Myanmar-Thailland connection...Mae Sot

Mae Sot is a smallish town on the border of Thailand and Myanmar, (used to be identified as Burma). Many cultures inhabit the area including a Thai majority, Burmese, Chinese, Lao, Indian, Native Hill Tribes, and Karen...a subset of the Burmese.  Many Karen have fled Myanmar due to persecution by the military government...on the other hand, the military says they were persecuted because, for many a year, the Karen trained their guns on the military for target practice....so who knows.  Anyway you split it, there are a large number of Burmese refugees in Mae Sot.  An Australian fellow and his wife we chatted with volunteer with the refugees...helping them get work permits, housing, and food...They liken the situation much like the Mexicans and Latin Americans who flock to America hoping for a better life. 

And by the way,  Myanmar Democratic activist and Nobel Laureate Suu Kyi and her politicl party, with an 85% voter turnout, won the majority of the seats in the Myanmar congress...by a landslide. The Burmese people are hoping for a change in government.  But this has happened once before and the military rule basically said, "just kidding" and crushEd an uprising by the people.  We talked to several people about the situation over there and Suu Kyi's move to lead the governmet...None were very confident that she'll make it to the presidency, although that is everyones hope. Good luck to her.

Rented our first scooter.  A Suzuki at 110 CCs.  A veritable sprint machine.  Not quite as stable as my Harley, but got us where we needed to go in fine fashion.  Our longest trip was to Highland Farms and Gibbon Sanctuary, about 45 kilometers out of Mae Sot. It also acts as a small wildlife refuge that houses a couple of bears..(question...who among you think it's a good idea to keep a bear as a pet?)...two jackals and a  handful of rhesus monkeys (used in medical experiiments and whose bodies are very similar to humans.)  All but the Jackals were pets that became too big or too aggressive to handle at home...Thats when the cruelty begins.  The owners attempt to stop the aggressiveness or adolescent behavior by "disciplining", caging, or chaining the gibbons, which in turn, makes things worse...this leads to the animals being sold, killed, or, if their lucky luck holds, they end up in a sanctuary, which there are very few.  The monkeys/apes are human-like...the gibbons are closest to humans as far as their DNA.  They walk upright, are very intelligent, mate for life, and often act like humans.  They are so smart, in fact, that they're not trainable. When they don't want to do someting, they don't....and when they do...it's hard to stop them, which makes them poor medical experiment subjects.  It was our luck day...the owner invited us to have lunch with her, the Oregon student and a 2 month old gibbon in diapers. All you have to do is sit 5 feet away from this baby gibbon or lucky enough to hold her and it's easy to understand how they become pets.  They look like babies, act like babies, and need to be taken care of just like a baby with the same curiosity and playfullness.  It was a highlight for Terry and I. 

All for now.

Dining in the Dark, Bangkok Style

Our "guide" for our evening at Dining In the Dark was a tall, lanky, and very chatty Thai fellow named M.  M is blind, as are all the other guides or wait staff.  We entered an area that was pitch black...no light whatsoever.  Zero.  M led us down two steps then a left turn then a right...then to our seats. Dinners were chosen before we entered the restaurant...Moon had Asian....I had "the Surprise"...no idea what I was eating...still don't...except it tasted like chicken, (found out after the meal it was chicken.)  We both felt like rookies using utensils, unsure of where the food was...so I used my fingers as an advanced guide for my fork. After a while you begin to adapt, but it's a little creepy at first.  During the meal we started talking to Matt and Mena.  Mena drives for Uber in Singapore and Matt is a marketing agent for Sony, out of Hong Kong, ("my top show is "the Blacklist" he informed us....my favorite show).   We guessed each others age...we were close in identifying them...26 & 22.  They thought Terry and I were were 30 and 50-55 respectively...(bless their hearts.)  Of course, I couldn't pick them out of line up if a winning lotto ticket was on the line...luckily, sight is a luxury most of us possess...it adds much to our life...glad I was only "blind" for 2 hours.  BTW, the Sheraton donates a couple bucks from each dinner to the Thailand Foundation for the Blind.  

