Update 30

Left Hanoi by a limo is headed to Halong Bay. En route we saw homes huddled together with rich green rice fields surrounding them. The rivers had lots of bamboo fishing traps in them. The part of Halong Bay we stayed in was filling up with brand new, identical buildings…some still being built…and all 90% empty! We heard some are 5 years old & have never been occupied. Also told it was Chinese $$. The town has a theme park with a gigantic roller coaster…which we didn't ride. For my Christmas & birthday present, Rog gave me a cruise so that's what we're doing now! A small boat picked us up & took us to our gorgeous cruise ship. Waiting for us was a bountiful lunch and a smiling courteous crew ready to wait on us…which would be the case for the next 3 days. With just 19 passengers on board, we got lots of attention! The weather had been foggy & chilly the last couple days but miraculously the sun showed up & cleared the skies so the water turned a brilliant turquoise and the multitude of majestic karst partially dressed in bright green foliage boldly appeared! This scene continued for all three days we cruised. Each karst with it's own unique formation, coloring & vegetation. 1,969 of them! They were formed of limestone over millions of years all the while rain & roots seeped in between the sedimentary layers causing chunks to cascade into the sea…like rock glaciers…only to dissolve so the waterways are navigable. (Which is good cause about 450 boats are doing that today and it's low season.). Legend has it that when the natives were being attacked by enemy ships, magical dragons appeared blocking the way. The dragons loved being there so much, they decided to stay. HaLong means "descending dragons." I think how much the world has change & will change …but here the stunning karst will stand victorious surrounded by the sparkling aqua sea. On Day 1 we cruised Lan Ha Bay which was much less crowded than HaLong Bay. A small boat took us to Cat Ba Nat'l Park so we could explore the Trung Trang cave. Back on our ship, we learned to make fresh spring rolls from Chef Jimmy (also our guide). Next we sat down to a humongous 5 course dinner that was way more than even Rog could eat! The presentation was clever & elaborate. After dinner, we attempted to fish for squid. One person caught one so we did see the black ink defense. We went to sleep smiling! Up early the next morning, we sat on our balcony & watched as the mist slowly lifted and the bright red sun rose. Another huge spread awaited us & soon we were off on a tiny boat that took us to the mini me of our large ship. On that we slowly cruised for 2 hours. I took way too many pictures but there were so many awesome views! Next we got dropped off at the fishing village on Cat Ba island—which is now really a tourist village. Jimmy was a forest ranger here 25 years ago on this island which was during the years they were trying to stop people from hunting the golden headed langur which is only found on this island and is on the critically endangered list. Less than 70 left. Jimmy said it was a dangerous job as the hunters didn't like being told to stop. We were served lunch (can you call 3 courses lunch??) on our mini me ship & then went kayaking in a quiet inlet to a small beach. Back on the mini me to cruise for 2 hours again. We got back in time for another 5 course dinner which included a flaming shrimp appetizer. We shared a table with a young couple from Germany. It was interesting to hear about their lives. They say Germans are not risk takers & so their economy is quite stable but not robust. We also visited with a couple (Jane & Chris Jones from Perth). We love the opportunity to meet others! Next morning, again we enjoyed our balcony time & over ate at breakfast before packing up to leave…but not before one more scrumptious 5 course brunch! We waddled off the ship at 11:30 feeling like we'd just been in a different world—one we're not normally in—not our usual traveling style…but had to admit, it was thrilling to be so pampered, surrounded by luxury & breathtaking views!

Update 29

We flew from Hue to Hanoi and lost our sun and blue sky. Really had forgotten what it's like to have gray sky & need a sweatshirt. (I know, poor me.).
Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam and a huge city. I'm sure we've only seen a tiny bit of it yet we've had several 20 min taxi rides. Not quite as clean as other cities but good roads. From our hotel room, we can see a huge round-about with 4 or 5 turn offs. It's just fascinating to watch how the traffic ebb & flows with no one having the right of way. Trucks, busses, cars, motorcycles galore, bicycles, pedestrians just go with the flow. Overloaded with you name it and carrying several people who may or may not be holding on. It's just one of those things you gotta see to believe. Another thing that cracks us up are all the makeshift restaurants that people just carry on the back of their bikes. They carry small plastic stacks of tables & stools, bags of food, propane tanks, & a burner and set up on the sidewalk wherever …often right in front of a nice restaurants. . No problem!! Last night we went to the Old Quarters and just walked around seeing lots of the old houses & shops. We went to the Thang Long Water Puppet Theater and saw a very entertaining show where all the puppets danced in a pond while an 8 piece band played the local instruments. Totally enjoyed watching the puppets swim, fish, paddle the boats, plant rice, ride water buffalo & dance in the water. Just a great performance. Water puppet shows are Vietnamese oldest art form.
It's Sunday morning here & our bus ride will pick us up at this hotel at 1 so we're just hanging out here. I needed to do lots of catch up anyways. Also, we were able to talk to five of the gkids & Sarah. A bonus that we've really enjoyed on this trip…we're glad they have phones now!!

Tidbits:
-Pringles & Oreos have been available in most every country we've been to
-Soccer is usually the most common sport but we haven't hardly seen any games being played here
-I found a cracker & some cheese I like and I probably eat that for lunch 5 out of 7 days. Sometimes for dinner too!

