ALL IN A NEW YEAR!

Although 2010 has drifted away, my mind remains full of fond memories of the smiles, sights, sounds and smells of Asia.


It took most of November for me to reconnect with the Western World and December was reserved primarily for family and close friends.  We visited our grandchildren in Tempe, Arizona and friends in craggy, red Sedona.  What a lovely place. It is amazing how vast and empty the southwest appears.  People are clustered here and there yet uncrowded----the opposite of Asia. 


January here in CA is mild so there is no reason to complain about either heat or freezing weather patterns.  How lucky we are.


Already house guests from the east have arrived with the hope for many more during this year. We have no big travel plans as of yet this year so we'll enjoy being the recipient of visits from others. Some will be from other nations via our international house exchange program.  How blessed we are to know so many folks who are willing to come and share their experiences with us.  

HOME AGAIN

WOW!  What a wonderful experience. We are lucky.


We are home, happy, and still a bit off schedule. Call and write anyway. 


It seems very quiet here in CA after hearing thousands of scooter drivers and taxis honk continuously or so many people approaching us on the streets or in cafes and shops.   Today it considered a catch-up day and unpacking.  I hope you have enjoyed this blog. Send your comments. I would enjoy talking or reading from you. Thanks, all.
Good bye.

VIETNAMESE ARE FRIENDLY EVERYWHERE--EVEN AT THE AIRPORT

Thursday late morning-------------Tom finished reading all three of Steig Larsson's Millennium series as I borrowed the second one from a local gal @ Kim Travel then bought the 3^rd one from a Britt on the bus to Mui Ne (beach resort). We stopped by to return book two @ at the travel office,which I am in the middle of reading so we bought another “copy”, only type available in English. Then we ventured off where our taxi intended to deliver us at the “better” Ho Chi Minh Museum, which he did, only to discover that it was closed for another 45 minutes. We decided to see other sites instead of waiting for the museum to re-open.

As today was our last day in Vietnam, we walked from the Museum grounds along the Saigon River –once witness to the departure of many from Saigon in boats trying to escape the Viet Cong take over in 1975. It was an eyrie feeling thinking about how so many people must have felt on a similarly hot, humid day not knowing how long and how far out into the Mekong Delta they would go. I am certain they never imagined ending up in refugee camps in Cambodia, drifting longer than their bodies would last, or ending up anywhere along the shores of the delta scraping for survival.

We walked by the most exclusive beautifully designed hotels, several built by the French in early 1900s. Formal tea available beginning at 200-300 times the price for tea in a local shop. We were only dressed to casual tour so they probably would not have accepted us in the fancy hotel restaurant anyway. Many folks appeared to be in serious discussions around tables in the lobby, which was the size of a major movie theater.

This area near the river's edge is now filled with very upscale internationally known shops such as Gucci, Armani, & the like. Vietnamese men and women even more so were dressed very chic in primarily western clothes and styles. My thoughts of the boat people, several whom I have met in the US over the years, made it all such a contrast.

Fresh coconut milk and it is COLD!  Deliicious!

Waiting for customers

After a few more blocks away from the Saigon river-strand, we passed a lovely park (did I mention earlier that Ha Noi and Saigon even more are strewn with wide boulevards, lovely parks, fountains, outdoor sculptures and lots of sport & art space? Several park benches and badminton courts are set up for the choosing).

Tom bought water from coconut/water saleswoman when I spotted what looked like a Henri Moore sculpture. Then we landed on Pasteur street to enjoy a fabulous “last supper” of grilled shrimp & octopus with greens in garlic and as always, steamed rice at the at the Pasteur Garden.

We are now at the airport getting ready to board, so long for now. Photos to follow if I cannot get them on now.

Bringing home more a few more things  than I took.

Ho Chi Minh Museum in Saigon near the riverwalk.

Our hotel attendees. Very lovely folks.

THE END IS TOO NEAR. SORRY TO LEAVE ASIA

What about today?

We are preparing for leaving Vietnam tonight, fly to Hong Kong, then home to LAX.  The entire trip will be around 20 hours or so--we arrive home about an hour and a day before we left---that International Dateline is quite something. We are lucky to have our dear friend Claude to fetch us at the airport. Joan planned to pick us up but she has a performance that runs late.


When we visit in person, I will tell the many fun stories----here are a few.

Remind me to tell you about-------------

 -the people in Da Lat wearing coats and hats when it is over 70 degrees.   Streets in the city center are closed at dusk so families & kids can ride bikes, skateboards, or just walk all over town. Not a bad idea.We met a fellow from Oceanside, CA who was born in Da Lat and I asked him about the coats. He says they always do that there & he never did know why.