This Section Not For The Squeamish. You've been warned.  The next day...off to the Siriraj Hospital Forensic Museum.  Very interesting but kind of gross at the same time.  You can imagine that medical forensic science is the business of finding out how a person kicked the bucket. So we saw all manner of actual dried skulls and other bones, photographs, x-rays, etc. and all manner of body parts in formaldehyde. Gross.  There was a picture of a guy that was run over by a bus (why is it always a guy?)...complete with tire tracks...and I wondered how long did it take those guys to figure out what killed him?  There were several two headed babies....which led me to think....what if I was one half of such a person(s) and my brother was a lot smarter than me and a real dick to boot?...what a bummer having to deal with a snotty sidekick all my life...I'm glad we went, but not something I'm dying to see again...so to speak.

Bangkok's Chinatown is a cross between the Fremont Solstice parade, the Bite of Seattle only bigger,  and the largest outlet mall to ever exist.  Very lively.  Exciting.  At night it's all about the food.  Fragrances from fresh food on the grill, griddle, fryer, or steamer fills the air.  We had curried prawns cooked just right, steamed conch, and morning glories in a tasty sauce.  There are endless culinary delights here for the asking.  During the day it's about the shopping...anything you want is here somewhere.

We decided to get  away from the center of town, so we headed to Thewej at pier 15.  This is home to a local fish market.  Fish, eel, frogs, mud shrimp, and some kind of fermented fish that I would use on my garden, but never ever think about eating it. I start to gag thinking about it.  Then we moved on to the poulty and pork stalls.  I gotta tell ya...the thai are very creative and frugal when faced with what the heck to do with a whole pig...they use every part including the head, feet, intestines, ears, and toungue...besides the usual roast and pork chop and bacon areas of the pig.  The chicken are cooked whole...so the droopy head is always looking at you when you put in in the bag....

The next stop was Nonshaburi, also known as "end of the line" pier north of Bangkok.  The ferry stops here and turns around to head back south towards the center of Bangkok.  A paddling competition was in progress...the shells were, by my estimate, about 50-60 feet long with 32 paddlers and a fellow in the back who was paddling and steering.  Very exciting.  To watch all these guys  paddle at the same time, with a constnt rythm was truly amazing.  There was a circus like atmosphere in the stands and prominade, and food everywhere, along with the usual t-shirts, but...mostly food.  Delicious food,  so we ate again...what the heck.  The guy on the PA was calling the races fast and furiously in a Thai sing song kind of way....like Pat O'Day, on speed, calling the hydros at Seafair..  I don't nderstand Thai, but it seemed like I could undstand every word he was saying by the time the shells crossed the finsh line and his voice hit a cresendo.

Leaving for Mae Sot near the boarder of Myanmar.  First democratic elections for them.  Hope all goes well for the transition to a new democracy.

Hello Kitty....uh...I mean Hello Bangkok!

Greetings fellow travelers....Moon and I made it to Bangkok after a grueling 47 hour flight from Seattle....truth be told...it was only 19 hours...it just felt like 47.  We hailed a taxi at the airport and off to the races we went, white knuckles and all.  All drivers in Bangkok would like to drive NASCAR...our driver had a picture of Dale Earnhart next the tiny shrine he had built on the middle of the dashboard..an offering, I hoped, that would keep us all safe.  Bingo, we arrived at the hotel in record time...in one piece. It's good to be back in Bangkok.  

Wrapped in a sweater and overcoat and wearing long wool pants in the middle of Las Vegas Blvd in the middle of August is how it feels when you pop out of the taxi in downtown Bangkok. At first it feels all warm and humid, then you think...."my...it's warm"...a small bit of perspiration pops out on your forehead...the next thing you know it's shower-time.  Good thing the human body adjusts...after a few days it doesn't feel like you just climbed out of the pool with all your clothes on.  

We're staying in a hotel by the Chao Praya River.  Interesting to watch how busy the river is with it's tugs pulling barges, ferries, water taxis, dinner boats, tour boats, small fishing boats, Coast Guard, and rowboats of every type, color, and size. Taking the ferry during the day is the easiest way to get around and offers a front row seat to all the action on the river. In the evening it's a great way to see the lights of the city and stay cool.

