Tet in Saigon

Tet is the Chinese lunar calendar new year. This year, the lunar new year is January 26th which begins the year of the ox. It is THE annual celebration in Vietnam and most Vietnamese have a 3-day holiday January 26th through 28th. All government offices (normally open 7 days a week - common in communist countries where no religions are recognized), banks, and shops are closed.
I had to quickly discover/learn many Vietnamese Tet customs and traditions.
The week before Tet, the streets are all decorated with lights and shoppers. Custom dictates that all Vietnamese (rich, poor, and everyone in between) buy new clothes just before the new year. Another tradition is to clean everything from top to bottom - houses (inside and out), motorbikes, bicycles - EVERYthing should and is expected to be spotless when the new year arrives!

Saigon streets' Tet light decorations. Most Tet decorations have a flower theme. The overhead lights in pic 291 are yellow lotus flowers. Sorry that these pics are so crappy - but the ole BB doesn't take very good night shots.

Most Vietnamese have Tet eve dinner at home with immediate family. Linh's family invited me to join them. As always at their house, the meal was comprised of delicious traditional dishes - about 8 of them! My BB camera was very temperamental that evening - so this pic stinks - but it is the only one I have of the occasion and I was not going to delete it.

Fortunately, before going to Tet eve dinner, I consulted my cultural advisors (hotel staff that know me) re Vietnamese Tet eve traditions. They explained that as a Tet eve dinner guest, I was expected to take flowers as a gift to the male head of household. Because Vinh Pham is from Hanoi (north), the appropriate "flower" would be something called Hoa Dao. When Vinh picked me up, I asked him to stop at one of many street vendors selling flowers and trees. He was elated when he discovered what I wanted to do and proceeded to select and negotiate the price for a potted Hoa Dao tree. This is a pic of me and him with Hoa Dao tree in background. Btw - he negotiated a really good deal!

After dinner, Vinh invited me to be the first person to visit his home the next day - new year's day - for breakfast. I agreed and later learned that it is a Vietnamese suspicion that the 1st person in the year to visit your house is responsible for bringing your household good (or bad) luck the rest of the year! Evidently many Vietnamese, including Vinh, take this very seriously and carefully select and invite the first visitors of the year to their house. I was told (by my cultural advisors) that this was a great honor. So I arranged for my motorbike driver to pick me up the next morning and drive me to the Pham's house. I also brought "lucky money" in a red envelop for "Dragon Boy" - Linh's young brother <-- another tradition my cultural advisors explained to me. I arrived at the Pham's house precisely at the requested time - 10AM. Before eating breakfast, Linh's dad asked me to "go upstairs" with the family - I dutifully followed them not having any idea what was happening. We went into Linh's dad's/mother's bedroom where a tasteful "shrine" to Linh's dad's deceased dad, grandfather and great grandfather (with framed pics of each) was on a dresser. In front of the pics were a considerable number of plates of food - what ended up being "our" delicious 5-course breakfast. We each lit incense sticks and placed them in a jar in front of the pictures. The traditional Tet breakfast is always first offered to the fraternal ancestors - before it is consumed by the living. <-- this is all something Linh explained to me afterwards. After a delicious breakfast at Linh's house, I was unexpectedly invited to join them while they visited there relatives in Saigon - another Tet tradition. I was surprised and honored to be invited to such a personal activity. The first and eldest family member is always visited first - in this case it was Linh's maternal grandmother whose house was already packed with other family members already when we arrived. This is a pic of me with some of them (grandmother is only woman seated - in left of pic). The dogs were great - "Phu Quoc" pure breds with hair on their backs like Rhodesian Ridgebacks!

We left the grandmother's house (12 in total) and went to her favorite Buddhist pagoda to give thanks and request a happy/prosperous new year - a traditional new year's day custom. This is a pic of me and some of the family members at the pagoda. Vinh, Linh's father, did not enter the pagoda grounds - being from Hanoi where he was born and raised, he is not a religious man at all. Conversely, Linh's mother's family are from central and south Vietnam and practice Buddhism.