Update 28



DaNang-another busy city with an incredible beach that was clean and had lots of green space between it and the road & hotels. The suspension bridge across the wide river has been designed to look like a humongous dragon. Pretty impressive & the biggest tourist attraction here. Ironic for me as the main reason I wanted to come here was because both Ed & Sam (my brothers) were stationed here during the war. They were here as SeaBees whose main job was to build bridges. We learned lots about VN when we visited the History Museum including their version of the war US was involved in. In that war where more bombs were dropped than in WWII, agent orange destroyed large areas of vegetation and caused birth defects for 3 generations. DaNang had the highest level of concentration. In 2007, USA joined VN to help the victims affected. In 2012 USA joined VN in cleaning up affected soil. We saw several empty lots that appeared to have been recently worked up. In many ways, it's been a relief to see how DaNang & many other areas have rebuilt and become prosperous. Not sure how it works under it's Communist government but appears it does…which makes me happy.

Hue is the next place we called home for a couple days. Our hotel offered free bikes which meant Rog was happy. We used them to explore the back alleys around us & rode into town…not the best idea…just because everyone else is doing it doesn't mean we'd like it! Hue is a tourist destination because of what remains of the Imperial Citadel which was built in 1803. Royal housing, ceremonial areas, library & opera house all elaborately built are about all that remains as much was destroyed in wars. Can't imagine what it was like in its hay day! We also visited two of the emperor's tombs and all I can say is Khai Ding thought he was really something!! Glitz to the max! Ty Duc was much more modest and built his in a rice paddy with a river running through it. The real highlight of the Imperial Citidel was all the local ladies who were elegantly dressed in their ao dai (tunic over pants) because it was Women's Day and if they wore their ao dai, they got in free. The colors & patterns were absolutely gorgeous & they must of thought so too because they were taking pictures of each other & themselves continuously! I wore my long skirt. Didn't get me in free.
At the suggestion of Annie, our hotel hostess, we went to the Incense City…which was a bust since we'd seen a lot of incense displays..and ate at Madam Thu which was fabulous. Our waitress, Mimi suggested we ask for half orders of several Vietnamese specialties that we'd not tried yet. So we did. I liked 2 out of 4. Rog 4 out of 4.

Update 27

Hoi An-the ancient city and the major trading center of the beginning in the 15th century. Looking at the topography you can see why. Several rivers merge here only to split up & repeat that pattern several times all the way to the China Sea. It attracted both Chinese & Japanese merchants and were welcomed by the Vietnamese. The ornate covered Japanese Bridge is known as the Friendship Bridge for good reason. It is being renovated currently so that what we got to see. These three cultures also merged & the buildings reflect all 3…along with French who colonized it. We arrived in Hoi An at 5:30 a.m. & went right to our hotel. Our taxi driver phoned the hotel owner who quickly came to unlock the door & show us our room. I'm sure we woke him up but he warmly welcomed us & even invited us to breakfast. Rog took a shower & then headed for the breakfast buffet. I showered and headed for the bed. At 8, I was up & ready to go check out Hoi An. The old buildings are crammed with restaurants and clothing & souvenir shops. Streets were buzzing with motorcycles, bicycles, rickshaws, cars, busses & vendors…mixed in were gobs of tourist. Our first stop was the Museum of Folk Culture which was a good history lesson. We then checked out the 7th generation home of the beloved Tan Ky family. It was getting hot so we headed back to our hotel, ate a snack & hit the beach. We were surprised to see so many people there. Our hotel had bikes available so Rog decided take spin around the area. I opted to stay on the beach. Around 5, we walked to a nearby place for another delicious shrimp dinner. I think we're addicted. The Canadian couple, Jean & Colette Rouat that we'd met earlier happened to be there too so we visited some more. Their son volunteered to serve in Ukraine war. When he left there, he was so devasted by the deaths & misery…especially of kids that he decided to join the bomb detectors in Cambodia to hopefully spare some pain there. We'd visited the center that worked along side him. Jean & Colette were both proud & anxious for their son and had come to visit him. Before we parted, they gave us the name of the guide in Sapa they highly recommended. Sapa is pretty far north but we hope to get there. It had been a long day so bed by 9. Up for breakfast & both of us went on a bike ride before our 10 o'clock pick up that took us to a place where we got into one of those round basket boats. It felt like a Disney ride as we were on a slow moving tributary and surrounded by lots of other boats. Pictures bumper boats. Our paddler was fun as he sang to us, took multiple pictures of us & twirled us around. He had a great laugh. He gave us a little fishing pole & pulled us close to the reeds so Rog could catch a crab. Good time. We came back to our hotel to cool off & have more beach time. Headed back to town to catch a traditional dance & music performance and tour the Assembly Hall of the Fujian & check out the Confucius Temple. Both ancient & impressive. Found a good place for Rog to get Hoi An noodles & I got a delicious chicken stir fry. As soon as it got dark, the lantern show began. Boats with lighted lanterns & tourist filled the river. Many tourist bought small paper boats with a lighted candle in it and let them float down the river. All the bridges & business were covered with bright lights too. What an array of colors!! Then several drummers started up & 3 dragons danced into the crowd & then into a restaurant ( that evidently was reserved for several tour groups). We squeezed our way out of the mass & booked a Grab back to our hotel. We'll be off for Da Nang tomorrow.

