Southeast Asia - Vietnam - Seventh Week

Southeast Asia - Vietnam - Seventh Week

Day 48 2.18 Sunday on to Hue

Up at 6 for exercises, swim, and 7 breakfast at Phu Thinh. Having to go up and down 4 flights of stairs to get to/from our 3rd floor room has been  good for us-it takes effort. 8:30 we started our 4 hour trip north to Hue with several stops on the way. Mx. Hung from Hue is our guide and left home at 4am to meet us. Our First stop was in Da Nang at a marble sculpture sales facility which gave us a well rounded understanding of what the area is carving and what is for sale (shipped to US). Da Nang is a million strong and the economic powerhouse of the central highlands. Second, we climbed into Marble Mountain which is a Buddhist holy area with many sacred locations and carvings. Monkey mountain had a 68 meter statue of a Buddha women over looking Danang. We then went thru the Cham museum (4-12 cent). Third, we stopped in the pass on the mountains that run right to the sea and rise (I figure) 2K’. Forth, we stopped in an oyster harvesting bay and the adjacent fishing village where we got  refreshments. There is some Chinese development for tourism/casino  south of Hue. Hue has a 354000 population. Beautiful beaches all the way up our 4 hour, 75 mile drive. Fifth, in Hue we checked into the Asia Hotel, went for a boat ride, Marnie climbed  to a hill stupa and I waited, and then taxi’d back to the market area. However, it was closed for Tet so we got cyclobikes to haul us back to the hotel. Poor hotel-electrical fixtures are bad, desk is off the wall, dirty windows, and bathroom has a window therein. We are wondering if the quality of our tour is declining or just more detailed and confusing in writing as we can’t figure out the security and travel accommodation from hereon.

Day 49 2.19 Monday day in Hue

Up at 6 for exercises, organizing,then had breakfast at 7:30 and were ready for pickup at 9:30. Our guide, Mickey Mouse, (‘r Dieu Huong Le) was a very knowledgeable guide. The conventional working citizens make about 160$ per month and get free health care with incremental advances after 3 years. Contract workers like Le make much more. We started at the mausoleum of the second emperor who had 500 wives and 143 kids and died of (guess what) old age in 1840. The next mausoleum was for an extravagant king under the influence of France and not liked because he ran the state money into the ground. There are many lady Buddha statues and they tend to be  very large to be seen from a distance. Then we went to lunch in the citadel in a real upscale place. We got the guide and driver to join us, thou the company said no, and they helped us understand the food and how to eat it. After many courses we’re back on the road to the city site of the emperor in the citadel. The citadel is star shaped with motes and beautiful buildings for the king and military on the order of Fort Sumner, the fort at St. Augustine, and fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas. Marnie and Le walked the full distance as I dropped off after the throne room. I spent time talking with 25 year old couple from Barcelona who were product designers for a company in China. Finally, the women showed and we headed toward the train station, looking for flag stickers for my bike. At the train station we were herded and amazingly got on car #11, bunks 22 & 24 and found we originally had the sleeper to ourselves but there are 5-6 stops before Hanoi. At one of those stops we acquired a young American couple to share our room. It’s dark now and we’re wondering what the nite will bring beside too much ac. We brought bread, peanut butter, and jelly with us and peanut/white sesame pancakes for dessert.

Day 50 2.20 Tuesday Hanoi and to SaPa

Terrible nite on the train with rocking and no cpap. Off the train at 6:45 and taken to our interim hotel til 1:30 when we tour Hanoi. We repacked for a 4 day trip to the mountains of the Red Dao people 1/2 hour from the Chinese border, then we crashed for 2 hours trying to catch up on missed  sleep. We toured the ethnicity museum detailing the 54 minority ethnic groups in Vietnam’s 95 million people (80% are Vietnamese- Kinh people) with our guide “Ricky”. We were particularly interested in the Red Dao with whom we will stay Wednesday nite. We then had a cyclo ride around the Hanoi lake. The time of day and holiday season caused the area in central Hanoi to be a continual traffic/people jam. Finally, we went to the water puppet show before leaving for dinner with Ricky after his girlfriend could not make it as planned. We ate at a low  seated ethnic street place where we had rice porridge with chicken and some vegetables which tasted like chicken noodle soup. At 9pm we loaded onto the train which had WiFi so we read til late and then got pretty good sleep without my cpap-Marnie upstairs and me down. We shared a cabin with a Japanese couple on their way to SaPa to trek in the mountains. We had no way of knowing what trek meant as we did not understand SaPa....but now we do and we would not have been able to undertake the effort to trek in these mountains, thou it would be special and beautiful..I don’t know where else in the world we would find these kinds of panoramas (rice paddys and spread housing). 

Day 51 2.21 Wednesday    to SaPa and a homestay-TaPhin

Off the train at 5:30 AM and met Nam Nguyen Van (Mr. 5) our guide for the  next 3 days in Lao Cai. We drove in a Fortuner suv 1.5 hours to SaPa thru the  mountain terrain and arrived at the CatCat Hotel for breakfast, a shower, and into long pants for the cool foggy morning. At 9 we set off with a car because I can’t trek the 14 km trail to our homestay. We walked some, the sky cleared, and rode when my right knee (downhill pain) and left hip started seriously aching. So we saw up close the terracing for rice and vegetable crops.  Nam had us smell, taste, and touch many natural and herbal medicine crops. 4 kids rode by on 2 water buffalo (note the shoes on the horn) and pigs roamed  free to forage or suckle the mother if young. The hillsides look alive in spite of it being the non-crop or rice time, tho vegetables (cold weather varieties) are doing very well. Hawking, Red Dao women followed us to sell their goods whenever we walked. These women all have the same name, Mai, and get designated by number in birth rank. When the car could go no further in Ta Phin  we started walking down a long grade (exacerbating my knee pain) and could see our homestay in the distance  high on the next hillside. Just in time the owner of the homestay came upon us with his moto and they offered me a ride. I got on feeling very unsure as we went down to a  narrow bridge over the stream and started up the hill on the ever-narrowing concrete walk (finally down to 2’ wide), up and down with many sharp turns; I had to stop looking as seeing where we needed to go made me anxious. I doubt I  could ride my bike up the paths. Soon after I arrived at 11 and met the family, Marnie and Nam arrived and we were served lunch of noodles and vegetable salad with fried spring rolls, while the family’s meal was similar except for the pig intestine meat. This is a Red Dao family. Time to rest and catch up on sleep. But the 4 yr old had other ideas  and wanted to kick a ball and play with him, with an empty water bottle being hit on the head lightly. We took a tour of this buildings that the owner had constructed here on the hillside. The homestay houses must be approved by the government to insure political and health standards. They include two large self-built structures with separate quarters for the family and visitors and common  areas for meals. While there was some electric there were few lights inside. This stay has 3 generations living here, with pigs and chickens and water ponds for rice fields. Our table and chairs are very low but our platform, mat bed is beyond king size, or possibly two doubles. They have rigged up a special water system and the bathroom facilities are fairly standard. We can sit at our table and look out over the garden and rice fields of this farm, the valley, a small  community, the terracing and the mountain to the north, which is in fact China. Late in the afternoon Nam, Marnie and  I went for a steep 1 hour walk up and down on this mountain with farms far apart. I was sitting next to the young mother of the two children and she had the young baby on her back at dinner and she was rocking back and forth as she ate using body motion to calm the 6 month old baby. Father of the homestay was 36 when he became a grandfather.  Dinner was at a low table and there was a variety of foods: ground pork w/ veg, beef tongue, miniature whole fish, two kinds of cooked greens, another spicy ground fish,  many shots of rice wine, and of course rice. I spied the plows used in preparing the rice paddies after they have been flooded  but are waiting to be planted. Electricity has been in these mountains for 10 years. The construction is very basic with board cut onsite and placed functionally with homemade collapsing walls, many curtains, and sliding doors. Tables and chairs are very low.

