hot Pot is a little meat and a lot of vegetables and noodles submerged in a hot chicken broth and seasoned to taste, it was quite good filling and very low calorie. It’s easy to see why the Vietnamese are so thin, I have yet to see a fat Vietnamese. The day was concluded with a bus tour of Saigon, a vibrant city of 8 million that is more western than any other city that we have seen in Vietnam. That’s not to say it looks like your city, but it is cleaner, laid out more like a western city and wealthier. The average Saigon worker makes $400 a month and that has been pulled up with the major investment in their Technology Park by Intel which pays its average worked $800 per month.
Tuesday morning five of us left the hotel and went out on our own to see the Cu Chi Tunnels 24 miles outside of Saigon. For decades the Cu Chi people had dug shelters under their homes to hide from intruders then the French and then the Americans. They soon learned that if their enemies discovered their subterranean hiding place they were easy killing so they started to build tunnels from one hideout to the other. Most of the tunnels were 9 to ten feet below ground while some went as deep as 36 feet all leading to underground bunkers. By the time the Americans set up their Army base outside of Saigon and neighboring the Ch Chi land the tunnel city had reached over 200 miles of tunnels and bunkers. This served as an excellent hiding and staging ground for the Vietcong. While the American used the latest technology and military hardware to fight the Cu Chi people the Cu Chi’s used the tools that they had been using for centuries to trap and kill animals, including punji pits, leg spikes, and
Punji sticks would be placed in areas likely to be passed through by enemy troops. The presence of punji sticks may be camouflaged by natural undergrowth, crops, grass, brush or similar materials. They were often incorporated into various types of traps; for example, a camouflaged pit into which a man might fall . They were often smeared with human feces to increase the risk of infection.
Sometimes a pit would be dug with punji sticks in the sides pointing downward at an angle. A soldier stepping into the pit would find it impossible to remove his leg without doing severe damage, and injuries might be incurred by the simple fact of falling forward while one's leg is in a narrow, vertical, stake-lined pit. Such pits would require time and care to dig the soldier's leg out, immobilizing the unit longer than if the foot were simply pierced, in which case the victim could be evacuated.
Punji sticks were sometimes deployed in the preparation of an ambush. Soldiers lying in wait for the enemy to pass would deploy punji sticks in the areas where the surprised enemy might be expected to take cover, thus soldiers diving for cover would impale themselves.
The time spent in the tunnels served to again present the Vietnam War from the Vietnamese people point of view. I find it amazing the this same company is now under the rule of the same Communist Party that ran the Americans out and now is dependant on companies like Intel, Microsoft, Coke and Budweiser for its future development.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Saturday and Sunday in Da Lat Vietnam
Saturday September 19, we drive five hours , 4500 feet, up the mountains to Da Lat, a community originally built by the French in an effort to escape the heat of the low lands. Along the way we stop at a village of river fisherman that speak a different dialect of Vietnamese thus our guide is not able to understand their language. I see my first pot belly pig other then the one used for shark bait by the sea fisherman yesterday. A local fisherman is net fishing in the river and catches a fish no bigger then a minnow which he puts on a stringer. Now that I think about it I did see fish that small for sale in some of the markets.
A the top of the mountain we stopped to see a waterfall and received a promise of cooler weather for the next several days. On our way up we came across Chinese construction companies widening the road, when we were down at China Beach we saw that most of the resort construction was being done by Chinese companies and the new casino in Laos was being built by a Chinese company. It appears that all the money that we are sending to China is being spread around other developing economies. We are seeing the many different part of Vietnam and it’s culture as well as the tentacles of the next economic power of the world.
As we neared Da Lat the landscape changed from corn and tobacco farming to hillsides covered with greenhouses filled with vegetables and flowers.
Tonight we had a home hosted dinner; we were met in the hotel lobby by a bubbly Vietnam girl in a pink motor cycle helmet. She put the six of us in a van and told us she would meet us at her home. The cab drive wound through the streets of Dalat and we came to a stop in front of the 19 Family Home. Yee, pink helmet, introduced us to her mother, father, two younger sisters, Tea and Bond, and her cousin Bao, a young man. This was the beginning of one of the most delightful evenings of our trip. Mom, Tuan, and Dad, Lien, cooked the meal while Yee, and her younger sister, Tea, served us. We started with home made banana wine, sweet, smooth and it didn’t stop coming. The main course was a rice pancake filled with shrimp, bean sprouts, and herbs. We submerged this in a sweet sauce and topped it with lettuce, basil, tarragon, mint and other herbs. It was delicious and different from anything that we had had thus far on our trip.
Yee is the most dynamic Asian girl that I have ever met, her personality grew as the evening continued. I asked her if she was married, she’s thirty years old. “No she was not” Would you be interested in marrying an American boy? “It would be my pleasure.” Her younger sister Tea is dating a French boy with hopes of a future together. He came from France to develop a wine industry in Vietnam.
I made a commitment that I would do what I could to let as many available American boys know of Yee’s availability. She can be contacted at mailto:unlined@yahoo.com, you’ll find her picture on my Picasa Album http://picasaweb.google.com/kjohng/AsianTrip2009#. Yee’s 30 years old works for a consulting company in Da Lat, Vietnam and comes from one of Da Lat’s leading families. This is a must see.
Our Sunday adventure started early. Seven of us caught an old chug train for a 30 minute ride through the country side to Chua Tinh Quang. It gave us an up close view of the greenhouse operations of the area. Da Lat grows and exports vegetables, fruits, and flowers thus employing many of the residents. Because of the altitude the weather is cooler and less humidity, thus providing us with a welcome break form the draining weather that we have been enduring the past several weeks. In Chua Tinh Quang we found a bustling country town where no one was able to speak English to assist us in finding the Broken Bottle Pagoda. Finally we found a young girl who understood the word Pagoda and pointed us in the right direction. The Broken Bottle Pagoda consisted of a temple overseen by monks, one of which was an 83 year old man who spoke perfect English and invited us in to take pictures and worship. The Pagoda was a six story tower that allowed us the ability to climb the narrow steps to get panoramic pictures of the terraced landscape. Having overstayed our time we hurried back to the train for our return trip to Da Lat. Da Lat is a major travel destination for Japanese golfers because of its beautiful golf course, so our next stop was the Grand Palace Golf Course for a relaxing time in the highly manicured surroundings.
We then made a stop at the local Botanical Gardens, admission 10 Dong or 66 cents. Although cheap it didn’t stand up well against the Golf course and the local farms that we saw from the train ride. We then took a 2 mile hike around the city lake to the Sunday Market, my pictures tell that story best.
After a great lunch at the An Quy resturant we went to see the Hotel Soffitel the major high end promoter of tourism in the area. The hotel reflects the heavy French colonial influence seen in all of the architecture of Da Lat. The hotel was a photographers playground with its elegant furnishings and appointments, it even offered me an antique urnal shot which is always one of my photographic objectives in our worlds travels.
We met us with the rest of our group at 3:15 for a visit to Da Lat University. After a lecture from one of the Universities Language professors, monthly salary $200, we were assigned a student to escort us around the campus giving us an opportunity to learn more about Vietnamese life and them an opportunity to practice their English. I met up with Thuy, a 19 year old farm girl from a neighboring providence. She is a sophomore in the English program hoping to become an English teacher in her hometown high school. She rents an apartment in Da Lat with two other girls for $30 per month, her father sends her $10 share each month as well is able to pay the $200 per year tuition so that she may have a better life for herself. As we were completing our visit to the University Thuy shared with me that her assigned English name in the class room is Karry. I felt that karma had drought us together for this hours exchange of culture, we parted with two big hugs and an exchanged of email addresses so that we could continue our brief but meaningful friendship.
Back on our bus we headed out of town to spend some time with the people of the original Da Lat tribe.
While the predominate religion in Vietnam is Buddhism the Da Lat tribe are Catholics that have incorporated some of their tribal customs into their devout believe in Catholicism, to include the regular sacrifice of a buffalo at the alter. We didn’t arrive on a timely basis so as to participate in the sacrifice but we did enjoy a spirited demonstration of their native dance and music, to include group participation in both the singing and dance and the ceremonial communal drinking of rice wine through a bamboo straw from an earthen jug. We finished our long and eventful day with a dinner at a small restaurant which served traditional Vietnamese food including Hot Pot and a contribution of Crickets and Scorpions by David and Kim. Both were very fibrous and tasted like nuts.
A the top of the mountain we stopped to see a waterfall and received a promise of cooler weather for the next several days. On our way up we came across Chinese construction companies widening the road, when we were down at China Beach we saw that most of the resort construction was being done by Chinese companies and the new casino in Laos was being built by a Chinese company. It appears that all the money that we are sending to China is being spread around other developing economies. We are seeing the many different part of Vietnam and it’s culture as well as the tentacles of the next economic power of the world.
As we neared Da Lat the landscape changed from corn and tobacco farming to hillsides covered with greenhouses filled with vegetables and flowers.
Tonight we had a home hosted dinner; we were met in the hotel lobby by a bubbly Vietnam girl in a pink motor cycle helmet. She put the six of us in a van and told us she would meet us at her home. The cab drive wound through the streets of Dalat and we came to a stop in front of the 19 Family Home. Yee, pink helmet, introduced us to her mother, father, two younger sisters, Tea and Bond, and her cousin Bao, a young man. This was the beginning of one of the most delightful evenings of our trip. Mom, Tuan, and Dad, Lien, cooked the meal while Yee, and her younger sister, Tea, served us. We started with home made banana wine, sweet, smooth and it didn’t stop coming. The main course was a rice pancake filled with shrimp, bean sprouts, and herbs. We submerged this in a sweet sauce and topped it with lettuce, basil, tarragon, mint and other herbs. It was delicious and different from anything that we had had thus far on our trip.
Yee is the most dynamic Asian girl that I have ever met, her personality grew as the evening continued. I asked her if she was married, she’s thirty years old. “No she was not” Would you be interested in marrying an American boy? “It would be my pleasure.” Her younger sister Tea is dating a French boy with hopes of a future together. He came from France to develop a wine industry in Vietnam.
I made a commitment that I would do what I could to let as many available American boys know of Yee’s availability. She can be contacted at mailto:unlined@yahoo.com, you’ll find her picture on my Picasa Album http://picasaweb.google.com/kjohng/AsianTrip2009#. Yee’s 30 years old works for a consulting company in Da Lat, Vietnam and comes from one of Da Lat’s leading families. This is a must see.
Our Sunday adventure started early. Seven of us caught an old chug train for a 30 minute ride through the country side to Chua Tinh Quang. It gave us an up close view of the greenhouse operations of the area. Da Lat grows and exports vegetables, fruits, and flowers thus employing many of the residents. Because of the altitude the weather is cooler and less humidity, thus providing us with a welcome break form the draining weather that we have been enduring the past several weeks. In Chua Tinh Quang we found a bustling country town where no one was able to speak English to assist us in finding the Broken Bottle Pagoda. Finally we found a young girl who understood the word Pagoda and pointed us in the right direction. The Broken Bottle Pagoda consisted of a temple overseen by monks, one of which was an 83 year old man who spoke perfect English and invited us in to take pictures and worship. The Pagoda was a six story tower that allowed us the ability to climb the narrow steps to get panoramic pictures of the terraced landscape. Having overstayed our time we hurried back to the train for our return trip to Da Lat. Da Lat is a major travel destination for Japanese golfers because of its beautiful golf course, so our next stop was the Grand Palace Golf Course for a relaxing time in the highly manicured surroundings.
We then made a stop at the local Botanical Gardens, admission 10 Dong or 66 cents. Although cheap it didn’t stand up well against the Golf course and the local farms that we saw from the train ride. We then took a 2 mile hike around the city lake to the Sunday Market, my pictures tell that story best.
After a great lunch at the An Quy resturant we went to see the Hotel Soffitel the major high end promoter of tourism in the area. The hotel reflects the heavy French colonial influence seen in all of the architecture of Da Lat. The hotel was a photographers playground with its elegant furnishings and appointments, it even offered me an antique urnal shot which is always one of my photographic objectives in our worlds travels.
We met us with the rest of our group at 3:15 for a visit to Da Lat University. After a lecture from one of the Universities Language professors, monthly salary $200, we were assigned a student to escort us around the campus giving us an opportunity to learn more about Vietnamese life and them an opportunity to practice their English. I met up with Thuy, a 19 year old farm girl from a neighboring providence. She is a sophomore in the English program hoping to become an English teacher in her hometown high school. She rents an apartment in Da Lat with two other girls for $30 per month, her father sends her $10 share each month as well is able to pay the $200 per year tuition so that she may have a better life for herself. As we were completing our visit to the University Thuy shared with me that her assigned English name in the class room is Karry. I felt that karma had drought us together for this hours exchange of culture, we parted with two big hugs and an exchanged of email addresses so that we could continue our brief but meaningful friendship.
Back on our bus we headed out of town to spend some time with the people of the original Da Lat tribe.
While the predominate religion in Vietnam is Buddhism the Da Lat tribe are Catholics that have incorporated some of their tribal customs into their devout believe in Catholicism, to include the regular sacrifice of a buffalo at the alter. We didn’t arrive on a timely basis so as to participate in the sacrifice but we did enjoy a spirited demonstration of their native dance and music, to include group participation in both the singing and dance and the ceremonial communal drinking of rice wine through a bamboo straw from an earthen jug. We finished our long and eventful day with a dinner at a small restaurant which served traditional Vietnamese food including Hot Pot and a contribution of Crickets and Scorpions by David and Kim. Both were very fibrous and tasted like nuts.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Da Nang to Na Trang
We left Hio An and drove to the Da Nang Airport but first stopped at China Beach, which was one of the primary R&R destinations in the Vietnam war. We flew from Da Nang to Can Ranh Bay a name that is familiar to anyone over 55 years old. This was one of the largest air force and navy bases in the Vietnam war. Our bus headed deep into the country side taking us to Dien Phu a small farming village for a home visit so that we could experience the life of a villager in South Vietnam, we got a bonus in that our host was a 65 year old gentleman who had fought for the South in the war. We had a Vietnamese lunch in his home that had been built by the Gold Circle Foundation. Lunch wasn’t very appealing sitting in his frnt room with no moving air in 98 degree heat. After lunch we moved to a spot in the front yard which captured a breeze off the near by lake. We were offered an opportunity to ask questions which started with his interpretation of the War and its effects on the country, next we talked about village income taxes. He pays $1.25 per year in property taxes, no income taxes, and if he gets sick he goes to the hospital finds a corner and waits for care. If he’s going to eat his family will have to bring food, if he’s going to bath his family will have to see to his personal hygiene. His children can go to school if he can afford to get them to the school pay for their books, uniforms, and food. School is not mandatory. The villagers are farmers farming rice, they also make baskets which they sell to the other villages and fisherman at the nearby coast. We asked if his life would be different if the South had won the war? “Do you see Communism anywhere in our country? My life would be the same, we all engage in commerce, we are all capitalists, nothing would be different.” We then went and were taught how to make bamboo baskets. Before we left the general area we went to a local grammer school. It’s inlightning to see the hill these countries have to climb when they have no tax base to educate their children, thus they can’t produce an educated work force to build their country. So instead political officials take for themselves and allow the people to continue to live as they are.
If anyone ever tells me that our government screws up everything that it gets involved I’m going to tell them to move to Vietnam where there are no meaningful taxes and see how they like an uninvolved government.
We checked into our hotel in Nha Trang, and went out to a Vietnamese restaurant; I’m getting tired of Vietnamese food.
Today we caught a boat to cross the bay to a fishing village. As on most islands they have a problem dealing with trash, but unlike the islands that most of us are used to they make little effort to dispose of trash, it tends to end up in the sea. That aside this is a community that is self sufficient, they have a post office, a medical clinic, and an internet café. They eat and sell what they catch and open their island to the tourist, it’s evident though that they don’t see many Americans, more French and Australians.
From the fishing village, back on our boat and around to the other side of the island for a relaxing three hours on a private beach. This was a welcomed slowdown in pace; a dip in the sea, a tequllia sunrize, a pedicure/foot and leg message, and a fish lunch and I was ready for our last week in the far east. To top the day off we went to a local restaurant and had a hamburger and fries; I can now finish out the trip on Vietnamese food.
