Home Again

I arrived home on Tuesday night, about 7;30 PM.  David, my brother picked me up. The neighborhood looked the same, and my house was still there. The lawn needs mowing and inside, the mess I left was still there. Ha!! Portland is cold, so I had to put on some long pants and find a sweater. Brrrrr! 

I flew through so many time zones, I literally arrived in Portland only  a few hours after I left Saigon. I mean, I left Vietnam on Tuesday, Oct. 14 at 11:35 pm. Then arrived in Portland on Oct. 14, at 7 pm, and that includes a 4 hour layover in Vancouver BC. My longest flight was 11 hours, from Hong Kong to Vancouver, and it seems longer coming back than going, but it is actually shorter, yet mentally it is longer. Hard to explain.  I thought about this long leg ahead of time, so I indulged myself in luxury by upgrading my ticket to business class. This cost me a few $$$ but it was well worth it. I will probably the only time I will get to fly business. I had to use my Asia miles to do this but they were going to expire anyway. In business class, you have "leg room" while sitting in a lazyboy like seat. And the food!!! They never stop feeding you. It was as if I was eating at a 5 star restaurant. Also, the seat next to me was empty. WOW!! It was easy to sleep too. I am spoiled now. 

Before I left Saigon, I stayed in my old hotel. The owner has only 6 rooms, and it is more like a boarding house, as some guests have stayed there over a year. She has a lot of repeat business. I will go back there again.  It is a convenient location for traveling to the airport, or going to Thanh's sister's house.  Thanh, my Vietnamese son, took me her house for lunch. He is a great cook, but first he had to go to the market. He never takes me to the market because the vendors will raise the price if they see me. Ha!! You have to sit on the floor Indian style to eat the food but it is worth it because he made spring rolls and shrimp cooked in beer, plus pork soup, and other food. My only problem is getting up after my leg has gone to sleep from sitting on the floor. Ha!! 

My only scare on those last few days was using the ATM machine. Generally, during the last 2 months of traveling, I had no trouble using the cash machine. I always use a particular bank but a few days before I left, I tried about 5 times, and couldn't get it to work. The bank didn't seem to know what the problem was. I thought maybe, after seeing all the bad economic news on CNN, that maybe my bank account had evaporated!! So this made me anxious and nervous. Finally, by using another bank ATM, I was successful but it seemed to process very slowly. Since arriving home, I am happy to report that my bank statement appears to be ok, other than my actual spending on the trip. 

Now, I am sorting through my box of mail, and trying to make some phone call, visiting my Dad, and planning a trip to Arizona for Thanksgiving. Maybe by next week, I will be back to my normal work, exercise and volunteering schedule...

I have tried to add some photos to previous logs. I will try to upload my photos soon, and email you the URL if you want to view. 

I probably will not write regularly on this blog unless I am traveling, I don't want to bore you too much. True!!  Thanks for your viewing. Have a good weekend... Tambiet (Goodbye, VNese)

Teaching/Getting to the End

Yes, I am still in Vietnam. I have been gone so long, it is hard to imagine being home. Ha!! But I have had a good trip. I haven't been sick, lost only one thing-a notebook. I will return to Portland Oct. 14, so now thinking a little about my return, but first I fly back to Saigon on Saturday.

The teaching at the high school has been interesting and enjoyable. There are 7 volunteers that go everyday to the high school. We generally leave at 8:15 am by van and arrive about 9 am. Then we all have our teaching schedules. Last Monday, my room numbers were all wrong, so I spent a lot of time walking around trying to find the right class. You would think the head of the Eng. dept. would know but she couldn't help me. In fact, her Eng. was very limited, which is not that unusal. The regular Eng. teachers are not always good at speaking Eng. so I guess that is why we were invited. The younger teachers are generally more eager to have us in the room, while older teachers are more reserve in their enthusiasm. It is understandable.

In some ways, the school reminds me of a normal high school in the U.S. You can have students not listening, or goofing off, semidisruptive. For example, in one class, I saw a student throw a pen across the room, hitting another student. The regular teacher said nothing. But they tell me that some students are expelled if their behavior is not good. Most of the students are eager to participate but they do not always understand. The classes seemed to be tracked, like math majors or physics majors. The class will always stand when you walk in the room, and at the end of class, the students never leave the room until the teacher leaves. There is a drum they use to begin and end classes, which I like better than a bell. There is a big push in Vietnam for all schools to teach English.

After we get back to the hotel, I often walk to a park that has a lake where you can see hundreds of locals exercising everyday. I walk around the lake but everytime, I am asked by some stranger to help them practicing their Eng. They are always university students, like the civil engineering student who I talked to yesterday. This student first asked me about Freddie Mac and the financial crisis in the U.S. Wow!! Then he want to know about J.P. Morgan, who I vaguely remember reading about in high school or college!! Ha! I am always to impressed with the young people here who seem to really understand how important education is and how thirsty they are for learning, especially English.

Today, I went with 2 other volunteers to the HaNoi Hilton. This is the Hoa Long Prison that the North used during the Vietnam war. John MacCain was in this prison for 6 years. A lot of the prison was destroyed but some of the original building remains. It is always interesting to see a place like this from another country's point of view. Some of the propaganda is obvious, but it was interesting. It talks a lot about the France ruling the country and dealing with Vietnamese resistance befor 1954. There are some photos of American prisoners who were shot down and captured, but they all looked more like army camp than a prison.

The school has planned a field trip for us tomorrow and a party tomorrow night. Then, after that we have only one more day. I have made some new friends with this new volunteer trip, and hopefully some of us will keep in contact. Some of the volunteer look to me if they have questions about Vietnam because I have been here so many times. Like, one volunteer always rides with me if we go in a taxi because she says I know what I am doing, where I am going and how to deal with the taxi driver if there is a dispute, and there have been a few. Ha!!