Day 52 2.22 Thursday  doing SaPa 4921’ 10k pop

Up at 7 and worrying about the trek out of the mountains to a local festival.  Thin Pancakes with bananas and honey for breakfast with instant sugar-milk coffee. 1million dong ($50) for a woven tapestry ($40) at the homestay and a tip. Grandfather, who looks half my age, will give a ride about a kilometer to the road on his moto with my eyes closed after he suspended his work for a neighbor cutting metal for a wall. We arrived at the festival of the Black Hmong, Flower Hmong, Red Dao and spent 3 hours taking in the shaman’s dance, a simulated marriage ceremony, pig races, special group dances, and traditional food stands. We photoed as many costumes as we could and observed all ages- particularly the teens where the boys wore  jeans with their ceremonial coat and girls were decorated head to toe in traditional costumes except for tennies. We walked to the village for coffee as we waited for our driver stuck in a traffic jam on the one lane dirt road. Many very young looking girls had  babies on their back- tough to tell age and whether the young one is her child or a sib. We met Nam’s wife but everything was so confusing and nowhere to sit we had little time with  her. We came back to SaPa on terrible roads and went to lunch and then a crafts market for bag purchase, then meat-craft market and sewing crafts for a pouch. Finally to our hotel to rest and eat ‘til our 2pm tour tomorrow. Rain this evening as we went for a hamburger and pizza. Staying the nite in the Sunny Mountain Hotel. Big 10 b-ball was on TV. Lao Cai

Day 53 2.23 Friday tour and to the train to Hanoi

Up late for breakfast. Nook still on wait list for UNT and  we hope and pray.   The entire morning was covered in dense fog and was coldest day here  so far this year. We checked out of our room and read in the lobby for 3 hours. We left before 2 to go to the village of Sin Chai which is more natural than  CatCat and we walked the concrete path of the Black Hmong village. The village is 1200 and has a generator in the center area, but outlying homes have ptheir own gen to lite a few light bulbs. We walked about the village observing the kids, a pig that just delivered and was covering/hiding her new born piglets, and many flocks of chicks with their mother. We were aloud to visit a black Hmong house with dinning are on concrete and the remainder on  harden clay  floors. The second story is used for rice, corn, and animal feed storage and is accessed by log steps. The greener hanging in front of the house indicated no one could enter as the shaman was petrifying the house. The children had moto tires they used to roll along up and  down hills with sticks like American kids. We  observe the community helping build and new house and found that asbestos roofing products are still used here. The rain held off until we were back at the van. Then we rode over the highest and longest pass in Vietnam as we return to Lao Cai for the overnight train to Hanoi. Being early in Lao Cai we went to the Vietnam-Chinese border for a look across at the forbidden territory. Kidnapping a young potential bride and she lives and is wined and dined with family for 3 days. Then she either leaves or agrees to the marriage.

Day 54 2.24 Saturday go to the boat in HaLong

Off the train at 4:15 and over to A25 hotel for 7:15 pickup for the trip to our boat at HaLong. The train was good and we slept very well, even with no cpap. Washed up and got 6:30 breakfast. We discovered is hotels which  have short term customer for breakfast, shower and a nap early in the am until mid morning - We had this service in CatCat hotel in SaPa and at May De Ville Hotel in Hanoi 3 days ago and will have it at A25 in Hanoi. We were out of town by 7:45 with a stop after an hour for bathroom and crafts place. In another hour we stopped for a water puppet show (1000 yr hx) and an extended lunch. One hour later we were loading onto a chinese Junk boat with 15 other people. After introductions they offered a cooking course in making pork fried spring rolls. I was more interest in the operation of the boat and stayed on deck until the rolls were ready to eat...good. We started to organize our stuff and clothes in  anticipation of moving to Mongolia.

Southeast Asia - Vietnam - Sixth Week

Southeast Asia - Vietnam - Sixth Week

We published our blog and went for a walk- first through the area of food stalls and sidewalk hawkers with any food stuffs imaginable, then to the nite market on the boulevard which is primarily clothing, and finally at the park and permanent stalls where we bought supplies and small baskets. We are lamenting re: America and 45*.

Day 41 2.11 Sunday the Upper Mekong

Up at 5:45 to stretch and then to swim. We were picked up at 8 and went directly to a 30 foot boat with an engine and long shaft prop. Our first adventure included going to the floating market in the middle of the lower  Mekong. All the seasonal delights were on bulk display for retailers to buy - watermelon; yellow and green, carrots, coconuts, turnips, cabbage, onion, tomatoes, mangoes, and many things we don’t know the name for or have never seen before. All the big boats are live aboard. After 4 passes we went to a Farm  stead (actually a house and front yard) where plants are started. The farmer orders a given number of a given variety of veggies and the people sprout those plants for a price. The seeds are placed in banana leaf 1.5 inch round handmade leaf vessels filled with black ash from the rice husks that have been burned to make Caramel, pop corn, kitchen cooking, etc. These tiny pots are placed on a wooden frame of about 500 vessels. In 10 days the farmer  arrives to collect his tiny plants he will plant in his fields, merely placing handfuls of the tiny plant vessels right on top of each other- the next day they will be in the ground. After reloading we went up the tributaries of the river, but because the tide was running out we eventually went aground and had to turn around, heading back where we started instead of making a complete circle of the island. The men worked in thigh  deep mud to turn the mired vessel. We unloaded about noon and started the 3.5 hr drive back to our hotel. The roads going out of HCMC were over crowded (some times 4 lanes on the 2 lane road) with people going to their providences to be with family for the holiday week. We had our favorite pizza (4 cheeses) for the fourth time and came back to rest and write. Flowers are a big part of the Tet Lunar New Year. Two problems with the Mekong water...trash (particularly plastic) which stalled our engine twice and heavy water hyacinth - no wonder the Pacific Ocean has the huge island of plastic somewhere in the middle area.

