Gili/Lombok/Bali Islands Itinerary

It has been an incredible hassle trying to execute the next leg of my journey. It is far more complicated than anyone would believe - biggest problem being to get into these countries (visas) when you arrive, you must have an airline ticket in your possession to leave the country! Difficult to nail down dates and next country I want to visit while at the same time avoiding outrageous airfares charged in VN for international flights!?

Adding to the problems and confusion are 2 other factors: 1) the Indonesian "high season" begins Oct 1st combined with the fact; 2) the 2008 Asian Ocean Games will be happening while I am there. Combined, these 2 factors has resulted in over booked and clogged airlines and hotels!!
Good news is that evidently I am going at a good time of year - high season. Bad news is the consequential clutter that must be dealt with combined with visa hassles!

Anyway, after 4 major hassling days, I have finally gotten everything locked-in as follows:

1 - I purchased a round trip ticket HCM city to Jakarta to Lombok and return. Least expensive (but still costly) option to overcome visa problems.

2 - Oct 14 - I will depart HCM City to Jakarta where I must spend the night bc I will not be able to make the connection from Jakarta to Lombok.

3 - Oct 15 - fly from Jakarta to Lombok Island. Check an atlas to get a perspective of the distances involved and vast geographical dispersion of the Indonesian islands! I will probably be staying/spending time on the Gili, Lombok and Bali Islands all of which are close to one another and linked by "unscheduled" ferries.

4 - Nov 13 - my Indonesian visa will expire on Nov 14 so I will be leaving Lombok on Nov 13 returning to HCM city - the reverse of the itinerary of 2 and 3 above with 1 major difference - I WILL be able to make the Jakarta connection so only 1 full day of travel will be required.

It is indeed strange that Vietnam has the least restrictive visa requirements, i.e., I do NOT have to have a valid airline ticket exiting the country when I arrive!?!?I will be spending some more time in HCM City when I return - minimally enough time to plan my next itinerary which will probably be HCM City to Bangkok to Phuket to Bangkok to Katmandu (high season there!) In Nepal. Of course this leg will require considerable juggling as well bc of the valid airline ticket exiting the country requirements <-- problem because although I will probably be going to India from Nepal - I cannot get into India without a valid airline ticket exiting country!?!? This has become a persistent "rock and a hard spot" problem! Any suggestions!? Ugh! Wish I could do something like the ole Euro Rail Pass deal!That's all from here for now. Hope all is well with you!

David

PS - all flights will be on Garuda Indonesia airlines (GA) - anyone out there ever heard of them or of their flight safety record!?

I will provide specific flight info just before my departure on Oct 14.

Cambodia FAQs

As one might expect, I have received many questions about Cambodia. So - I decided once again to use the FAQ format to respond;

Cambodian Government? Technically, Cambodia is a Constitutional Monarchy with almost all of the elected officials either being part of or closely affiliated with members of the royal family. What exists today is the result of what evidently a very bloody coup that occurred in 1999. In reality, the government is evidently a very oppressive, strong-armed dictatorship. This was corroborated by what few Cambodians would speak openly about it and 2 Europeans I met who are ex pats working in Phnom Penh.

Cambodia vs Kampuchea? My official world pocket atlas says that "Cambodia" is the English word for the country and that "kampuchea" is its "official local name". With no exceptions, the Cambodians I spoke to referred to it as Cambodia - of course this may have been because I was a westerner!? However, interestingly all Vietnamese and Thai refer to it as Kampuchea. When the Khmer Rouge were in power they referred to it only as Kampuchea. Btw - the Vietnamese, Thais and Lao all consider Cambodians almost "sub humans" probably because many believe that are "black Indians" (as in India)!? And of course, for centuries, there have been many wars between Indochinese countries and Cambodia.

Mixture of Tourist? 98% of the tourists I saw were Asians - about an equal mixture of Koreans and Japanese with some obvious presence of Chinese (mainland). The remainder for the most part were Aussies and Kiwis _ only a very few Europeans. I met no Americans!?

Money = "Reils" not "reals" as previously reported!