Hello Kitty is very popular here.  Our airline, EVA, has a Hello Kitty painted plane we saw land at the airport.  Hello Kitty shops exist in the deepest darkest side streets of shopping areas and in the most expensive shopping malls. At first I didn't get it...I wondered..how is it possible that people...I should say women...buy almost any item with a pink kitty on it which are outrageously  
overpriced...a phenomena that sends young girls giggling and middle aged women to proudly show off their new purses?  But then I thought of my last trip to Stugis Bike Week...a half a million bikers, most were guys, wearing Harley Davidson T-shirts and every other thing with the Harley logo on it...then I started to understand.  

Moon and I don't eat here....we graze from one food cart to another.  The food in the restaurants is all very tasty...but the street food is to die for and is so inexpensive it's funny.  I don't always know what I'm eating...but, hey, if it taste good, what the heck.  I purchased an Indian Roji yesterday...a cross between a crepe and silly putty.  A small piece of sticky batter about half the size of a golf ball is stretched out like a large pizza...only paper thin...on a round griddle.  An egg and banana mixture is spread over the dough where it starts to bubble up like a small balloon and is then folded into a square and finished off on the grill.   It's cut up into squares with a slightly sweet creamy topping sprinkled over the top...it was so good I ordered another one. Yum.

All for now, but more later.  Ed

Curry, Part Two/Time Machine please

Last year, Moon and I enjoyed curry just about every day.  I'm looking forward to doing that again.  Green, brown, red, yellow, Thai or Indian.....all different, all delicious...as my Sister would say, "Yummers."    

This is the second part of the itinerary I started a couple of days ago.  This leg of the edventure will take us east from Chiang Rai to the Thai/Laos border where we'll board a 40 meter long riverboat for a trip down the Mighty Mekong River...floating lazily down the historic waterway to Luang Prabang, Laos. 

Luang Prabang is one of the spiritual centers of Laos....however, it could be argued that Laos, as a whole, is a spiritual center with many Wats and many more monks in their saffron robes....which are said to be unchanged over the last 25 centuries and originally worn by Buddha and his disciples…(which, at this point, could probably use a good washing). 

Generally, the Lao people are calm, friendly in a casual way, and polite.  This is a peaceful place with high mountains on all sides, a faint smell of campfires, and a relaxing ambiance all its own...we walked to a funky little restaurant/bar/oasis named Utopia above the river the last time we were here.  There is a sign at the entrance of this little gem than reads, "Zen during the day, Groovy at night."  That pretty much sums up  Laos in a nutshell. 

After 4 days we board a plane for Pakse, Laos....and immediately South of that is Champasak on the Mekong River in southern Laos.  Some unusual sites here with names like Plain of Jars, 4000 Islands, Bolaven Plateau…and Chick Fil A….(just kidding about the last one.) 

We’ll leave there for Can Tho, which is right smack dab in the middle of the Mekong Delta of Vietnam.  The Mekong  River originates in the plateaus of Tibet and meanders 2700 miles through China, Myanmar Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and finally empties in this delta....there is seriously fertile soil here.  They can grow just about anything here and do...with names like dragon fruit, mangosteen, longan, and durian....by the way, the 2-7 pound durian has a thorn covered husk that is called the King of Fruits in SE Asia. Unfortunately the fruit also has an odor that has been described as a cross between rotten onions, turpentine, and raw sewage.  Although many enjoy the fruit it has been banned from many hotels and public transportation due to it's..."fragrance."  

On to Siem Reap, Cambodia, home of Angkor Wat, one of the most visited religious sites in the world.  Amen.  

Then moving from divinity to chaos....we return to Bangkok for a couple of days of rest before returning to the home land.  But before we leave....we gotta get there first.  So I'm frantically looking for a time machine to step ahead 19 hours so I don't have to sit through a long 19 hour flight filled with 5 movies, bad airplane food, and a permanent imprint on my behind, from the cross-stitch of my hiking shorts.  I've checked Craig's list every day for the past two weeks and nothing.....no time machine, no time booster, no "I just saw it a second ago and then it was gone" kind of thing......bummer.  