Day 42 2.12 Monday flying to Nah Trang 

Up at 6 for exercise and breakfast. Leaving the Sanouva Hotel at 2 for the airport. We walked 8 blocks to an underground mall and bought a new security bag for $5 (asked 8 for a “The North Face” none-the-less) as my waist pack was coming apart. I walked fairly well the whole time as the SI pain and most hip pain have subsided. We checked out at noon and waited til 1 for our ride. Sat at the airport for 2+ hours relaxing. We waited til the line ended and were the last to load for our 45 minute flight (the 240 miles would take 11 hours to drive). Arrived and found our guide and taxi for 45 min ride to the city. Dark and tired. We may get a chance to go to the farm of our guide’s parents. We ate dinner (of Caesar salad, omelette, and chicken pot) next to the Starlet Hotel where we are staying. Seated next to us were 10 Russians from Kostroma, 200 miles NE of Moscow. We shared info thru a google translator. One man had a trucking Co., another was an auto parts  dealer, the truckers wife was in logistics, the other wife was a masseuse, and one lady was a lawyer and knew about forensic psychology. The next group was from Italy, Elba Island, but consistent with Italians we couldn’t get them to talk with us. It appears many Chinese are here. This is a huge tourist center for the cold part of Asia and eastern Europe. After dinner we walked the street and had blueberry cheesecake. In the lobby of our hotel we met a young Russian couple from Siberia, actually Baikal Lake. We think he was 27 and in the military or construction and she was 24. Exhausted, we headed for bed. Difficulty with our ac all nite-too hot to the point of waking to get comfortable. While we feel this was somewhat a wasted day it is probably good to have down time. Interestingly, I am having trouble remembering the events of the last three days. Last eve I wrote a Facebook note and pictures of the two monks who helped us the most and to whom we feel attached. 

Day 43 2.13 Tuesday Nha Trang day

Five inches of snow at home before the weekend. From the looks of breakfast this vacation area is a Russian villa and most tourists have mild to severe  sunburns. The people we have met and tried to talk with  have all been Russian. 2012 was when tourism started here and now gets 2 million visitors per year (with increase of 350000 more this year from Russia and China). On our way.. very clean and coffered shrubs in the city and traffic is not bad. Our own guide and 60’ boat just for the two of us. We visited the Aquarium, then walked (no cars or roads) a kilometer thru the fishing village of 1500 inhabitants (there were  many fighting chickens caged outside homes)(day off for the fishermen), took a hand ferry to a fish farm and our boat, observed the round dingys used in the harbor, and went to the swimming beach saturated by tourist. I swam and the water was great. On this island and the next one we visited  (Mot and Coral islands) there was tremendous tour business cuz of a huge theme park and hotels and great clean infrastructure. There is a tram to Coral Island that crosses the east ocean for over a kilometer. After the swim we took a 1/2 hr ride for a Seafood lunch. Here one does not order... one just gets everything- shrimp, fishx2, eggplant, oysters, beef stir fry, fish soup, calamari, spring rolls, watermelon, etc. thereafter we bargained for an extension of our tour ($35) for a city tour and to go to the hinterland of small villages, rice fields, bamboo harvesting (furniture, building & chopsticks), mango, corn, and fruit orchards. We stopped at a field where a man and wife were fertilizing the  tall rice not yet headed out (3 crops of rice per year). They showed us some plants and told about their farming of very small plots assigned by the govt after 1990 when they de-communilized farms. We then arrived at our hotel and made plans for our 4:30 morning run to the airport tomorrow. There were bonsai plants small like we’re use to and larger plants in the houses and yards. To bed at 8 ....

Day 44 2.14 Wednesday On to Da Nang and Hoian

What a miserable nite-stuffy nose causing poorest rate of cpap ever and  constantly dreaming about how to sequence the action for a half hour before departure. Up at 4 for a 4:30 AM departure for the 45 minute ride to the airport. We discovered the rules of the road here. On a 2 lane going your way drive in the middle blocking both lanes which keeps one from dodging motos on the right. Then when coming to a vehicle ahead, flash your lites and honk which usually results in them moving into the left lane, so you pass like hell on the right. If a car is not in the middle, chances are they are driving in the left lane so you have to overtake them on the right. We landed at 7:30 and had a 1/2 hr ride to Hoi An,  several miles south of Da Nang and about the middle of the country. It is much cooler here. Since our room was not ready we went to the breakfast area for coffee-the best we’ve had in the last 6 weeks- of the resort PHU THINH. On our noon walk I finally found the Vietnamese flag I’ve been after for our office. Since they gave us a flag we decided to have hamburgers at the Vina Ngon restaurant. Back to the resort for a nap and afternoon swim.

Day 45 2.15 Thursday touring in Hoi an 

Swim at 6, breakfast at 7, and Facetime with Nook. This is New Year’s Eve  day. We went by boat to a fishing village and had a chance to tie nylon fishing line into a fishing net in the home of the instructor. We met the extended family and  toured their house. We then boarded the fisherman’s boat and went out in the river for net casting instructions - 1st he casted twice perfectly and 2nd me with 2 terrible casts. Neither of us caught anything, but I think they do most of their fishing at night. From the fisherman’s boat we got back on ours and went to a ride in round dingys made of woven and tarred bamboo (basket boats). There is a special stroke to make headway since there is no center board or bow. Our lady paddler made origami rings, fish and necklace by cutting and weaving palm leaves for us as we went thru the coconut palm swamp-like areas. We then got bikes and rode thru rice and veggie fields til we got to our lunch place. We had several courses which Marnie will have to describe. As we passed thru old town after lunch we stopped to see incense being made, an embroidery  stitching factory, and high quality embroidered pictures we wished not to afford. It was difficult riding bikes while cars, motos and buses were maneuvering without any perceivable rules of the  road. I blocked several motos on streets and in walk areas where we were walking our bikes, like through the covered market for  food. Finally, we arrived at our hotel, filled out feedback forms, and told our guide goodby early so he could get on the road to ride 80 kms to his countryside family for the new year celebration. We swam to cool and clean, read and went to dinner across the street. The cost of 3 drinks, a hamburger/fries, and stir fry was 167.000 dong (about $8.00) Early to bed with some new hope for the world as Zuma resigned and we watched the first South African parliament meeting with the new president where each party laid out the expectations for the new president.

Day 46 2.16 Friday resting on the Lunar New Year

This is Lunar New Year and no one works, so since the guides don’t work we  have the day off at the wonderful resort of Phu Thanh in Hoi An. Marnie was up by 6 to do her daily exercises and I joined her after daily exercise at 6:30 to swim. We took a leisurely morning breakfast. Marnie had left her outer jacket in the Seoul airport when we had to run for the plane, and she replaced it last nite with a red “The North Face” for $22. As we have observed life in Vietnam it is an uncomfortable country. There is little or no intermediate space around houses for family life. The sidewalks are encumbered with cars and motos so one cannot walk down the sidewalk for any distance before having to step into the street and have a horn blare at you from a car or moto. The streets, gutters and fronts of houses are not clean and they show no community pride or organization. There is no pedestrian privilege when walking or crossing the street...motos rule in much the way big suvs “took” privilege in Cambodia, parking across  sidewalks, riding on sidewalks and in narrow market alleys, turning anytime without regard for oncoming traffic or walkers, etc. I hate walking the neighborhood. After a long morning nap we walked several blocks around our hotel area and then went for coffee and cold drinks while reading our books. In some ways it is nice to have a break but in other ways it seems like somewhat a waste of time and we should be more proactive about seeing the special features of our surrounds. We then read and I swam for the second time today to recondition my shoulder and breathing while I have the opportunity. Now dinner and they are sold out of what I’ve thot about all day-no hamburgers or pizza.