Angkor sites and restorations? The entire, massive Angkor area is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Many parts of it have been "restored" and many more areas are constantly being restored. Each of these multi-year, multi-million-$ restoration projects are undertaken by various countries funded by both the sponsoring countries and UNESCO. As you tour the sites, guides note both the country involved and years of restoration activities of past, current and future projects.

Bacon? Yes - the perfect food was available daily on the breakfast buffet. Of course everyday it was served almost raw. But no problem - I just took it to the omelet cook who properly fried it up in his omelet skillet - giving me weird looks while doing so!?

Stupas are mausoleums where Buddhist deposit bone or cremation remains of their dead. Monks actually "live" or "reside" in many of these stupas and say/recite daily prayers for the souls of the stupa residents. Note the pagoda's 7-headed serpents' interlocking curled tail to the right whose bodies surrounds the pagoda!

Vietnam - Communism & the Intellectual

During the past 6 weeks - I have had the pleasure of befriending a half dozen Vietnamese intellectuals who are fluent in English or associated with fluent English interpreters. These include students, journalist, and 2 US college educated individuals who have duel (albeit dubious) Vietnamese/American citizenships and chose to live in Vietnam. All have asked that I share their perspectives as Vietnamese intellectuals with all of my American friends - all of whom they feel qualify as "intellectuals" - I have chosen not to inform them any differently - but don't let your egos inflate too much!? This email is my attempt to honor their request as I said I would. First some important facts:

Vietnam Facts: government = Socialist Republic - Communism (comprised of president, party chief, "prime minister, 7 regional governors, 50 provincial chiefs and numerous regional reps, 3 primary city gov'ts), population = 85 million, area = 330 sq km (about the size of Italy), 1 of only 4 communist nations in the world - others are China, Cuba, and N. Korea

Below are summaries of the 10 most salient perspectives my friends wanted conveyed:

1. The entire Vietnamese communist government infrastructure is comprised of less than 2 million individuals or about 2% of the entire population all of whom are members of and have strong ties to high ranking party officials. This includes all gov't officials and employees as well as the military and police. It is also interesting to note that almost without exception, these government officials have very little education - most having completed only the 6th grade.

2. .Most "federal monies" end up in the pockets of the 2% of the population running the government. This is why the Vietnamese people do NOT want the US government to pay any war retributions to the Vietnamese government.

3. The vast majority of the Vietnamese population are NOT official members of the Communist Party.

4. The general population has never personally met or even seen any of their "representatives" at any level!

5. Given the aforementioned, most Vietnamese govt officials truly fear the general population and for their personal futures. For these reasons, most stash vast sums of monies in overseas bank accounts in any countries that will accept them - not surprisingly China is at the top of the list with Taiwan (who. Is not Communist but has very close ties with Vietnamese govt official) running a close 2nd. Many Vietnamese govt officials own "palaces" in China.

6. The vast majority of the general Vietnamese population is well aware of all the above.

7. Vietnamese professionals such as teachers, doctors, and journalists are primarily employed by the govt and paid very low wages - averaging $200-$300 per month. It is believed this is because the govt realizes they are the intellectuals and suppressing their wages will keep them in line, e.g..., low salaries limit their ability to travel - even within Vietnam.

8. The Vietnamese intellectuals are severely oppressed by the government when it comes to expressing ANY anti-government sentiments - in any form including discussions with friends. Many "intellectuals" still disappear on a daily basis.

9. The intellectuals recognize and for the most part accept (albeit grudgingly) being government "monkeys" on the outside - but ALL know what they believe in their hearts.
10. The Vietnamese people (minimally the intellectuals) know the government is aware of and truly fears their democratic aspirations, e.g., the overseas bank accounts and investments in China. What is most disturbing is that the people (most of whom are very poor by any standards) are becoming very impatient with communism - they want equal rights and justice YESTERDAY not tomorrow. Coupled with their very long fiercely and not that distant revolutionary history, the government should fear their there own population.

It is because of the above and perhaps the proliferation of US TV on Vietnamese airwaves and their love of such programs, that all Vietnamese love and welcome all Americans! It is too bad that their are so few of us here and those of us who are here do not take the time to get to know more about the Vietnamese people.

