Saigon Update and Onward

Good morning (evening to some) all -

For several days I have enjoyed relaxing and helping Linh with her intership paper. As of this afternoon, the paper is now complete and she will meet her deadline by turning it in tomorrow! Linh's written English is very good and required little effort on my part to edit it. She should have her grade by Thursday after meeting with her professor(s)! I am keeping my fingers crossed for her!

To celebrate the paper completion, I also had the pleasure of taking Linh and her father (a newspaper editor) out to dinner this evening (see pic #78) - to a restaurant specializing in north Vietnames cuisine - the food was excellent. Our conversation flowed addressing many topics like freedom of speech and press, opportinities that democracy does and Communism does not offer, money (which the Vietnames openly discuss re income/expenses), ages, interspersed with a lot of good natured humor. He invited me to go on a motorbike tour roundtrip Saigon/Hanoi! I may take him up on his offer! The meal was too short because Linh's father was on his dinner break (he works 3PM to 3AM!). It was truly a great experience spending a few hours with Linh and he father - one I will always remember.

I am off to Cambodia tomorrow..I will be flying from Saigon to Siem Reap tomorrow, Sep 29, at 12:40PM on Vietnam Airlines flight VN827. It is just over an hour flight. I intend to stay in Siem Reap for 5 days - returning to Saigon on Friday.

By the way, several have asked about Vietname work weeks and do they take vacations. Like us, those who can afford to do take vacations. But unlike us, no religion is recognized by the government (which I believe is true in all Communist countries), therefore banks, post offices, government offices, and all stores are open 7 days a week - only exception being "national" holidays of which there are few.

Also found out this evening that Vietnamese consider it very bad luck for an odd number of people to be in a photo - that's why Linh is not in the pic with me and her father!
That's about it from here - look for Angkor Wat and Tom updates sometime tomorrow - assuming I do not have any data connection problems in Cambodia! Wish me luck!

Ciao'
David

Update from Saigon

Hey everyone -

As most of you wake-up, I am enjoying an evening (same day as you but + 11 hrs) meal at a street restaurant with a pleasent evening breeze blowing.

They set-up these restaurants in about a half hour - one minute the street is crammed with traffic and the next restaurants appear complete with kitchens, tables/tablecloths, chairs, fans, menus, and wait staffs! I eat at these retaurants almost every evening - meet lots of interesting people. See photo...

At the moment I am sitting in one of these restaurents consuming the following (total cost of about $4):

1 ea Sinh To Dua (cocanut milkshake)
1 ea. Sinh To Thom (pineapple milkshake)
1 ea Sinh To Du Du (papaya milkshake)
1 ea Cha Gio Hai Lua - 3 fried pork/shrimp spring rolls with dipping sauce
2 ea Thit Nuong - "grilled meat" I had 2 meals - 1 ea pork and beef ea with sticky rice, greens & delicious dipping sauce.

Pop Quiz; Sinh To = ? In English - one of the first Vietnamese terms I learned and used often this evening!

By the way – for your information - some readers of my emails DO speak Vietnamese.

I am attempting to finalize plans for Angkor Wat and Angkor Tom (bigger than Wat) in Siem Reap, Cambodia. It appears that the best way to handle visa probs is to fly roundtrip Saigon to Siem Reap! The problem is that to get a Cambodian visa you MUST have airline tickets to both enter as well as exit Cambodia! This ia a problem when I don't know exactly where I want to go next combined with the fact that there are few flight options! So, I am thinking about staying in Siem Reap for 5 days beginning Sunday or Monday. My intentions are to nail down dates tomorrow and go from there.

As a result of my vagabond focus groups, I have scratched Sihinoukville, Cambodia off my itinerary. All whom I've spoken to who have been there say it just wasn't worthwhile, e.g., very small real beach area, "costly" for what you get, little to do except drink and have sex <- evidently like most area in Indochina there is plenty of "inexpensive" sex available. Upon returning to Saigon - I'm not sure what my next stop/step might be... Perhaps Phu Quoc!? Phuket? Not sure - but am in no hurry to make any decisions either! So - let the clock tick away.

Back to HCMC and Diving

I could have spent more time in Nha Trang - but decided to go back to Ho Chi Minh City. I will be catching a 9:45AM Vietnam Airlines flight tomorrow, Sep 24th - from. Nha Trang to Ho Chi Minh City, It is only a 1 hour flight.

Only disappointing fact about this leg of my trip is having not done any diving.. I could have done some in both Hoi An and here in Nha Trang, but the visibility was restricted to 10-20M or about 33-66 ft - and that's what the dive shops were saying. I spoke to some folks returning from a 2-tank dive and they said visibility was just 20 feet. Anyway, given poor visibility and liklihood of few critters (the dive waters are heavily fished) I opted out of diving.

Back in HCMC, I'll help Linh with a paper, and try to get Cambodian visas!
I need to go pack and find a desktop to attempt to straighten out some financial messes.

More later!

FAQs - Communism, Crocks, and Massages

Have yoy had any honest, open discussions with any Vietnamese that speak good English about their gov't?