Day 47 2.17 Saturday 

Up at 6 for exercises and swim while Marnie walked a mile and many sets of  stairs. Long relaxing breakfast talking to an inventor and financial investor in US and Vietnam who lives in Philadelphia (graduated from Temple in electrical engineering and holds 10 patents for building materials, etc) and Saigon. His family were boat persons at the end of the Vietnam war and they all became US citizens. At 10:30 we discovered that the hotel would haul us to old towne so we caught a cab and began our 3 hour walk around the markets and shrines. First, red Buddhist bracelets, then ceramic animals, and finally negotiation for an oil painting on silk of a fishing village and water. She started at 240 and I offered 150. We started to leave and decided to offer 200, but before I could offer she said 187+ 2% for credit card sale...we said YES. It was off the frame and in a pvc tube in short order and we were on our way. The short side is a meter so we are going to have to hand carry it for 4 more weeks. We caught a taxi back and are preparing for tomorrow’s departure north to Hue.

Southeast Asia-week 5-Vietnam

Southeast Asia - Vietnam - Fifth week

Rick went with Luke to take photos and a video of Luke in front of the temple. Sophea and Let were coming in search of us to say good by and joined them at the temple for photos. Our taxi arrived at 9 AM and we had to say our last good-byes to our Buddhist teachers and friends. They clearly befriended Rick and demonstrated that strong connection in their farewells. It was a touching and telling time, which Luke noted with appreciation. 

Back in Phnom Penh, we spent Saturday afternoon working on our weekly blog post, walking the Central Market, and cooling/resting. The monks are my trainers...they taught me to use AIRDROP. Went to eat western at Samaky restaurant down the street with Anna and Luke and had a great conversation thereafter. A soft bed at 10, compared to the hard pads at the monastery, and reading til sleep.

Day 34.       2.5.         Sunday in Phnom Penh sightseeing 

Best sleep in a month...exercises and western-like breakfast with unlimited coffee (only 1 small cup daily at the Wat). Read at leisure and fixed the log. Off to the Russian market for walking and looking. Bought some copies of US money for 2$ and handed them out at the mall, watched a TukTuk driver card game, and arrived back at the hotel. Nap time and repack to get everything in. Walked slowly again at 5 for about 1/2 mile with much pain in SI and hip. Then we had another western meal at Samaky restaurant- hamburger and pizza- wow. Repacking. The Super Bowl is tomorrow morning. 

Day 35.       2.5         Monday 

Following the Super Bowl by iPad. Paid for 3 days stay at the Golden Gate  for $26 per nite for $78 total-well worth it as the cost includes breakfast. Time for a walk up the Main Street near our hotel. This is a beautiful street but we must walk in the street because motos and cars are parked on the  sidewalk. We finally found Lucky’s grocery and stocked up. Right SI is very sore when walking but other parts warm up without pain. Wires overloaded the poles all over. Rested with little to do..a good change producing boredom. At 4 we walked in the downtown park and thru a Wat close to our hotel. At my intro the monks said “hello”. Ate again at Samaky for chicken nuggets and spring rolls. Afterwards we strolled a store with Ben and Jerry’s pints $16.50 & Haagen Dazs $10.95-we didn’t buy! We have been observing the dense traffic; for every car there are 75 motos and 2 TukTuks. 1/2 the cars are full size 4 door pickups and the rest are the largest luxury brand suvs on the market with a few Versa/Prius mixed in. Back to organize and pack for 8am departure for Vietnam.

Day 36 2.6     Tuesday to Ho Chi Ming City - Vietnam 

Up especially early for breakfast, did banking, text’d with Nook, and got on  with the next stage of our tour. My senile skin burst again. Now that we are acclimated to 90+ degrees and humidity, very little drop in temp to the 80s feels  cold. We were picked up by a taxi at 8:30 and left on the comfortable bus as scheduled at 9. Cambodia was flat and dry with lots of grazing cattle of new dairy like varieties. We crossed the Mekong and immediately the area was wet and rice fields were very prominent and lushly green. We picked up and dropped off riders along the way. We crossed the border at  12:30 with no problem except we had to haul our luggage along to get x-rayed. There was lite traffic  until we were in the suburbs of Saigon. Then we were greeted with flags posted for miles down the median on light posts. Then all traffic was turned loose - no TukTuks, and helmets on everyone, no huge SUVs, millions of Motos swarming. Before central city the motos had their own lane separated off, but in the city it was moto-confusion. All the cars were the size we would consider medium and smaller, like medium Toyota Rav 4/Highlander and Honda Civics. On the road in I saw dogs stuffed in a cage on the back of a moto. I believe the dogs were going to the market to be sold and/or slaughtered. There was much more grass and trimmed bushes-trees both in the medians and around houses with less debris. The housing and shops were similar to the size and frequency in Cambodia. We arrived 1 hr late but our transfer person was waiting for us and got a taxi to get us to the hotel- Sanouva Hotel at $59 per nite, but well worth it by comparison to our last digs. We are trying to figure out how to change money..$1=22700 dong.. trying to figure the real cost. We were tired so we ate at the hotel and then walked the very busy street both ways from our hotel. No ice cream was to be bought but Marnie got some high test coffee. Success x 3.

Day 37 2.7 Wednesday relaxing in old Saigon

Up late and to breakfast in the lobby. We then walked the five stories of steps to our room (5th of 10 floors) and prepared to walk 3 blocks to the Ben Thanh market. We bought bandaids for my senile skin problems. After our walk we went to the large market and haggled to buy nothing. Thereafter we went in search of the local park. Interestingly, the street the park is on is lined with buildings and only at the end of the block can one enter the park; it did not take more than half of the total block..what a disappointment. With much  stopping to sit/rest we made it back to our hotel for a rest. Feeling guilty for not taking in more of our upscale surroundings, we went back out in the heat and tried to find a quiet place to sit and observe the world according to HCM CITY. On our earlier walk we had observed a lady wearing a traditional Vietnam hat and carrying her wares on a stick, eating her lunch while sitting below her stick and surrounded by her wares. After halting walk and several seatings we found no solace. So in fits and starts we made it to the city park with less noise and no sun,  but there were few people to observe-no happy medium. One of our observations is the classic woman moto driver profile. Mask covering face with sun glasses on. Hooded shirt with hood up and helmet over it. Elbow length gloves over the shirt. Reverse full length skirt to cover her legs and clothing. And high heels. She will be speeding down the boulevards with the rest of the Motos. Afternoon nap in ac is in the cards. Dinner at a specialized pizza place..very good 4 cheese pizza. Prep for departure tomorrow at 8 am.