Ho Chi Minh City - A Day With a Wonderful Family

Me, Linh, her father and brother at one of the many interior gates located inside the park. This gate leaded to a huge pagoda dedicated to Ho Chi Minh and Budda - honored with golden efigies of each inside the pagoda/temple!?


Linh's father (Phuc Vinh) and little (8 years old) brother (Hoang Long) picked me up at my hotel promptly @ 10AM. The 3 of us (on 1 motorbike) drove to the other side of HCM City where we met Linh and best friend (Nguyen Thi Van Anh) met us at a busy intersection. Turns out that Linh's mother was not joining us - she was staying at home to prepare our evening meal!
After meeting at the intersection, Hoang decided to ride with Linh and her girlfriend on their motorbike and I and Linh's father on his motorbike. We were off to destinations unknown to me!? On the way, Linh's father's motorbike had a rear flat tire. We walked his bike to one of the many flat-tire/bike repair shops found near any road throughout Vietnam. Ended up that the tire damaged was extensie enough to require both a new tube AND tire - a costly (for any Vietnamese) and unexpected $25 repair job! The bike shop owner/worker had never met an American before and wanted to buy a US $1 bill from me to mark the occassion. Unfortunately, I had no US dollar bills with me - which I felt terrible about.

I felt terrible about the unexpected tire/tube replacement expense. It no doubt was at least partially attributabe to my weighty US ass which probqbly was > or = the total combined weight of my 4 traveling companions!? Linh's father repeatedly turned down my numerous offers to pay for the repairs. At least they, Linh's father and the repair guy, did accept the bottled, cold green teas I had bought them at a nearby stand! It was a sweltering hot day.

Tired repaired - we were once again off to, for me anyway, still unknown destinations! After a litlle more than an hour, we arrived at what looked like a very new 20+ foot high replica of the great wall of China - that seemed endless as we followed it (at least 2-4 kilometers) to what appeared to be the main entrance of something like a major themed amusement park - which it was - the largest in Vietnam! Started in 1999 with building to continue through 2011, it a Vietnamese/Taiwanese themed park being built by a Taiwanese magnate - allegedly with "dirty money" which is always OK with and welcomed by the Vietnamese gov't. The interior of this huge complex is loosely modeled after the forbidden city with huge brightly colored and "gold leaf" decorated interiors/exteriors of replica forbidden city structures. There was a multitude of Taiwan-manufactured goods (from simple foods to watches to major electronics) "booths" throughout this huge complex. There were only a few rides (offered @ additional expense to a fairly stiff entrance fee - and very few "riders"). Being a Saturday, the park was fairly crowded - but many well maintained, AC buses efficiently shuttled everyone around. I appeared to be the only US tourist in the place!?

This is me, Linh's father and brother in front of what I thought looked like a replica of Vietnam's famed Marble Mountain - remember pic - located between DaNang and Hoi An!? You could walk through the mountain "caves" containing still-being-constructed stalagtites and stalagmites!

The 5 of us had lunch in one of the many cafe's located throughout the park. Fortunately, after repeated, aggressive attempts, I was allowed to pay for lunch. But not until after a heated argument (lead by Linh and her best friend w/all the men sitting silently) with the wait staff. Ends up that we were overcharged more than. 30%! Thanks to the ladies' persistence, the bill was appropriately adjusted!

Linh and her best friend departed immediately after lunch - Linh was going to return home to help her mother prepare dinner and her friend had a family commitment to attend. Btw - it turns out that Linh's friend's family just wrapped-up a deal for the sole Blackberry distributorship rights in Vietnam (they are currently not available here). She certainly knew all about mine! That's why there are no pics of her - she took all the one's contained in this email chain!

After Linh and friend departed, little brother father and I spent another couple of hours touring the parks rather extensive zoo. We then journeyed about an hour and arrived (just before dark) at what appeared to be some sort of very nice swimming/billiards/restaurant resort. The 3 of us spent 1+ hours showering and swimming in the cool, relaxing pool - discussing Vietnamese politics at length (subject of upcoming emails). We then left the pool resort and 30 mins later the 3 of us arrived at Linh's house for dinner.