Yes with a couple of people. Most interesting was a 2+ hour conversation I had last night with a 20-something VN guy who had a dual VN/USA citizenship. He and family are from. Saigon area, southerners. They and evidently most south VN do no and never have (even b4 the war) like north VN. The gov't is made up of about 65% north and 35% south VN. ALL south VN in the gov't are VC war "heros" and for the most part not like by the general south VN people. Gov't is far less intrusive now then it was just a couple of years ago.. Capitalism (free and open) is now the unstopable driving force in the south. Many have also said that the south VN are tremendously more honest and cordial than the northern VN. The only rule that is STRICKLY enforced (as in u can diappear) is speaking out against the gov't.

Crocks!? There have been many questions and nasty comments about my crocks.

Bottom line is Yeap - that's what I've been wearing since my arrival in Indochina - and will probably be wearing whenever I'm in the tropics. The are more protective than most sandles and much easier to keep clean/dry than tennis shoes. And yes, they do sell them here - but I've only seen them for sale in HCMC. And yes I have seen others wearing them - mostly Eastern Europeans - I've seen no Vietnamese wearing them.

How are/can/do you cope with temperature/humidity!?

Pretty hot and high humidity daily. So far, HCMC worse. Everywhere I've been both temps and humidity have been well into 90's daily. Yes - I sweat profusely - but when there is a slight breeze and I'm chilling somewhere like a cafe or beach - I now cool down quickly.. So I guess I'm getting used to it.

Any health problems?

Uncle Ho's Revenge caught up to me a few days ago - throughout a night! Although I was a bit nausious the next day - all appears ok now. And I haven't changed my easting/drinking habits - still eating street food and using a lot of ice <- hydration is important so I am constantly drinking something, consuming massive amounts of watermellon (thankfully sold on streets all over for about 10 cents), and ice cream, and fresh coconuts' milk "in shell"! Still able to keep my insulin cold - but can be a major problem doing so. No diabetic-related probs. Finally, yes I believe am loosing weight - no scales but shorts' waste seem much "roomer"!

What do you do about laundry?

I have been living with 3 t-shirts, 2 pairs of shorts, and swim trunks since I hit the country. I do laundry nightly when I take a shower, hang it in AC, and it's dry by the time I get up. Laundry is really cheap though - a little more than $1 per kilo - washed, dried, folded and packaged!

What about bugs - mosquitos!?

Surprisingly I haven't had a prob anyplace I've been so far. I haven't used any form of deet since I've been here and think I've only been bitten a couple of times.

Massages?

Let me just say that they are everything you ever heard or read about - hours long, beautiful ladies, and inexpensive.. I am addicted.

By the way, I went to the top of the mountain along beach today to get pagoda and beach pics - but it rained all AM so the Blackberry stayed in a ziplock bag! Really miserable - but the sun came out just as I gotten back to the hotel - which is where and when I got the best photo of the Louisiane Brewhouse Beach Club - see photo on left! Note that it and beach are still pretty much empty - but I spent an enjoyable day there chatting with 3, 20-something Aussie girls <- sorry left the BB charging in room! Nice day though and yes another lobster consumed on the beach!

Nha Trang

Where are all the people!? This is the question I and a few Aussies kept asking ourselves and one another! This was the beach just before noon today!? Kevin - note total absence of waves.

The Louisiane Club is THE place to hang out! But again, as the pic shows - no people and this was taken about 1PM!? The Louisiane club is located directly on the beach - for just $2 you get a lounge chair w/cushion and use of their fresh water pool, showers, and WC! In exchange, they hope and you purchase their drinks, ice cream, and food. Steady tradewinds make it a nice beach - water temp had to be at least high 70's! I chilled there for the entire day!!


Note that I AM smiling in these pictures - in spite of the fact the locale is sans any Baywatch attributes!

Without question - the best lobster I've ever had - charcoal-grilled with a kinda sweet pineapple/banana chutney, served with an incredibly simple and delicious dipping sauce made of lime juice, ground black pepper and lemongrass. All made, eloquently served, and consumed right there on the beach. They spread out and you eat on the blue tarp in the backgrount. Really a fabulous mixture of tastes! I believe I'll have another tomorrow!


Always present - I suppose to remind me what "is". This is some sort of memorial on prime beach front property!

I've Made it to Nha Trang ...

... And in one piece! Only had about an hour to explore the beach and had to get back to my hotel room for insulin shot.
Looks as if this will be a good place to chill for a while - but it is NEITHER a Baywatch (David) nor South Beach (Kent) sorta beach scene. AND it appears that other than young school kids - no Vietnamese appear to "do" the beach.

I wasn't going to attach a pic to this email because as you'll see it's a cloudy day ... But I have already received emails requesting pics ... So ...

this is the view from my hotel room which was recommended by Lonely Planet (LP)<- my travel bible. Unfortunately, as has been true in almost every case so far, LP's costs are consistently about 25-30% off - meaning I have paid that much more than what Lonely Planet states it will cost!

White Marble Mountain

Well - I did kind of make it to this tourist draw - well at leat drove by it on the way to the airport this AM - so I asked the driver to stop so I could take a picture! It is huge - which isn't obvious by the picture - and it's evidently one piece of white marble - pagoda is huge too!