We visited 2 more sets of family members (with mountains of food at each stop) and then Vinh drove me back to my hotel. What I thought was going to be a 1-2 hour breakfast ended up being an all day set familiar events of which I was a very honored guest. Truly a wonderful family and memorable day.

After a long Tet new year's day, Linh's father invited me to go to Vung Tau with him and his son aka "Dragon Boy". It appeared that this was something he and his son enjoyed doing "away and freedom from the women". Again, I was honored - even if for only 2 days and 1 nite at considerable expense (we hired a car and driver to take us).
Btw - Vung Tau is the real "China Beach" located about 75 miles from Saigon on the South China Sea. Sounds like a short distance but it was almost a 3-hour trip in a car! The last time I was in Vung Tau was 1967 on a 2-day-in-country R&R during the war. It is very different today from what I remember.



I had befriended "Dragon Boy" during the past few months. What was different in Vung Tau was that he and I spent considerable time together with and without his father present. Dragon Boy's English is almost as limited as my Vietnamese - forcing us each to communicate in the other's native language. As a result, we both increased our vocabularies in the other's language. He is a great as well as very patient and demanding teacher.

Chuc Mung nam moi - Happy New Year - the year of the ox!

You Can’t Keep a Boy from his dog Yak

Tibetans do love their yaks! Tibetans weave their fur for tents, garments and bedding, and make heavy winter coats from their hides. Yak skulls are placed above the entrances of many homes and businesses. They also consume yak in a variety of ways - I tried most of their edible versions: yak butter tea, yak soup, yak noodles, dried yak (like jerky), and kinda a fermented yak meat. I didn't like any of it except the dried yak.
A trip to Tibet would not be complete without yak pics. This is much easier said than done. I discovered that yaks are very skittish and temperamental - making it difficult to approach them up close and photograph. Also making this difficult is that they have a tendency to charge, turn, and kick people they don't know.

This is the best of many failed attempts to get a pic of me with yaks. Unfortunately it's the rear end of a yak. Most are almost black - but some are white and others a combination of white/black - like the one in this pic.



After many, many attempts, this is the best head-on yak pic I got.

Lhasa, Tibet - Jokhang Temple & Sera Monastery

More from Dave’s foray to Tibet



Jokhang Temple is both the spiritual heart of the Holy City and is located in the main Tibetan commercial district. Originally constructed in the 7th century AD by a Tibetan king in honor of a Nepalese Princess he had married, it faces Nepal and is said to have been constructed to cover a large lake. The area around this temple has an incredible medieval carnival feeling to it. This is a pic of me in front of the temple with some pilgrims. On any given day and night, there are 100s of pilgrims circling (always clockwise) the temple and prostrating themselves - while being constantly scrutinized my heavily armed Chinese soldiers who are everywhere - including rooftops!



Me near main entrance to Jokhang Temple - Tibetan Buddhists believe it to be the most holy site in Tibet.




Me on top of 3rd roof of Jokhang Temple with Potala in background.




The Sera Monastery, built in 1419 (soon after construction was completed on the Drepung Monastery), has an assembly hall, 3 colleges (most monasteries house at least 1 college), and about 33 "houses" for monks.