If anyone ever tells me that our government screws up everything that it gets involved I’m going to tell them to move to Vietnam where there are no meaningful taxes and see how they like an uninvolved government.
We checked into our hotel in Nha Trang, and went out to a Vietnamese restaurant; I’m getting tired of Vietnamese food.
Today we caught a boat to cross the bay to a fishing village. As on most islands they have a problem dealing with trash, but unlike the islands that most of us are used to they make little effort to dispose of trash, it tends to end up in the sea. That aside this is a community that is self sufficient, they have a post office, a medical clinic, and an internet café. They eat and sell what they catch and open their island to the tourist, it’s evident though that they don’t see many Americans, more French and Australians.
From the fishing village, back on our boat and around to the other side of the island for a relaxing three hours on a private beach. This was a welcomed slowdown in pace; a dip in the sea, a tequllia sunrize, a pedicure/foot and leg message, and a fish lunch and I was ready for our last week in the far east. To top the day off we went to a local restaurant and had a hamburger and fries; I can now finish out the trip on Vietnamese food.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Moving South in Vietman
We woke up to clear weather and were on our Junk by 7:00 am, we were scheduled for a four hour cruise through Ha Long Bay. The harbor was full of thousands of boats from small fishing boats to three mast Junks that slept up to 35 passengers. Ours , the Hai Au Junk, was a day junk that had an upper viewing deck and a lower deck that served as a dinning room. We weaved our way out of the harbor being offered fresh fruit by ladies in small boats that came up along side. Before us, as far as we could see were mountain tops poking up through the water, each covered with green vegetation or sheer rock. Last year over 2.65 million people toured Ha Long Bay up 49% from 2007. It brought back memories of our sail down the Lee River in China two years ago. The Hai Au Junk was a junk, poorly maintained but adequately furnished and supplied for our purpose, we were here for the sights of Ha Long Bay.
Our first stop was at Surprise Cave, which required a climb of about 1,000 feet up to the entrance. The story is that a stranded fisherman found the cave when trying to escape the dangers of a fierce storm. The government has installed the steps and interior lighting to provide a Disney type attraction. At it’s peek over 5000 people per day take the Junk trip across the bay to tour the cave. Back on the Junk we sailed deeper into the harbor where we found numerous floating fishing villages. As the sun burnt off the haze the protruding peaks, green foliage , the blue sky and turquoise water painted a memorial picture of one of the most beautiful spots in the world.
This is a place that I would like to come back to; I’d like to spend three nights on one of the luxury junks, wake up to the sunrise, swim at secluded beaches, and have cocktails at the sunset.
We’re now back on the bus heading back to the Hanoi airport to catch our 6:00 pm flight to Hue.
Hue, pronounced Way, was the original capital of Vietnam and was thus the home of the kings of Vietnam. We toured the Citadel which reminded me of the Forbidden City in Beijing China. It’s not as grand. The Citadel was a victim of the Vietnam war as it change hands several times and thus was bombed and shelled by both the Viet Kong and the American forces. It’s currently under restoration through the efforts of UNESCO. When the works is done Hue will become a major tours attraction for Vietnam.
This afternoon Michael, Marcia Deb and I went to the tomb of the fourth king of Vietnam. It was a strange feeling because at times we were the only people on the grounds, it was almost as if we had discovered these ruins that were over 100 years old. The structures have received little maintenance over the past 100 years so we had to maneuver through fallen stones and broken walkways. There was no maps or instructions as to the location of the tombs of the past king or his empresses and concubines so it was our task to find and identify, I felt like a archeologists making a new find.
Hue is a much cleaner city then Hanoi I suppose because it is much smaller and less congested. We saw very few cars in Hue the primary means of transportation is motor scooters and bicycle, there are few stop lights so crossing the streets requires courage and luck. You must step into the street and allow the scooters drive around you as you move across the street with commitment.
On our way to Hoi An we stopped along side the road to see how the fishing people lived. They used a series of hand made nets that they threw into the water then maliciously pulled in to catch any fish that they might trap. They also showed us the traps that they used to catch crab, I tried their boat on for size and determined this was not a line of work for me.
Hoi An is an old city with a lot of character, it reminded me of Key West. It’s located about three miles inland from the China Sea with a river connecting the sea and the city. The cities architecture consists of one and two story buildings with tile roofs and stucco walls. All the buildings have been converted into shops or restaurants. Most of the shops deal in tailored clothing or some other of fabric/ clothing sales. The restaurant and bar scene is just like Key West, lively, wide open and colorful. We eat at Cargo Wednesday night and had cocktails, salad, tenderloin steak with vegetables, and desert all for $33.00 a comparable meal in Birmingham would have been $70.00 plus.
That after noon Michael, Marcia and I took a bike ride from our hotel to the beach and I we enjoyed a beer at the beach and a dip in the China Sea. Our morning was spent on a trip to a 4th. Century Champa ruin. These are the people that ruled this land to include Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand until they went extinct as a result of all the wars that fought and lost resulting in the far east as we know it today. The neat part of exploring in this part of the world is that many of the ruins are as if they were just discovered the month before. The country is in it’s stage of development that has allowed them to open the ruin and make them accessible but they haven’t been able to do much more then clear the vegetation from the structures, thus you get the feeling of being early to the scene of a significant discovery. You take pictures of stone carvings by pulling back vines knowing that you may be the only person on earth to have recorded an image of a 1600 year old stone carving. It may not be fact but it’s a cool thought for me to carry home.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Our first stop was at Surprise Cave, which required a climb of about 1,000 feet up to the entrance. The story is that a stranded fisherman found the cave when trying to escape the dangers of a fierce storm. The government has installed the steps and interior lighting to provide a Disney type attraction. At it’s peek over 5000 people per day take the Junk trip across the bay to tour the cave. Back on the Junk we sailed deeper into the harbor where we found numerous floating fishing villages. As the sun burnt off the haze the protruding peaks, green foliage , the blue sky and turquoise water painted a memorial picture of one of the most beautiful spots in the world.
This is a place that I would like to come back to; I’d like to spend three nights on one of the luxury junks, wake up to the sunrise, swim at secluded beaches, and have cocktails at the sunset.
We’re now back on the bus heading back to the Hanoi airport to catch our 6:00 pm flight to Hue.
Hue, pronounced Way, was the original capital of Vietnam and was thus the home of the kings of Vietnam. We toured the Citadel which reminded me of the Forbidden City in Beijing China. It’s not as grand. The Citadel was a victim of the Vietnam war as it change hands several times and thus was bombed and shelled by both the Viet Kong and the American forces. It’s currently under restoration through the efforts of UNESCO. When the works is done Hue will become a major tours attraction for Vietnam.
This afternoon Michael, Marcia Deb and I went to the tomb of the fourth king of Vietnam. It was a strange feeling because at times we were the only people on the grounds, it was almost as if we had discovered these ruins that were over 100 years old. The structures have received little maintenance over the past 100 years so we had to maneuver through fallen stones and broken walkways. There was no maps or instructions as to the location of the tombs of the past king or his empresses and concubines so it was our task to find and identify, I felt like a archeologists making a new find.
Hue is a much cleaner city then Hanoi I suppose because it is much smaller and less congested. We saw very few cars in Hue the primary means of transportation is motor scooters and bicycle, there are few stop lights so crossing the streets requires courage and luck. You must step into the street and allow the scooters drive around you as you move across the street with commitment.
On our way to Hoi An we stopped along side the road to see how the fishing people lived. They used a series of hand made nets that they threw into the water then maliciously pulled in to catch any fish that they might trap. They also showed us the traps that they used to catch crab, I tried their boat on for size and determined this was not a line of work for me.
Hoi An is an old city with a lot of character, it reminded me of Key West. It’s located about three miles inland from the China Sea with a river connecting the sea and the city. The cities architecture consists of one and two story buildings with tile roofs and stucco walls. All the buildings have been converted into shops or restaurants. Most of the shops deal in tailored clothing or some other of fabric/ clothing sales. The restaurant and bar scene is just like Key West, lively, wide open and colorful. We eat at Cargo Wednesday night and had cocktails, salad, tenderloin steak with vegetables, and desert all for $33.00 a comparable meal in Birmingham would have been $70.00 plus.
That after noon Michael, Marcia and I took a bike ride from our hotel to the beach and I we enjoyed a beer at the beach and a dip in the China Sea. Our morning was spent on a trip to a 4th. Century Champa ruin. These are the people that ruled this land to include Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand until they went extinct as a result of all the wars that fought and lost resulting in the far east as we know it today. The neat part of exploring in this part of the world is that many of the ruins are as if they were just discovered the month before. The country is in it’s stage of development that has allowed them to open the ruin and make them accessible but they haven’t been able to do much more then clear the vegetation from the structures, thus you get the feeling of being early to the scene of a significant discovery. You take pictures of stone carvings by pulling back vines knowing that you may be the only person on earth to have recorded an image of a 1600 year old stone carving. It may not be fact but it’s a cool thought for me to carry home.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Hanoi A Changing City
Hanoi is a city of contrasts, it’s easy see the pre 1997 and the post 1997 Hanoi. 1997 is when the US lifted its trade embargo and Vietnam opened up to the rest of the world. As we entered the city from the airport, an hours drive, we passed Hugh industrial complexes displaying the names most large Japanese corporations such as Cannon, Panasonic, Honda, and Yamaha. The current population of Hanoi is 10 million people, in the center of the city where we stayed you see the French influence from 1808 to 1954. The architectural influence is seen in the thin three to four story house; the first floor used for retail and the upper floors used for living of three generations of the family. The tall narrow buildings are functional for four reasons, homes are taxed based on their footprint, they offer retail and wholesale sales, the house as many as four generations, and survive the annual flooding.
Hanoi was heavily bombed in the Vietnam war so many part of the city are dominated by relatively new construction. The French Quarter has a definite look of class while the Old Town is dominated by sidewalk retail. These people eat 14 inches off the ground, they sit on 14 inch plastic stools on the sidewalks outside their homes or store front restaurants eating three meals a day. All food is purchased on a daily basis at the local street market, few homes have any form of refrigeration they cook on the street with butane gas or charcoal in many homes they don’t have electricity so their home is used to sleep and to get in out of the rain.
In the outskirts of the city there are apartment developments and suburb developments to support the industrial development. It’s not at the level of development that I saw in China but there is growth here, much more then Thailand.
Our touring took us the Ho Chi Mien Mausoleum where Ho’s body is embalmed and displayed, were not able to see the body because it was receiving its annual tuning by Russian embalmers. We also saw the presidential Palace, Hanoi Hilton Prison, and B52 park. We also saw a memorial next to Truc Bach Lake erected to John McCain. This is where he was pulled out of the lake on October 26, 1967 after bombing the Hanoi Power Plant and subsequently being shoot down. This all struck me as strange can you imagine a memorial in New York City for the 9-11 terrorists in 2051. Can the world change that much, these are strange people.
We spent Friday morning walking through Old Town and pricing some of the bargains. I looked at some Nike Air running shoes for $45 which could be purchased for $25; they were made in 2005 and they didn’t have a size 9 in four different stores that I tried.
I asked Dy, pronounced ‘E’, why the US got involved in the Vietnam Civil War. This is his explanation; take it for what it’s worth.
The US feared a coalition between Russia and the sleeping giant China. Russia had made attempts to establish strategic positions in Cuba, Vietnam offered an opportunity to establish a strategic position in Asia where attacks could be launched against both China and parts of Russia if such a Russia/ China coalition should evolve. Once the US got involved supporting South Vietnam, Russia started supplying North Vietnam with weapons. Vietnam is still paying their war debt to Russia by giving access to any oil found in Vietnam. Fifty-five thousand Americans and 3.5 million Vietnam died as a result of the war, another 2.5 million Vietnamese are currently dealing with the second generation effects of Agent Orange. Two thousand Amerasian children were born that were not wanted by anyone, they could not get identity cards in Vietnam and now are responsible for a majority of crime in Vietnam, some were airlifted out of Vietnam at the end of the war but many were abandoned by their mothers, and their government.
Last night we went to the Haoni Oprea House to hear the symphony paly the works or Gustav Mahler. Before the concert we eat dinner at a fine French Restruant, the Green Tangerine, see the pictures.
We left Hanoi with the feeling that it was a old but changing city. It will celebrate it’s 1000 anniversary next year. I think Hanoi will become a major commercial center over the next 10 years, they have a lot of cleaning-up to do and I think they can get it done. They have a large, cheap, hardworking workforce that is ready to step into the 21st century. When an ETF becomes available on Vietnam I’ll be an investor.
Back on the bus Saturday morning and we’re off to Halong Bay, considered one of the most beautiful areas in the world. The area was hit by a typhoon last night 84 mph winds and the boats are restricted from sailing in the harbor so we won’t be able to go on the junk and cruise the islands with a night spent on the junk. It looks like the weather will clear and we’ll be able to do a three hour cruise tomorrow morning before heading back to the Hanoi airport.
On the way to Halong Bay we stopped by a work center that only employs children that have been effected by their parents and or grandparents exposure to agent orange. Most have some form of disfigurement, missing fingers, irregular bone structure or learning disabilities. Nita and I found a lacquer painting that will serve as our reminder of this trip.
Hanoi was heavily bombed in the Vietnam war so many part of the city are dominated by relatively new construction. The French Quarter has a definite look of class while the Old Town is dominated by sidewalk retail. These people eat 14 inches off the ground, they sit on 14 inch plastic stools on the sidewalks outside their homes or store front restaurants eating three meals a day. All food is purchased on a daily basis at the local street market, few homes have any form of refrigeration they cook on the street with butane gas or charcoal in many homes they don’t have electricity so their home is used to sleep and to get in out of the rain.
In the outskirts of the city there are apartment developments and suburb developments to support the industrial development. It’s not at the level of development that I saw in China but there is growth here, much more then Thailand.
Our touring took us the Ho Chi Mien Mausoleum where Ho’s body is embalmed and displayed, were not able to see the body because it was receiving its annual tuning by Russian embalmers. We also saw the presidential Palace, Hanoi Hilton Prison, and B52 park. We also saw a memorial next to Truc Bach Lake erected to John McCain. This is where he was pulled out of the lake on October 26, 1967 after bombing the Hanoi Power Plant and subsequently being shoot down. This all struck me as strange can you imagine a memorial in New York City for the 9-11 terrorists in 2051. Can the world change that much, these are strange people.
We spent Friday morning walking through Old Town and pricing some of the bargains. I looked at some Nike Air running shoes for $45 which could be purchased for $25; they were made in 2005 and they didn’t have a size 9 in four different stores that I tried.
I asked Dy, pronounced ‘E’, why the US got involved in the Vietnam Civil War. This is his explanation; take it for what it’s worth.
The US feared a coalition between Russia and the sleeping giant China. Russia had made attempts to establish strategic positions in Cuba, Vietnam offered an opportunity to establish a strategic position in Asia where attacks could be launched against both China and parts of Russia if such a Russia/ China coalition should evolve. Once the US got involved supporting South Vietnam, Russia started supplying North Vietnam with weapons. Vietnam is still paying their war debt to Russia by giving access to any oil found in Vietnam. Fifty-five thousand Americans and 3.5 million Vietnam died as a result of the war, another 2.5 million Vietnamese are currently dealing with the second generation effects of Agent Orange. Two thousand Amerasian children were born that were not wanted by anyone, they could not get identity cards in Vietnam and now are responsible for a majority of crime in Vietnam, some were airlifted out of Vietnam at the end of the war but many were abandoned by their mothers, and their government.
Last night we went to the Haoni Oprea House to hear the symphony paly the works or Gustav Mahler. Before the concert we eat dinner at a fine French Restruant, the Green Tangerine, see the pictures.
We left Hanoi with the feeling that it was a old but changing city. It will celebrate it’s 1000 anniversary next year. I think Hanoi will become a major commercial center over the next 10 years, they have a lot of cleaning-up to do and I think they can get it done. They have a large, cheap, hardworking workforce that is ready to step into the 21st century. When an ETF becomes available on Vietnam I’ll be an investor.