Well, I have to go to class. Take care all....Sweet dreams!

HaNoi - Volunteering

Yes, I know. You haven't heard from me in a while. Sorry, but now that the volunteer program has started, I am very swamped with little free time.

There are 14 volunteers staying at a hotel in HaNoi. There are from all over and I didn't know any of them previously. The team leader is from California. Others are from PN, NC, NY, and CA. I probably forgot some. My roommate is from NY and is still working as a architect. He remings me of somebody from the movie The Godfater or The Sopranos. Every moring we have a short meeting with breakfast. After breakfast, we head off to our teaching sites.

I am with 7 others at a private high school called Nguyen Binh Kiem. I generally have classes per day. These are Eng. classes, either 10th or 11th or 12th grade. Classes are from 30 to 50 in size. Students are excited to see us but that doesn't mean they are always listening. Sometimes, the class reminds me of a normal Am. class with all the talking. I did see a girl passing notes today.

Generally, there are about 3 students in the class that can speak English. The rest are less confident and less capable. If I ask questions, the same students, about 3, want to answer everything. I try to get the other to speak, but it generally takes a lot of time. The students in this school pay about $25 per month to go to school. Some of the students are hoping to work after finishing college, as translators. I did have one set of twin boys in a class yesterday. They were sitting apart, and both volunteering to answer questions, so I thought I was seeing double at first. Ha!! They wear uniforms and start their day at 7 am, finishing at 5 pm, but all that time is not instruction.

For example, one unique thing about this school is that they all take naps after lunch. If you walk around the hall after lunch, you will see the students either sleeping on the floor or on the tops of the desk. Everyone. The school wants us to take a nap too. Maybe I will bring my pillow. Ha!!

The weather is slightly cooler now, so the climate isn't too unbearable while teaching. Our staff room is A/Ced with tv and a computer. It rained yesterday, and they say a big storm is coming but so far, only cloudy today.

We leave for school at 8:15 am and get back to the hotel at 4 pm. After a short rest, we all eat together at a nearby restuarant. Last night one volunteer was knocked down by a bicyclist but he didn't get hurt. The streets are very crowded but I am used to it. Tomorrow night some students are going to come to the hotel after our dinner and take us on a walking tour of the area.

At school, we eat in the cafeteria. Yesterday, I ate with the headmaster and today I had lunch with his son. Heiu, the son, graduated from a university in France, and wants to get his MBA in the U. S. He introduced me to some single teacher in his school. Ha! We are only the second volunteer team from GV to work in HaNoi.

I am sure this isn't that neww worthy. I have been following the financial collapse in the U.S. Who knows what will really happen in the next few months. Also, saw the debate. So trying to keep not be totally out of touch. I have lost one notebook, with some personal information and I don't know if I will find that again. It is bugging me!!

Take care all!! Have a great Day!!

Back in Vietnam

I am staying in Saigon until my volunteer program starts in Hanoi. I found a small guess house in a back alley. The owner charges $12 USD per night, and so the price is very good. The room is very clean and spacious compared to some others I have stayed in. Also, it is very quiet, which helps a great deal because this city is quite noisy all the time. At first, I stayed in a different hotel. The noise and the ants were too much for me. In the morning, I walk into the alley and find Pho, the mainstay of VN. This breakfast cost me less than a dollar. Then I walk a short distance for my "cafe sua da" which is ice coffee with milk. I find the black coffee way to strong, so this helps. The coffee only cost about 33 cents. Of course, I could buy it in a nice cafe or restuarant but then it would cost me more than a dollar and I am too cheap. It tastes the same to me.

I was lucky to get out of Cambodia without delay. The sky started to cloud up and I knew it would only be a short time and the heavy rain would begin. It might not have caused a flight delay but I didn't want to find out. I was flying VN airlines, and my flight was scheduled for 1:55 pm. The weird thing was there was an exact same flight with VN airlines only 10 minutes before and my plane was quite empty. In SGN, Thanh met me and we went by motobike to the hotel.

The other day, I went for a walk but without my map. I normally have a fairly good sense of direction but this round-abouts always seem to cause me a problem. Well, I knew I could take a moto back to the hotel, but again I am too cheap. So, I tried to ask someone for directions. I knew they would not know the hotel but they should know certain landmarks... Well, this didn't work too well. Most people didn't understand me or didn't know. Finally, some young people took pity on me, and told me it would be easy to take the local bus, which I knew but I just didn't want to travel in the wrong direction. So, for about 20 cents, I rode the No. 1 but to the Binh Thanh Market. It took about 15 minutes. I was at least 4 km from the hotel. From the market, I could walk a short distance to the hotel. Before I got on the bus, I was actually walking in the wrong directions. How does that always happen????? Ha!!

Before going back to the hotel, I walked through the park. This city is probably one of the safest cities in the world. Anyway, I sat on a bench to watch the local high school PE class. The teacher brings his class to the park because the school has no gym. The students sat attentively for the most part during his instructions but there were lots of distractions. Other people using the park, walk right through the class, or venders selling food, or tourists!!

As I was sitting there, a young college student approached me and wanted to talk English. I like to do this but I am always on guard because sometimes they want something too, like money, or they are selling something. Before long there must have been at least 15 students standing around me, listening and asking me great questions. One student told me he really understood me because my accent was so good. These students had just come from their school and often come to the park to see if their any native English speaker that would be willing to converse with them. I must have talked to them about hours. I told them I would try to come back another night. I found it very enjoyable too.....