286 - Lhasa Sera Monastery




287 - Monastery in background, Lhasa street in Foregroung

Lhasa, Tibet – Holy Potala White Palace and Drepung Monastery

Lhasa, Tibet was originally established in the 7th century AD when local ruler Songsten Gampo (c. 618-49) unified the tribes of Tibet. He designated Lhasa as his capital and built his palace where the current Potala is located. Lhasa remained the capital and Buddhist religious center for 250 years. When the king was defeated by rival tribes who established capitals elsewhere in Tibet.. From c. 868 AD to the early 17th century, Lhasa remained in the backwaters of Tibetan history. In the 17th century, the 5th Dalai Lama reinstated Lhasa as the Tibetan capital and Buddhist religious center. The current day Potala was built as the 5th Dalai Lama's palace (mid 17th century). Most of the current day sights date from this period - the early 17th century.
Since the 1950s, when the Chinese took control of Tibet, Lhasa's population has remained about 240,000 with Chinese outnumberring Tibetans about 2 to 1.
I was incredibly lucky that my guide was a 26 year old Tibetan - not Chinese as I was told and expected. He also spoke pretty good English. Our driver was also Tibetan but spoke no English. My guide did have to accompany me whenever I left my hotel. He warned me that there are many Chinese "intelligence spies" dressed in traditional Tibetan clothes spying on Tibetans and to be careful what I said when others were around.
Most of Lhasa's Chinese inhabitants are soldiers. Heavily armed soldiers in groups of 6 to 10 were everywhere 24/7 - including rooftops. Cameras were also everywhere. I and my guide were stopped 5 times by soldiers who would always first ask for my passport and visa (a separate document not contained in my passport). After questioning me, the soldiers would always drag my Tibetan guide to the side and, while pushing and prouding him with batons, ask him questions. My guide explained that he is normally roughed up when he is with Americans (never when he was with other Westerners such as Europeans or Aussies. The guide said he believed the soldiers' actions that I experienced are an attempt by the Chinese to intimidate both Americans/Tibetans and to demonstrate to all (those involved as well as those observing) who is in "control".
Today the city is clearly divided into 2 sections - western or old section inhabited by Tibetans, and eastern or new section inhabited primarily by Chinese. I stayed in and most of my sightseeing was done in the old section.
During the cultural revolution, the Chinese "removed" (aka destroyed) many of the historical structures in Lhasa. At the same time, the Chinese also killed and imprisoned most of the Tibetan monks - many of whom are still jailed. This is why most of the temples and monasteries have no monks. Those that are around are known as "lesser" (low ranking) monks.

Atop 130m-high Marpo Ri or "Red Hill" was the site of the 7th c. Palace built by the first Tibetan king. In 1645 it was replaced by the 5th Dalai Lama's 9-story "White Palace". (Karpo Potrang) Soon afterwards (no one is sure exactly when), the much larger "Red Palace" (Marpo Potrang) was added. - where the 5th and other Dalai Lamas are laid to rest. The Red and White Palaces combined are known as the Potala which roughly means "paradise" in the Tibetan language. It is considered one of the major wonders of Eastern architecture.
The Potala was the soul of Tibetan Buddhism and seat of Tibetan government and is comprise of many chapels, schools, cells, residences, kitchens, galleries, assembly halls, and tombs for the Dalai Lamas,. It was virtually a self-contained world - as it was originally intended to be. It is huge and has a commanding view of all Lhasa.
Now the Potala, once the symbol of Tibetan Buddhism and seat of government, is virtually lifeless and dormant ike a museum as it has been since the Chinese entered Tibet.
Unfortunately, interior pics are forbidden so all I can offer are exterior shots - and they don't come close to capturing the "wonderment" of this incredible, imposing structure and its spiritual significance.

Me at the foot of the Potala before making my ascent - no elevators/escalators - must climb stairs from base of mountain to rooftops of the palaces. The red and white palaces total 15+ stories and it sits on a 130m high hilltop = 100s and probably 1000+ all stone, uneven, worn stairs. AND this was my first stop in Lhasa which means I was far from adjusting to the 3600+m altitude. I suffered symptoms of AMS (acute mountain sickness) my entire time in Lhasa. My blood sugars were problematic for days!

I secretly took this pic of an exterior main entrance to the white palace part of the Potala.



Drepung Monastery, built in 1416, is one of the largest and oldest in Tibet. Over 10,000 monks resided here before the "Chinese Liberation" in the 1950,s. Sadly, with the exception of pilgrims and a few lesser monks, it is all but empty.