Update 26

After leaving Dalat by bus, the first hour and a half every valley was filled with green houses! Thousands of them! I had to wonder about all the workers needed to plant & harvest so many products. A bit later we could only see clouds as we were in high elevation. Eventually, as we got closer to Nha Trang, & out of the mountains, rich green rice fields started to appear. Nha Trang is a bustling city with lots of new hotels lining the Main Street that follows the seemingly endless clean, wide beach. No hotels are allowed to build directly on the beach. the wall facing the beach in our 25th floor hotel room is all glass. Gotta love that view! Also we're less than a block to the beach & a McDonalds!! So I got my first McD hamburger, fries & fountain Coke Zero…for $2. I am an McD expert as I get a hamb in every country we've traveled if we find a McD. Hamb did not taste the same but fries were great. They also sold fried chicken & rice. Rog opted to go to a local restaurant which had pork & con cartilage on the menu. He got shrimp & we shared a scrumptious crème burpee. Next morning there was another multitude of selections. Rog is enjoying the opportunity to try lots of different dishes he might not order. Today he tried (& liked) the ostrich. Next we rode on a gondola that went over the water to an island about 1 mile from the mainland. Loved that view! The island is now a Disney like resort surrounded by food & shopping area that was cleverly decorated. The afternoon we spend watching young families get walloped by the huge waves…and then laugh hysterically. Our bus plans for that night didn't happen so we just added another night to our room with a view. No problem. We called Rob & Bek & found out they have a new granddaughter, Wrenly…born on leap day! Also heard Travis & Lindsey's baby was born the day before. Can't wait to hold both of them. Last morning in Nhu Trang, we headed to see the Ponagar Tower which dates back to possible the 8th century & is where the Cham people still worship. We watched a large banquet that was being blessed by an elder. Also enjoyed watching some traditional Chan dancers perform while flutes & drums played. Interestingly the pagoda was a blend of Hindu & Buddhism worship. It seems we often have to maneuver around the many tourist who seem to be there only for photo ops. Mostly Chinese we think. From the hilltop view, we cold see the older, poorer side of town. Back to the beach for a bit then to our hotel where they gave us a free late checkout so we could shower, repack & get ready for our next bus trip to Hoi An—9 1/2 hour overnight! Our sleeping areas were big enough to stretch out so we both slept fairly well!

Update 25

by Rog….

> Is it safe?
> Many of our friends and family have wondered about our safety as we travel. There is no doubt that we are more vulnerable as we get older, and we could be concerned about finding ourselves in a bad place where we might feel threatened. But that has not happened on this trip or any other. We often feel like the local people around us treat us like the grandparents that we are, helping with luggage or directions (though not yet taking our arm to help us across the street!)
> Part of the adventure is not knowing exactly where we will be staying tomorrow night, how we will get there, how long we will stay, where will we find a coke light, etc. With Grab taxi, booking.com and more it all works out.
> It is actually fun trying to navigate the transportation and all. Yesterday, we rode on the shady side of the bus for the entire trip because we booked seats on the driver's (north facing)side of the bus.😀 👍
> Crossing the street is often the most challenging part of our day. Not because it is dangerous but because we are not used to the rules. And the rules go against our nature. Since traffic seldom stops (we haven't seen a stop sign, yet), the pedestrian starts out after a vehicle has passed and then just walks with confidence that the cars, trucks, busses, and motorbikes will avoid hitting them. Maintaining a consistent pace is very important as the driver's plan to miss you might be ruined if you stop or run.
> We have noticed that a major difference in traffic rules appears to be the total absence of any driver having the right of way. So all drivers are constantly expecting other vehicles to pull out onto the road from any driveway or intersection, pass on the right or left, stop, make u-turns, drive the wrong way, etc. They are the most defensive drivers we have seen. And it works great for all, including the pedestrians. So far…

Update 24

  Tour guide perspective—spinning and spinning—Rog



After visiting the War Remnants Museum in Ho Ch Minh City, I found a bench in the shade.  Beside me was a young  (twenty something?) Vietnamese girl. She was a tour guide and very knowledgeable about Vietnam war history. She asked what I thought of the museum. The museum had presented reasons for the war that were different from what we heard in the U.S.  I told her that in the U.S. we were told that the Vietnamese people wanted us to help them force the Communists out so they could be free to choose their own leaders.  
She thought that idea was very funny…she laughed and said that the Vietnamese people had had an election and they chose to reunify their country, but the U.S. tried to keep the country separated. The U.S. set up a government in South Vietnam and wanted to keep South Vietnam as a colony, denying them freedom. 
So…the Vietnamese were fighting the war to win freedom from the colonialist power, America.

A big difference in perspective! 

She went on to say, "That was a long time ago. We don't hold any bad feelings toward the U.S., we just think about the future. We are happy that we are one country and are no longer separated the way that Korea is."
———
Later, while visiting Dalat, a man smiled and asked where I was from.  We talked for awhile and he told me that his father had fought along with the U.S. during the war.  After the war his father was jailed for 10 years.  When he was released from jail he went to the U.S. and lives there now.  Even though the war ended long ago and we see mostly smiling faces, the damage to individuals and their families is often just below the surface.

 Some Russians were recently allowed to visit North Korea and…

They had a reaction similar to how we feel when visiting unfamiliar places. 

See below for what one Russian said.

"The main message of my content is that anywhere: no matter what country, no matter what nationality, it is regular people who live there, and you should treat people with love everywhere," says Voskresensky.  "I hope traveling will save the world."