Well, I know this is not very exciting. I am relaxing, waiting for my transfer to Hanoi and working in the school there. I did get invited to Thanh's teacher house the other day for dinner. That was nice. More later.

Have a good Day.....

Random Thoughts about Cambodia

I am still in cambodia. I will leave soon to go back to VN. I was going to try to go to Laos but I am slightly behind in my schedule and I know it takes a long time to travel from place to place in Laos, so I will save that country for another time. It also a money factor too. I have already spend a small bundle, and I am not sure I have enough to travel to Laos... Ha!!

In Cambodia there is garbage service, but you would never no it. You can see garbage everywhere. Sometimes, the smell will knock you over. Ravy, my friend in Phnom Penh, says the smell is from bad water. I think he means open sewers. Yesterday, I saw a young boy collecting dead rats. Too much for me!!! I couldn''t get away fast enough. I have seen workers cleaning the streets, but most of Cambodia looks dirty, strewn with litter everywhere. I always look for the trash barrel but they can be hard to find. They do a certain amount of recycling here, only because the poor have no jobs. I often see bike riders with gunny sacks filled with empty plastic bottles that they take in for small amount of money.

Dogs and some cats roam the street freely. I am think most of the dogs do stay with a family, but they they go everywhere. How they keep from getting hit in the street is beyond me. I often eat at a local restaurant and you never know what will rub against your leg while you are eating. Yesterday, I had some ducks eating the crumbs off the floor next to the table I was eating at. Generally, it is dogs and sometimes cats. Like in VN, they often just throw debris on the floor, and sweep at the end of the day.

I had one shared taxi ride and one bus ride that I thought was a little too close to the edge. In the shared taxi ride, there were 6 of us in the car. I was in the back, but next to the oncoming traffic. In the front seat, the driver sat but there was a passenger between him and the driver's door. I mean, there were really two people sitting in the driver' seat. This was a bucket seat, so the driver wasn't really too comfortable, I am sure. Now I rode in this car for about 4 hours, in heavy highway traffic, with the driver, sometimes, talking for long periods of time on his cell phone. Then there was this quick but short stop in the middle of the road with another car, that were either police or maffia. The driver took a small bag from this car and put it in the trunk of the other car. All I could think of was drugs.... Ravy said it was a bribe-beer- to the police. I was just glad to get out of the car.

My other ride was on the bus from the beach back to Phnom Penh. We caught the bus early in the morning, for a long 5 hour ride back to PNP. The bus was full and I sat in a seat, next to the back. My seat was good but the longer I rode with this driver, the more I worried. For one think, I thought he was going exceedingly fast. When we stopped for lunch, Ravy confirmed my thoughts. He had called the bus company to complain about it already. Yet, he didn' t seem to slow down after lunch, and I could always feel a rather ominous sway , like we might tip over on any curve. The km markers along the road are in the form of tombstones, and looked a little too prophetic . I counted each marker and only really relaxed after I saw the 20 km sign, because I knew we were close enough to the big city now that he would have to slow down, due to heavy traffic...

The traffic in Cambodia really has no rules. I know it is worse than VN. Cambodia has the highest death rate of all the SE Asian countries. You would not believe how some people travel here!! They sit precariously atop a loaded van or truck, sometimes as many as 10-20 people. First, I cann't envision how they got up there to start with. Then, it seems to me, at the first quick tap of the brakes, they would go flying off. I do have a photo of this. It is unreal. Cambodia has a very poor bus system, so maybe that is why people travel this way, but I am sure it is very cheap too. And along the highway, everywhere, you will see, these roadside umbrellas, with liter Pepsi bottles filled with gas. NOT filled with Pepsi, but with gasoline.. These people buy gas somewhere, then fill empty Pepsi bottles and sell to moto drivers along the highway. You see them everywhere. There are gas stations too, but not eveywhere. Gas is expensive here, about $1.45 per liter.

I bought a good umbrella because it rains at least once a day. I mean heavy downpour. Streets flooded. I will probably give it away when I leave. Ok, that is all for now. Enjoy your life. I am good and thankful for everything....especially after being in Cambodia.......

In Cambodia now

It is Sunday evening and I am sitting in an internet cafe drinking Lao beer. And it is raining cats and dogs outside. Luckily, it didn't rain during the day as I was out all day. And I had a great day. In Cambodia, I think the poverty is worse than VN. I was here two years ago, and I think it is worse economically. A good example was on the bus ride here from SGN. It was about 7 hour ride. Most of the bus riders were part of a Korean tour group. When we crossed the border, you have to get out and claim your luggage, then just put it in the scanner. I don't think they even looked at the scanner, just a formality. You do have to fill out a small bit of information but the bus company then collects the paper and your passport. Later it is handed back to you and you get back on the bus. You never really see the customs official. The bus then stops for lunch, the last stop before Phnom Penh.

Oh, yes they did stop again to cross a river by ferry. We probably sat for about 30 minutes. It was here that I saw some very poor children. Hundreds of them, standing, begging, outside the bus window. It was very disturbing, and gut wrenching. Many without clothes. I don't remember seeing such blatant poverty before in Cambodia. Maybe my memory is poor(I can hear the snickers now!!) or it is worse. In the city of Phnom Penh, there are some very expensive condos, apartments, and office building being constructed, but I can't see many people here being able to afford then. They do have lots of foreign investment companies in Cambodia.

That Lao beer is tasting better as I drink more. Ha! It is raining but it is hot too..