Back on the bus Saturday morning and we’re off to Halong Bay, considered one of the most beautiful areas in the world. The area was hit by a typhoon last night 84 mph winds and the boats are restricted from sailing in the harbor so we won’t be able to go on the junk and cruise the islands with a night spent on the junk. It looks like the weather will clear and we’ll be able to do a three hour cruise tomorrow morning before heading back to the Hanoi airport.
On the way to Halong Bay we stopped by a work center that only employs children that have been effected by their parents and or grandparents exposure to agent orange. Most have some form of disfigurement, missing fingers, irregular bone structure or learning disabilities. Nita and I found a lacquer painting that will serve as our reminder of this trip.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Back to Bangkok on to Vietnam
We are on our way back to Bangkok where we’ll spend a full day and then fly to Hanoi Vietnam. Our stay in Thailand has been interesting and fun particularly with the Zimmer’s and Saulters. I’ve seen beautiful sights, and temples, rode and elephant, rafted a river, eaten some magnificent food, and experience some wonderful people but Thailand’s not a country that Nita and I would make a point to revisit. Unlike China we have not gathered any affection or admiration for the country. Thai’s are extremely religious, loyal to their king, and tolerant of poverty, garbage, and lack of sanitation; the people are the most gracious people that I have ever met and that may explain their tolerance. You can ask a Thai a question and if they don’t know the answer their response will be “yes’ as they fold their hands in prayer in front of their face and bow to you. I will leave Thailand with more questions then answers.
We spent the morning on the grounds of the Grand Palace which is a area that is used for coronation, funerals, and other ceremonial events involving the king and queen. The last coronation was in 1945, the current king has held the throne for 65 years. Each king adds a building or a temple to memorialize himself. As I moved through the grounds and opulent buildings I couldn’t help but think of the hill people who lived in huts with dirt floors. The Thai love their King and Queen they celebrate their birthdays in grand style each Friday there is a dominance of blue shirts because the king was born on a Friday and his color is blue. We also toured the past kings living quarters which is the largest Teak House in the world, it had over 70 room and would be a beautiful home to have in Key-West. Jerry who is a real estate agent in Florida proclaimed it a tear-down because it wouldn’t pass code inspection, only had one functional bathroom, and had suffered bomb damage in WWII. We caught a cab in the rain and went to the Mango Tree for dinner. The cab ride with a lost driver, that spoke no English and we spoke no Thai will be one of those memories that we carry home. The meal, the atmosphere and the service was fabulous. I had sea bass with garlic, lemon grass, and chili, Nita had a stir fry chicken, we had appetizers two Jack Daniels and the bill was the ebullient of $40 including tip.
We had our Thailand fare-well dinner on a rice barge on the Cha Porie River providing an illuminated view of the city space, making for a festive departure from Thailand. We as a group of 15 have now been together for two weeks; like any group relationships are being formed and personalities are surfacing. For the most part everyone gets along, but we do have one bulldog who has attached twice so far. Personally I’ve chosen to avoid her.
We’re now waiting to board our flight to Vietnam. I can’t help think of what I would have been thinking and feeling if I had been making this flight 45 years ago. The TV images, the many movies that I’ve seen are running through my mind. I think of myself as a survivor but Vietnam would have been a test. I want to learn more about what happened from the Vietnamese point of view; I want to know how they felt about the War and how they feel about the US now; although I wasn’t an active participant I feel a level of responsibility, much as I feel some level of responsibility for the Iraq war. This is the part of this trip that I feel I have to experience. I hope to leave Vietnam knowing myself better and having a better understanding of how the world works.
We spent the morning on the grounds of the Grand Palace which is a area that is used for coronation, funerals, and other ceremonial events involving the king and queen. The last coronation was in 1945, the current king has held the throne for 65 years. Each king adds a building or a temple to memorialize himself. As I moved through the grounds and opulent buildings I couldn’t help but think of the hill people who lived in huts with dirt floors. The Thai love their King and Queen they celebrate their birthdays in grand style each Friday there is a dominance of blue shirts because the king was born on a Friday and his color is blue. We also toured the past kings living quarters which is the largest Teak House in the world, it had over 70 room and would be a beautiful home to have in Key-West. Jerry who is a real estate agent in Florida proclaimed it a tear-down because it wouldn’t pass code inspection, only had one functional bathroom, and had suffered bomb damage in WWII. We caught a cab in the rain and went to the Mango Tree for dinner. The cab ride with a lost driver, that spoke no English and we spoke no Thai will be one of those memories that we carry home. The meal, the atmosphere and the service was fabulous. I had sea bass with garlic, lemon grass, and chili, Nita had a stir fry chicken, we had appetizers two Jack Daniels and the bill was the ebullient of $40 including tip.
We had our Thailand fare-well dinner on a rice barge on the Cha Porie River providing an illuminated view of the city space, making for a festive departure from Thailand. We as a group of 15 have now been together for two weeks; like any group relationships are being formed and personalities are surfacing. For the most part everyone gets along, but we do have one bulldog who has attached twice so far. Personally I’ve chosen to avoid her.
We’re now waiting to board our flight to Vietnam. I can’t help think of what I would have been thinking and feeling if I had been making this flight 45 years ago. The TV images, the many movies that I’ve seen are running through my mind. I think of myself as a survivor but Vietnam would have been a test. I want to learn more about what happened from the Vietnamese point of view; I want to know how they felt about the War and how they feel about the US now; although I wasn’t an active participant I feel a level of responsibility, much as I feel some level of responsibility for the Iraq war. This is the part of this trip that I feel I have to experience. I hope to leave Vietnam knowing myself better and having a better understanding of how the world works.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Sunday in Chang Mai
We spent Sunday doing religious things, gave alms to the monks in the morning and went to the temple and gave an offering to the monk, Nita and I were chosen from our group. The monks walk the streets every morning taking offerings of food in exchange for blessings. They eat twice a day, morning and lunch and only drink liquids the balance of the day. These offerings are their only source of food unless the grow some themselves. You can be a monk for a day up to a lifetime. Many young boys become monks because of a self interest in Buddhism or their family sees it as a way of seeing to it that they are fed, housed and educated. This also serves to eliminate most of Thailand's homeless problems.
The offering was kind of cool, the monk on duty at the temple that we visited spoke perfect English, asked where we were from and then blessed us and shook holy water on us.
This evening we went to a home dinner and spent the evening with a family of four that were well educated and employed. It gave us an entirely different look at Thai life than we had been seeing.
The offering was kind of cool, the monk on duty at the temple that we visited spoke perfect English, asked where we were from and then blessed us and shook holy water on us.
This evening we went to a home dinner and spent the evening with a family of four that were well educated and employed. It gave us an entirely different look at Thai life than we had been seeing.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Birthday in Thailand
Our stop in Laos, was merely to provide us the opportunity to step foot into Laos. Out boat docked against the fast current of the Mekong River and we walked into a shopping area that didn’t look much different than the many that we had been to in the prior weeks. They did take a few greater liberties with American labels and did have an assortment of Laos liquors to sample including lizard liquor, Snake wine, Turtle liquor, and Ell whiskey. All were large clear jars of a moonshine type liquid with the appropriate dead animal submerged. I tired the Lizard brew but found that it didn’t have the kick that I had expected. Thus far my indulgence has not caused ne any noticeable intestinal problems.
Today we traveled to Chiang Mai principal city of northern Thailand our first stop was at the White Temple.
Poupe asks if we want to stop at the White Temple in Po O Don Chai, built by Chalermchai Kositpipat a famous Thai artist. This temple is offensive to many Buddhist because of its variation from the standard Buddhist temple design. Kositpipat made a fortune selling his paintings internationally then decided that he wanted to honor his Buddhist faith and his home town by building a temple promoting the Buddhist belief of purity. It took 12 years to complete but is now adding more buildings for educational purposes as the community and the Buddhists are warming to his expression of his faith. Their change of heart may also have something to do with the fact that the White Temple has become a major tourist attraction for the otherwise driven past area. I personally found it to be a welcome change from the other temples that we have visited and I liked some of Kisitpiat’s paintings as well but found them a bit pricy.
The balance of the day was spent traveling on the bus, other then a short stop at a Jewelery factory and a Silk Factory. This is part of taking a tour. The tour company gets paid a commission on every body that they push through these doors. Some people buy but most just look and move on.
We were on the bus at 7:00 am this morning to travel fifty-five minutes north of Chang Mai to the Mae Tang Elephant Park . Pounpe recognized my birthday today by presenting me a card and a clay elephant, I had carried two cards from home from Ron and Avie and Albert and Sue, both were fun and warm thoughts form close friends back home. It turned into quite a birthday memory. The elephant is quite a smart and trainable animal, first a show of their strength and dancing then a elephant painting demonstration followed by an hour ride on the back or an elephant through the jungle. Every quarter mile a vendor was perched on a tree platform with bananas and sugar cane for the elephants to eat if the passengers on their backs would spring for 20 baht. How could I say not to feeding the elephant that was carrying us through the jungle and mud? After the elephant ride we were shown how they made paper out of elephant dung. Ginger is into paper but we thought that she might not want to work with elephant dung paper, she’s funny that way.
Next we walked across a ridge of bamboo lied into the river to board our raft to poll down the Mae Tang River. We sat on a bench eight inches above the water while men with long bamboo polls guided us down the river. The river is up now because of the rains and it was flowing fast making the polling job easy. We were told that in the dry season the pollers job requires them to drag the raft over los spots. The trip down the river, about an hour was full of beautiful scenery and relaxing tranquility.
We finished our morning with lunch at a restaurant that was full or live growing orchards. Their orchards grew as air plants hanging from a grid work allowing the root system dangle in the open air. We have the rest of the day for free time. Nita and I choose to go back to the hotel and take a three hour nap before grabbing a Tut-tut and going out to dinner at “The House” in old town with Michael and Marcia and Jerry and Jennifer. We had a five course meal including wine and tip for 2000 Baht or $60.00 in one of the top three restaurants in Chang Mai ; we shared stories, laughed a lot and had a speedy Tut-tut ride back to the hotel to end a memorable birthday.
Today we traveled to Chiang Mai principal city of northern Thailand our first stop was at the White Temple.
Poupe asks if we want to stop at the White Temple in Po O Don Chai, built by Chalermchai Kositpipat a famous Thai artist. This temple is offensive to many Buddhist because of its variation from the standard Buddhist temple design. Kositpipat made a fortune selling his paintings internationally then decided that he wanted to honor his Buddhist faith and his home town by building a temple promoting the Buddhist belief of purity. It took 12 years to complete but is now adding more buildings for educational purposes as the community and the Buddhists are warming to his expression of his faith. Their change of heart may also have something to do with the fact that the White Temple has become a major tourist attraction for the otherwise driven past area. I personally found it to be a welcome change from the other temples that we have visited and I liked some of Kisitpiat’s paintings as well but found them a bit pricy.
The balance of the day was spent traveling on the bus, other then a short stop at a Jewelery factory and a Silk Factory. This is part of taking a tour. The tour company gets paid a commission on every body that they push through these doors. Some people buy but most just look and move on.
We were on the bus at 7:00 am this morning to travel fifty-five minutes north of Chang Mai to the Mae Tang Elephant Park . Pounpe recognized my birthday today by presenting me a card and a clay elephant, I had carried two cards from home from Ron and Avie and Albert and Sue, both were fun and warm thoughts form close friends back home. It turned into quite a birthday memory. The elephant is quite a smart and trainable animal, first a show of their strength and dancing then a elephant painting demonstration followed by an hour ride on the back or an elephant through the jungle. Every quarter mile a vendor was perched on a tree platform with bananas and sugar cane for the elephants to eat if the passengers on their backs would spring for 20 baht. How could I say not to feeding the elephant that was carrying us through the jungle and mud? After the elephant ride we were shown how they made paper out of elephant dung. Ginger is into paper but we thought that she might not want to work with elephant dung paper, she’s funny that way.
Next we walked across a ridge of bamboo lied into the river to board our raft to poll down the Mae Tang River. We sat on a bench eight inches above the water while men with long bamboo polls guided us down the river. The river is up now because of the rains and it was flowing fast making the polling job easy. We were told that in the dry season the pollers job requires them to drag the raft over los spots. The trip down the river, about an hour was full of beautiful scenery and relaxing tranquility.
We finished our morning with lunch at a restaurant that was full or live growing orchards. Their orchards grew as air plants hanging from a grid work allowing the root system dangle in the open air. We have the rest of the day for free time. Nita and I choose to go back to the hotel and take a three hour nap before grabbing a Tut-tut and going out to dinner at “The House” in old town with Michael and Marcia and Jerry and Jennifer. We had a five course meal including wine and tip for 2000 Baht or $60.00 in one of the top three restaurants in Chang Mai ; we shared stories, laughed a lot and had a speedy Tut-tut ride back to the hotel to end a memorable birthday.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
North to Chiang Rai
We leave Phrae and travel on to Phayano, we are entering the Golden Triangle. The sheltered hills, navigable rivers and independent tribal cultures allowed this region to become an infamous center of drug smuggling. In the early 70’s the hill tribes turned to the cultivation of opium for survival; the area also once was home of a band of Chinese nationalists who were followers of Chang Kai Sheck. More recently the Thai government has introduced programs to promote the cultivation of new crops and tourism which has offered alternatives to the drug trade.
Upon arrival in Phayao, a lakeside community, our guide introduced us to Dancing Prawns. These are baby shrimp no more than ¼ inch in size that are trying to jump out of the pail of water that the street vendor has them in. She mixes up some herbs and spices and offers us a taste. I step forward feeling that I didn’t come all this way to be an observer. My strategy was to swallow fast to minimize the amount of jumping going on in my mouth. The taste was totally of the spices there was no shrimp taste at all and a minimum of movement. The lady immediately offered me a plate of cabbage and I knew why, I needed something to counter the burning spices in my mouth.
Phayao is also the home of Thailand’s Arabica coffee, seeing a coffee bar across the street I felt a need to wash the taste of Dancing Prawns out of my mouth. See the pictures of our Café Latte on my album. I intend to import one of the girls that made my coffee to the US and take on Starbucks. The coffee was great and the work of art was amazing.
Adjacent to the coffee bar is a small convenience store, I came across the tobacco department and noticed their Surgeon Generals warning. This is something else that I think we should adopt in the US, see the pictures.
We continued our drive to Chiang Rai where we’ll spend two nights. After lunch we jumped into the back of a pick-up truck and climbed the mountain to visit the hill people. These are the people who 20 years ago were raising poppies to supply the drug trade. Today they raise rice and provide a diversion for travelers. They never made a lot of money selling their poppy crop, the money was made up the food chain, so when the government offered them other alternatives and incentives they were happy to oblige. They seem to be content living in thatched huts with satellite dishes outside every home, they have electricity, a TV and a refrigerator yet their floors are dirt, no heat or air, but no real worries in life either. They must do their job in the jungle but that seems to be the way in Thailand except in the big cities. They call the bathroom the happy room and I suspect it’s because their happy if they have one.
We checked into our hotel, Phowadol Resort and Spa; it’s beautiful. It would be at least $300 a night in the US. We’re here for two nights so I’ll take more pictures. I ate Italian tonight; what a treat.
Upon arrival in Phayao, a lakeside community, our guide introduced us to Dancing Prawns. These are baby shrimp no more than ¼ inch in size that are trying to jump out of the pail of water that the street vendor has them in. She mixes up some herbs and spices and offers us a taste. I step forward feeling that I didn’t come all this way to be an observer. My strategy was to swallow fast to minimize the amount of jumping going on in my mouth. The taste was totally of the spices there was no shrimp taste at all and a minimum of movement. The lady immediately offered me a plate of cabbage and I knew why, I needed something to counter the burning spices in my mouth.
Phayao is also the home of Thailand’s Arabica coffee, seeing a coffee bar across the street I felt a need to wash the taste of Dancing Prawns out of my mouth. See the pictures of our Café Latte on my album. I intend to import one of the girls that made my coffee to the US and take on Starbucks. The coffee was great and the work of art was amazing.
Adjacent to the coffee bar is a small convenience store, I came across the tobacco department and noticed their Surgeon Generals warning. This is something else that I think we should adopt in the US, see the pictures.