My Hood in Thamel District, Kathmandu, Nepal

My hotel was located in the Thamel District of Kathmandu, Nepal. This is noted as the major shopping in the city. It is a maze of very narrow streets (8' is the norm and there are no "sidewalks”) used by rickshaws, cars, trucks, motorbikes, and pedestrians. All the "streets" in this area are lined with small shops, restaurants, and bars (most with live music - many of it American 80s stuff that wasn't bad). Most shops, bars and restaurants share generators - so activities go on until late night/early morning even with no power..Thamel has a weird medieval feel to it and is crammed with people - tourists and Nepalese. It has a very friendly/ party atmosphere, and is safe for tourist.

Thamel has many century+ structures still being used - primarily as homes like the one in the background of this pic. Pedaled rickshaws (like those in the foreground of this picture) are the primary mode of transportation which I used extensively all over Kathmandu.

For me - bacon is the perfect food - my favorite as many of you know. In Nepal most pork products come from wild boar sold at street stands like the one in this pic. All meats sold are butchered and blessed in accordance with both Buddhist and Hindu religions - the colored powder on the boar's nose indicates that it was appropriately blessed. Btw - the bacon is far too lean!

The Hindu/Buddhist Shrines/Stupas of Kathmandu, Nepal

The reclining or sleeping Vishnu is carved from a massive black stone dragged from far beyond the Kathmandu Valley area. It is one of the most revered Hindu shrines in Nepal. No one is sure when it was constructed but all estimates are at least 500+ years. Non-belivers are not allowed to enter area - but can take good pics over a brick fence surrounding the area.

Patan Durbar Square is a famous square located in the oldest section of Kathmandu. It is known as the cradle of traditional arts and architecture in Kathmandu Valley. Most of the well preserved structures here, including a palace, were built in the early 17th century. Taking tea overlooking the square with 3 female German architect students discussing the incredible structures was memorable.

Bouddhanath Buddhist Stupa is probably the single most photographed structure in Kathmandu. It is the largest Buddhist stupa in Nepal and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. No one is sure when it was constructed - estimates range from the 9th to 15th century. Those are prayer flags strung from the top of the stupa. It survived a major 6+ earthquake in 1934. It is huge and impressive!

Me spinning a few of the hundreds of large (bigger than me) and small (like those pictured) prayer mills, always spun clockwise, at Bouddhanath stupa.

The Pashupatinath Shiva Shrine temple complex, this structure built in 1696 (original, 100's of years older, was destroyed by termites), is one of the holiest of Hindu shrines. Hindus from all around the world make pilgrimages to this shrine. There is a 1-month festival held in Feb/Mar when food and ghanja are offered at no cost to tens of thousands pilgrims that attend it. At the base of the stairs seen in the picture is a river (which is more like a large/very polluted creek and not shown in this pic) that is considered sacred because it connects with the Ghanges river in India. For this reason, many Hindus are cremated here 24/7 and their ashes thrown into the river. Before cremation, their souls are cleansed of bad karma by laying on a slab beside the river - not shown in this pic. Non-believers are not allowed to enter - so only photos from the exterior are possible.

There are numerous barely clothed Holy Men outside this Shiva shrine who will say prayers for you and allow you to photograph them - for a "donation". Holy Men belong to various sects - each normally focused on a single Hindu god which number in the hundreds or thousands. Each sect decorates their bodies in different ways - they all look rather bizarre and are little scary (to me anyway). The Holy Men are celibate and dedicate their lives to prayer and enlightenment.

There are 6 cremation platforms at the Pashupatinath Shiva temple complex. Cremations are performed 24/7 by "professionals" who are paid 4,000 Rupees (about $53 - a considerable sum for Nepalese) for each cremation. These are pics of 2. After cremation ashes are pushed from the platforms into the shallow river.

The Himalayas and Mount Everest

Because the Himilaya mountain pictures were so bad from ground level the day before, my 3rd full day in Kathmandu began with a 1-hour sunrise flight up close to the incredibly beautiful Himalaya mountains. Because of Chinese flight path restrictions, all these pictures are taken from the Nepalese side of the mountain range. I flew on Yeti Airlines in a small STAL (short take off and landing) aircraft.