This morning I took a tour on a motobike with a guide as a driver. Twenty US dollars for all day. You can't beat that. The guide first took me to the dolphin lake. This is about 20 km out of town, on a long narrow palm filled road. The lake is a protected area supported by the Australians. You are taken out on the lake by boat for two hours to see these dolphins jumping in the water. I shared the boat with two French tourists and two local Cambodians. We did see some fish jumping and they do look like dolphins, but I am going to have to do more research about this because some other people told me that they are dolphin-like fish. And why are they only here? It was relaxing on the water, and just sitting still, waiting for the next jumping fish..

After that, we went to a small village. There was a very large and beautiful pagoda there, with 100 columns. J have seen many pagodas now, and this might be the most impressive. It was filled with very colorful painting inside. And there are always monks praying, generally quit old though. Outside, there were some young boys being taught to use some ancient musical instruments, so there was this mystic music resonating through the area. I don't know if my photos will do it justice. This pagoda is in a very isolated area, so it get few visitors, yet it was truly awesome...

After the pagoda, we stopped for lunch. I had pork and bamboo. I think bamboo might be the most unique plant around. You can eat it and it is used for building all over the world.

Then we climbed a small mountain, where there was another pagoda. I enjoyed the exercise and to my amazement, I could climb these stairs better than my 30 year old guide. He said I was strong. Ha!! This pagoda was not that impressive, but I thought it would be cool at the top, but the air was very still and the humidity seemed extreme... The view was nice. You can see the Mekong river. This is an amazing river, that effects at least 5 countries. Again, water is such a key part of life...

Then we rode through the countryside. We stopped at the farms, where they were stripping the rice from the stalk. Then it goes through a different machine to clean the rice. The residue is collected and fed to the pigs. Many pigs and cattle in this area too. We were often riding through large herds of cattle on the road. The children, spend most of their day watching the livestock. In one place, I saw the children riding the cows like horses, to easy their boredom, I'm sure..

We ended the day, going to a local home, and watching them cook some local food-noodles with vegetables. It was interesting being inside a stilt house. These are the main structures you see here. I thought it was because of flooding, but it is to keep the livestock under the house during adverse weather conditions. Also for feeding or grooming. They do wash the cows and other animals. No electricity in most of these country homes. They do use car batteries for power a few hours a night....

Oh yes, then we watched the sunset... Sunsets are big here. The sunsets do seem to be more impressive here. I think because of the open land area, and not large cities.

Well, back to Phnom Penh tomorrow.... Have a good night......

A few more daysIn Vietnam

I lied. I said my next blog would be in Cambodia. Not yet. In Saigon yet, but for probably only one more day...I rode a sleeper bus 11 hours from Nha Trang to get here. The sleeper bus travels at night, so I left at 8:30 pm and arrived in SGN about 7 am. The seats recline and are fairly comfortable. You have to take off your shoes to get on the bus. The bus did look very new. I must have slept better than I thought because I don't remember a lot. The bus was not full which is unusual for VN. This is the high tourist season in VN too. You see lots of Koreans and Japanese tourists, some Philippians' too, plus Australians and Europeans.

Before I left Nha Trang, I went with Dung's brother in law for a hike to see some waterfalls. This took a while on the motobike to get there as the road was unimproved. There was a small admission price and the trail started off easy enough. But as we walked on, the trail got less defined, and more like blazing our own trail. Then, we got to a very rocky area, more like small boulders or large rocks. It here that it got interesting. To see the waterfalls, you have to physically climb over/through the large rocks. There were red arrows painted on the rocks to show you the best path. There were some vendors-women- who decided that I needed help in climbing over these rocks, so they literally led me by the hand as we navigated through the rock trail. These women were very agile and like mountain goats on a side of a cliff, constantly assuring me that I could do this. As we forged on, the path got more difficult, and then it started to rain. I was already ringing wet from sweat, and now with the rain, I felt that I had less traction for scaling this rocky boulders. And if I was to twisted an ankle, who would medivac me to saftey? These 80 lbs women? Hardly, even though they possessed remarkable talent. I went as far as I could but not all the way. I had to turn back. Going back wasn't any easier. I did pay my guides well for they much needed help. It was quite a workout.

In Vietnam, when you eat at the restaurant, you often just throw any trash on the floor. Later, they sweep the floor, collecting and putting it in the street. Then, late at night, the trash collector comes. But before the trash is collected, the recycler comes. This is a poor man or woman, who looks through all the trash, looking for plastic, cardboard, metal, or glass. These are people who are very poor, and don't really have a job, just do this to eke out an existence. Once in a while, they find a treasure.

During the day, in all the major cities of VN, you have people who ride through the streets on their bikes, selling their stuff. This can be food, to household items like dusters. Of course there are others who walk around selling tourist items, like sunglasses, books, hammocks, etc... Some of these people probably walk all day and never make a sale. There are some shoeshine boys too, but I am generally not approached by them because I am wearing sandals.

I will sign off for now. I am will go to Cambodia tomorrow or Wed. Today is Tues...Hope everyone is well. Enjoyed talking with my brother David on Skype today...

Nha Trang

I flew from HaNoi to Nha Trang(NT). I know Mr. Dung and his family here. Dung is a young man with a wife and two children. Dung was forced to drop out of school at the age of 12 because his father had no money. This lack of education has hampered Dung's chances of employment, yet he has learned Eng. and tries to make money teaching and as a guide.

Dung took my by motobike to Tuy Hoa, which is 100 KM north of NT. I wanted to meet with a woman who I had met in Portland, Christine. Christine has a daughter in Portland, but had taken a job for 18 months as a volunteer, teaching Eng. in the high school. The road to Tuy Hoa is highway 1, the national highway the runs the length of VN. Tuy Hoa is a growing area, with a nice beach. The city is easy to navigate and considerably less traffic than NT or other bigger cities in VN. I visited one of Christine's classes and talked with another teacher from Colorado. Things are very cheap here. Christine says she can live on $100 a month, which includes the rent for her house. I saw some beautiful homes in Tuy Hoa, and lots of young people. There are desperate for English teahers too.