We continued our drive to Chiang Rai where we’ll spend two nights. After lunch we jumped into the back of a pick-up truck and climbed the mountain to visit the hill people. These are the people who 20 years ago were raising poppies to supply the drug trade. Today they raise rice and provide a diversion for travelers. They never made a lot of money selling their poppy crop, the money was made up the food chain, so when the government offered them other alternatives and incentives they were happy to oblige. They seem to be content living in thatched huts with satellite dishes outside every home, they have electricity, a TV and a refrigerator yet their floors are dirt, no heat or air, but no real worries in life either. They must do their job in the jungle but that seems to be the way in Thailand except in the big cities. They call the bathroom the happy room and I suspect it’s because their happy if they have one.
We checked into our hotel, Phowadol Resort and Spa; it’s beautiful. It would be at least $300 a night in the US. We’re here for two nights so I’ll take more pictures. I ate Italian tonight; what a treat.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
The Temples of Sukhothal
We’re heading further north this morning and the country side is turning green with rice farms. Thailand is still an agrarian society I’m not seeing the new factories and high-rise apartments that we saw in China. I find myself comparing what I’m seeing in Thailand to what I saw in China and I feel that Thailand is not making the economic advancements that China is achieving. It appears that this can be a result of different governmental policies.
We stopped at a local farmer’s home who has been recognized as one of the best farmers of the region, his main crop is rice but he also raises bananas and catfish. Unlike most farmers he employs others and produces more then what his family needs. He serves on the local farm cooperative where he teaches other farmers to efficiently use their land, as a part of the Thai government’s program to teach its citizens to achieve self sufficiency. Most farmers carry large debt resulting from the purchase of their land. The average farmer earns 50,000 baht per year while the average family income in Thailand is 150,000 baht per year. ($4500)
As we drive through a city we see road-side retail, consisting of a shop of restaurant in front of the family home. Every city has a bustling market filled with daily food needs, clothing, and hardware. Refrigeration is a luxury thus the people go to the market to buy what they need each day. Food preparation on the road side is common, 75% of the housing would be considered poverty level living in the United States. If you see an attractive building it is either a Buddhist temple, a governmental building or the home of a governmental official. Our guide, who I assume has an above average income told us that she lived in a 450sq ft condo in Bangkok. She does have running water and a bathroom but she cooks over charcoal.
Our next stop was in Sukhothai the location of over 200 Buddhist Temples built in the 12th and 13th centuries. This was the original capital of the Khmer civilization, which included what is now Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Laos. The temples originally reflected the Hindu faith but as the Hindu religion declined in the area most of the Hindu icons were replaced with Buddhist icons. Because of the common Khmer influence there are many similarities to those that we saw in Cambodia although the Cambodia temples are 100 to 200 years older.
Before getting on a tram to see the temples Michael, Jerry and I each purchased a straw gentleman’s hat (Everyone’s talking about the sharp dressed man –ZZ Top) that cost 50 Baht ($1.50). They look line something that we’ll be able to wear the balance of the trip not like Nita’s Birkenstocks knock-offs that smell like elephant dung. The Buda statues are magnificent and I had a bright blue sky to use as a backdrop for many of my photos. The temperature is cooler here, in the low 90's which still leaves us exhausted at days end.
We had lunch at a community house sponsored by OAT, our travel company. Being in northern Thailand the sticky rice, pork and vegetable are eaten by hand, no utensils. All the food was wrapped in palm leaves stitched together with small small sticks. For desert we had rice flour balls filled with palm sugar and coconut, very sweet but good, I could only eat one of the two offered.
After lunch we went across the street to meet the brother of our host for lunch. He ran a rice mill; the local farmers brought him their rice and he ran it through his mill. The first time through the rice husks are removed from the rice grain the second time through any small rice is separated from the marketable rice. The mill owner does this for the local farmers for free in exchange for the rice hulls and the small rice which he keeps and feds to his pigs along with banana peels. It seemed like a win-win arrangement.
Next we went to the local school which was built by the parent company of our tour company, Grand Circle. They've build eight similar schools in Thailand as well as schools in the other countries where they run extensive tours. As we got off the bus at the school we were greeted by a 10 or 11 year old child who acted as our escort for the next hour and a half as we toured the school and allowed them to practice their English. I’ll allow my pictures to tell the story of that hour and a half.
We were told that our hotel this evening was not up to OAT standards but Nita and I found it clean and comfortable; the hotel food is beginning to all look and taste alike. Curry chicken, fried pork, egg rice and vegetables, and oh-yes watermelon….”where’s the beef?"
We’re heading further north tomorrow and will have a day trip into Myanmar in several days, we’re all looking forward to that, and maybe they eat beef.
We stopped at a local farmer’s home who has been recognized as one of the best farmers of the region, his main crop is rice but he also raises bananas and catfish. Unlike most farmers he employs others and produces more then what his family needs. He serves on the local farm cooperative where he teaches other farmers to efficiently use their land, as a part of the Thai government’s program to teach its citizens to achieve self sufficiency. Most farmers carry large debt resulting from the purchase of their land. The average farmer earns 50,000 baht per year while the average family income in Thailand is 150,000 baht per year. ($4500)
As we drive through a city we see road-side retail, consisting of a shop of restaurant in front of the family home. Every city has a bustling market filled with daily food needs, clothing, and hardware. Refrigeration is a luxury thus the people go to the market to buy what they need each day. Food preparation on the road side is common, 75% of the housing would be considered poverty level living in the United States. If you see an attractive building it is either a Buddhist temple, a governmental building or the home of a governmental official. Our guide, who I assume has an above average income told us that she lived in a 450sq ft condo in Bangkok. She does have running water and a bathroom but she cooks over charcoal.
Our next stop was in Sukhothai the location of over 200 Buddhist Temples built in the 12th and 13th centuries. This was the original capital of the Khmer civilization, which included what is now Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Laos. The temples originally reflected the Hindu faith but as the Hindu religion declined in the area most of the Hindu icons were replaced with Buddhist icons. Because of the common Khmer influence there are many similarities to those that we saw in Cambodia although the Cambodia temples are 100 to 200 years older.
Before getting on a tram to see the temples Michael, Jerry and I each purchased a straw gentleman’s hat (Everyone’s talking about the sharp dressed man –ZZ Top) that cost 50 Baht ($1.50). They look line something that we’ll be able to wear the balance of the trip not like Nita’s Birkenstocks knock-offs that smell like elephant dung. The Buda statues are magnificent and I had a bright blue sky to use as a backdrop for many of my photos. The temperature is cooler here, in the low 90's which still leaves us exhausted at days end.
We had lunch at a community house sponsored by OAT, our travel company. Being in northern Thailand the sticky rice, pork and vegetable are eaten by hand, no utensils. All the food was wrapped in palm leaves stitched together with small small sticks. For desert we had rice flour balls filled with palm sugar and coconut, very sweet but good, I could only eat one of the two offered.
After lunch we went across the street to meet the brother of our host for lunch. He ran a rice mill; the local farmers brought him their rice and he ran it through his mill. The first time through the rice husks are removed from the rice grain the second time through any small rice is separated from the marketable rice. The mill owner does this for the local farmers for free in exchange for the rice hulls and the small rice which he keeps and feds to his pigs along with banana peels. It seemed like a win-win arrangement.
Next we went to the local school which was built by the parent company of our tour company, Grand Circle. They've build eight similar schools in Thailand as well as schools in the other countries where they run extensive tours. As we got off the bus at the school we were greeted by a 10 or 11 year old child who acted as our escort for the next hour and a half as we toured the school and allowed them to practice their English. I’ll allow my pictures to tell the story of that hour and a half.
We were told that our hotel this evening was not up to OAT standards but Nita and I found it clean and comfortable; the hotel food is beginning to all look and taste alike. Curry chicken, fried pork, egg rice and vegetables, and oh-yes watermelon….”where’s the beef?"
We’re heading further north tomorrow and will have a day trip into Myanmar in several days, we’re all looking forward to that, and maybe they eat beef.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Kanchanaburi to Phitsanulok Thailand
Saturday morning our group of 16 boarded our 44 passenger bus for our trip north to Kanchanaburi Thailand. Along the way we stopped at a coconut plantation that also offered an in house view of a 100 year old home built of teak wood. The home owner also offered an opportunity to hold his pet python snake. I contemplated taking him up on his offer to hold it and allow it to wrap around my neck, but Michael shared his story of a friend how received a severe bite on his face in a similar situation. If I’d been in Birmingham close to Kirkland Clinic I might have been able to offer a picture, but the risk and reward equation just didn’t work out.
Further up the road we stopped at the Floating Market of Damnern Saduak, the market has changed over the years. Originally it served as a market for those living on the river to paddle up the river to purchase their daily needs. Today the Floating Market serves the tourist busses that bring a steady stream of tourists to buy their souvenirs. As we looked at all the stuff, and we already have all the stuff that we need, we recalled our trips to Florida where we had to have a Coconut Head, a set of castanets, and a rubber alligator. Nothing changes the stuff just changes.
Our next stop was a wood carving studio; the work was beautifully done in teak and rosewood so the prices reflected the quality of the work. Nita and I debated the purchase of a 10 foot teak elephant that would look magnificent adjacent to our back yard patio, but there were so many to choose from and we’re going to a fabulous night market in several days. Confident that we could do better then %8,000 plus shipping and handling we boarded our bus to continue our Magical Mystery Tour.
We’re currently watching an on–bus video about the building of the bridge over the River Kwai. In the summer of 1942 the Allies were cutting off the Japanese sea supply routes to their troops in Burma. They decided to build a railway that followed the River Kwai through the jungle. They enslaved 200,000 Asian labors and 61, 000 Allied POW’s to build the 260 mile stretch of rail. A total of 100,000 Asians and 20,000 POW’s died over the three years of construction.
We walked the current bridge which has turned into a Tourist destination and offered little incite in to the history of the area. We then went to a museum and cemetery that got far fewer visitors that properly portrayed the hardships and perils of the ordeal. The conditions brought to mind the pictures that I’ve seen of the Holocaust.
We checked into our Spa Resort Hotel, a magnificent facility that was built 15 to 20 years ago as a convention center for the local political establishment and Thai travelers. The architecture the grounds and the layout would challenge any resort hotel that you may have stayed in, but as a result of lack of maintenance and repair the hotel has deteriated. Our room was not clean the shower flooded the bathroom floor the food was substandard and the grounds were eroding. Luckily were stayed here only two days then traveled further north.
Our second day in this area started with a boat ride up the river. The boats hold eight people and are powered by a suspended car engine that drives a prop at the end of a 20 foot shaft. We slid through the water for about an hour passing river motels where the Thai vacationers come to relax. Although several looked inviting most had no electricity, cold showers, and plenty of bugs and mosquitoes. Our decaying hotel quickly looked much better. At the end of the boat trip be hoped into the back of a pick-up truck and climbed the hill to the entrance of Hell Fire Pass; a cut through the mountain side of rock to accommodate the railroad tracks laid by the POW’s. It was mind numbing to imagine men cutting through the rock by hand in some areas 50 feet deep. The work was done with hand tools, the heat and humidity was unbearable and the food was mineable. It’s easy to see why the death toll was so high, the bulk of the Allied troops working to the railroad were Australian. We climbed 500 steps up to a museum run by the Australian government that provided a beautiful view of the valley.
We stopped at Salyok Noi Waterfall to find many Thai enjoying the cool water and a Sunday Picnic; we opted for a light lunch at a adjoining restraint that featured a flaming dish of a local vegetable. While eating I heard the first mention of a “Big Mac”.
After lunch we jumped onto a train to travel the rails that we had learned so much about over the last two days. The trains are a free form of transportation for the Thai people while foreigners are charged 100 Baht ($3.00). A half hour on a rundown non air-conditioned train was just enough, 5 hours back to Bangkok would be tough.
Monday morning we’re back on the bus for a five hour journey to Sukhothai the 13th century capital of Thailand. Our trip included several stops along the highway, the first what our tour guide called a culture shock. At this road side stand they were selling the bounty of the rice fields not to include any rice, rats, mongoose, snake, birds. We were lucky to be there while a skinned rat delivery was make, thus be saw before and after BBQ’ed. Down the road a piece we visited a family factory that made painted and fired Benjaron, Srimuck and Raikam ware. A number of the woman purchased candle sticks, while they objected to the men buying a mid morning snack of BBQ rat. (it’s a man thing)
Back on the bus Poupee, our guide, told us we wold be stopping at a local market to shop for our lunch ingredients that we would be having on a rice barge. Each of us were handed a paper with a few basic Thai words and the ingredient that we were responsible for fetching, it was up to us to communicate with the local merchants to find what was on our shopping list. As I stepped off the bus I spotted an elder well dressed lady sitting on a bench outside a store. I went over, sat next to her and said “Tee Nai Bai Kra Praow”, she gave me a questioning look and I repeated, “Tee Nai Bai Kra Praow”. I was able to establish that she understood Tee Nai as where but the rest was falling apart with my translation. I worked on Bai Kra Praw changing the emphasis on different syllables, a light went off, she grabbed my arm and led me from vendor to vendor until she found a lady selling fresh basil, I hugged her as the vendor collected 2 baht for my purchase. Nita had a harder time but did find a “temple offering for 190 baht the we will take to a monk tomorrow. Jerry came back with a live turtle, Michael an eel, Bill a live catfish and Ed two live frogs. Everyone else have things like pumpkin, fruits, and vegetables. Back on the bus we headed for the riverside to board the rice barge and make our meal, but before getting on board Poupee explained that the first rule of a good Buddhist was to never kill a living creature. Understanding that sometimes it’s necessary to kill varmints and pests you can make amends and extend your life by releasing captured creatures, so we released the turtle, frogs, fish and eel into the river before boarding the barge for lunch.
Heading further north we stop at the most elaborate Buddhist temple that I have ever seen. As I understand it was built in recognition of a monk that died about 12 years ago and is now the home of 54 monks from the area.
Our hotel in Phitsanulok is much better than the preceding two nights, we had an extensive buffet dinner including a wide assortment of Sushi and deserts as well as the traditional Thai food.
Further up the road we stopped at the Floating Market of Damnern Saduak, the market has changed over the years. Originally it served as a market for those living on the river to paddle up the river to purchase their daily needs. Today the Floating Market serves the tourist busses that bring a steady stream of tourists to buy their souvenirs. As we looked at all the stuff, and we already have all the stuff that we need, we recalled our trips to Florida where we had to have a Coconut Head, a set of castanets, and a rubber alligator. Nothing changes the stuff just changes.
Our next stop was a wood carving studio; the work was beautifully done in teak and rosewood so the prices reflected the quality of the work. Nita and I debated the purchase of a 10 foot teak elephant that would look magnificent adjacent to our back yard patio, but there were so many to choose from and we’re going to a fabulous night market in several days. Confident that we could do better then %8,000 plus shipping and handling we boarded our bus to continue our Magical Mystery Tour.
We’re currently watching an on–bus video about the building of the bridge over the River Kwai. In the summer of 1942 the Allies were cutting off the Japanese sea supply routes to their troops in Burma. They decided to build a railway that followed the River Kwai through the jungle. They enslaved 200,000 Asian labors and 61, 000 Allied POW’s to build the 260 mile stretch of rail. A total of 100,000 Asians and 20,000 POW’s died over the three years of construction.
We walked the current bridge which has turned into a Tourist destination and offered little incite in to the history of the area. We then went to a museum and cemetery that got far fewer visitors that properly portrayed the hardships and perils of the ordeal. The conditions brought to mind the pictures that I’ve seen of the Holocaust.
We checked into our Spa Resort Hotel, a magnificent facility that was built 15 to 20 years ago as a convention center for the local political establishment and Thai travelers. The architecture the grounds and the layout would challenge any resort hotel that you may have stayed in, but as a result of lack of maintenance and repair the hotel has deteriated. Our room was not clean the shower flooded the bathroom floor the food was substandard and the grounds were eroding. Luckily were stayed here only two days then traveled further north.
Our second day in this area started with a boat ride up the river. The boats hold eight people and are powered by a suspended car engine that drives a prop at the end of a 20 foot shaft. We slid through the water for about an hour passing river motels where the Thai vacationers come to relax. Although several looked inviting most had no electricity, cold showers, and plenty of bugs and mosquitoes. Our decaying hotel quickly looked much better. At the end of the boat trip be hoped into the back of a pick-up truck and climbed the hill to the entrance of Hell Fire Pass; a cut through the mountain side of rock to accommodate the railroad tracks laid by the POW’s. It was mind numbing to imagine men cutting through the rock by hand in some areas 50 feet deep. The work was done with hand tools, the heat and humidity was unbearable and the food was mineable. It’s easy to see why the death toll was so high, the bulk of the Allied troops working to the railroad were Australian. We climbed 500 steps up to a museum run by the Australian government that provided a beautiful view of the valley.