Day 38 2.8 Thursday starting our VN tour

Up at 6 to workout on the top (10th) floor, to breakfast, and then the tour at 8. We rode with the driver and guide named Nam in a Toyota Innova (mid sized suv). Nam graduated from the military academy of South Vietnam in ‘70 and was an officer in the army. Once the US pulled out and within 2 yr the south gave up, he spent 5 years in a re-education camp (prison camp). We rode over an hour almost to the Cambodian border to get to a temple of  Caodaism (Vietnamese: Đạo Cao Đài, Chữ nôm: 道高臺), a religion we had never heard of.  (village of Tay Ninh and the Great Cao Dai Temple) It is a conglomeration of, a place to  worship, a mixture of Buddhism, Confucius, Taoism, Hinduism and Christianity. We took a walk around the grounds and interior and stayed for part of the noon mass (1hr) in the huge space of the temple. The symbol is the left eye, the flag is yellow, blue, and red and the chief priests’ vestiges match the colors. The tall white figures in the front are high priestesses. The service was  made up of men and women praying in unusual ways (with hand motions and bowing similar to a catholic ritual with Buddhist hints) and there was a ceremony for the dead relatives. We then went cross country toward the VC (Vietnam Communist) tunnel system for munitions  storage and hiding the troops only 40 miles from Saigon. On the way we passed field after field of peanuts, a major crop of this area, since rice does not grow here due to insufficient water. Next we passed thru grove after grove of rubber trees so we stopped and learned how latex is harvested from the trees. The trees mature in 7 yrs, will produce for 30-40  years and are a very lucrative crop. We then arrived at  the grounds where the Vietcong had 450 Kms of underground storage and living quarters. They farmed during the day and dug by hand at nite, dumping the dirt in the nearby river so no trace of their activity was seen above ground. We observed the way the entrances were hidden and what it was like underground. Then the tedious trek back to HCMC lasted 2.5 hrs in horrific traffic. Exhausted, we ate at the hotel and crashed. We figured it out today...Uber here is a service for one person at a time on a moto. We woke in the middle of the nite to news from Nook re BU and trying to figure out currency and tips.

Day 39 2.9 Friday 1/2 day tour 

Up at 4:30 trying to figure out our money needs and to communicate with Kelzie. Bad news from Nook re schools. After a workout we went to breakfast at 7 and got picked up at 8 for 1/2 day city tour. Our tour guide’s full  name is Nguyen Thanh Nam, who introduced himself as Nam. He rides a moto like people who own 8 million motos in the city of 12 million. We drove thru Chinatown which is home to the wholesale places of business which supply the stores and market booths that sell retail. Next we toured a Taoist temple, Thien Hau, which is the primary religion of the Chinatown people. We then went to the War Remnants museum with American fighting equipment outside and which focuses on the  problems  with and atrocities of the American armed forces. All the classic pictures and information were the same as provided by Ken Burns in his documentary on the war. On the way to a lacquer plant we passed the American embassy where the last evacuations took place from the now removed building’s tower. Then we toured a lacquer paint shop and store which employ craftspeople who are handicapped. The people use actual egg shells glued onto the lacquer for the basic picture. Then after several coats of varnish and much sanding the egg shell bits reemerge  to form the picture thereupon. Since these people were on the losing side of the war they do not receive benefits from the current government of the 92 million population.  In VN, 60% smoke and 70% are farmers. Vietnam has 62 provinces. We then went to downtown Chicago’s, or Ho Chi Minh, look-a-like. We saw the opera house, the hotel where the journalists lived during the war, the city hall, the French-designed post office, and the blocks-long flower show in the plaza from the city hall to the river. While downtown we changed $100 from cash and $200 from credit/debit. We bought Christmas goodies at the market. We arranged to store our suitcases and valuables tomorrow while we are gone to the Mekong River communities over Saturday nite. We shall go to the market and have another great four cheese pizza tonite at #pizza4Ps. Now our valuables are in the safe and our luggage in storage. We are watching the Olympics opening ceremonies in Vietnamese.

Day 40 2.10 Saturday to the Mekong for an overnite 

Picture from our room... up at 6 for exercises and breakfast  at 7 after turning in laundry. In the car heading for the Mekong at 8. We struggled thru holiday traffic in Saigon and got to the toll road and 120 km/hr. We  stopped at a restroom break place and we were amazed how many gringos and easterners are visiting in Vietnam. In spite of the tourism  they do not have many improvements and cleanliness. WOW what a day! We arrived at our boat at 10:30. We boarded our 40 foot long wood craft, with crude inboard motor and folding chairs to sit on, with 2 mum plants as decorations, and toured the floating wholesale market. The river was moving to high tide and the floating hyacinth were all over the water. The  wholesale products each wooden boat was selling were displayed on a tall pole - watermelons were in season, but so were mum flowers for the TET celebration, pineapple, dragon fruit, mango, bananas, etc - which they have purchased from farmers along the Mekong and sell wholesale to retail stores and street vendors. People lived full time on most of  the larger boats. Half the boats had inboard motors while the  other half had motors on deck with long shafts for the prop plus a tube through which the prop forced water back up to cool the engine. Next we stopped at a candy making operation - making the thin skin (rice paper) that a spring roll is wrapped in, popping rice to make rice cakes and rice crispy, caramel candy from coconut-sugar and wrapped in eatable rice paper by hand, and peanut bars held together by baked caramel. Then we went on a river ride thru the middle of an island in the Mekong- 30 foot boat 18 inches deep paddled by a standing lady with crossed oars. I was very uncomfortable cuz of the low sitting with extended legs exacerbated my painful left hip and knee. I sure found out today how limited in mobility and strength I am in getting on and off the boat. 😟 Next we got back on our boat and  drove some canals before getting to lunch. I photoed the front of some boats which had the  eyes painted on - in the 18th century a large fish would attack a small boat to get the food and people, so they painted eyes and color on to make the predators think the boat was a larger animal that would attack them. Lunch started with a standing elephant fish which was the primary makings for a fresh spring roll, fried spring rolls and we thot we were done.. then came the pork pieces of meat, chicken soup, and a whole shrimp each... we reloaded to our boat for more sightseeing on the Mekong until 3:00. We then drove an hour to our hotel in Can Tho city. A market street is at the entrance to our hotel. All our events meshed and we never saw the transfer for payment at any of our events/places. Must have been prepaid or billable for 20 different vendors.