-Our beach resort was so off season--few visitors which made our every move noticed by the staff.  For some reason they gave us a room on upper level altho most of other rooms were empty. could they see us better there/? ha!


- the 4-5 hours bus ride which was really 7.5 hours via mountain roads. Tom sat next to the plastic sheet where a large bus window had been smashed which meant he had to watch the scenery from the other side.


- fields of dragon fruit

Most handicapped folks did not want photos, but this man encouraged it without a fee.

Mens' Group

Caring for orchids

On the Pacific shore aka South China Sea

-the clock in hotel room looks like the one from elementary school. 

Dragon fruit plants

Dragon fruit- delicious

.

Toddler catching a cockroach in the large covered marketplace.

- Beach resort had lots of fishermen and boys in large baskets. Some using nets, some poles. Their labors were appreciated if they are the providers of such wonderful seafood we enjoyed.


-an uncanny hear -- listening to John Lennon's song Imagine while enjoying breakfast on the beach veranda with only other guests were elderly Vietnamese. Sure wish we could have chatted about life.


- many other travelers from a variety of nations whom we met along the way


-Shop girls and boys like to call me "mama" and Tom the "happy Buddha" Is this a way to break the ice and start a conversation?  and/or a way to befriend our wallets? Either way it is fun.
-Night Market dinner in the pouring rain.

-Asians really know how to provide comfortable beds- always platforms.  Who invented that box spring bed anyway?  Why is sleeping on springs considered a way to get a good night's sleep?

-the Saigon hotel with spa--very nice----not something we usually indulge in.  I finally got all that Habitat for Humanity blue and green paint out of my nails.

-as soon as we decided to check our departure flights, the US stock market started to decline. In general, it goes up when I am on travel, which happened most of Oct.

-shopping shopping shopping

-When we return, we would spend more time in the mountains to hike (as long as Tom's knee will hold up) tour more spots, possibly go to Sapa, continue to eat the wonderful fruits and vegetables,

-We Love the food here-especially the prices. Our most lavish dinner included a whole fried fish, green vegetables, shrimp, steamed rice and 4 beers for $15.10 US. 

Is this guy relaxed or what?

Our Hostess at the Night Market.

-What is that about?  all those apparently tangled wires on the utility poles?

-How most books in English are copies, I mean really copies on a copy machine on fragile paper.

-Those the vast differences & contrasts between Nepal and the rest of Asia and perhaps the rest of the world. I just finsihed reading Forget Kathmandu---an excellent quick history.

- Many other tales.  And, yes, Rechelle, some stories are best told in person rather than a blog.

Bye for now ............

-

It was pouring buckets this night. Folks keep on working as it is so natural here.

Notice the napkin is bath tissue roll in round plastic holder.

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE WATER.

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE WATER.

Tom asked me if my remarks about water to drink earlier were unkind about Vietnam. My remarks were not intended to single out this lovely country in particular; but only to remark that we forget about how lucky we are in more developed nations. Yes, it is a bit inconvenient to buy water to drink, brush your teeth, make coffee etc. We can afford to buy it in any amount. But most of the world cannot do that and does not have potable water from the tap. I read recently that there are some areas in US where drinking water is still a commodity consumers need to purchase. As you would expect, this is most often found in the poorest communities where the folks are captive with no other choices. Some people cannot imagine using drinking water to take showers, fill swimming pools, wash clothes, or even boil rice or tea.

All the while traveling here we need to avoid drinking tap water which includes not getting any tap in your mouth while washing my face, shampooing hair or in the shower. For me, I need to keep my mouth shut when I am not used to doing so. And, absolutely no singing in the shower!

When corporations take over rights to drinking water in any community, then............here's where power, politics and money enter the issue.

Enough editorials.  Now-- onto stories and photos.

WE COULD STAY HERE FOR WEEKS!

Pictures of Da Lat, Vietnam.  A resort town in the cool mountains with fabulous fruits & vegetables enjoyed by the French for over 100 years and preserved by Americans for same reason. Lots of French influence, architecture, food, baguettes, cream sauces, cafe au lait, a mini Eiffel tower and quaint with both Vietnamese and French art both originals and reproductions found in hotels and cafes.  Have you been here???

Our hotel is old, very French, and adjacent to a wonderful market. 

Shops & Cafes in Da Lat

Night market

An Eiffel Tower of potted plants on a round-about.

Local shopper

University of Da Lat (founded in 1957as a Catholic University) with Vietnamese national red star atop the University's original cross.

Frogs

You select your fish then she prepares it however you like. And with such grace.

Waiting for chicken buyers.