Maybe it won't save the world, but it might help us to feel that we are all in this together and that we are more alike than we are different from one another.

Rog

Update 23

After saying good bye to Thai, we hung around the pool until dark visiting with Pete & Nita from Canada who recently retired and are on their 2nd long trip. Fun to connect. Later we took a stroll through the main park under a giant Dragon decoration. Musicians, dancers, snakes & bunnies available to hold, painted statue performers, vendors & lots of lights gave it a carnival feeling.
Next morning we went to the War Remnant Museum. Hard to relive & learn more about the VN war. The many stirring pictures & painstaking stories cut to the core. Will mankind ever learn?? Seeing young VN there made me wonder how it made them feel. And when I saw men my age or older who appeared to be American, you could see the pain in their eyes. Rog ended up on a bench under a tree talking to a VN tour guide who was on her break. (He may write about this later.). I did hear her spontaneous laugh when Rog told her we were told America was in VN to save SVN from the communist. It was a sobering morning. Again we sought the pool to cool off & let the experience penetrate. Around 4, we walked to see the impressive old post office. We attempted to go into the Notre Dame of Saigon but it's under major repairs & closed. By then it was dinner time & then bed.
We took a train out of HCM headed north to Mui Ne—a fishing town on the South China Sea. The train gave us more freedom to move around but also what we saw out our window was the backside of towns. Not that nice. We did see acres of passion fruit plants, rows of tall trees, several fruit orchards & small gardens. Few people outside. Mui Ne is an older town but with several new resorts. Our hotel was older, small & quaint with a nice pool. Huge waves were crashing against the high retaining wall on the other side of the pool. We took a Grab to see where the fishermen were actively bringing in their catch & the women were cleaning & sorting it. Motorcycles were lines up with large plastic jugs to deliver the catch to markets. All the boats seemed freshly painted a bright blue, pale green & vivid yellow. Man of the boats were totally round! Story goes that when the gov't first started taxing boats, the clever people wove huge baskets, covered them with tar and claimed they weren't boats. It worked! They actually really liked them too because they were light & easy to put in/out of water! But man, it made us dizzy just watching them in the water. Many of the local restaurants have big glass tanks filled with fresh catch on display. We enjoyed some! Later we sat on a windy beach & watched hundreds of kite surfers. We were ready for these slower paced days.
On the bus again…headed to Dalat. The road was quite rough barely two lanes and since we were going up & down a mountainous area, very curvy. I felt like we were playing peek-a-boo going around those curves! I was glad to see many curves had mirrors. The last hour, the road improved & we saw much nicer homes & towns. We got to Dalat after 5 so we just went to our hotel & crashed. Got up early, ate lots from the breakfast spread, then got a Grab to the Crazy House. Crazy is an understatement! Lady who had it built wanted to incorporate nature. It was a fascinating maze & you just had to be there to believe it. She actually rents rooms in it. Next stop was the Flower Village. Massive creative displays of gobs of varieties of flowers & vege plants. Many of the flowers were the same as we have in Michigan - but 5x larger & all in bloom. A feast for the eyes! There's a cable car that takes you over the mountain so we rode that too. Dalat is nestled high in the mountains so the weather is cooler & refreshing. It's a large town with many new & well maintained buildings & several nice parks. Tomorrow morning we are hoping to do a roller coaster ride and see one of the many waterfalls around here. Then…back on the bus & off to Nha Trang.

Update 22

(Oops last email was for my Facebook post…here's the real update!!)
On the road again…headed to Ho Chi Minh City also called Saigon. Again we ride in comfortable lay back seats on the top tier. Almost at once it's obvious the road is better. Lanes, signage, guard rails appear as we get on a toll road where there's no motorcycles. Later when we get off the toll road, motorcycles have their own lane, there's fewer roadside stands & bigger store fronts. Even timed stop light! The HCM bus station was about 45 minutes from downtown but they have connecting van that we can take to the downtown. From there we used Grab to our hotel. HCM is a modern, clean, developed city with lots of sky scrappers & new construction. Motorcycles fill every spare inch of the lanes & can park anywhere. Dodging them keeps us on high alert when we cross streets. We found a city tour bus & rode it around town for 45 minutes. Great overview. Saw the opera house, post office and Independence Palace. We walked by an Eddy's New York Burger place on our way home so we were soon mowing down our first hamburger since we left home while listening to Elvis, Beach Boys & the Supremes. What an unexpected treat! They also had shakes but we were too full…so we went back the next night for shakes.
Back in the fall, my friend Aileen Clark (who works at the Dexter Library) asked me where we were headed this year. When I told her, she said she knew a young Vietnamese who visits the library often. She asked if she could give him my email. A few days later, Loc wrote giving me some suggestions & telling me he has family in HCM who might be willing to give us a tour. So a few days before we planned to arrive, I wrote to him & after a long group Messenger call whee I was mostly listening to him and his sister chat, we made a plan to meet Thai at 8 am in front of our hotel. And it happened! Thai is a 22 yrs old beautiful girl working in a hotel & going to school with dreams of getting a better job. She spoke good English & freely shared lots of her culture, customs, thoughts & feelings as well sat in a coffee shop for several hours. Later she took us to an authentic Vietnamese restaurant where she continues answering our questions while we shared the meal she had ordered; sour soup, spiced rice & flower buds. Here's a few of the things she shared with us:

-if you make under 11 million dongs ($440) per month, you pay no income taxes
-there are some homeless & they are given lottery tickets to sell
-homeless are all welcome to live free at the pagodas since monks are given many donations & will give the homeless jobs there
-Rich people feel peace and good karma when they give to the monks who pick up donations put in front of shrines which are in most businesses & homes
-HCM is the economical center of VN
- most watch little tv rather Instagram & you tube
- VN War is only memory of old and not thought about by youth
- Thoa's Mom swims everyday
-All Vietnamese love coffee shops & visit often
-Chinese & Korean's not as friendly as US
- Many older VN go to the temple almost daily for 1-2 hr mainly to repent
-cost $5 million dong ($200)per month to go to school
- $ 1 billion for 5 years to attend international school where you'll get best education and learn better English
-Women want to control all home issues
-Many young do not want to marry
-Older men had more affairs but fewer young men
-Thoa earns $300,000 ($12) for 8 hrs of work & gets one meal
-On holidays, many service workers get 3x their pay
-Gays not acceptable until recent show which was very informative
-Sweet soup is one of their favorites & it's made with peppermint, tamarin, pineapple, tomatoes, and flowers before bloom
-$5 million ($200) per month for a shared flat
-Motorcycles cost $20 - 40 million ($800-$1600)

It was certainly an informative & unique opportunity to spend time with Thoa…whose mom called to say hi to us! Thanks Aileen for the contact!



Update 21

Up for a quick swim, pack my lunch & then off to the bus station. 3rd times a charm. We've figured out what we want easily available & what seats to reserve so we're comfy for another 4 hour trip back to Can Tho…but this time to a 5* hotel. Here's a few sights & thoughts & things I want to remember as I get to see a second of the ordinary lives we pass…
-they are attempting to recycle & control the trash but trash is winning that war
-there's no westerners south of Can Tho
-more nice homes in Ca Mau
-haven't seen a woman in a hammock but lots of men
-many red flags with hammer & sickle reminding me of the hatred instilled in me of the communist
-it's ironic that a hot item here is a piggy bank as it seems the poor have little to save & the rich too much for a piggy bank,
-Asian conical hats are the hat of choice!
-Caodaism church: richly colorful temple with two towers, intricate designs covering the entire building. In the center is the Divine Eye. This religion believes in one God & is a mixture of Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism & Roman Catholicism thus unity many religions with the hope of universal peace
-the lack of traffic rules in spite of the congested roads is mind boggling. So many close calls but as the saying goes: A near miss is as good as a mile
-few bicycles but gillions of motorbikes
In our luxury hotel in Can Tho we are paying about the same price as our rustic homestead before. Large room, pool & huge breakfast buffet for $35. The girls at the reception desk stand to greet us whenever we come or go. For dinner, Rog ordered snakefish & said it was delicious. I'm happy with my egg rolls. Our goal to see the floating market meant up early & get a Grab (like our Uber). Soon we were on a longtail propeller boat weaving between other boats either filled with vendors selling a wide variety of fresh products, serving meals or other tourist boats. It looked to me that most the vendors lived on their boats as laundry hung off the sides and hammocks & pots and pans hung under a roof. What a life! There was a massive fresh market on the wharf so we strolled through that. Again I am awed by the amount of fresh vegetables & fruits. Next stop was an ancient home currently lived in & maintained by the 6th generation. Someone must spend weeks painting the outside with contrasting color on all the designs carved into it. Inside rich heavy wooden furniture with marble inlays & shelves of unique statues, vases & other collectible. The house was used in the movie, The Lover in 1992. The home was surrounded by a garden with many unique plants blooming. My favorite part was a replicate of a mountain with tiny South Asian scenes tucked in the crevices. A huge fairy garden! Back to the hotel pool & our books to wait out the afternoon heat. At 4, we ventured out for dinner & to stroll the malecon and watch all the lights come on after 6. Bright neon LED strips covered all the bridges, buildings & some of the boats. Looked like a huge carnival.