We stopped at Salyok Noi Waterfall to find many Thai enjoying the cool water and a Sunday Picnic; we opted for a light lunch at a adjoining restraint that featured a flaming dish of a local vegetable. While eating I heard the first mention of a “Big Mac”.
After lunch we jumped onto a train to travel the rails that we had learned so much about over the last two days. The trains are a free form of transportation for the Thai people while foreigners are charged 100 Baht ($3.00). A half hour on a rundown non air-conditioned train was just enough, 5 hours back to Bangkok would be tough.
Monday morning we’re back on the bus for a five hour journey to Sukhothai the 13th century capital of Thailand. Our trip included several stops along the highway, the first what our tour guide called a culture shock. At this road side stand they were selling the bounty of the rice fields not to include any rice, rats, mongoose, snake, birds. We were lucky to be there while a skinned rat delivery was make, thus be saw before and after BBQ’ed. Down the road a piece we visited a family factory that made painted and fired Benjaron, Srimuck and Raikam ware. A number of the woman purchased candle sticks, while they objected to the men buying a mid morning snack of BBQ rat. (it’s a man thing)
Back on the bus Poupee, our guide, told us we wold be stopping at a local market to shop for our lunch ingredients that we would be having on a rice barge. Each of us were handed a paper with a few basic Thai words and the ingredient that we were responsible for fetching, it was up to us to communicate with the local merchants to find what was on our shopping list. As I stepped off the bus I spotted an elder well dressed lady sitting on a bench outside a store. I went over, sat next to her and said “Tee Nai Bai Kra Praow”, she gave me a questioning look and I repeated, “Tee Nai Bai Kra Praow”. I was able to establish that she understood Tee Nai as where but the rest was falling apart with my translation. I worked on Bai Kra Praw changing the emphasis on different syllables, a light went off, she grabbed my arm and led me from vendor to vendor until she found a lady selling fresh basil, I hugged her as the vendor collected 2 baht for my purchase. Nita had a harder time but did find a “temple offering for 190 baht the we will take to a monk tomorrow. Jerry came back with a live turtle, Michael an eel, Bill a live catfish and Ed two live frogs. Everyone else have things like pumpkin, fruits, and vegetables. Back on the bus we headed for the riverside to board the rice barge and make our meal, but before getting on board Poupee explained that the first rule of a good Buddhist was to never kill a living creature. Understanding that sometimes it’s necessary to kill varmints and pests you can make amends and extend your life by releasing captured creatures, so we released the turtle, frogs, fish and eel into the river before boarding the barge for lunch.
Heading further north we stop at the most elaborate Buddhist temple that I have ever seen. As I understand it was built in recognition of a monk that died about 12 years ago and is now the home of 54 monks from the area.
Our hotel in Phitsanulok is much better than the preceding two nights, we had an extensive buffet dinner including a wide assortment of Sushi and deserts as well as the traditional Thai food.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Angkor Wat and Bahgkok
We spent the afternoon at Angkor Wat; it’s massive and surprisingly well preserved for what it with stood over the 700 years of neglect. We spent four hours in the temple and came to the understanding that this massive structure was solely for the purpose of paying homage to the king of the era and the gods that he worshiped, no one lived in the temple and once the king died all work stopped and the temple became passé as the new king started construction on his own temple to honor himself.
We stayed at Angkor Wat until sunset so as to catch the opportunity to photograph the temple in the setting sun light as its image reflected by the pools in its foreground. Our guide Thai and driver Mr. Sun provides wine, beef jerky and the best cashews I have ever had to toast our visit to Angkor Wat.
I feel luck that I had the opportunity to see Angkor Wat before it becomes fully commercialized; I have no doubt that if the Cambodian government shows some stability over the next several years international investors will come forward with money, knowledge and ambitions to turn Angkor Wat into one of the worlds premier tourist attractions. Currently Germany, Italy, Japan, France, and the U.S. all lead restoration efforts on one of the temples locate in the Angkor area, thus establishing some level of involvement in the future of the area.
Wednesday morning we were on our own so we made our way to the Angkor National Museum. I regret that we did not go to the museum on the first day that we arrived in Siem Reap. The museum did an outstanding job of putting the history, the religious influence, and the meaning of many of the icons in focus. We stopped on the way back to our hotel for lunch which cost $3.75, a meal that would have cost $18.00 in Birmingham.
Our afternoon was spent at the killing fields where over 3000 people were killed and buried; this was one of 3200 such locations that served as execution mills between 1975 and 1979 as the Khmer Rouge attempted to rid Cambodia of anyone who resisted or was opposed to the revolution. They took over the high school building and turned it into a prison. After a three step interigation designed to get the prisoner to revel 10 other enemies of the revelation 30 to 40 prisoners were marched a quarter of a mile to an open field with strip pits where their heads were bashed and throats slit by the soldiers who were between 15 and 20 years old. The bodies were dumped in shallow graves and the process was continued each night from 6 pm to 12 am. The killing fields are now home to a Buddhist Monastery as well as a memorial to the victims. It was an excursion that I could have lived without but the trip would not have been complete if we had not gone.
I would highly recommend a visit to Cambodia; if you’re adventurous and interested in one of the 7 manmade wonders of the world. This part of our trip could be done on your own without the assistance of a tour company. The hotels are all new and inexpensive, the local transportation is cheap and the food is good and inexpensive. The only irritant is the street argents, young children selling postcards, local crafts, and books. They latch on to you, give you a well rehearsed sales pitch and then a hard close, that all failing they attempt to physically wear you down until you either buy or find refuge in your bus or van. Upon telling a 10 year old girl, “Sorry I don’t want your postcards,” she replied, “Sorry dosen’t pay the bills.”
Our excursion to Cambodia complete we caught an hour flight back to Bangkok.
Bangkok is a big city, 6 million people all trying to get from here to there. We added 5 more travelers for the balance of our trip, a Brooklyn couple now retired in Fort Lauderdale, a Hawaiian couple and Victor a 60ish gentleman from Chile now living in Miami. Victor and I will get along well. Our group from the Cambodian leg includes a couple from the Palm Springs area, our friend Michael and Marcia and Jerry and Jennifer all from Vero Beach, Bill from Green Bay and Deb. I need to elaborate on Deb; she’s a delight, from Washington DC works for the United Health Organization, 45 years old, attractive, physically fit, and Jewish, looking for the right man. I just may know someone that she should consider, Deb and I have been talking about my friend currently living in Chicago.
Today we went through the flower market, a general market, and a food market all full of activity, color and accommodating people. Then we were off to catch our boat that took us through the extensive canal and river system that was a major part of Bangkok’s transportation system in its early days. Today the river serves to move heavy cargo and the canals to supply daily markets throughout the city. Our first stop was at Aura Temple, a series of ornate towers the tallest of which stood about 100 feet tall. Deb and I climbed to the 70 ft point, as high as you could go for a magnificent view of the river and the Royal Palace. The steps were at a 70 degree angle producing a real thigh burning climb in the 97 degree heat. At mid day we stopped by “Rurn Kyun Yaai” for a cooking demonstration followed by lunch. The cooking demonstration was on Red Curry Rice and our hostess Surajit Rmphansaeng should have her own TV cooking show. We were in her home right on the canal which had been a wedding gift from her in-laws. This was not of the quality of your home but a far cry from the two homes that we visited in Cambodia. The upstairs was full of musical instruments, and attractive furniture. Surajit’s son, Basketball, assisted with the preparation and serving and her daughter, Book, attended the University. (the names are correct) Lunch consisted of five courses and was far superior to the Thai food that we get in Birmingham and we have good Thai restaurants in Birmingham. I presented Basketball with one of my Best of Us – Best of US ball caps which brought a big smile to the 15 year olds face.
Back in the boat we wound our way back into the heart of Bangkok stopping at the Royal Barge Museum. This is collection of decorative longboats that the numerous Kings of Thailand used to move up and down the river; there were no pictures allowed in an effort to promote postcard sales. We bid farewell to our boat driver and hoped on the bus stopping at a tailor shop. Needing a new blue blazer I told Jack, a young salesman, that I wanted the highest quality fabric and finest workmanship. This warranted a trip upstairs to see the good stuff. My blazer “top quality blazer” started at $345 but after several trips to the front door by me we setteled at a price of $250 and a pair of tailored slacks for $57. I have to go back tomorrow evening for a fitting and my new duds should be ready the following evening before we leave Bangkok. I realize it’s all a bit of a sales gimmick for the tour company to collect a commission but I think I made a good deal, besides they served “Elephant Beer” as we were being sold so I got a bit of a buzz for my $307 as well.
Friday morning started at 6am with a walk to the park where we joined 3000 other people for morning exercise. Just as we saw in China two years ago morning exercise is an important part of the Thai people’s life. There were hundreds of groups dressed in different colored tee-shirts doing different forms of exercise, some with fans, some with swords and others doing conventional forms of exercise. The six of us joined a group of about 100 people doing stretching and breathing exercise. After a half hour we introduced ourselves to the leader and the 83 year old coach and were offered front row positions the next time we attended.
Our tour was offering an optional tour for the day but we opted out and chose to find our own way around Bangkok. Our group wanted to experience the public transportation system and not be tied to regimented schedule. We found the subway system to be clean easy to understand and foreigner friendly. We emerged not far from Chinatown where we became emerged in the hustle and bustle of Bangkok daily life. For two hours we rubbed shoulders with the citizens of Bangkok, I saw no more than a half dozen people who were tourists, we asked questions, photographed, and moved through their crowded stalls of merchandise and were never hassled, threatened or treated rudely. The Asian people don’t get mad, they are always kind, and greet you with hands together below their chin and a bow.
With more ground to cover and temperatures in the mid 90’s we contracted with two Tut-tut drivers to shuttle us from site to site. They agreed to carry the seven of us for an hour for 50 baht per Tut-tut this is equal to $1.50. We went to the Standing Buddha, the Lucky Buddha, and one of the key temples in the city. We then went to the Expo Center a tourist jewelry scam, that if we stayed over 5 minutes our Tut-tut drivers got a gasoline voucher. For lunch Michael had found a restaurant that had been written up in the New York Times and Washington Post as a real find. The place seated no more than 20 people and we were the only patrons at 12:30 pm. We were greeted by a plump woman who obviously owned and ran the establishment. The menu became a problem, so she announced that she was going to prepare the food put it on the table and we could eat what we wanted and leave what we didn’t like. We were presented sticky rice, stir fry vegetables, yellow curry chicken, sweet pork, sweet and sour fish, something banana, crispy noodles, and red curry pork. Michael and I had two 24oz beers everyone else had sparkling water of soda. It was a magnificent meal, everything was eaten and Nita and my share of the bill came to 456 Baht or $14.50 including tip.
We caught two more Tut-tuts and resumed our sight-seeing.
We stayed at Angkor Wat until sunset so as to catch the opportunity to photograph the temple in the setting sun light as its image reflected by the pools in its foreground. Our guide Thai and driver Mr. Sun provides wine, beef jerky and the best cashews I have ever had to toast our visit to Angkor Wat.
I feel luck that I had the opportunity to see Angkor Wat before it becomes fully commercialized; I have no doubt that if the Cambodian government shows some stability over the next several years international investors will come forward with money, knowledge and ambitions to turn Angkor Wat into one of the worlds premier tourist attractions. Currently Germany, Italy, Japan, France, and the U.S. all lead restoration efforts on one of the temples locate in the Angkor area, thus establishing some level of involvement in the future of the area.
Wednesday morning we were on our own so we made our way to the Angkor National Museum. I regret that we did not go to the museum on the first day that we arrived in Siem Reap. The museum did an outstanding job of putting the history, the religious influence, and the meaning of many of the icons in focus. We stopped on the way back to our hotel for lunch which cost $3.75, a meal that would have cost $18.00 in Birmingham.
Our afternoon was spent at the killing fields where over 3000 people were killed and buried; this was one of 3200 such locations that served as execution mills between 1975 and 1979 as the Khmer Rouge attempted to rid Cambodia of anyone who resisted or was opposed to the revolution. They took over the high school building and turned it into a prison. After a three step interigation designed to get the prisoner to revel 10 other enemies of the revelation 30 to 40 prisoners were marched a quarter of a mile to an open field with strip pits where their heads were bashed and throats slit by the soldiers who were between 15 and 20 years old. The bodies were dumped in shallow graves and the process was continued each night from 6 pm to 12 am. The killing fields are now home to a Buddhist Monastery as well as a memorial to the victims. It was an excursion that I could have lived without but the trip would not have been complete if we had not gone.
I would highly recommend a visit to Cambodia; if you’re adventurous and interested in one of the 7 manmade wonders of the world. This part of our trip could be done on your own without the assistance of a tour company. The hotels are all new and inexpensive, the local transportation is cheap and the food is good and inexpensive. The only irritant is the street argents, young children selling postcards, local crafts, and books. They latch on to you, give you a well rehearsed sales pitch and then a hard close, that all failing they attempt to physically wear you down until you either buy or find refuge in your bus or van. Upon telling a 10 year old girl, “Sorry I don’t want your postcards,” she replied, “Sorry dosen’t pay the bills.”
Our excursion to Cambodia complete we caught an hour flight back to Bangkok.
Bangkok is a big city, 6 million people all trying to get from here to there. We added 5 more travelers for the balance of our trip, a Brooklyn couple now retired in Fort Lauderdale, a Hawaiian couple and Victor a 60ish gentleman from Chile now living in Miami. Victor and I will get along well. Our group from the Cambodian leg includes a couple from the Palm Springs area, our friend Michael and Marcia and Jerry and Jennifer all from Vero Beach, Bill from Green Bay and Deb. I need to elaborate on Deb; she’s a delight, from Washington DC works for the United Health Organization, 45 years old, attractive, physically fit, and Jewish, looking for the right man. I just may know someone that she should consider, Deb and I have been talking about my friend currently living in Chicago.
Today we went through the flower market, a general market, and a food market all full of activity, color and accommodating people. Then we were off to catch our boat that took us through the extensive canal and river system that was a major part of Bangkok’s transportation system in its early days. Today the river serves to move heavy cargo and the canals to supply daily markets throughout the city. Our first stop was at Aura Temple, a series of ornate towers the tallest of which stood about 100 feet tall. Deb and I climbed to the 70 ft point, as high as you could go for a magnificent view of the river and the Royal Palace. The steps were at a 70 degree angle producing a real thigh burning climb in the 97 degree heat. At mid day we stopped by “Rurn Kyun Yaai” for a cooking demonstration followed by lunch. The cooking demonstration was on Red Curry Rice and our hostess Surajit Rmphansaeng should have her own TV cooking show. We were in her home right on the canal which had been a wedding gift from her in-laws. This was not of the quality of your home but a far cry from the two homes that we visited in Cambodia. The upstairs was full of musical instruments, and attractive furniture. Surajit’s son, Basketball, assisted with the preparation and serving and her daughter, Book, attended the University. (the names are correct) Lunch consisted of five courses and was far superior to the Thai food that we get in Birmingham and we have good Thai restaurants in Birmingham. I presented Basketball with one of my Best of Us – Best of US ball caps which brought a big smile to the 15 year olds face.
Back in the boat we wound our way back into the heart of Bangkok stopping at the Royal Barge Museum. This is collection of decorative longboats that the numerous Kings of Thailand used to move up and down the river; there were no pictures allowed in an effort to promote postcard sales. We bid farewell to our boat driver and hoped on the bus stopping at a tailor shop. Needing a new blue blazer I told Jack, a young salesman, that I wanted the highest quality fabric and finest workmanship. This warranted a trip upstairs to see the good stuff. My blazer “top quality blazer” started at $345 but after several trips to the front door by me we setteled at a price of $250 and a pair of tailored slacks for $57. I have to go back tomorrow evening for a fitting and my new duds should be ready the following evening before we leave Bangkok. I realize it’s all a bit of a sales gimmick for the tour company to collect a commission but I think I made a good deal, besides they served “Elephant Beer” as we were being sold so I got a bit of a buzz for my $307 as well.