Linh and her mother had gone to considerable effort to prepare this incredibly delicious, multi-course meal for us. Evidently great thought had gone into its preparation ensuring the dishes represented the cuisines of Northern, Central and Southern Vietnam. There were so many dishes - shrimp, pork, fish, a very fresh western style salad, delicious dipping sauces, rice, a soft-spun "angel hair" type of rice noodle, a crispy, fried type of bread upon which you put a mushroom/bean mixture that was out of this world! All this was followed by a fresh fruit dish of cold lychee nuts and those wonderful, intensely flavorful minature bananas (that I still remember from my early, early days in Vietnam).
Dinner conversation covered many topics - serious and humorous. Age differences came up often with me repeatedly pointing out that although I was older than Linh - I was half the age of her 53 yo father <-- this is an ongoing joke between me and Linh's father which he accepts in his good natured way. Btw - he is always pointing out to me how much "stronger" and "younger" I am than he - I'm not quite sure what that means - but I'll assume it's true! Of course - the Bruce Willis theme continued <-- many Vietnamese have said I look like him!?!

I intend to spend more time with Linh and the Phams before leaving Vietnam. I am having work-break coffee with her father @ 5PM this evening and hope to take Linh and possibly her family out to a western style dinner.

Linh has had a dramatic impact on my life - I would do anything for her but can only wish I had the chance to do so, and spend the rest of my days showing her the world and feeding her ravinous intellectual appetite. Perhaps someday I will be able to at least show her Ravens' Rock Cabin and introduce her to snow for the first time!

Yesterday was indeed a wonderful day made so and possible by the incredibly generous, gracious, intelligent, good-natured, open-hearted hospitality of a beautiful family that I cannot help but love. Yesterday's as well as my previous interactions with them certainly will be one of the fondest memories of my entire life.

First Night Back in Saigon

About 5PM this afternoon, I was sitting at the hotel's internet computers and Linh's father suddenly appeared! He was on his dinner work break and invited me to join him for coffee and then pho. Having no previous commitments and being pleasently surprised, I immediately accepted his gracious invitation!

We first went for coffees at a very Vietnamese coffee house - I have grown quite fond of Vietnamese iced coffees. For a while we talked about buying property and how difficult it was for even Vietnamese professionals to purchase properties.

Then, Mr. Pham had yet another surprise for me - his wife (Linh's mother) suddenly showed up and joined us! She is also a journalist and for some time was a photo-journalist. I had my BB with me and, of course, I showed them some of my Siem Reap pics. She had been there before, he had not. She spoke no English, but pics and jestures go a long way when people are sincere and his limited English contributed significantly! She could only stay a short period but before leaving she explained through him that she had many beautiful lady friends to whom she would like to introduce me. A bit awkward - but all was fun and interesting. She was a very gracious and beautiful lady.

Mr. Pham then took me to a pho restaurant. Great pho too. He spoke at length about "not being free" like Americans and how professionally and personally frustrating it was that neither he nor his wife could express their true thoughts and feelings in the press. He also spoke at length about the fact that he has rarely spoken to any Americans and how he wants to talk about many things. I look forward to doing just that - and must and will learn some Vietnqmese to facilitate that process!

He then drove me back to my hotel on his motorbike and confirmed our plans to spend tomorrow together at the beach with his family. Before he left, I gave him a present I had bought for Linh which he very reluctantly agreed to do.
.His and his wife's graciousness, intellect, and generousity are really overwhelming. I am really looking foward to spending my day with them tomorrow!

Back in Ho Chi Minh City

All -

I made it back to Saigon in one piece! I have just checked into my ole stand-by hotel and am waiting for AC to kick in! I missed seeing Thom this AM to feed her her daily ration of 10+ pineapples. I am sure that she misses them too... not me but the pineapples!

All take care!

What is a Tuk-Tuk!?

Now you know!

Around Siem Reap & FAQs

Costs - although food/drink are incredibly inexpensive (tonight I ate "western" food = ceaser salad, pork loin w/great onion/peppercorn sauce,, FF, iced tea for $4) like Saigon, Angkor has proved much more costly than Vietnam. It's the little things that add up, e.g.: $50 for entry visa/$25 for exit "processing" when leaving country, $40 for 4-day Angkor pass, $75/night hotel (includes bkfst), pineapples 2 for $1 with no break for buying in bulk <- they will NOT sell 1 for 50 cents and I bought at least 12 a day - at least the bananas for the macaques were cheap!