I came back to NT and then road with Dung by motobike to DaLat. This was about a 4 hour ride over the mountains on a new road. I should say part new road. VN has obviously spent a lot of money making this new road, but I am not sure why because it is difficult to get to and then suddenly stops in the middle of no where. The new road cuts through the mountains, so the climb is difficult for buses or large vehicles. The sides of the road have steep rocky terrain and susceptible to falling rock, mud slides, and erosion. The views are impressive and little sign of human habitation during the ride. Also, you have to make sure you fill up with gas otherwise you will be stranded. I am not sure what we would have done if we had had a flat tire. Ha!!

Dalat is a much cooler climate, higher in elevation. It has a French influence and has some great parks with all varieties of flowers and trees, like the tall pine trees. They also grow many different varieties of vegetables, cabbage being very popular. The hillsides are all beautifully terraced with weedless gardens. They grow very little rice here. Also lots of coffee trees. I trekked to the highest mountain peak and visited other parks. In the morning, there is often fog or mist in the air. In the afternoon, it would rain heavy for about 3 hours, then clear. And they have power outages almost every day, sometimes lasting 8 hours.

One food I enjoy eating in NT in Banh Cuon. I think I spelled that right. I have eaten it at one particular street restaurant in NT. Three sisters, all dressed in pajamas(at least that what it looks like to me), with their conical hats, cook on the pavement with little or no equipment but an open fire. These sisters are well past retirement, maybe seventy or more. When I show up, they smile, showing all their missing teeth. One sister works with a watery, milky batter. She laddles out a cupful onto a flat grill, heated from an open fire. With a chicken feather, she gently stirs the batter on the grill. After about 1 or 2 minutes, the batter becomes like a crepe, and she removes it with a chop stick. Another sister adds some mung beans to it and sprouts, then rolls it. Finally, she uses a scissors to cut it into sections. Another sister serves it and brings the fish sauces to enhances the flavor. It definitely wouldn't pass the health code, but again I am impressed with the how much they can do with so little, and how tirelessly they toil, day after day, for a mere subsistence. This breakfast is about $1 USD.

One new thing that I bought at REI in Portland was a Steripen. This is a device that can purify water. I have used it now many times and it great. Sometimes I get to the hotel and I have forgotten to buy water. Now, I can fill my water container from the tap, zap it with my Steripen and use it. I does take some faith to use the first time, but so far it has worked well. Sometimes, I have to zap the water several times before I get a "green" light which means it is ok to drink.

I will be in NT a few more days, then head to Saigon, and Cambodia. My next blog will probably be from Cambodia.

I have been able to watch some news on CNN, like part of the Democratic convention. The price of gas here has dropped about 10 cents. (they use dong).

Take care all. Enjoy your life....

Thanh Hoa and Cuc Phong Nat'l Park.

Thanh has many relatives in this area and he considered it a necessary custom to a least visit briefly with his aunts and uncles when he comes back from Saigon. So he would take me to their homes, and we would stay for about 30 minutes. I think it is a nice custom and very respectfully tradition. He also brings them some fruit or food as a gift. They all seem to enjoy his visit, and his foreign guest. Ha!! One aunt, who has nine children, none of which live in the area now, lives in an old house near his parents. When we arrived, she was in the garden. To get to the garden, you have to use a concrete boat-yes, concrete. You use a long pole to push your way across the water . The garden is a small island. This is quite hard work for an older woman, but she smiles the whole time. Her husband lives in a another city with their son, but I am not sure why. One of her son's is in prison for drugs and so she is helping to raise her grandchild. I don't really see any obvious evidence of drugs, but Thanh says it has affected some members of his extended family and his classmates. A worldwide problem.

Another aunt lived close by, so we left to see her too. When we got close to the house, these dogs began yapping at us. Well, dogs are common in this area. They roam free but are generally quite laid back, and if they do bark, they do it at a distance. For this reason, I didn't pay to much attention to them as we came to the house. As they sounded more serious, and I looked down I could see one dog was definitely aggressive. I remember seeing his teeth, then the sudden pain. I knew he had nailed me, but luckily only once. We stopped. Everyone came out, and the dog retreated. My wound was a puncture wound, no blood, but it hurt. The aunt felt bad and so did Thanh. She found some salve and it did discolor, but I thought it would be ok. I was glad it was not a stray dog. At least they could test the dog if necessary for rabies. Not the most pleasant thought. After a few days, it healed up.

On anther day, we rode the motobike to Thanh Hoa. I wanted to visit a priest who I helped with English in Portland but now he has gone back to VN. I was about 130 KM from Thanh's house, so over 3 hours, but on the back roads. On the way, the rain was off and on, so sometimes we had to stop to put on our ponchos, or take them off. The countryside is gorgeous. You see the rice fields, the workers in their conical hats, toiling away by hand in the field. Some have the water buffalos, and animal who is made for this kind of work, because they stand calmly for hours, yet capable of pulling heavy loads. And there were some beautiful lotus flowers dotting the water areas. Some corn fields too, but mostly rice. Father Tu was very happy to see me. He said he had not used his Eng. in two years, so had forgotten a lot. His parish is next to the sea, so we walked on the beach for a while. Of course, somehow, the nearby children discovered that I was there, and before I knew it, their were about 50 young people following us on the beach. I tried to have a few words of converstion with them, but all they could do was parrot back what I said. It still amazes me how thrilled they are to see a "white" person. And I mean any white person. Father also took me to another fishing village, that typified the look and smell of a poor fishing community. The weather would not cooperate and so it rained the whole time, which limited our choices. Later, we went back to the parish, where I had a great dinner. The seafood-crab, squid, shrimp-plus the beef was a meal fit for a king. I stayed the night here in a nice guest room. Late at night, there were thousands of frogs littering the outside porch area. Harmless, but noisy.