Pics for Update 20



Update 20

I stayed up late last night talking to 4 of my gkids. Love that I can stay in touch with them! Rog got up early & went out for a morning bike ride to find an ATM which was about 6 km away. He came back with $4.5 million dong. That's $175 USD. But what was even better was he also bought me 3 Coke lights, cz & crackers. I ask to put one in the kitchen frig and then we both headed out for another bike ride on one of the side roads where there are only a few cars and several motorcycles and it followed one of the Mekong tributaries. The road was between the river & a line of homes. As we got farther from the main road, there were nicer homes…but not all for sure. We saw a few people who smiled and waved. Back at our homestay, I enjoyed my cold Coke Light in our cabana which I noted was mostly made of bamboo as was our bed, lamp shades, chairs, table and even the wind chimes! Such a versatile plant! We left there dragging our bags for about 1/4 mi (while the help was in a hammock) to the main road where our taxi picked us up & took us to the bus station. We climbed up on the top tier of the sleeper bus headed to Ca Mau…near the southern tip. We were near the front which made for a better ride except for the almost constant fog horn our driver used every time he passed someone…which was most the time. Not sure why we needed to it it! I think the motorcyclist did though as we got mighty close to them! Almost all wear helmets (albeit really baseball helmets) & the girls usually wear gloves & hoodies with the hood under their helmets…in 90 degree weather! We often went for miles through many towns with not once seeing a stop since or red light. The new sights on this trip were the many small family cometary plots. Most are right next to a home. Probably Christian or Chinese as Buddhist mostly cremate. We have seen a few Christian churches here also.
After a 4 hour ride, we found our hotel…quite gorgeous with huge grounds which included several restaurants, large gym, water park, huge pond and a nice pool which we immediately used. Then off to find some dinner. We went to their restaurant call Camping. We sat at a picnic table while they filled the grill next to us with glowing charcoal & then grilled beef chunks, shrimp & some veges for us. We noticed other customers were grilling their own. Cute idea. Back in our room, we called Chan & MM to wish them happy birthday. Next morning, we checked out tours available but decided to just call for a taxi & have them drop us at the Ho Chi Minh Memorial park which included a bird sanctuary. There was a traditionally built pagoda where a large statue of HCM was in the center surrounded by decorative items. The bird sanctuary was closed…for years it looked. So off we went to walk around the central market. Always beyond me how they can have so much fresh products artistically arranged & ready to sell & so few customers around. How can they possible sell even a fraction of it before it goes bad? We only bought 2 oranges. And the fresh meat? Don't even want to think about that. Across from the market was a clean air conditioned grocery store so we went in to cool off…and lucky for me…restock my Coke Light! Back to our hotel, we dove into the pool & then went to eat. We got 1/2kg of deliciously prepared shrimp…that's a lot of shrimp…for $8. Back to the pool & finished the day with a game of cribbage. Should I brag about beating Rog the last many games?? Probably not. As usual, we fell asleep listening to locals singing karaoke. I don't think I've written about it but almost every night since we arrived in Cambodia & now in Vietnam, we hear people singing (?) loudly. None so far I'd give even a 3 out 10. Really quite the popular evening entertainment and does lull us to sleep.

Update 19

On February 16, we took a van to the Vietnam border where we had to show our passports & visas four times. Then we got in another van that took us to HaTien, very close to the border. There a nice man hailed a taxi for us which too us to our hotel. Taxi cost was 100,000 dong…$4. It'll take us awhile to learn to calculate dong to $! After a shower to cool us down, we went in search of an eSIM we can use in Vietnam. It took a bit of walking in several stops but we succeeded. I need to find out more about eSIM cause it was a pain—took the girl about 30 minutes. It's suppose to be easier than the old SIM card that you just popped in! The front desk directed us to a supermarket where we got cheese, crackers, oranges, beer & 2 Coke lights for $5. We ate on our balcony listening to the birds & street noise. I enjoyed watching a little boy clop around in his mom's high heel shoes. Our room had a TV so we tried to find something to watch but only found an old Tom Cruise show…Mission Impossible. Ugh. Good thing we both have good books to read & like playing cribbage. The next morning we got on the bus to Cam Tho. It's called a sleeper cause all the seats lay almost flat. There's two tiers & we were on the top which gave us a great view. The 5 hour trip followed a river that's a tributary of the Mekong. Villages & homes filled both sides of the river. Most villages were much like Cambodia-open store fronts & restaurants with meat cooking on a grill and those large styrofoam boxes wrapped in yellow tape probably storing cold food. Almost all flew the Vietnam flag and many had bars across the front. The houses right on the river were pretty dilapidated though occasionally one gorgeous one would appear. Potted yellow carnations were everywhere which drew your eye so you could overlook the trash. Hammocks were plentiful especially in the restaurants. The river had lots of traffic-big barges to small fishing boats and everything in between! Many flying flags & with a pot of yellow carnations! Multiple fingers of the mighty Mekong reached out across the area creating areas for riverside homes to be built where a boat ride could take you & your load to town. The fingers surrounded fields of rice, banana trees & gardens. I only saw a few people unless they were on a motorcycle. Our giant bus occasionally met another bus & show how they squeezed by each other in those narrow streets often lined with rice drying or other products. Our bus only made one bathroom stop and I thought—really, this is the best one around??? We crawled off the bus, stretched a minutes and soon Rog was surrounded by offers to take us to the homestay we'd reserved. A guy offered to take us for $8 so Rog agreed. Then he & his buddy left for a minute and came back with their motorcycles. They each threw our suitcases in front of them & handed us a helmet. I put on my backpack & hopped on. Rog took my phone to take a picture & before he could hand it back to me, my guy took off. So there I was wearing flip flops & shorts, riding with a stranger I couldn't communicate with, not really knowing where we were going cause Rog made the plans…and with no phone & Rog hopefully somewhere behind me. I admit it did freak me out a bit especially when we stopped & Rog wasn't anywhere in sight. He did eventually catch up & soon we took a small rough lane which ended up at the right place. A thrill ride for just $4 each! Kids—don't even think about doing this!!! Our Mekong Homestay is quite rustic but our bungalow looks over a river, has a western bathroom, fan & mosquito net. We got a cold water and then rested up before they served us a really nice dinner of stir fry vegetables, rice & egg rolls. We got in bed early hoping to avoid mosquitoes. Actually they never did show up!
Our homestay offered us bikes so we got up early the next morning and took off riding. There was little traffic and the road was good. It was a nice way to get up close and feel a part of the this smaller village we're in. We joined others for breakfast of fried eggs & roll. We have enjoyed visiting with several other people staying here. Travelers easily connect & one of guys on the staff speaks great English and spent quite a while on our porch talking to us. He learned English from watching Hollywood movies. Rog took another bike ride a bit later & I caught up on my writing while seeing the tide rise the water level and watching a few boats paddle by.