To get the best views, altitude was maintained at 25,000 ft and air speed was kept at a minimum (just enough to keep us in the air. Each of the 8 passengers aboard had window seats and were allowed several times to go in the cockpit to take picture.

Because we were flying so close to the mountains, the air instrumentations' auto-audio-warning system kept blaring "PULL UP - DANGER"! Fortunately we were warned about this in advance - but in very broken English. I was in the cockpit the first time it barked out the warning - caused considerable brow sweat and jitters!
The ole Blackberry camera did surprisingly well. But it is really difficult for me to tell how clear, good/bad the pics are viewing them on my Blackberry. Let me know what you think of these in general and which Mt Everest picture you think is best.

It was truly a breathtaking, spectacular, even spiritual experience <-- adjectives I seldom use individually let alone collectively. The pictures speak for themselves.

Flying over the Himilayan peaks. I have a map identifying the various peaks - but found it impossible to match pics with the map!?





More beautiful mountain peaks!





Everest - one of my life-long dreams was to see this magnificent mountain. It’s difficult to believe that I can now say "Been there, done that". Mt. Everest is the tallest peak in the image. Although taken from different perspectives, Chinese flight restrictions prevents getting a "top to bottom" perspective of the mountain.





More of Mt Everest's incredible beauty and breathtaking charm!





More of the same - but the subtle differences in each image's detail are awesome - to me anyway!

The Transit Report

Plane just touched down. So - have safely arrived in Saigon!

Monkey Temple & Public Cremations - Kathmandu, Nepal

On my first full day in Kathmandu I decided to trek to the Swayambhunath Stupa - better known as the "Monkey Temple". It is located on a mountain top which is the highest point in Kathmandu. I say "trek" because what I thought would take a couple of hours took 4+ hours to complete - going was all uphill for I would guess 3 to 4 miles. The stupa area was established about 2,500 years ago and is comprised of many different shrines and small temples.

The last part of the trek to the stupa is 365 stone steps - many pilgrims will crawl up these steps. And believe me, they would never pass an OSHA inspection - risers range from less than 1" to 13+", and treads from just a few inches to a few feet. It was a brutal climb - especially at the climax of a few miles of uphill walking!

This pic is proof that I DID make it to the top to see the impressive stupa. Note my new North Face down jacket and long pants. Although you can't see them - I am wearing my new Crocks WITH socks <- first time in 6+ months that I've worn socks!

This is as good a pic as I could get of the all seeing eyes of supreme Buddhahood gazing from beneath the Monkey Temple's stupa's gilded pinnacle with its 13 rings and crowning parasol. The nose (appearing like an incomplete question mark) of the all seeing eyes is unique to Nepal - is the Nepalese number "1", ek, which is a symbol of unity.

Yes there are monkeys at the Monkey Temple - hundreds of them. They are not very friendly and people seem to tolerate rather than welcome them. They are notorious for snatching whatever they can from people.

A typical major street in Kathmandu.



Trekking to the Monkey Temple I stumbled upon an infant being cremated at a public crematoriun. Both Hindus and Buddhists cremate their dead. In Kathmandu, like many Buddhist/Hindu cities, there are public sites available where the poor can cremate their deceased loved ones at no cost.

Nepal’s Himalayan Mountain at Sunrise

My 2nd full day in Kathmandu began with a 5AM driver pickup for a 1.5 hour drive to the foothills to see the Himilayan mountains at sunrise. The trip was disappointing due to poor visibility, but worth reporting.

Because it was disappointing, tomorrow I am going to pay a outrageous fee for a Mount Everest fly over!

These are the famed Himilayan foothills' terraced gardens.




Sunrise with Himilayan range in background. Buddhist and Hindu prayer flags are in foreground because this was taken from a foothill monastery.




It was a beautiful sunrise and the snow-capped Himilayan mountain tops glowed. But the ole BB wasn't able to capture the moment. This is me (freezing my tail off) at sunrise with mountains in background.