Another day, we rode to Cuc Phong Nat'l park and stayed overnight in a bungaloo. This was a nice experience too. The park is really a tropical rain forrest. We hiked one trail to see a 1000 year old tree, high on the mountain. Along the way, the constant buzz in the trees was very loud. I am not sure what it was as I really didnt' see any animals, except for a few monkeys. There were lots of beautiful butterflies and insects. I saw one huge black spider-I mean HUGE!! And the web was unreal too. There are stories of tigers here but I think many they had died off. The bungaloo sleeping was more like a hostel, with a common bathroom. The mosquitos were fierce that night so I was thankful for my DEET and net. VN does have quite a few nat'l parks, so they are some people are trying to protect and preserve their habitat and other living things. I am glad for that.

This computer doesn't have a spell checker so I am sure their are some typos. Ha!! Don't be too critical. Until the I write again.......have a good day....

Ninh Binh-Kim Son

I know it has been a while and a few of you have given up on me, but I will try to do some makeup now. My previous posts had large blank spaces where I tried unsuccessfully to add photos. I think you will have to all wait until I get home. Sorry..

In HaNoi, Thanh and I took the luxury of taking a taxi to the bus station. The taxi driver was either the most cautious driver or his car had a problem, I am not sure which, because he drove so slow!! He did tell us he had gotten a ticket earlier that day.

Arriving at the bus station, we were immediately attacted by the touts, and I do mean attacked. Agressive hawkers and bus employees, all wanting to make a sale, yell and push for your attention. Thanh warns me several times to watch all my belongs and money, while he surveys the situation. After a few minutes, we buy a ticket for a bus to Kim Son, where his parents live. We will only have to ride one bus, no transfer which is good. We do have to wait until the bus fills up. They don't leave untill All the seats are sold. And just when you think there is no more room, they make more seats, like in the aisle. There is no leg room, at least for me and I don't think I am tall. We do manage to keep all our bags inside, which is a plus. I am the only Foreigner/Toursist on the bus, so this always creates a small amount of conversation. Thanh has to spend time answering these questions, but mostly I am greeted with smiles or curious looks. The ride takes about 3 plus hours, and cost about $2 USD.

We debark on some rural road, collect our belongs and hire two motodrivers for the last few kms to Thanh's parents house. They know we are coming, and we arrive after about 15 minutes.

Thanh's parents live in a farming area but they do not farm. They run a small mom and pop store and make about $2 USD per day. They open the store about 6 am and close about 9 pm. Most of the customers are children going or coming home from school. The building itself is an old wood frame structure with a few bookshelves for their inventory. One good think about VN is that you generally don't have to buy the whole package or box. For example, I bought 6 bandaids the other day, 2000 dong or 12 cents. Another structure, is the main house, which is most a larger room, for sleeping and eating. This building has a very nice tile floor, common in VN. There are two wood bed frames, each with mosquito nets and large woven mats covering the main section of the bed where the mattress would normally be. After sleeping on this for a few nights, I actually became quite comfortable but it isn't much different than sleeping on the floor. Very hard!!

There is really no kitchen in the house. They cook either over an open fire, or use a butane type burner. Preparing the food in a squatting position from the ground, using dull knives and a large wood chopping block made me think this was a lot of work. I volunteered to help but they wouldn't let me. The hardest part for me would have been the squatting, but this is second nature to them. Food there was always good and plentiful. I even ate the greens, raw, and didn't get sick. I really like a lot of their cooked vegetables, which are common here, like a spinich type green that I never see in the US. They always eat rice last with soup. Then fruit for dessert. Maybe Americans could copy some of these habits. ??

The rest of the property contains a well, and outside squat toilet. Also a showering/bathing area(outside the house too.) To get to the toilet, you walk down a wall outside of the store. The first few times I did this walk, I found forehead covered with cobwebs. I guess I was the tallest person in the house. So after doing this twice, I would duck down a little or break with a stick before walking. I did find the cobwebs intriguing because they had to connect to another wall about 15 inches away, and I couldn't figure out how this was possible.

There is no running water, only water from a well, so they collect water in a large barrel for showering. The shower stall is three sided,and you can't worry about privacy. Using very cool water and a bucket, you can get a refreshing respite from the heat. It is common for them to shower several times a day.

Staying here made me appreciate many things. I did find it slightly difficult at first, then grew to really enjoy the experience. I would gladly go there again. Also, it amazes me how little people can have and yet it to strangers. And I am sure it was more work for them because I was there.

Often relatives and neighbors would come in to "see" me, have some tea and leave. I am sure Thanh was tired of translating too. Ha!!

I used this house as a home base to a National Park, and two other areas. More about this later.

As an aside, I did manage to connect with my sister Eileen in Seattle using Skype but then we got disconnected. Maybe I can do that again soon.....Take care All.

In HaNoi, but it wasn't easy

I had a very nice time in VungTau. Ms. Mai, met me and took me to her home. Then her husband took me to a hotel near their home, which worked out great. On Wed. I visited the new high school which is now a national hi sch, one of 5 in VN. The school is huge, over 2000. Then, at night, I was a guest speaker for Ms. Mai's evening home school class. The next morning, she had another class in her home and I managed to squeeze them in before leaving on the boat back to Saigon. I maybe repeating my self...??