Pics for Update 18



Update 18



Our last few days in Cambodia we spent in Kampot at a nice hotel with a great pool, hot shower, eggs & toast breakfast…for $35. Since it was 90+, everyday, we enjoyed that pool often! So much that my bathing suit straps were getting pretty worn out. Luckily I found a new suit with a $34.99 price tag but only had to pay $9. Kampot's biggest attraction was the gigantic Durian image in their central round-about. Durian is the stinkiest fruit ever and we often see signs in hotels, on busses & in restaurants that say no Durian. Even saying you'll be fined $100 if you have it! We did find a few things to do: sunset cruise (though we saw very little of interest); traditional dance performance at an orphanage & 3 blind boys who played local instruments. Kampot had recently won the Country Enviromental Award & so one morning there was a parade: lots of boats on the river & trucks & busses all flying flags. School kids lined the street cheering. We stepped over a bunch of trash between our hotel & the road and joined the school kids. There was a really nice new walkway all along the river front…which was probably why they won the award. We walked it several times. Kids were playing on it and in the evening, families spread a blanket & ate picnics there. The town was quiet with traffic traveling slow. We found several good places to eat. We both ate a delicious shrimp dinner with drinks for $13. Actually it was so good, we ate it twice!. Pizza & good desserts were easy to find too. Probably true because of the many older Western men around…most with a young Cambodian lady. I counted 25 in just one restaurant . Always makes me wonder how the young lady feels.
Kampot was a good place to say goodbye to Cambodia!

A few observations:
-haven't hardly seen any gardens by homes
-did see groups of school kids picking up trash by the side of the road
-at several roadside stands they sell about a 12" piece of bamboo stuffed with sticky rice & beans…last for days. Fast food stand!
-we have not seen a McD only a Kentucky Fried Ckn, Papa John's and a couple StarBucks, & Pizza Huts.
-pass lots of rice fields…some dormant, others bright green & a few being harvested
-women wearing pajamas at all times of the day
-you can carry heavy loads on bicycles

Update 17



On the bus with Louis (French pronunciation)

by Rog 

Louis was a youngish (early twenties?)cricket player, traveler, live in the moment, kind of guy. He rode with us in the van from Sihanoukville to Kompot. 

He asked, "What gives you the most fulfillment when you travel?"

I told him that volunteering with the local people puts us in unique situations where there is opportunity to see real people over time and witness the difficulties they face daily. It makes us more understanding of their situation and more appreciative of ours.
Louis compared learning by travel with learning in school…he said travel is learning about life.

He said, "You know when you look into their eyes. There are good caring people everywhere. I love to travel! I want to do this for the rest of my life! "

He is a very passionate guy who speaks with gusto and confidence. He organizes cricket games with the local people wherever he goes. He feels that sport allows people to drop their barriers as they focus and compete as a team. He made me think about the following quote from Mark Twain…

Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime."

Sent from my iPad

Update 16

We rode in a van for 3 hours on the first divided highway we've seen. It was a toll road. There were very few cars on it. We were going about 50-60 mph and headed to catch the ferry to Koh Rung Sanloem. Made it just in time and took off across the rather rough waters. The spray on both sides & front of the boat got many people wet. We got off at Sandy Beach & were met by Lei. We climbed in the trailer behind his motorcycle & off we went to Dreamer by the Sea. Let's just say it wasn't what we expected for the price & what we read in the reviews. But it was one of the last available rooms as it's Chinese New Years this weekend. We settle in & since it was clean & the AC worked, we knew we'd be fine. The nicer beach & restaurant was just a short walk. Lei asked if we wanted to come for dinner & we said we planned to check out our options. He came back a bit later and asked if we'd come be his guest at his Chinese celebration at 7 …no charge. So at 7, we walked to his pavilion. A more than friendly man whose wife was helping prep the meal came over & talked Rog's ear off…for the entire 1 1/2 hour we waited. Finally, we were asked to sit at the huge table along with 20+ Chinese & Cambodians and another man who looked like a Westerner. Soon we learned he was Basque. Knowing my friend's husband was Basque, I thought it would be neat if they could talk so I called her. Bingo! Jose & our new friend had a nice visit! Meanwhile, dish after dish after dish was being placed in the center of the table. Probably more than 20 dishes & none looked like anything I wanted to try. Rog's eyes were darting from dish to dish deciding which first! Our host put some rice in everyone's bowls which I then slowly ate. I call it pretend eating so it last a long time and looks like I'm eating lots. Our Basque friend ate more like me. I did enjoy watching others pick apart the whole crabs, shrimp & every chicken part…including the feet. Next to each was a pile of bones & shells. This went on for more than an hour & it looked like there was no end in sight. The Chinese man next to me spoke good English. His about 12 year old son spoke 4 languages already! Using google translated, we conversed with our Basque friend & learned his wife had died 10 years ago. He said it made him happy & lonely to see older couples still able to enjoy each other. We went back to our room around 10, and about 11, our neighbors started setting off fire crackers & fireworks lasting long into the night. Actually there were fireworks the next 3 nights too! There are large groups of Chinese enjoying the holiday. We see massive tables overflowing with food & at all times of the day. The next couple days were lazy days to read, enjoy the beach & warm ocean water, nap & eat good food. Loving the pineapple smoothies and they even stock Coke Light! The hotel next to us has a nice pool and the owner offered to let us use it…which we did! If only they could clean up the trash, this island would be ideal! One night, we hired a boat to take us out to find the bioluminescent plankton. We'd seen it in Puerto Rico…but here I got to swim in it!! I had to admit I was nervous to jump into the dark ocean water by myself but it was so exhilarating ! Rog watched as I swam around stirring up the sparks of glowing planktons. So magical! Tomorrow morning we'll catch the ferry back to the mainland thankful we had some fabulous beach days!