SOUTHEAST Asia ..Cambodia ...4th week

Southeast Asia - cambodia - fourth week

Day 27.      1.28.        Sunday to the monastery

 Learned last nite that political stability of Cambodia is fragile due to changes of govt and this may effect NGOs like GSC. After shopping for food and Krispy Kreme’s we went for a TukTuk ride for 49 minutes..insight- 

1. nothing here ever looks finished or neat, the concrete ends and turns to gravel or was dug-up to put lines underground and never repaired. 
2. The wiring on poles is atrocious as each time a line is added without  consideration for tapping into existing wires and the extra roll left over is just tacked or wired to the pole or web of wires.
3. In a country with millions of motor-scooters and TukTuks where none are bigger than 125 cc.... all riders are required to wear a helmet 
4. 5 meter theory (16’) ...if one divides storefront in a given block into 5 meter widths..there are a lot of small commercial establishments per  block..crammed in..some stores or blocks (Id say 35%) use multiples of the 5 meters (but deep).  and get more space like car lots or name brand stores. But there are millions of small establishments in buildings, saying nothing about the hordes of street vendors and large markets with tent structures. Everyone is trying to make ends meet... the situation indicates severe “under employment”. This (PP) area comprises 2M of the population of 15M (11M are classed as “poor or nearly poor” and the wealth is invested elsewhere and does not trickle down) (poor support for education, health and transportation). The remainder are Ag and Ag support at subsistence levels on the average. Our building is about 16’ wide and 4 stories tall.

Lunch and then shopping...$20 groceries, 7 Krispy Kreme, 10 TukTuk, 2 🎁 presents. Watch to security. After a ride to see the consideration above, we spent the rest of the afternoon discarding info/instructions and packing our junk/clothes for our move tomorrow to the monastery. The electric has gone out twice today.  We were thinking about memorable people.. Sothy the program hostess at the orphanage who was an  orphan herself and is now a mother of 2;  the vp at the feeding center; Synath the the leader of the student workers at the feeding center; the VCDO security guard orphan. Went for a walk in the neighborhood and threw the football til dark-hotter than hell. Our last nite at VCDO (Volunteer For Children and Development Organization) and should know the name. Picture of the classroom at the orphanage. The feeding center and the orphanage.

English for monks=. write a simple biography... write a description of our pictures... discuss the questions below... develop a resume.. 

Buddhism contemplation..questions for the monastery English class..1. Explain  Buddhism in the simplest terms..2. What are the main tenets or teachings?3. It appears monks are just orange beggars ...what else do they do? 4. What practical or religious efforts contribute to the life of ordinary people? 5. What mission or other work is  done outside the monastery? 6. When they reach perfected State of nirvana or out of worldly contact, are they abstracted from the practical issues of society and people? And are numb to outside influences and to outside community-family issues. 7. Do people pray for them to intercede for them to Buddha similar to the Catholic Church and what caused the reformation by Martin Luther? 

Getting ready to leave for the monastery..apprehensive as hell. Success x 3.   Arrived at Wat K at 10 and got our room and trying to get  internet by hotspot. At lunch we found a strong WiFi and are attached as much as possible. Having to wear long pants and no hat as we were shown around by a good English speaking young monk who goes to the University in the afternoon. The buildings are very dramatic but the grounds are quite trashy. We saw where the monks live and where they go to school for monkhood. There are two parts to the place, women's where we are and the men’s which we toured.  There are women nuns who are more like caretakers. On some side streets of the Wat are small 2 story houses which are for the workers who maintain much of the Wat and these areas are much neater. We eat at a lady’s house which is in this auxiliary area. Marnie just made arrangements for our meals. Breakfast at 8 because we will not go to chanting at 4am. The monks eat at 6:15 and at 11:00 and nothing thereafter til breakfast the next day. We shall eat lunch at 11:30. We teach English conversation from 5:30 to 7:30 and will have dinner thereafter. Wednesday of this week is a special holiday for Buddha and we will not teach but watch the festivities. It is believed a lot of gifts will arrive for the Wat to earn merits for dead relatives and good passage to reincarnation for oneself. Our hostess/cook is very popular and a congregation of friends and relatives are checking as we sit and write at her outside table. While taking a nap Tucker the biker showed. We talked for awhile and then walked to the temple where they were broadcasting a chant over the speaker and a response by the monks in the temple. We thot the Buddha images display was tacky as colorful LED lites behind each Buddha flashed, rotated, moved left-right, etc like an overdone Christmas display. Beside all that was a huge red LED digital clock. Special person “Let” was our guide this afternoon because he has good English skill and he   returned while we were eating. We talked for 2 hours about his life, monkship, the Buddhist teachings, meditation, the temple/Wat, and his life in general. He is 25 and been a monk for 8 years, starting in Siem Reap (his home) and transferring here to attend the university where he is in his 3rd year. Dinner was the usual tough meat with bones in, rice, and spicy veges. Interestingly our resident hostess had donuts for us for dinner, which we saved for breakfast and we asked for coffee. Back to our room, we have no ac controller so it runs full blast when on. Just a note: the beds we’ve been sleeping on are pads over wooden slates=hard, but we are so tired they feel GREAT! 

Day 28.      1.29.        Monday starting to observe and teach 

We hope to develop an English practice table for the monks and we teach conversation in a private school 5:30-7:30. Awoke is 4am to chanting in the distance-too tired to get up. started walk at 6:45- the monks had finished breakfast and as I walked thru their housing area I greeted and tried to say good morning-most did not know what to do.  Cats are everywhere -scrawny and healthy but mostly smaller due to uncontrolled breeding we suspect, rodent  eradication system. There are a few dogs here and there which appear unkept, distant, and passive. As I walked at 7 and my left hip was painful from too little walking-maybe a 1/10 of a mile before it gets very sore and needs a sit. I have walked thru and around the young monks area as they have finished breakfast. Speeches are constantly being broadcast on loudspeaker-sounding like instruction, day’s agenda and/or maybe propaganda. Novices crossed my path and after formalities took pictures and explore my iPad. It’s raining. Watched nuns eating and visiting. Went to the iInformation area where there is WiFi and read/wrote. SURPRISE...real strong black coffee.. we gave her extra money so she would keep the coffee coming...thank our hostess! 

“LET” (the English speaking monk) COMES BY FOR DISCUSSION..  Beliefs of convenience. “No intention, no sin”, .don’t steal or/and kill. No intention, no sin! No sexual misconduct (just husband and wife). No lying, No alcohol.  For monks another 5: no eating in evening, no handling money..someone will buy for you, not buy myself,...no singing cuz can’t control your mind... Sit in high position, respect, don’t touch women. Let should be a teacher of the Buddhist principles for non Buddhists. Monks are not allowed to touch women, thus the distance from Marnie in the photo.

The loudspeaker system is blaring most of the time to distraction-either chanting or lecture sounding noise and does not allow for contemplation or thought as prescribed by the unworldlyness/mindlessness of Buddhism. At 10:30 we attended the drama of the main day meal of the day-servinging staff and nuns sit on the floor while the 150 orange-draped monks parade in and sit 4 to a table on raised platforms of low tables. There are prayers and chanting and then the monks are served and start eating only what was offered to them by the staff or nuns -all other people wait til the monks are done and eat at tables in a low area of the open air building. Just took my second walk of the day. There are thousands of Buddhas all over the Wat in varying sizes from inches to tons in varying poses, all with some mystical meaning. All the statutes have the garish neon LED  lighting around them.