Friday morning started at 6am with a walk to the park where we joined 3000 other people for morning exercise. Just as we saw in China two years ago morning exercise is an important part of the Thai people’s life. There were hundreds of groups dressed in different colored tee-shirts doing different forms of exercise, some with fans, some with swords and others doing conventional forms of exercise. The six of us joined a group of about 100 people doing stretching and breathing exercise. After a half hour we introduced ourselves to the leader and the 83 year old coach and were offered front row positions the next time we attended.
Our tour was offering an optional tour for the day but we opted out and chose to find our own way around Bangkok. Our group wanted to experience the public transportation system and not be tied to regimented schedule. We found the subway system to be clean easy to understand and foreigner friendly. We emerged not far from Chinatown where we became emerged in the hustle and bustle of Bangkok daily life. For two hours we rubbed shoulders with the citizens of Bangkok, I saw no more than a half dozen people who were tourists, we asked questions, photographed, and moved through their crowded stalls of merchandise and were never hassled, threatened or treated rudely. The Asian people don’t get mad, they are always kind, and greet you with hands together below their chin and a bow.
With more ground to cover and temperatures in the mid 90’s we contracted with two Tut-tut drivers to shuttle us from site to site. They agreed to carry the seven of us for an hour for 50 baht per Tut-tut this is equal to $1.50. We went to the Standing Buddha, the Lucky Buddha, and one of the key temples in the city. We then went to the Expo Center a tourist jewelry scam, that if we stayed over 5 minutes our Tut-tut drivers got a gasoline voucher. For lunch Michael had found a restaurant that had been written up in the New York Times and Washington Post as a real find. The place seated no more than 20 people and we were the only patrons at 12:30 pm. We were greeted by a plump woman who obviously owned and ran the establishment. The menu became a problem, so she announced that she was going to prepare the food put it on the table and we could eat what we wanted and leave what we didn’t like. We were presented sticky rice, stir fry vegetables, yellow curry chicken, sweet pork, sweet and sour fish, something banana, crispy noodles, and red curry pork. Michael and I had two 24oz beers everyone else had sparkling water of soda. It was a magnificent meal, everything was eaten and Nita and my share of the bill came to 456 Baht or $14.50 including tip.
We caught two more Tut-tuts and resumed our sight-seeing.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Birmingham to Bangkok to Siem Reap, Cambodia
We arrived in Bangkok at 1:30 AM on Sunday morning. Exhausted we checked into our hotel, gathered our bags and headed for our room. We were joined in the elevator with a 30 year old Asian woman dressed in faded jeans, stiletto heels a tight sweater, I pushed the 16th floor and asked her “your floor?” which only drew a smile. I looked at Nita and got a questioned look, both thinking she didn’t understand English and would select her own floor. She did not. Upon arrival at the 16th floor Nita and I exited the elevator and headed for our room, I turned to find that the young lady was following us. Making eye contact it became clear to both Nita and me what was going on. I looked to Nita and got that look. I turned to the young lady smiled and shook my head no. She turned and re-entered the elevator. In the room I asked Nita, “do you know what that was all about?” I got that look again.
We were in bed, just the two of us, within five minutes, “What a country!” I fell asleep thinking of “what if, then I remembered David Carradine, that was in Bangkok, things happen for a reason.” Our room was a suite with full kitchen fruit on the table flat screen TV, balcony overlooking the city and a Hugh bath, but we had to catch a plane to Cambodia at 11:00 am, we’ll be back here in four days.
Sunday morning we caught a plane to Siem Reap Cambodia. We soon discovered that Cambodia is possibly the poorest country we have ever been in. A population of 6million with an average age of 36, as a result of the massive killings at the hands of the Khmer Rouge. A country that found itself in 1978 with no doctors, lawyers, teachers, engineers, no carpenters, electricians or plumbers; they had all been killed. Over the past 40 years the currency has failed 18 times, thus no one trust the banking system and any money that is accumulated is kept in your house. The country reminds me a lot of China except its dirty, the rivers are polluted mostly for human waste. Yet the people are friendly and non threatening their just trying to get by.
This afternoon we visited the city market and learned what the people ate, a lot of dried meats, fruits and vegetables. The common family doesn’t have refrigeration and cooks over an open flame. Later we toured their river village and saw how they lived. I thought I knew what poverty looked like but today I acquire a new definition of poverty, but because these people know no different they appear to be quite happy. We took a ride in an Ox cart which ended at the drivers home where we met his wife and two children. Their home was built on stilts 20 feet off the ground, because the river will flood, inside was a living room which contained a hammock in one corner and a table with a TV in the other the wood floors were polished clean as were the walls, the room was lit by the outside light coming through the windows with no glass. The bedroom contained two more hammocks and a box which I assumed contained any change of clothes.
“Where’s your kitchen I asked.” I had to do this with sigh language because they spoke no English and my Cambodian was limited. The man of the house took me under the house where we found the kitchen table, no chairs, and behind that a stick shed containing an open fire several pots and a few cooking utensils. “Where’s your bathroom.” I’ll let you imagine the sign language. He took me deeper onto his lot and pointed to a clump of trees.
He farmed 2 acres of land that he had inherited from his father, he owned two ox which had pulled us on our ride. If he had two good crops a year he’s earn $1200 and feed his family. They live on top of each other with no plumbing no electricity and a shared well for water. They did all have a TV, run off a car battery which they could get recharged each week for 50 cents. The discouraging part was that the children had no hope of improving their lot in life. They would be lucky if they made it through middle school, the daughter will marry and possibly have a house built on the back of her parents lot, her husband would help farm and the two of them would look after her parents in their old age. Our family didn’t have any parents to look after, they were killed 30 years ago.
Tuesday we took our van, there are only 10 of us on this leg of our journey to spend our morning on the water to see how the people on the lake live. The floating village of over 2 million people living on or in the water on lake Tonle Sap; a 30 mile by 100 mile moving body of water. The lake is fed by the overflow of the Mekon Delta which is fed by several rivers coming from China and Laos. In the rainy season the lake flows north as it fills from the over flow, in the dry season it flows south as it drains into the Delta locate in Vietnam. The people take 350,000 tons of fish out of the lake each year, and yet in four hour on the lake I never saw a fishing pole or a commercial fishing boat, it all done with traps. I saw people living as their ancestors did for the proceeding 500 years. The home all looked rough but relatively new, because with each war they would be burnt out and run off only to come back and rebuild when things setteled down. Children aged 5 to 12 paddled boats in blue and white uniforms to and from school, we could see open class rooms in the building along the shore line. Each village had its own Buddhist Monastery where young boys studied and learned their religion. They are taught by the full time monks and the priests. A priest is a plus 50 year old man who has lost his usefulness to the village. He could no longer fish or farm or perform any other useful task, he could no longer participate in sex, and he could not add to the family’s wellbeing, so he is sent to the Monastery to live out the balance of his life.
We drove back to the hotel for lunch, Nita and I have not been impressed with the Cambodian food other then I like the hot pot for breakfast. After lunch we had some free time so 6 of us hired a cab and went an hour east to see some of the temple ruins. These are massive temple built by the Hindus’ 700 years ago. There are no Hindus left in Cambodia today, you have to be born and Hindu and all the Hindus were killed 40 years ago, so the country is predominantly Buddhist today. The temples are impressive, having not seen the Pyramids I have never seen such a massive building effort; we’ll learn more about how this was achieved tomorrow when we visit Angkor Wat.
We spent the evening in downtown eating at the Red Piano, where Angelina and Brad eat when their in town, and then went to the night market where you can buy anything for next to nothing. Shopping done we hopped into a Tut-Tut, a Rickshaw pulled by a motorcycle, and were in bed by 10 pm to ready ourselves for another eventful day.
Tuesday we are off to see the temples, in the morning we visited several of the lesser temples Ta Prohm and Angkor Thom. These temples date back to the Khmer Empire 802 AD through 1431 AD; after 1431 they were abandoned as a result of wars and repeated invasions from Siamese. At that point the environment took over; the jungle overgrew them for the next 600 years. Then in 1860 the French began clearing the dense forest for the next 30 years. Around 1925 the French started to restore some of the temples until WWII then were forced to leave in 1968 because of civil war. The Anqkor Wat area became a war zone and much of the grounds were covered with land mines installed by the Khmer Rouge and the Viet Kong. In 1991 -1994 Princes Diana led an effort to have the land mines removed resulting in the Angkor area being opened to tourists in 1995.
The temples evolved through a progression of religions including Animism, Hindu and the Buddhist. The walls, statues and stone carvings give a look back into over 1400 years of civilization. Today Angkor Wat stands as the largest religious structure of the world, if you add in the other 76 temples in the adjacent area, it’s months of potential windows into the past. This is a case where a picture is worth a 1000 words.
For lunch today we were invited into a local families home, it was agreed by all ten of us that it was the best meal we’ve had thus far on our journey.
We were in bed, just the two of us, within five minutes, “What a country!” I fell asleep thinking of “what if, then I remembered David Carradine, that was in Bangkok, things happen for a reason.” Our room was a suite with full kitchen fruit on the table flat screen TV, balcony overlooking the city and a Hugh bath, but we had to catch a plane to Cambodia at 11:00 am, we’ll be back here in four days.
Sunday morning we caught a plane to Siem Reap Cambodia. We soon discovered that Cambodia is possibly the poorest country we have ever been in. A population of 6million with an average age of 36, as a result of the massive killings at the hands of the Khmer Rouge. A country that found itself in 1978 with no doctors, lawyers, teachers, engineers, no carpenters, electricians or plumbers; they had all been killed. Over the past 40 years the currency has failed 18 times, thus no one trust the banking system and any money that is accumulated is kept in your house. The country reminds me a lot of China except its dirty, the rivers are polluted mostly for human waste. Yet the people are friendly and non threatening their just trying to get by.
This afternoon we visited the city market and learned what the people ate, a lot of dried meats, fruits and vegetables. The common family doesn’t have refrigeration and cooks over an open flame. Later we toured their river village and saw how they lived. I thought I knew what poverty looked like but today I acquire a new definition of poverty, but because these people know no different they appear to be quite happy. We took a ride in an Ox cart which ended at the drivers home where we met his wife and two children. Their home was built on stilts 20 feet off the ground, because the river will flood, inside was a living room which contained a hammock in one corner and a table with a TV in the other the wood floors were polished clean as were the walls, the room was lit by the outside light coming through the windows with no glass. The bedroom contained two more hammocks and a box which I assumed contained any change of clothes.
“Where’s your kitchen I asked.” I had to do this with sigh language because they spoke no English and my Cambodian was limited. The man of the house took me under the house where we found the kitchen table, no chairs, and behind that a stick shed containing an open fire several pots and a few cooking utensils. “Where’s your bathroom.” I’ll let you imagine the sign language. He took me deeper onto his lot and pointed to a clump of trees.
He farmed 2 acres of land that he had inherited from his father, he owned two ox which had pulled us on our ride. If he had two good crops a year he’s earn $1200 and feed his family. They live on top of each other with no plumbing no electricity and a shared well for water. They did all have a TV, run off a car battery which they could get recharged each week for 50 cents. The discouraging part was that the children had no hope of improving their lot in life. They would be lucky if they made it through middle school, the daughter will marry and possibly have a house built on the back of her parents lot, her husband would help farm and the two of them would look after her parents in their old age. Our family didn’t have any parents to look after, they were killed 30 years ago.
Tuesday we took our van, there are only 10 of us on this leg of our journey to spend our morning on the water to see how the people on the lake live. The floating village of over 2 million people living on or in the water on lake Tonle Sap; a 30 mile by 100 mile moving body of water. The lake is fed by the overflow of the Mekon Delta which is fed by several rivers coming from China and Laos. In the rainy season the lake flows north as it fills from the over flow, in the dry season it flows south as it drains into the Delta locate in Vietnam. The people take 350,000 tons of fish out of the lake each year, and yet in four hour on the lake I never saw a fishing pole or a commercial fishing boat, it all done with traps. I saw people living as their ancestors did for the proceeding 500 years. The home all looked rough but relatively new, because with each war they would be burnt out and run off only to come back and rebuild when things setteled down. Children aged 5 to 12 paddled boats in blue and white uniforms to and from school, we could see open class rooms in the building along the shore line. Each village had its own Buddhist Monastery where young boys studied and learned their religion. They are taught by the full time monks and the priests. A priest is a plus 50 year old man who has lost his usefulness to the village. He could no longer fish or farm or perform any other useful task, he could no longer participate in sex, and he could not add to the family’s wellbeing, so he is sent to the Monastery to live out the balance of his life.
We drove back to the hotel for lunch, Nita and I have not been impressed with the Cambodian food other then I like the hot pot for breakfast. After lunch we had some free time so 6 of us hired a cab and went an hour east to see some of the temple ruins. These are massive temple built by the Hindus’ 700 years ago. There are no Hindus left in Cambodia today, you have to be born and Hindu and all the Hindus were killed 40 years ago, so the country is predominantly Buddhist today. The temples are impressive, having not seen the Pyramids I have never seen such a massive building effort; we’ll learn more about how this was achieved tomorrow when we visit Angkor Wat.
We spent the evening in downtown eating at the Red Piano, where Angelina and Brad eat when their in town, and then went to the night market where you can buy anything for next to nothing. Shopping done we hopped into a Tut-Tut, a Rickshaw pulled by a motorcycle, and were in bed by 10 pm to ready ourselves for another eventful day.
Tuesday we are off to see the temples, in the morning we visited several of the lesser temples Ta Prohm and Angkor Thom. These temples date back to the Khmer Empire 802 AD through 1431 AD; after 1431 they were abandoned as a result of wars and repeated invasions from Siamese. At that point the environment took over; the jungle overgrew them for the next 600 years. Then in 1860 the French began clearing the dense forest for the next 30 years. Around 1925 the French started to restore some of the temples until WWII then were forced to leave in 1968 because of civil war. The Anqkor Wat area became a war zone and much of the grounds were covered with land mines installed by the Khmer Rouge and the Viet Kong. In 1991 -1994 Princes Diana led an effort to have the land mines removed resulting in the Angkor area being opened to tourists in 1995.
The temples evolved through a progression of religions including Animism, Hindu and the Buddhist. The walls, statues and stone carvings give a look back into over 1400 years of civilization. Today Angkor Wat stands as the largest religious structure of the world, if you add in the other 76 temples in the adjacent area, it’s months of potential windows into the past. This is a case where a picture is worth a 1000 words.
For lunch today we were invited into a local families home, it was agreed by all ten of us that it was the best meal we’ve had thus far on our journey.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Another Great Adventure
Nita and I are readying ourselves for another Great Adventure. We leave the end of August for a month long adventure in Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam. We'll be traveling with thirteen other travelers, four that we met and befriended in 2007 on our China trip. We'll be traveling with Mike and Marcia Zimmer and Jerry and Jennifer Saulter.
You may have noticed that we've not been as active this year as last, this is in part to the fact that Nita broke her foot (took three screws to put it back together) in March and she has been immobilized until recently. We have spent some time in Atlanta, Indianapolis (I ran the Indy Mini Marathon with my brother Jerry) and the beach, but this will be our big trip this year. As in the past I will be carrying a computer and digital camera, both new and lighter, and will be making daily entries into my blog and downloading pictures into my Picasa Web Album.
I've created a new blog, http://bestofustravelers.blogspot.com/-- World Travelers Kerry and Nita Grinkmeyer. Nita feels I've gone over the top with my blog title, but that's what it is. I've moved my past entries over, so this will be my travel blog from now on, the old one is devoted to my business enterprises.
I've been asked about setting up blogs, I'm now up to 12, I use blogspot a Google product and WordPress. I feel blogspot is easier to work with but WordPress has more features if your serious about marketing your blog. WordPress seems to be more search engine friendly, meaning that more strangers and spammers will find you on the WordPress blogs. I encourage everyone to start a blog and a web album; it's a way to leave something behind. Mine will serve as a way for my great-great-great grandchildren to get to know me, a privilege which I do not have. I know more about Hitler then I know about my great grandfather both from Germany (that's a sad thing).