Pics for Update 15





Warning - difficult to see

Update 15

Warning- this may be difficult to read.

Next morning we again filled up on the enormous breakfast choices & then took a long tuktuk ride to the Genocide Museum, known as S12. Once a school, it was converted to a prison by the Khmer Rouge. Words are useless. Sadness too deep. Horror too shocking. Up to 3 million people died. Starved, tortured, brutally killed between April, '75 & Jan '79. Anyone with education, soft hands, eye glasses, teachers, doctors, lawyers, artist, religious leaders…and their families…gone. Old classrooms still with blackboards filled with the portraits taken for record keeping. Rows & rows & rows of faces. Those eyes staring at me. This was only one of more than 167 prisons. From there we went to one of the many killing fields where mass graves were discovered. As you look over the almost 2 acres, there are lots of large sunken areas. Pits once full of bodies. There was a 6 story high Memorial Stupa in the center filled with over 8000 skulls & countless bones. A healing ceremony is held here yearly. Everyone walked silently, sober along the path that encircled the area listening to the voice on our headphones tell the stories. Chilling accounts of the torture methods, executions, rapes told by the few who survived. They talked about the pain they carry and how they found a way to move on. And all this was going on while I was living a wonderful life as a young teacher & then a new mom. Since the borders were closed, few knew til it was over. I remember hearing a bit about it then but I didn't let it sink in or let it affect my happy life. Today I did. All the way to the pit of me. All I can do now is pray that those still affected…most Cambodians..will find peace & healing. I've been in Cambodia almost a month. I've only seen kind, gentle & friendly people. I wonder how much pain they carry in their hearts. Vivid photos I saw in the German concentration camp, Dachau flash through my mind. How many more times will humans be so tremendously, horribly cruel?


Update 14

So after a $2.50 haircut for Rog, a swim in a cool pool, a warm shower…we caught the 6 hour bus to Phnom Penh. Always feel like I'm watching a documentary looking out a bus window as we pass through the countryside & small villages. It was a nice relaxing ride with A/C. Bus traveled on a nice road at about 30-40 mph. Seldom see anyone going much faster. Traffic appears to be very chaotic with about 10 motorcycles (with 2-5 on them) to 5 TikTok's (usually loaded down with you name it) to 1 car/truck and a occasional semi. It reminds me of filling a container with rocks, sand & water. Cars fill some space than tuk tuks go around and motorcycles fill in every inch between. Such a variety of food, products & you name it being carried by motorcycles & the carts they pull. I could have reached my arm out and grabbed lunch, flowers, a new chair…. Everything weaves in and around often some going the wrong way. Round-abouts are a gentle squeeze in whenever possible. People honk as a courtesy and no one seems to be the slightest upset about anything.
We quickly found our hotel room in Phnom Penh & then took a walk around the block. Sidewalk was crowded with parked vehicles, store products, food stands & a slew of broken items. Now we see why there's basically no walkers.
Next morning, we got up early & went to get our complimentary breakfast…which was quite a feast. Then off to see the Royal Palace which reminded us a lot of the palaces we saw in China. Extravagant. Next to the palace was the Silver Pagoda…called that because the floor was silver tiles. It was crammed with countless Buddha statues. One was about 5 foot tall, made of solid gold and decorated with diamonds. Another was solid jade. I still wonder how they can say they aren't worships Buddha…only honoring him. We then went to the National Museum which was not impressive…after being to Angkor Wat & its museum. It was hot by this time so we headed to our hotel's pool on the 9th floor. Sides were the edge of the building so while in the pool, you could look over the city landscape. Kinda of took your breath away! After a short rest, we headed to a deserted Levi factory that is now used to encourage entrepreneurs to open a business. Beside it they were trying to create an urban village within the city by including all the essentials needed like exercise room, offices, playground, stores and of course, housing. It's still a work in progress. The area was quite huge and so they provided bikes you could jump on to ride around to check it out. Roger was loving it! We ended the night on a sunset cruise which took us to where 2 rivers join the Mekong. There was a distinct line of muddy water color merging with the clear blue Mekong. Pretty interesting. From the river we could see the city skyline with lots of sky scrappers. Across the river was one giant hotel & on the shore in front of it was a fishing village with houses on stilts & boats with a covered area so people could sleep on them. As I stood there thinking about the contrast, a young boy from England & I started talking. It was his first trip and he too was dismayed. He said he wished he could be more than a tourist so I told him that's why we volunteer too. Then he couldn't stop asking questions. Finally the boat docked & so he gave me his What's App # and asked me to send him more information. So later that night I sent Max several volunteer ideas. I hope he finds a way to be more than a tourist.