I tried to zoom in with by Blackberry’s camera, but getting a clear shot was still not possible.

Given my disappointment with mountain pictures, I am off on an expensive Mt Everest "sunrise fly around" tomorrow at 6AM - so standby for better pictures of "the big one"!

Back in Bangkok

I am now back in Bangkok, Thailand and leave here tomorrow to return to Saigon, Vietnam for Tet.

As you all may or may not know, from January. 7th through 21st I had no data services while I was in both Kathmandu, Nepal and Lhasa, Tibet,Kathmandu and all of Nepal were incredibly exotic. Kathmandu's elevation is about 1300 meters and does take some time to adjust to - especially since I had been at or below (diving) sea level for months.

There are 2 major problems in Nepal:
1) there are no data services which means I could not send/receive emails, and;
2) since the Maoist won elections, all of Nepal is having major power problems - currently they have electricity only 6 hours per day (at irregular times)!

The power problem means no heat at hotels when power is down! While there, I did much showering, packing/unpacking, insulin injections, and reading by candlelight.Lhasa, Tibet was a Nepalese side trip I felt was a must and worth the incredible costs and hassles getting a "visitor's permit" and visa - 2 separate documents required.

What makes it even more of a hassle as well as expensive is the fact that I had to have an "escort" 24/7. The fact that I am an American (who seldom venture into Tibet) further complicated matters. At best, from Kathmandu, the Chinese restrict Americans to a maximum 4-day, 3-night visa - hence my short stay there. Lhasa's elevation is 3,600+ meters and, during my entire stay there, I experienced symptoms (nausea, light-headed) of what is called acute mountain sickness or AMS - which all "tourists" experience to some degree because of sudden and considerable changes in altitude (kinda the opposite of "the bends"). Fortunately, within hours after returning to Kathmandu I was fine!

Because of no data services for 2+ weeks while I was in Kathmandu, Nepal, and Lhasa, Tibet I will be sending many "catch-up emails" with pics the next few days while I am here in Bangkok and Saigon - where I can link with data services. I will try to spread sending these emails (total about 21, ea with 2 pics) as much as I can - but they could choke your mail boxes. So please check your emails often during the next few days. I will be sending emails in the sequence that events occurred. There are really some amazing pics - including Nepal's stupas with their world famous all-seeing Buddhahood eyes, Hindu Holy Men and cremations, what I think are awesome pics of Mt. Everest and the Himilayas, Tibet's famous Potala (for centuries home to the Dalai Lamas), Buddhist temples and monasteries! Like so much of my journey, National Geographic Magazine has very much "come alive" for me these past few weeks

So - I hope you receive and enjoy all of my thoughts, experiences, and pics!I apologize for any problems this email surge may cause.For those who do not receive my travel emails, please check the blogspot (http://veteran-sojourner.blogspot.com/) for updates. But be patient because my good friend that maintains the blog will have a surge of updates and it will take considerable effort and time for him to post them to the blog.The next emails/pics you receive will be about Kathmandu, Nepal. These will be followed by a much smaller set of Lhasa, Tibet emails/pics. Again, I hope that you enjoy.

A Dispatch from Bhaktapur, Nepal

Bhaktapur (located on the rim of the Kathmandu valley about 35k from Kathmandu city) has a very magical, medieval feeling to it and entering the area is like walking back in time.

left: The 16th century, 55-room palace is unchanged and has only needed minor renovations since originally built.

right: Located near the palace, are the king's royal baths - which is huge!




left: Nepali potters have been making and firing clay pottery in the same location since the 1100s!

right: This is the famous Dunbar Square in Bhaktapur. Again, incredible medieval feeling. Note the ever-present crystal blue sky of Nepali winter!



left: This 14th century Chyasilin Mandap reminded me a lot of the Angkor Wat temples which were also originally built by Hindus..

right: Me in front of the most famous structure in the city - the 13th century Nyatapola Temple. Many Hindus make pilgrimages to this temple where many animals are sacrificed throughout the year.