Currency - the Cambodian Real at about 4000/$1. But what I found incredible was prices in all Siem Reap stores (including grocery stores and street vendors), temple admittence fees, etc are all in US $s! And you see more US greenbacks in circulation than Cambodian Reals!? And - there are no coin currency (fyi for my US Mint colleagues).

Weather - higher temps and humidity than Saigon, short showers in the evenings <- but I guess you could tell this from my sopping wet t-shirts in the pics!?

People - are as friendly and sincere as other Indochinese. Their skin color is noticably darker than that of the Vietnamese. The woman are beautiful but in a different way from the Vietnamese. I fell in love at least a dozen times each day No hassles and no one attempting to rip you off. Very kind and gentle folks.

Prostitution - evidently much more expensive here in Siwm Reap than Vietnamese cities I've been in. Even the massages are more. I believe it is illegal here - no prostitutes walking or hussling the streets - they sell their services in discreet bordellos here.

Pagodas - Buddists' places of worship here are called pagodas - not temples. I visited many but went to one in particular several times whose monks are all dedicated to meditation and chanting ohlms. I joined them several times inside - very relaxing and I even cooled off while inside!

The preceding two pictures show the pagoda I visited several times. Its exterior is entirely masonary - mostly casted cement all of which is painted - much of it in gold paint! This is the way they may have painted the Angkor temples and the way they may have looked way back when!? It is really awe-inspiring when seen in the bright sunlight! Also note the fresco painted walls!

This picture shows 2 of the common pagoda icons - the 7-headed serpant (no doubt a cobra whose scally green body surrounds the entire exterior of the pagoda) and the lion - not an Asian tiger but lion that are not found in Indochina!? It is said that the early Khmer kings imported exotic animal from all over the world - so maybe that is the source of this icon found in most Angkor temples and present day pagodas!? Also note the incredibly bold colors of EVERYTHING on the exterior. And the gold paint really shines bright gold! Indeed the Angkor temples could have looked similar!

this is one of the monks I befriended. He's the one that invited me inside to meditate to the chants of the big-cheese or head monk. Through sign language and demonstrations he taught me how to sit and breath. I was his adopted student. Btw he made it perfectly clear that I did not have to believe in Budda to partake of meditation inside their pagoda.


Giving alms: The white-robed-lay-monk to my right is introducing me to the head monk. I have no idea what he was saying!? I had placed some money in the silver bowl and handed it to the head monk - but was not allowed to approach him until the lay monk had "introduced me". It was interesting that the head monk stop leading tje chants when we approach him - on our knees of course.

Again note that entire exterior is brightly painted - and the ever-present 7iheaded-serpant and lion, ornate bright gold roof, and brightly colored frescos !



really neat classically constructed Cambodian house. Owners were home and gave me permission to take pic - but were insistent that they Not be in pic! They then invited me and my tuk-tuk driver onto their porch for tea - but still no pics!?


another girlfriend owned by the people who invited us for tea!

From Siem Reap Back to Ho Chi Minh City

So all know what I am up to - I leave Siem Reap, Cambodia returning to Saigon tomorrow, Oct 3rd, at 1:30PM, on Vietnam Airline's flight VN826.

Roluos Group Temple

It seems appropriate that the last temple I explored was the first built in the Angkor Wat area.



The Roluos Group main temple was built during the period 877 to 889AD. Constructed entirely of mortarless brick it is comprised of 6 towers - one each dedicated to the king's parents, paternal and maternal grandparents.



This is not only the only the first major temple built in the Angkor area - but the only one built of brick.

The mortarless brick construction is very similar to that I saw in My Son temples in Vietnam and both date about the same time by Hindus! Small, small world. And it appears that I have now covered most of the Champa empire.


It is said that the interior deep cut, well preserved bas-reliefs (Vishnu) were carved into the brick, i.e., the brick was not molded - leaving no room for any mistakes!