So you go for it: blogspot = www.bloger.com and WordPress = www.wordpress.org
I realize that some of you are on my Traveler Log List because of our past travels with Ron and Avie; there will be more travels with Ron and Avie next year and years to follow but this year they're headed to Canada while we're going to the far east. I will get Ron on an airplane again, he hasn't seen Italy or Germany.
Here's my plan, I'll send a general email when I enter my first post, it'll probably be from Thailand, then from that point on if you choose to follow our path through Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam you'll have to go, if you choose, to my blog site. Put it in your Favorites (click on the gold star top right while your on the blog, click Add To, and it'll be added to your Favorites List. If none of this makes sense to you, ask your grandchildren) then it'll be easy to access.
You may have noticed that we've not been as active this year as last, this is in part to the fact that Nita broke her foot (took three screws to put it back together) in March and she has been immobilized until recently. We have spent some time in Atlanta, Indianapolis (I ran the Indy Mini Marathon with my brother Jerry) and the beach, but this will be our big trip this year. As in the past I will be carrying a computer and digital camera, both new and lighter, and will be making daily entries into my blog and downloading pictures into my Picasa Web Album.
I've created a new blog, http://bestofustravelers.blogspot.com/-- World Travelers Kerry and Nita Grinkmeyer. Nita feels I've gone over the top with my blog title, but that's what it is. I've moved my past entries over, so this will be my travel blog from now on, the old one is devoted to my business enterprises.
I've been asked about setting up blogs, I'm now up to 12, I use blogspot a Google product and WordPress. I feel blogspot is easier to work with but WordPress has more features if your serious about marketing your blog. WordPress seems to be more search engine friendly, meaning that more strangers and spammers will find you on the WordPress blogs. I encourage everyone to start a blog and a web album; it's a way to leave something behind. Mine will serve as a way for my great-great-great grandchildren to get to know me, a privilege which I do not have. I know more about Hitler then I know about my great grandfather both from Germany (that's a sad thing).
So you go for it: blogspot = www.bloger.com and WordPress = www.wordpress.org
I realize that some of you are on my Traveler Log List because of our past travels with Ron and Avie; there will be more travels with Ron and Avie next year and years to follow but this year they're headed to Canada while we're going to the far east. I will get Ron on an airplane again, he hasn't seen Italy or Germany.
Here's my plan, I'll send a general email when I enter my first post, it'll probably be from Thailand, then from that point on if you choose to follow our path through Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam you'll have to go, if you choose, to my blog site. Put it in your Favorites (click on the gold star top right while your on the blog, click Add To, and it'll be added to your Favorites List. If none of this makes sense to you, ask your grandchildren) then it'll be easy to access.
The Train Trip Home
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
The Train Trip Home
09/28/2008 I got up at 5:30 AM got dressed and ran up the steps to the upper decks. A crowd was gathering, I could see the lights off in a distance, it was a foggy morning. Out of nowhere the Verrazono Narrows Bridge appeared overhead it was my first realization of big city life, it just appeared overhead full of traffic and streaking lights, it was a rush. We moved up the Hudson River New Jersey on our left New York on our right. Ellis Island was barley vi sable through the fog; we passing the Statue of Liberty at 6:02 AM. The photo opportunities were not good but I got my statue shots back in June at Jennifer and Arie’s wedding.
Getting off ship was easy and we caught a cab to Jennifer and Arie’s infamous New York City apartment. Although it’s only 473 square feet it is very comfortable in a beautiful west side building and neighborhood that makes living in New York City understandable. We walked to brunch at Isabella’s, a popular weekend eatery for a delightful brunch. The vegetable and flower vendors on the streets brought back memories of the Rambles in Barcelona, Spain, the side walk cafes brought back memories of Helsinki, Finland, but I didn’t see any sardines being served. Spending time with Arie and Jennifer brought thoughts of living a movie script life to a Midwesterner/ Southerner who until recently was very uncomfortable in such big city surroundings.
We then caught a cab to Penn Station to catch our train back to Birmingham. Being a 22 hour trip we opted for a room-et, which is a small sleeper. The operative word here is small, we thought our cabin on the ship was small but this was two beds and a toilet/sink in 32 square feet. (see pictures) We stopped for thirty minutes in Washington DC and Nita, Ron and I got off to go in and see Union Station. It was spectacular as we had remembered but we were all disappointed in the amount of trash in the fountain and grounds outside, we saw nothing like this in Europe. Dinner was served after our stop in Washington DC in the dinning car. (6:45 PM). Nita and I had the steak and Ron and Avie had the chicken; we all agreed that the food was better then any airline food that we had ever had but not as good as ship food. Sleeping on the train in our 32sq. ft. room-et went surprisingly well. All of us got about eight hours of sleep and cleaned up and went to breakfast at 6:30 AM.
We’re now on the final leg of our trip pulling out of Atlanta on our way to Birmingham. We’ve been advised from several e-mailers that we might be better off staying our of the USA because of it’s growing financial woes; but that is not an option. We’re back in the “real world.”
The Train Trip Home
09/28/2008 I got up at 5:30 AM got dressed and ran up the steps to the upper decks. A crowd was gathering, I could see the lights off in a distance, it was a foggy morning. Out of nowhere the Verrazono Narrows Bridge appeared overhead it was my first realization of big city life, it just appeared overhead full of traffic and streaking lights, it was a rush. We moved up the Hudson River New Jersey on our left New York on our right. Ellis Island was barley vi sable through the fog; we passing the Statue of Liberty at 6:02 AM. The photo opportunities were not good but I got my statue shots back in June at Jennifer and Arie’s wedding.
Getting off ship was easy and we caught a cab to Jennifer and Arie’s infamous New York City apartment. Although it’s only 473 square feet it is very comfortable in a beautiful west side building and neighborhood that makes living in New York City understandable. We walked to brunch at Isabella’s, a popular weekend eatery for a delightful brunch. The vegetable and flower vendors on the streets brought back memories of the Rambles in Barcelona, Spain, the side walk cafes brought back memories of Helsinki, Finland, but I didn’t see any sardines being served. Spending time with Arie and Jennifer brought thoughts of living a movie script life to a Midwesterner/ Southerner who until recently was very uncomfortable in such big city surroundings.
We then caught a cab to Penn Station to catch our train back to Birmingham. Being a 22 hour trip we opted for a room-et, which is a small sleeper. The operative word here is small, we thought our cabin on the ship was small but this was two beds and a toilet/sink in 32 square feet. (see pictures) We stopped for thirty minutes in Washington DC and Nita, Ron and I got off to go in and see Union Station. It was spectacular as we had remembered but we were all disappointed in the amount of trash in the fountain and grounds outside, we saw nothing like this in Europe. Dinner was served after our stop in Washington DC in the dinning car. (6:45 PM). Nita and I had the steak and Ron and Avie had the chicken; we all agreed that the food was better then any airline food that we had ever had but not as good as ship food. Sleeping on the train in our 32sq. ft. room-et went surprisingly well. All of us got about eight hours of sleep and cleaned up and went to breakfast at 6:30 AM.
We’re now on the final leg of our trip pulling out of Atlanta on our way to Birmingham. We’ve been advised from several e-mailers that we might be better off staying our of the USA because of it’s growing financial woes; but that is not an option. We’re back in the “real world.”
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Halifax, Nova Scotia
09/26/2008 It is obvious that we are getting closer to Alabama, the weather is getting much better; 66F and sunny skies in Halifax. Halifax is a small city and our ship docked about one mile from the city center so it's a easy walk into town. Stay close to the waters edge and it will lead you to most of what you'll want to see in Halifax, then take an off the waters edge route back and you'll see everything worth seeing.
Settled in 1749 by Governor Edward Cornwall, Halifax is now the capital of Nova Scotia (New Scotland). It is a modern city with select remnants of its past; some of the early architecture remains but most of the old town was destroyed in the harbor explosion of 1917, which leveled the town killing 3,600 of its residents and injured another 20,000. (Google if you want more info. Very interesting.) Halifax played an instrumental role is both World Wars I & II as a safe harbor for ships crossing the Atlantic. It maintained its importance throughout the Cold War years.
We visited the Maritime Museum witch gave us incite into the cities development as a port and fishing city. The highlight of the museum for me was the information on Halifax’s role in the rescue efforts resulting from the sinking of the Titanic. They do an excellent job of depicting the conditions aboard the Titanic and how where you were housed played a big part on your survival. Having seen the movie The Titanic several times this was very interesting and informative for me.
After the museum we climbed the hill, about six blocks, up to the Citadel and learned all the Nova Scotia history that didn’t take in 4th grade. Did you know that the U.S. made several military efforts in the 1700’s and early 1800’s to make Nova Scotia a part of the United States, and how Nova Scotia threw out the Arcadian's, and how the Brits used Halifax to control the North Atlantic. I must have slept through both 4th and 5th grades.
Re-educated we went down to the harbor to look for lunch and a good view of the harbor activity. We found a lively carnival atmosphere with food vendors, art and craft stores and colorful clean surroundings. We chose McKekvue's at 1680 Lower Waterfront, a family and people friendly restaurant which was recommended by a local. The food was delicious, fresh lobster, the service was friendly and the beer was cold. This is something that should happen more often in my life. Bellies full, tanned, and happy (check out the shoes) we made our way back to our ship chatting with several of the singers and dancers from the ship who attend Spinning Class with us. We had no idea how sorry the crew is to see us leave. Within sight is the ship we found a Walmart type store where were able to pick-up some needed items for our final trip home. Saturday will be our last Sea Day then it’s into New York and up the Hudson River.
Halifax, Nova Scotia
09/26/2008 It is obvious that we are getting closer to Alabama, the weather is getting much better; 66F and sunny skies in Halifax. Halifax is a small city and our ship docked about one mile from the city center so it's a easy walk into town. Stay close to the waters edge and it will lead you to most of what you'll want to see in Halifax, then take an off the waters edge route back and you'll see everything worth seeing.
Settled in 1749 by Governor Edward Cornwall, Halifax is now the capital of Nova Scotia (New Scotland). It is a modern city with select remnants of its past; some of the early architecture remains but most of the old town was destroyed in the harbor explosion of 1917, which leveled the town killing 3,600 of its residents and injured another 20,000. (Google if you want more info. Very interesting.) Halifax played an instrumental role is both World Wars I & II as a safe harbor for ships crossing the Atlantic. It maintained its importance throughout the Cold War years.
We visited the Maritime Museum witch gave us incite into the cities development as a port and fishing city. The highlight of the museum for me was the information on Halifax’s role in the rescue efforts resulting from the sinking of the Titanic. They do an excellent job of depicting the conditions aboard the Titanic and how where you were housed played a big part on your survival. Having seen the movie The Titanic several times this was very interesting and informative for me.
After the museum we climbed the hill, about six blocks, up to the Citadel and learned all the Nova Scotia history that didn’t take in 4th grade. Did you know that the U.S. made several military efforts in the 1700’s and early 1800’s to make Nova Scotia a part of the United States, and how Nova Scotia threw out the Arcadian's, and how the Brits used Halifax to control the North Atlantic. I must have slept through both 4th and 5th grades.
Re-educated we went down to the harbor to look for lunch and a good view of the harbor activity. We found a lively carnival atmosphere with food vendors, art and craft stores and colorful clean surroundings. We chose McKekvue's at 1680 Lower Waterfront, a family and people friendly restaurant which was recommended by a local. The food was delicious, fresh lobster, the service was friendly and the beer was cold. This is something that should happen more often in my life. Bellies full, tanned, and happy (check out the shoes) we made our way back to our ship chatting with several of the singers and dancers from the ship who attend Spinning Class with us. We had no idea how sorry the crew is to see us leave. Within sight is the ship we found a Walmart type store where were able to pick-up some needed items for our final trip home. Saturday will be our last Sea Day then it’s into New York and up the Hudson River.
Saint Johns Newfoundland
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Saint Johns Newfoundland
09/24/2008 We were met at the dock by Wayne Evans, one of Avie’s Clayton College Students, who gave us a full day tour of Saint Johns. Wayne went the extra mile. We saw all the sights; Signal Hill and Cabot Tower (1901 Guglielmo Marconi received the first transatlantic radio signal, John Alcock and Arthur Brown took off from here for first non stop flight across the Atlantic in 1919, Amelia Earhart also took off from here.), Cape Spear (most easterly point in north America, Oldest lighthouse in the Providence 1826 and most easterly urinals in North America), The Basilica of Saint John the Baptist, Petty Harbor (Commercial Cod Fishing village) , and the Royal Canadian Yacht Club where we had fresh fish and chips a local beer and met Donny. Donny and Wayne together will be my personification of Newfoundland, people who enjoy the land and all it has to offer, a slower pace of life, and a enjoyment so everything that is presented to them every day. I will try to make it back to St. Johns to go fishing with Wayne and Donny. (I must meet Donny’s wife) We also experience all of Newfoundland’s weathers in a six hour period; sun and clear skies, overcast and rain, gal winds, and a hail storm. As I said Wayne went the extra mile for us.
Saint Johns Newfoundland
09/24/2008 We were met at the dock by Wayne Evans, one of Avie’s Clayton College Students, who gave us a full day tour of Saint Johns. Wayne went the extra mile. We saw all the sights; Signal Hill and Cabot Tower (1901 Guglielmo Marconi received the first transatlantic radio signal, John Alcock and Arthur Brown took off from here for first non stop flight across the Atlantic in 1919, Amelia Earhart also took off from here.), Cape Spear (most easterly point in north America, Oldest lighthouse in the Providence 1826 and most easterly urinals in North America), The Basilica of Saint John the Baptist, Petty Harbor (Commercial Cod Fishing village) , and the Royal Canadian Yacht Club where we had fresh fish and chips a local beer and met Donny. Donny and Wayne together will be my personification of Newfoundland, people who enjoy the land and all it has to offer, a slower pace of life, and a enjoyment so everything that is presented to them every day. I will try to make it back to St. Johns to go fishing with Wayne and Donny. (I must meet Donny’s wife) We also experience all of Newfoundland’s weathers in a six hour period; sun and clear skies, overcast and rain, gal winds, and a hail storm. As I said Wayne went the extra mile for us.
Sea Days
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Sea Days
09/22/2008 Sea Day. The North Atlantic remains rough and the base drum continues to beat. This morning Nita, Ron and I were some of the few who made it to early breakfast and workout. Avie is feeling OK, just a later riser. We did move our clocks up 1 ½ hours; that’s right, so that may be why so few passengers are up at 8:00 am. We’re back to our Sea Day routine: Eating, workout, Internet, meeting people, Trivia, eating, computer, cookies at 2:00, Spinning Class, eating, show, bed.
09/23/2008 Sea Day, Cloudy 48F. The North Atlantic has settled down as we approach Canada, we’ll arrive tomorrow morning. I've met two women who are on the cruise as part of NCL”U”. One gives a talk each sea day on computers and technology and the other on Bridge. I've expressed my interest in their arrangements with NCL and they both gave me the name of their agent who books them on these cruises as speakers. The Bridge Director has been on 120 cruises teaching Bridge. I just submitted my Speaker Application over the Internet, it sounds like a good way to see the rest of the world… we'll see.
Sea Days
09/22/2008 Sea Day. The North Atlantic remains rough and the base drum continues to beat. This morning Nita, Ron and I were some of the few who made it to early breakfast and workout. Avie is feeling OK, just a later riser. We did move our clocks up 1 ½ hours; that’s right, so that may be why so few passengers are up at 8:00 am. We’re back to our Sea Day routine: Eating, workout, Internet, meeting people, Trivia, eating, computer, cookies at 2:00, Spinning Class, eating, show, bed.
09/23/2008 Sea Day, Cloudy 48F. The North Atlantic has settled down as we approach Canada, we’ll arrive tomorrow morning. I've met two women who are on the cruise as part of NCL”U”. One gives a talk each sea day on computers and technology and the other on Bridge. I've expressed my interest in their arrangements with NCL and they both gave me the name of their agent who books them on these cruises as speakers. The Bridge Director has been on 120 cruises teaching Bridge. I just submitted my Speaker Application over the Internet, it sounds like a good way to see the rest of the world… we'll see.