The day before I spent walking along the fishing village. This turned into more of trek than I had thought, even though I had a map too. Along the road there was a huge Buddhist temple carved into the side of a mountain, so I climbed up many steps to view this huge Buddha. Many other people there too paying homage. I walked around back, where a young man was about to throw several large stones into a tree. He saw me and decided to let me pass first. I, on the other hand, was curious as to what he was trying to dislodge in the tree, so I motion to him that I would wait and he could throw his rocks. He threw into the tree 4 times, and I still couldn't see any fruit, or bird or anything that he might be aiming for. So I walked on. The next thing I notice are these huge black insects flying above my head. Almost like a black cloud. Now I knew what he was trying to hit. And they came dive bombing at my head. I quickly retreated to another area, and luckily they didn't follow. I don't think they were bees, more like dragon flies, but scary enough. Ha!! I returned to walking along the waterfront, feeling extremely stupid- I should have walked and not encouraged him to throw something.

My boat ride back to Saigon almost turned into something eventful too. The sea was very rough and so the boat schedule got delayed for over an hour to start with. Then all the passengers had to be carpooled to a different side of VungTau to catch the boat. But finally we got started. Of course this threw my schedule off slightly, so I had to borrow someone's cell phone to tell him I would be late. We started back to Saigon, and everything seemed fine except that this Australian man who was sitting next to me said we were literally sitting still-not moving. I thought he was overstating it plus he seemed like he was trying to excite a small roit, or at least crowd panic. That, was the last thing we needed. The crew was no where to be found-a bad sign. Many of these passengers had early afternoon flights out of Saigon. Luckily, my flight was in the evening. It was only after the boat made an announcement that we would be transferring to another boat that I began to believe this Australian guy knew what he was talking about. The transfer actually went quite well, as a nervously walked a wide plank connecting the two boats. Then we began to sail up the Saigon river, arriving 1.5 hours late. But Safe!!

My last little Snafu of the day was at the airport in SGN. Thanh and I were taking the night flight to HaNoi. So, on 3 motorbikes, with all our luggage and heavy 1 plus hours of traffic, we arrived with a few minutes to spare. Checked in and sailed through security. About 30 minutes before the flight, the annoucement came that the flight was cancelled due to weather. Now what to do. First, you have to go back to Vietnam airlines and reschuled. But of course they weren't doing that until tomorrow morning. They recommended that we come back tomorrow at 6 am.which we did. So we had to find a hotel, near the airport last night. The line moved quickly this morning and we did get on an 8:30 am flight, so all is good. And it was a safe flight... The perils of traveling.

Vung Tau

I am in VungTau, which is west of Saigon to visit with a teacher that I worked with on a previous volunteer assignment. I took the hydrofoil-speed boat- to get here. It took about an hour and it costs $10 USD, which is a good deal and fast. By car, it would take at least two hours. The boat holds at least 100 people, and it even has life jackets. Ha!! Getting off the boat can be a little bit of an ordeal, as you it docked up next to two other boats, so you have to traverse across these other boats, but they help you. The local people are much better at it.

Before I left Saigon, Thanh had arranged to have a student reporter interview me for a local paper. He did this without asking me, but it was ok. The reporter, Ms. Huan, didn't speak English, only VNese and Chinese, and so Thanh had to translate. She was very young but friendly. She was interested in the volunteer project I was doing in HaNoi but I tried to focus my answers on Global Volunteers Org. Later, she told me I could get a copy of the paper but I will have to get it translated. Ha!! I did this too because I thougtht might be good for the GV.

In VungTau, I called Mai Hein. She is an Eng. teacher in VungTau high school. She didn't know I was coming but came promptly to pick me up and take me to her house. I first met her in 2000. Her husband found me a budget hotel near their house. Again, the price and location was right. Later, we went out to a very nice restuarant for seafood. This city is a seacoast town, so lots of local seafood. Some of the food I didn't know, but we had crab, bass, shrimp, and tofu. We walked back to the hotel.

The hotel speaks no English, so I had to convey my room problems via crude sign language. Two problems: The AC was running but no cool air and the fan didn't work. The owner went to work quickly replacing the fan. That was all I needed for a good night's sleep, as there was no noise outside. This morning, I found a great Cafe place(coffee house) which had huge aquirium tanks as an inticement for customers. After that I walked to the local street market. Again some of the fish I saw there were unique. One huge basket of maggots(at least that is what they looked like to me). I did take a photo.

Mai took me to her school, which is brand new. It is one of the 5 national high schools in VN. Very nice, with a swimming pool and gym facilities. The students are on vacation now, but will start back in a few weeks. We had a hard time leaving the school, because the guard locked the gate and now he could not be found. The German shephard dogs the sleep near the gate seemed unconcerned about our dilemma. Ha!!

Lastly, I walked on the beach. Many locals here, enjoying the warm water and hot weather. The ocean and the beach both look clean.

I just like to make one comment about the internet cafes in VungTau. During the day, they are jammed with local kids, 5 years and older, playing additive video games for hours. And they charge them a much high price than local internet. Also, the computers are so jerry rigged, virus infected, and outdated programs, that I am surprised they even run.. ie. There is no spell checker on this program so I am sure I have some errors... I think I am spoiled..

I have been taking some photos and would like to add them but I haven't found the right internet cafe yet. Be patient...Later

Saigon(HCM) never sleeps

Well, I haven't had very good luck finding a good Internet Cafe, but today, in my walk through the neighborhood, I spied this place while waiting out a heavy downpour.