Dragons!

As you know - I have always been fascinated by dragons. Dragons are revered in Buddism and therefore by most Vietnames as well as the large Chinese-descent population in VN bc the dragon represents strength and good fortune.
I don't know if it was my good fortune or a curse that I visited Hoi An where the Vietnamese infatuation with dragons and incredible wood carvers merged!? The result - one particular shop in Hoi An noted for its intricate dragon carvings - almost all in mahogony. And every sculpture they do is made of one piece of wood - even the larger pieces! Bottom line = I was hooked even though I swore I would make no large purchases. Anyway, I broke that vow and my purchases are now being shipped <- which would not have been possible without the assistance of my terrific friend Jeff!

What follows is an introduction to the 12 dragons I now own:



This where some of the carvers work in "downtown" Hoi An - most work in a small village about 12 kilometers away.




The simplest of dragon carvings. - all are mahogony.




Two dragons meet at ying/yang.




A much more detailed and larger dragon - note details of scales.




Larger than 63 and even more detail like the large encircled tail.




Intricately carved dragon on plate - again, carved from a single piece of mahogony. Stand is a separately carved piece.




Dragon, crane, unicorn (aka to Westerners as a Foo Dog), and turtle (at base of carving) represent prosperity, health, good fortune, and happiness - particularly when combined together. Scale - this sculpture is about 19" high - carved from single piece of mahogony. Details are incredible.




The piece-de-resistance (sp?) - 7 dragons encircling ying/yang symbol - about 4' tall - carved from a single piece of mahogony with even more detail than the aforementioned. This was the first piece that caught my eye and the ONLY and most expensive one I was going to buy. But, after nunerous trips to the shop and much haggling - I ended up with much more.

Why such a large investment/ purchase. Few things in this world impress me enough to consider them "treasures". The quality of these pieces far exceeded my criteria for a "treasure".

Where can I put these things? Only place I currently have is the cabin.

I hope that someday you all get a chance to see these!

By the way... I have seen pet dogs in the countryside and here in Hoi An! Not "many" but quite a few! Of course, in most cases I still don't know what's on the street vendor's barbeques

The Vietnam Sojourn Continues

I made kinda a last minute decision this evening - tomorrow, Sep 19th at 9:14AM, I am flying on Vietnamese Airlines from Da Nang to Nha Trang <- no probs buying last minute plane tickets here!

Nha Trang pop = 373,000 (1/10 size of HCMC but 4 x larger than Hoi An), located on China Sea in central southern Vietnam. It was here that the Miss Universe Pageant was televised live last month - which some of you may have seen - at least parts of it?!

I was going to do Hue and White Marble Mountain - but several French, Germans, and 2 Russian ladies I had lunch with today said neither were worth the long, bumpy, dusty ride. So I opted out of doing these "excursions."

Anyway, I got the urge for a beach and all the guide books, tourists I've spoken to, and Vietnamese tout Nha Trang as being the best beach in Vietnam! We'll see - I mean I'll see and let you know what I find/experience!

I hope all of you are well! Take care!

My Son

My Son (pronounced more like "sone") is known as the Angkor Wat of Vietnam. It is a complex of Hindu temple towers honoring many different Hindi deities, priests, plants and animals. It was built by the Champa people continuously from the 4th or 5th through the 13th centuries - when the Champa people were "dislocated" by Buddists. All the temple towers are built from brick - but no motar was used! Evidently this is a building technique uniqueto the Champa. Like Hoi An, My Son was declared a World Cultural Heritage Site in 1999.

It was a painfully bumpy 1+ hour motorbike ride from the point where this pic was taken to My Son which is located in the background mountains. Those are rice paddies in the foreground - it's rice harvest season.




This is a pic of the girlfriend I made on the way to My Son. Note that I'm standing in ankle deep muck in a rice paddy. Ver friendly and nice female water buffalo that liked having its muddy ears itched - I obliged her.




This is the classic pic one most often sees in My Son brochures. Once you arrive in the temple area - you must walk just about 1 mile to the actual temple area - which was surprisingle small - perhaps 2 or 3 acres. Note that I arrived at the site at 7;30AM - luckily well ahead of the busloads of tourist who quickly crowd the entire temple area !


This is the tallest complex temple. Very strange-looking while at the same time amazing brick work. Btw - the entire site itself and the topography surrounding it was awe inspiring - truely a spiritual locale - no wonder the Champa selected it as a builing site and still.consider it the holiest place in Vietnan.


This is by far the largest structure in the complex and it's assumed it was the first built here. Too bad most of the sculptures we destryed bc there must have many of them judging by the many empty pedastals.







This is the central area of the temple tower complex. Only location in complex where you are surrounded by temple towers.



Albeit a lesser temple tower - it was still very impressive!

This appeared to be the most restored tower temple. It was interesting to note that the restorers DID use mortar in the restoration!


Bottom line = although the complex has major sections yet to be restored and opened to the public - Machu Pichu and Angkor Wat had better watch their backs - even if the temp and humidy both hit 100 at My Son! It is indeed a spiritual place.