Cambodian broom (photo). Venerable Sophea is second chief monk. He is younger than Let but on the administrative branch of Monks while Let is on general branch of monkhood. Spent 2 hours with Sophea..his/our life, the Buddhist precepts, meditation (much like systemic relaxation I did), farming, the Wat’s 200 monks (not all of whom come to the 11 lunch)..Sophea and his buddy ate in their room. At 5 we went to a private evening school specializing in English education owned/run by a local teacher. As the children of all sizes arrived they bought drinks and oil fried snacks. We each got a classroom from 5:30-6:30 with preteens working on learning vocabulary and ideas. From 6:30 - 7:30 3 of the early teachers were in our high school and up class. There we showed pictures we brought along and had them make oral  sentences (thus having a conversation) to describe what they saw in the picture..went quite well. Home at 7:45 for dinner of fried rice, boney meat, fried egg and special drink. After reading emails we came home to cool and shower. We can only drink bottled water and no ice..we are supplied frequently during the day almost as gifts, so we save up several bottles for our room. We have a 12x12x12 room with ac which shuts off periodically (we don’t have the remote therefor) so we have to climb up and restart it as we quickly heat up and have no windows. Our bath is very basic..the pot is for showers and to flush the toilet with water from the collection tub, which must be 1/2 filled before 8:00 PM when the water is turned off. Learned a lot today!!! 

Day 29.       1.30.        Tuesday another day of exploration and teaching

Up at 6, exercises, tea and walk. I have decided to not hand gesture and bow since monks don’t do that for me...I am special human being placed by god like they think they are...no homage, I’m not Buddhist...maybe I’ll get kicked out. They are even sweeping the lawn with brooms to clean everywhere for the Wednesday festival and have placed beautiful colorful flags all over, inserted small stand up dishes for oil to burn at nite-thousands on every piece of lawn in the central pageant area. Talked to 2 monks from a province for about 20 minutes exchanging pictures and words. One will follow us as he has 4999 friends and can’t take any more. Everyone here is prepping for the festival...the speaker is blaring again. Let and Thearu ( 8 yrs here, management) came by at 8:30 for morning lesson in Buddhism and our questions/challenges to the rule system. No forgiveness in Buddhism...must balance bad with good on your own. The only services monks give for common person are advice and being prayed to/bowing. They seem to believe and are taught they are superior and enjoy this status without being challenged- maybe thru propaganda of Buddhism and not arising from religious beliefs. We do not believe these monks and this temple could survive in Madison..we would tell them to get off their butts and “do something”, not expect everyone else to do for them.. the home environment is too demanding..and based on “equality”. 

Buddhism contemplation..questions for the monastery English class..1. Explain Buddhism in the simplest terms..2. What are the main tenets or teachings?3. It appears monks are just orange beggars ...what else do they do? 4. What practical or religious efforts contribute to the life of ordinary people? 5. What mission or other work is done outside the monastery? 6. When they reach perfected State of nirvana or out of worldly contact, are they abstracted from the practical issues of society and people? And are numb to outside influences and to outside community-family issues. 7. Do people pray for them to intercede for them to Buddha similar to the Catholic Church and what caused the reformation by Martin Luther? 

Explaining Buddhism in the simplest term? RULES AND FINDING WAYS TO FOLLOW THEM WITHOUT REGARD FOR PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY/THINKING AND INTENT. See above for tenets. No change in my beggar opinion and they have not defended this idea nor reported what they do for the people except giving advice based on Buddha. Our findings so far after 3 conversations thereabout. No intercession. Let and his friend came to practice speaking English with us for 1.5 hrs...we made them think in English and responded to their questions..they provided us with an outline of tomorrow’s festival x by sound “MIT Boter” ...celebrates Buddha’s sermon to 1250 Monks in India.  Boyan temple for Buddha in transition from Hindu temple at Wat Angkor. Sophea stopped by to say he would get a TukTuk for us for the parade tomorrow afternoon. We went to school at 5 and started with younger students at 5:30 for one hour on sentences about pictures. At 6:30 we got the advanced kids together and gave them the newspaper ads to write sentences about, read in conversation, and diagram (subject/verb/adjective/adverb). Home by 8, exhausted and sweaty, for dinner and shower. We shall start early tomorrow to take part in the celebration.

Day 30.       1.31     Wednesday Day of celebration of Buddha’s sermon 

We don’t have to teach today-holiday for Buddhists. Stream of events and thots of the day. The kitchen with wood stoves for feeding 500 monks and staff twice a day. Slept thru chanting at 4am and got up at 7. Got them to turn on the office WiFi and here we go again. We shall wait here reading until English speaking monks come to practice  conversation. We ate and walked the festival, collecting a to-be-monk student as our walking partner. We bought something to see if he would eat but would not. I gave him a prayer scarf and he wore it with pride. Then he left us without explanation but sought us out again..we did words to pictures until 11 when he had to go eat (last meal until tomorrow am), still wearing his scarf.  We compared notes and I published  Marnie’s verbatim below. My partner found us again at our table. He did eat a sweet roll and we showed him our names..and asked him to write his name..he did in Khmer..we all laughed and the family helped him translate his name to “PHA” and we had a nice time sharing and found he is 13 yrs old. I had given him my Buddhist scarf and negotiated for a replacement during our earlier walk. He loved music videos but I’m sure he was not allowed to view them. Shortly thereafter a person from the near town came to the table to visit- I talked with him in English and learned he is a university grad in architecture. The family members of our hostess were beautiful in the preparation for the festival day’s activities. Back to  the room for shower and core cooling until the 2 pm parade. Constant blaring of sermons, probably the only opportunity to propagandize believers as monks do not otherwise preach or organize Buddhist groups for worship. 

At 2 we left the cool of our room and went to our seats and then the stupa by 2:45. Let offered to try to get us a TukTuk and Sophea told us he’d find something. We stood around and learn no TukTuks were available but Sophea’s 4 Dr truck (as he is a relatively high official even at a young age) had an empty back seat and he put us in it with ac sometimes. He was photographing the people and parade and was  in and out of the truck. Our truck had a bouquet on the hood, streams the length and Buddha in the back with several training monks. And along with 2000 people we traveled on a 2 hour circuit with most people walking in a prayer position holding flowers. They walked in sandals or bare feet or rode in a TukTuk or on a motorbike. At the festival there are at least 5000 people and 200 food venders here mixed in with 300+ monks and nuns and their workers/attenders. My task now is to take 1000 pictures of monks before the end of the week. We looked at all the foods, flowers, clothing, etc. We found the very small birds in the cages which can are to be released to create the “happiness of freedom”  (not for eating which was our alternate hypothesis). The constant chanting was broadcast on a radio and by mobile loudspeakers, and when it shut off my head was ringing. Literally everyone has a phone and thus a camera..think back 10 yrs and no one would have either capacity here, to say nothing of connecting to the net. Theran handing out water.