First, my flight here went smoothly. Leaving Vancouver, there was a minor glitch, as we sat on the tarmac before taking off for about 1.5 hours. There was some problem in the fuel valve, and it needed to be repaired before taking off, not the most reassuring thought either. But the pilot promised to make up the time and so how he did, as I arrived on time in SGN. (But any 12 plus hours on a plane long... maybe not in first class ha!!). I want to sleep but I can never get very confortable or sleep for very long.

Breezed right through customs and immigration in Saigon. The new international terminal in Saigon seems to have really improved things-no long lines, and everything processed so quickly. Regressing, I would also like to mention HongKong and Vancouver are two very clean, artistic and efficient airports. My biggest probem after arriving, was waiting for my luggage. I had two bags and mine seem to be the last ones. But at least they were there!!

My Vietnamese Son Thanh was waiting for me as I pushed out through the throng of people. He had come on his motor bike. Now, I was just worried as to how he would manage these bags and me on the bike. Quite a load. Ha!! But he did. (I really have only one bag, as I like to travel light, but I had brought another bag with gifts for local people in Vietnam. As soon as I give all this stuff away, I will be down to one bag. More my style. ) Thanh had looked for a good cheap hotel near his sister's house for me to stay in. This is distance from the central part of SGN, more in the suburbs, so we had to go about an hour to the hotel. He would like to have me stay in his home, but the police do not allow it in that area and I guess they don't take bribes, which is a first too.

Traffic is always quite heavy here, with a lot of horn honking and near misses, but Thanh is a good driver. Now, the new rule is that everyone has to wear a helmet, if they drive a motor bike. The fine is $200 USD -I might be wrong about that because it seems excessive. The inory of the law is that there is no requirement for children on motorbikes or for children who ride bicycles on the road too. I remember the first time I came to Vietnam, I was afraid to cross the street in Saigon. Now, it is still probably as bad, but I have adjusted.

The hotel is in a quiet neighborhood, which few commercial building, which is both good and bad. The bad part is that you always have to go somewhere to find a restaurant or internet, ect. But the good part is the price. The room costs only $10 USD. I might be there first real tourist, as the receptionist was stroking the hair on my arm. I have actually had this happen to me before in VN, but generally in more remote areas. They think this is really something. Ha!! And another thing, is that my room has now windows. But I figure, I am not spending much time in the room anyway. It does have nice shower, bed, and cable tv. My kind of deal. Ha!!

Today, it rained again. Every afternoon, heavy downpours. It is not really cold, but you have to wait it out, or use a poncho.. Thanh was sick today, so I walked about. I found a great deal on lunch. I had rice, chicken, salad, fish, and bananas for 20,000 dong (which is about $1.30). I was proud of myself. Sometimes, the locals try to jack up the price on the tourists too.

One of the reasons I like coming to Vietnam, is that that people generally are always friendly. They enjoy seeing the American, and try to help you or speak with you. They almost always say Hello. And another thing is the food. I enjoy the food. I am eating on the street or close to the street-small mom and pop cafes, which have Barbie like furniture to sit on. I have collapsed on a plastic chair before, so always look for a reinforcement by stacking two together or a more real chair. Ha!! And so far, no stomach problems or system malfunctions. Knock on Wood!!

Ok, I know I wrote but said very little. Just enjoying life........Take care all........

Some of you may know that I am leaving Portland, Wednesday, July 30 for Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. I think I am ready. I plan to be gone 10 weeks, so returning Oct. 14. I will end my travel in HaNoi with Global Volunteers. My last stint with GV was in Queretarro, Mexico in June.(I have finally completely recovered from my stomach problems thanks to "Cipro" and the doctor) Every GV program is different, yet with lots of similarities. For example, one difference is you are always with a different group of people.  This will be about my  7th team but rarely do I meet people who I have been with before. The GV program was stopped in Vietnam after 2002, after I had volunteered in VungTau, which is not far from Saigon(many names of cities all over the world have changed, so this is now called Ho Chi Minh City). Now the program has restarted and I will be on the second team, so there will be lots of kinks to work out. Ha!!

Before volunteering, I will travel throughout Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. I have laid out a tentative itinerary but it could all change if necessary. Basically, I plan to spend the first month in Vietnam. I have been here many times, but there is always new things to see and do.  For example, I had coffee in PDX with an Australian woman volunteer who is teaching English in a small city in VN called Tuy Hoa, north of Nha Trang. I plan to visit her and her school. She is teaching there for 18 months and earns a stipend of $100 USD per month, which she lives on.  I want to visit her and learn more about this because I might do this in the future. (but I can't wait too long. Ha!!). 

In the second month, I will go to Cambodia for two weeks, then on to Laos for two weeks. I am excited to see Laos, because I have never been there. I hope to met a man in Vientiane(the capital) who will help me get my started. I know his cousin in Portland.  After Laos, I will travel back to Vietnam to do my volunteering and then come home. 

I will be gone 10 weeks. I know that is quite a chuck of time, but this is a part of the country where I enjoy the people, the countryside, and the challenges. I know lots of people in Vietnam, some of which will help me if I need it. I also know a person in Cambodia. I also like travel, and plan to go to China and Myanmar in the near future. There is just not enough time to do it all, but I am trying. (Right now, I am helping a Burmese family in Portland with English)

I did write a blog one other time, in Mexico with my laptop. This time I am not taking my laptop, and will use internet cafes, so this will be trial and error. Ha!! Bear with me. I will have my camera, but getting them online, or in this blog might be another thing, so be patience. 

If you want to bookmark my blog, then you can check it every so often. I am sure reading this today is quite boring. And that might be how most of my trip and writing will be..But thanks for keeping in touch.....Hen gap lai(See you later, VNese).