Reykjavik, Iceland
Monday, September 22, 2008
Reykjavik, Iceland
09/21/2008 Yesterday was a tough day at sea; fifteen foot swells that produced a bang like a base drum as the bow of the ship slammed to the water. The bang echoed through the cabins and the rest of the ship all day. The bow heaved up and the stern thrust down then reversed motions. Ron and Avie are in the front of the ship, Nita and I in the middle. We didn’t see Avie all day; she was in her cab dealing with sea sickness. This morning we landed in Reykjavik (Smoky Bay), Iceland the capital of Iceland, a city of 200,000. It’s a windy and rainy Sunday (43 degrees), and everything is closed in downtown Reykjavick. It didn’t look that great anyway so Nita and I caught a bus out to the Blue Lagoon. Ron and Avie are going on their own, Ron said at breakfast that Avie was feeling better but he wasn’t sure what they were going to do today. It turned out that Avie had regained her sea legs and they caught a disappointing afternoon ship excursion. Our 45 minute ride out to the Lagoon gave us a different look at Iceland; it’s a rugged land, mostly black volcanic rock covered in green moss and a pounding sea (no trees). If someone tells you they’re from Iceland they have to be hardy souls. The Blue Lagoon is an extensive series of baby blue salt water ponds that are fed by one of the many geothermal salt water streams that heat the homes in Reykjavick and generate their electricity. It is a contrasting sight; steaming blue pools amongst the black volcanic rock covered in green moss with about one thousand tourists from around the world soaking in the 104+ degree therapeutic waters. As I soaked in the geothermal waters I had a conversation with several Germans, Brits, and a group from China. I covered my face with a white paste that was guaranteed to take fifteen years off my face; I am looking much younger this evening, I also seem to be losing weight….RIGHT. While having an Icelandic Hot Dog for lunch Nita and I met a member of the Faroe Islands Parliament who was on his way to NYC for a two week meeting at the United Nations. We now have a place to stay the next time we’re in the Faroe Islands. The word on the ship is that the waters in front of us are rougher then those that we experienced yesterday, if so the cruise lines will be saving a lot of money on unconsumed food.
Reykjavik, Iceland
09/21/2008 Yesterday was a tough day at sea; fifteen foot swells that produced a bang like a base drum as the bow of the ship slammed to the water. The bang echoed through the cabins and the rest of the ship all day. The bow heaved up and the stern thrust down then reversed motions. Ron and Avie are in the front of the ship, Nita and I in the middle. We didn’t see Avie all day; she was in her cab dealing with sea sickness. This morning we landed in Reykjavik (Smoky Bay), Iceland the capital of Iceland, a city of 200,000. It’s a windy and rainy Sunday (43 degrees), and everything is closed in downtown Reykjavick. It didn’t look that great anyway so Nita and I caught a bus out to the Blue Lagoon. Ron and Avie are going on their own, Ron said at breakfast that Avie was feeling better but he wasn’t sure what they were going to do today. It turned out that Avie had regained her sea legs and they caught a disappointing afternoon ship excursion. Our 45 minute ride out to the Lagoon gave us a different look at Iceland; it’s a rugged land, mostly black volcanic rock covered in green moss and a pounding sea (no trees). If someone tells you they’re from Iceland they have to be hardy souls. The Blue Lagoon is an extensive series of baby blue salt water ponds that are fed by one of the many geothermal salt water streams that heat the homes in Reykjavick and generate their electricity. It is a contrasting sight; steaming blue pools amongst the black volcanic rock covered in green moss with about one thousand tourists from around the world soaking in the 104+ degree therapeutic waters. As I soaked in the geothermal waters I had a conversation with several Germans, Brits, and a group from China. I covered my face with a white paste that was guaranteed to take fifteen years off my face; I am looking much younger this evening, I also seem to be losing weight….RIGHT. While having an Icelandic Hot Dog for lunch Nita and I met a member of the Faroe Islands Parliament who was on his way to NYC for a two week meeting at the United Nations. We now have a place to stay the next time we’re in the Faroe Islands. The word on the ship is that the waters in front of us are rougher then those that we experienced yesterday, if so the cruise lines will be saving a lot of money on unconsumed food.
Lerwick, Shetland Islands
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Lerwick, Shetland Islands
09/19/2008 Yesterday I started the task of editing and rewriting the novel that I wrote last year. (The Stock Lord) I have attempted to find an agent, with no success, but I feel that with today’s turbulent stock market there might be a regenerated interest in the behind the scenes workings of the stock market. Besides it gives me something productive to do on our Sea Days. We’re in Lerwick, Shetland Islands today a town of 7,500, founded in the 17th century by the Dutch herring fleets. Because of it’s illegal dealings and immortality the town was destroyed by order of the Scalloway court in 1615 and 1625. The Dutch then burnt the fort in 1673 and the French set it on fire in 1702. This could explain why all the current buildings are made of stone and that there are no trees; or maybe it’s the fierce gales of the winter months. We were tethered into the town and walked through a clean friendly city. We all agreed that we could make a commitment to live here for one year then would have to evaluate our ability to deal with the isolation and the weather. We had a fish and chips lunch downtown and a local shared her local vegetable, deep-fat-fried oatmeal, with us. Ron has been looking for another book written by Vince Flynn in Dover and Lerwich with no success. On a whim we went into the Lerwick Library where he found three paperbacks. He asked the librarian if he could check it out on this Birmingham Library card. After a lot of kidding and laughing the librarian told him to go ahead and take it; would that happen in your town. Now you can see why the four of us are considering moving to Lerwick, Shetland Islands. It’s Saturday morning, another Sea Day, and we are on our way to Reykjavik, Iceland. The ship is rocking, rolling, creaking and popping. I estimate the population of the ship has decreased by half as many of our fellow passengers are choosing to stay in their cabins. There probably will not be much deck activity today.
Lerwick, Shetland Islands
09/19/2008 Yesterday I started the task of editing and rewriting the novel that I wrote last year. (The Stock Lord) I have attempted to find an agent, with no success, but I feel that with today’s turbulent stock market there might be a regenerated interest in the behind the scenes workings of the stock market. Besides it gives me something productive to do on our Sea Days. We’re in Lerwick, Shetland Islands today a town of 7,500, founded in the 17th century by the Dutch herring fleets. Because of it’s illegal dealings and immortality the town was destroyed by order of the Scalloway court in 1615 and 1625. The Dutch then burnt the fort in 1673 and the French set it on fire in 1702. This could explain why all the current buildings are made of stone and that there are no trees; or maybe it’s the fierce gales of the winter months. We were tethered into the town and walked through a clean friendly city. We all agreed that we could make a commitment to live here for one year then would have to evaluate our ability to deal with the isolation and the weather. We had a fish and chips lunch downtown and a local shared her local vegetable, deep-fat-fried oatmeal, with us. Ron has been looking for another book written by Vince Flynn in Dover and Lerwich with no success. On a whim we went into the Lerwick Library where he found three paperbacks. He asked the librarian if he could check it out on this Birmingham Library card. After a lot of kidding and laughing the librarian told him to go ahead and take it; would that happen in your town. Now you can see why the four of us are considering moving to Lerwick, Shetland Islands. It’s Saturday morning, another Sea Day, and we are on our way to Reykjavik, Iceland. The ship is rocking, rolling, creaking and popping. I estimate the population of the ship has decreased by half as many of our fellow passengers are choosing to stay in their cabins. There probably will not be much deck activity today.
Back in Dover England
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Back in Dover England
09/16&17&18/2008 We are heading back to Dover and the end of this leg of our trip. I seems like a along time ago that we bused from Gatwick to Dover. The day was spent relaxing, saying good-bye to people that we know we will never see again; Bill and Sue, the English couple that were so stand-off-ish that would later become our cycling buddies, Sam the Indian/English guy that I had to give the Heimlich maneuver to, the happy couple from South Africa, and Ken and Jane from Toronto (red driving shoes) that trained to Berlin with.
Preparing for the Dover to NYC leg we had to change cabins, get upgraded to a “Latitudes” cruising status, and brag to all new passengers that we are “back to back cruisers”. We did take the afternoon for a walk to Dover and up to the Dover Castle, where the English had dug caves into the chalk cliffs of Dover to set up a military facility to fend off Napoleon in the 1700’s and the Germans in WWII.
We’ll sail today to Lerwich, in the Shetland Islands and enjoy another Sea Day. Nita and I have decided to take the dance lessons and Avie has signed up to join Ron and me in the spinning class. It’s going to be hard to get our of the habits that we are forming.
Back in Dover England
09/16&17&18/2008 We are heading back to Dover and the end of this leg of our trip. I seems like a along time ago that we bused from Gatwick to Dover. The day was spent relaxing, saying good-bye to people that we know we will never see again; Bill and Sue, the English couple that were so stand-off-ish that would later become our cycling buddies, Sam the Indian/English guy that I had to give the Heimlich maneuver to, the happy couple from South Africa, and Ken and Jane from Toronto (red driving shoes) that trained to Berlin with.
Preparing for the Dover to NYC leg we had to change cabins, get upgraded to a “Latitudes” cruising status, and brag to all new passengers that we are “back to back cruisers”. We did take the afternoon for a walk to Dover and up to the Dover Castle, where the English had dug caves into the chalk cliffs of Dover to set up a military facility to fend off Napoleon in the 1700’s and the Germans in WWII.
We’ll sail today to Lerwich, in the Shetland Islands and enjoy another Sea Day. Nita and I have decided to take the dance lessons and Avie has signed up to join Ron and me in the spinning class. It’s going to be hard to get our of the habits that we are forming.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Oslo, Norway
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Oslo, Norway
09/14/2008 Today is a Sea Day, “Thank you!”; we all need the slower pace, but were still up at 5:30 for our normal routine. This gives me time to download my photos, write my blog, check-up on the stock market, and do my other computer work. This afternoon I’m going to a talk on setting up a business on the internet. I spoke the presenter the other day and she told me that the cruise ships of looking for people to come on cruises to talk about using the internet and other technology in exchange for free passage. This could turn into a travel opportunity for Nita and I; I’ll be looking into it when we get home.
09/15/2008 Oslo, Norway We tied up in Oslo at the base of the Akershus Fortress built in 1300, it’s castle dates back to the 1700’s. The rest of Oslo is a very cosmopolitan city with a lot of retail at very high prices. As in most of the countries that we have gone to they have their own currency but are happy to accept the dollar, it just doesn’t go very far anymore. Avie opted to take one of the ships tours while Ron, Nita and I chose to walk the town and try to meet the people. As is Ron and my policy we only approached attractive women for directions; we had no problem finding our way around. We did stop at a bakery for two cookies, a small apple pie and three coffees = $30 US. As I said, Norway is a very expensive and highly taxed country.
If I could come back to only one of the six countries that we visited on this first leg of our trip it would be Russia. This is because Russia is so different culturally and is so important to history and our future. When I think of Russia I have two images that come to mind: the thousands of young people ascending from the subway station dressed in brown, and the art and opulence in the Hermitage. Some how, some day I feel certain that those young people will claim the Hermitage and it’s contents as theirs.
Oslo, Norway
09/14/2008 Today is a Sea Day, “Thank you!”; we all need the slower pace, but were still up at 5:30 for our normal routine. This gives me time to download my photos, write my blog, check-up on the stock market, and do my other computer work. This afternoon I’m going to a talk on setting up a business on the internet. I spoke the presenter the other day and she told me that the cruise ships of looking for people to come on cruises to talk about using the internet and other technology in exchange for free passage. This could turn into a travel opportunity for Nita and I; I’ll be looking into it when we get home.
09/15/2008 Oslo, Norway We tied up in Oslo at the base of the Akershus Fortress built in 1300, it’s castle dates back to the 1700’s. The rest of Oslo is a very cosmopolitan city with a lot of retail at very high prices. As in most of the countries that we have gone to they have their own currency but are happy to accept the dollar, it just doesn’t go very far anymore. Avie opted to take one of the ships tours while Ron, Nita and I chose to walk the town and try to meet the people. As is Ron and my policy we only approached attractive women for directions; we had no problem finding our way around. We did stop at a bakery for two cookies, a small apple pie and three coffees = $30 US. As I said, Norway is a very expensive and highly taxed country.
If I could come back to only one of the six countries that we visited on this first leg of our trip it would be Russia. This is because Russia is so different culturally and is so important to history and our future. When I think of Russia I have two images that come to mind: the thousands of young people ascending from the subway station dressed in brown, and the art and opulence in the Hermitage. Some how, some day I feel certain that those young people will claim the Hermitage and it’s contents as theirs.
Stockholm, Sweden
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Stockholm, Sweden
09/13/2008 Stockholm, Sweden the capital, a city of 1.5 million is a beautiful city that took us five hours to find as our ship entered a maze of what looked like rivers, and lakes winding through small and large islands. As we got closer to Stockholm the islands started to fill with summer homes then larger permanent residences each with a flag pole and a small white pennant flying from the top; we never did find out the significance of this pennant. My biggest regret concerning Stockholm was that we did not get to stay longer. Stockholm is built on 14 separate islands, so today our Hop-On-Hop-Off was a boat, a nice change, which shuttled us from one location to another. Although it was efficient if minimized our contact with the Swedish people, not a good thing. Stockholm is a medieval city, modern city, and sea port and you are never more then five minutes from any of it’s diverse parts. We visited the Royal Palace; I am palaced out, where we toured the Royal Apartments. Our guide made the tour; he injected humor and insight of both past and current royalty that brought the apartment to life. We then went to the Vasavarvet, where the grand warship of 1628 is on display. The story is that the King of Sweden had this warship, the largest warship ever built, built and on it’s maiden voyage it sunk in the harbor with a crew of 144 because the King had demanded that it have “more cannons” and was thus top heavy. When the wind caught its sails it flipped over and went to the bottom of the harbor. The wreckage of the Vasa was not discovered until 1956 in 40,000 cubic yards of mud. The mud actually helped to preserve the ship and its contents and thus makes for a phenomenal display of a 17th century warship. The entertainment onboard has been exceptional. Each night we have dinner at 6:30, a stage show at 8:00, then Nita and I go up for a bit of dancing, then to bed by 10:30. Our morning starts between 5:30 and 6:00, up to the Garden Café for coffee, to the gym for a workout, then the Blue Lagoon for breakfast (s small intimate café rather then the cattle call us at the Garden Café where Ron and Avie go, Ron needs to meet “new people” everyday, we then meet for our excursions or lunch on Sea Days)
Stockholm, Sweden
09/13/2008 Stockholm, Sweden the capital, a city of 1.5 million is a beautiful city that took us five hours to find as our ship entered a maze of what looked like rivers, and lakes winding through small and large islands. As we got closer to Stockholm the islands started to fill with summer homes then larger permanent residences each with a flag pole and a small white pennant flying from the top; we never did find out the significance of this pennant. My biggest regret concerning Stockholm was that we did not get to stay longer. Stockholm is built on 14 separate islands, so today our Hop-On-Hop-Off was a boat, a nice change, which shuttled us from one location to another. Although it was efficient if minimized our contact with the Swedish people, not a good thing. Stockholm is a medieval city, modern city, and sea port and you are never more then five minutes from any of it’s diverse parts. We visited the Royal Palace; I am palaced out, where we toured the Royal Apartments. Our guide made the tour; he injected humor and insight of both past and current royalty that brought the apartment to life. We then went to the Vasavarvet, where the grand warship of 1628 is on display. The story is that the King of Sweden had this warship, the largest warship ever built, built and on it’s maiden voyage it sunk in the harbor with a crew of 144 because the King had demanded that it have “more cannons” and was thus top heavy. When the wind caught its sails it flipped over and went to the bottom of the harbor. The wreckage of the Vasa was not discovered until 1956 in 40,000 cubic yards of mud. The mud actually helped to preserve the ship and its contents and thus makes for a phenomenal display of a 17th century warship. The entertainment onboard has been exceptional. Each night we have dinner at 6:30, a stage show at 8:00, then Nita and I go up for a bit of dancing, then to bed by 10:30. Our morning starts between 5:30 and 6:00, up to the Garden Café for coffee, to the gym for a workout, then the Blue Lagoon for breakfast (s small intimate café rather then the cattle call us at the Garden Café where Ron and Avie go, Ron needs to meet “new people” everyday, we then meet for our excursions or lunch on Sea Days)
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