Notes of the day from Marnie 

Hundreds of stalls selling food and souvenirs

Cooked meat on skewers

Sautéed crab and Eggs

Fried whole chicken and fish and smoked-cooked-sauteed frogs

Balloons

A few booths for scarves, purses, some pants, shorts but ppl mostly buy food. Big variety of typical items

Talked w two English speakers, one with braces 

Ppl bring donations of money and food to give to the monks and Wat..several blind beggars are guided to people by young girls. 

Speakers are broadcast over loudspeaker

Rick went to see men photoing ceremony from production company hired to make documentary of festival. One used drone to photo. 

Buddha statue w many glass boxes for money donations plus flower arrangements which ppl add flowers to

Nearby holy stupa highly raised w many steps. Shoes off to go up and inside to honor and photo

Nuns and others in white on hundreds of chairs under tent to be out of sun and listen to speakers. Shoes off at entrance as always at entrance to bldg and covered  patio

To market to see above. Young student in white attached to Rick and followed for long time. Rick gave Hm his green scarf and found out ok for him to wear.  Rick bought another for 1-1/2$ Student would not try the sweet meringue bread we bought

Usually ladies walk w somber face but smile big if we greet them

Sophea doing his job...with the camera and interviewing me in the car.

Our flags and the information man paralyzed on the right side 2ndary to left brain stroke (and he told me in broken English)....

We watched eclipse over the Wat temple...”Super Blue Blood Moon Eclipse”

  

And the lighting ceremonies around the stupa... Very impressive and people bowed to lite the oil lamps and candles and pray... at the parade and in the evening we met people from our evening classes at Western school.

Day 31       2.1.18          Thursday back to work

Stream of incidents for the day...Our room is a semi disaster - 12x12x12 space, with broken glass on the floor of the bath when we arrived to a supposed clean room, a sink would not drain, the water tub leaked, the valves to divert water from the spout to the showers are so corroded that we can’t use the shower and have to take pan showers slopping up the bath floor, and the ac which was high on the wall had no remote controller= frustration. The only super good thing was we could periodically escape to here from the heat and humidity (90+ each day and nite). At our table at the home of our hostess we have a mangy dog at our feet begging, and sometimes 3. We prepared our lessons for the two classes this eve. Read all the input during breakfast and thereafter waiting for English table to begin. Marnie lost some of the log and is frustrated. We need a walk. We met a Cambodian women, visiting here with her family, who has lived in Prague for 30 yr following her going there for an education..Sopheap (see notes). We went for our morning walk. First we met the monks filing in for their 11am lunch/last meal of the day and did not respond as they expected..just watched. Then we met a loan officer from a nearby bank which make business and construction micro loans.. up to $500 for 2-3 yrs at 15-18%. As we walked to/in monk house row we came upon Sopheap, the 1st Vice President of the Wat who has been here 20 years and to the US 4-5 times to study at U of Alabama. We talked for an hour+ and learned more about Buddhism thru instruction and Buddha’s parable teaching, and the administration of the Wat by consensus. There are very interesting parallels in Christianity. Back for lunch and catching up on email before cooling session in our ac’d room. Just got a homeopathic/traditional treatment people receive for illness...a oil on my arm, then followed by very hard scrapping of the skin which breaks the capillaries and turns the under skin red-red..pain and burning resulted x now 30 minutes later.  Some success. In spite of my clean clothes, no one showed for the English speaking table. Royal World of Education Center (the private school)..to teach 2 classes -  the first I had a great enthusiastic response from 10 high school kids about themselves, how their families lived/made a living, their family structure, and what their lives and job will be like 10 years from now -actively going around with lots of excitement and hand shaking. Second class with Marnie and less interesting but more structure about their future goals, education and funding. We found out the teacher of young children in public school, a teacher of English here and a student in our adult class, was a monk, but now married with kids. Ate, read mail, and went to room for cooling session/pot wash. This teaching is hard sweaty business-NO FUN. 

Day 32       2.2.         Friday last day, thankfully

Tired of routine...oh I forgot, the water is shut off after 8pm for the nite-inconvenient. On my contemplation and meditation, I think this monk thing is mostly BS. Except for the not touching women, funny eating rules, depending on others for livelihood, and weird clothes they are more like the big car taking-privilege persons I detest and we both live by the same rules (read the 10 commandments after they tell you their first 10 rules or listen to Mohammad), but I have to apply them in the real world and they isolate and protect themselves -in the cloister and by begging...no appreciable work or worldly responsibilities (except as they claim to learn the monk rules and the teachings of Buddha). They are so isolated for the most part they don’t know the sameness or difference. I am not Buddhist and am human, and if they don’t acknowledge me as a human (or say hello or bow), I’ve quit treating them as special- I’ve stopped bowing and not touching, etc. a couple of monks don’t seem to be taken back by me, tho a lot look askance at me when I’m not like other people toward them-deference. The monks know nothing about comparative religion and only believe the rules make up their vows- does not appear to require much obligation except to the rules and giving the people advice..  Wat a racket!  ++damn electricity just went off again...climb the wall for the ac+++ so agitated I forgot to do my exercises this morning and only meditated. Speakers blaring chants and a sermon. Enough! Marnie had a new idea...Buddhism is the culture of the country and they work 7 days a week because they have no holy day each week unlike the sabbath.

Then we had an epiphany because of a meeting-up. Let came to our table at 8:15 inviting us to move the English table to the monks’ compound. We were met by Sophea and sat for 2.45 hrs talking and waiting for the arrival of Luke, our GSCer fellow. We talked and shared and gave Let and Sophea sharks teeth as a memento. We really like these guy as they treat us as equal and are as interested and engaged with us as we are with them. At this level Buddhism is much more human and inviting than my musings this morning..thanks Let and Sophea! On the way back from the monks’ compound we stopped and Sophak and Luke interviewed us for GSC film with the temple as background. Had lunch together and said our last goodby to Sophak and went for midday cooling.

It appears that the workers/supporters housing backs up to an open sewer. Our hostess and her granddaughter, Mai, take care of kitchen and feeding us. New insight after extreme success. Two evals arrived and mine is completed completely. The table napkins and the toilet paper come out of the same package. No one came to the English table this afternoon except Luke and we worked on his accent. Off to teach at 5:30 but the car didn’t arrived until 5:25. No 2nd class, as all participants were attending a party. We said our goodbyes to the Director and his wife and all the students who had been so welcoming. Got a ride home in the school van with several giggling girls. Dinner with Luke and spent time chatting. Many bobtail cats so it must be genetic.

Day 33.       2.4          Saturday last day GSC-back to the city

On contemplation I think I’m approaching the style and functioning of my two grandfathers, some kind of reincarnation. Up to cool cloudy day like none other here. Picked up by car and in town at Golden Gate Hotel. Immediately off with my Wat-required long pants and into my shorts and hat. Getting wash done today and picking up tickets for the bus to HCM CITY at Palm travel. Will post log today at beebelog.blogspot.com. Western food tonite!

Day 34.       2.5.         Sunday

Day 35.       2.6.         Monday to HO Chi Ming city