Moon and I leave in two days.  Looking forward to reporting from the front lines.....Enjoy your week everyone.  Ed out. 

Please move your seat backs forward and tray tables up.....

Hello all. Moon and I leave next Tuesday for SE Asia.  I thought an itinerary would be helpful for those who want to be in the know......and I'll do it in two parts so not to bore you.  I'll also warn you that I am not a writer and have no editor....so all factual errors, grammatical mistakes, spelling snafus, bad or inappropriate humor, or whatever else could go wrong or offend.......is on me...Now if you could just sign the release at the bottom of the page we're ready to go....(really?..I hope you didn't actually look down there...seriously.)

First stop is Bangkok.....the World Meteorological Society has identified Bangkok as the Hottest City on the planet.....Literally.....with an average temperature of 93.3 degrees Fahrenheit, (or 34 degrees Celsius for almost everyone  else in the world except the US folks).  And, believe it or not, there is actually a Thai law,(I'm not kidding here), on the books prohibiting anyone from leaving their homes without underwear.  Could this be a coincidence?  I think not.......Anyway, I love Bangkok for reasons I'll identify later......But 8.2 million people can't be wrong.....or the other 7 million in the surrounding region.  

Next up is Mae Sot.....in the western part of Thailand about 3 miles from the Myanmar Border, formally called Burma.  It's a favorable mix of cultures.  Sixty Minutes just aired a bit on Myanmar and it's struggle to become a democracy after years of Military rule.  Historically, this area has been a point of entry for human trafficking and drugs.  These activities have been greatly reduced. ...unfortunately, not completely.  

On the bright side, we'll be staying in a wonderful little place called the Picture Book Guesthouse....a small hotel with a great story,.....teaching marginalized and unemployed youth vocational skills that will enhance their ability to find a job in the future.....the net address is http://picturebookthailand.org if you want a broader picture of what they are about.....or if you're feeling generous....offer up a small donation.....a little goes a long way here.  Finally, where two different countries meet....there is a very good chance that excellent food follows.....I'm up for that......!   

On to Chiang Rai in the northern tip of Thailand.....near the borders of Myanmar and Laos.   According to Wikipedia the city was founded in 1262....which would make for a very long invitation list of relatives for Thanksgiving Dinner.....whoa.  

This region used to be part of the Golden Triangle, which included an area about the size of Nevada situated in and around the tri-border of Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar....most famous for opium production.....which at one point, not too long ago, produced 60% of the heroin consumed in the US of A. Aaah, the American's appreciation for the exotic never ceases to amaze.  Maybe we could start a poppy crop in, say....Wyoming.....help the local economy, reduce unemployment, and save on postage from Asia?  A portion of the first batch would have to go to Dick Cheney.....maybe that would finally help him chill out a little.  

All for now folks.  Stay tuned.  Leaving in 6 days.  

Post Traumatic Bangkok

Home sweet home....sort of.  Back to the realities of life.  It's good to be back home, but feeling a little blue....missing the freedom and appropriate irresponsibility of vacationing in a far off land. This will be my last blog....I've enjoyed it immensely and would like to continue, but unfortunately no one wants to read about our everyday normal activities.....because they have those too. 

As I look back upon the last 5 weeks, a few things jump out at me. In our little corner of the world....we have space....cubic feet of it.  Generally speaking, most of us have as many of those cubic feet as we want.  In cities like Bangkok, Hanoi, or Tokyo there is not much space to go around.  Tall buildings surround just about everything.  While returning to the Bangkok airport from our hotel, we were driven through 5 or 6 central downtown-like areas....each the size of Seattle or bigger....and we were still in Bangkok.  We headed in only one direction....it was the same story had we turned north, south, east of west.  Space is our luxury.  It's not something we think about much....the freedom to move around.  That realization surprised me.

Next....most of us live a pretty good life.  Many folks we passed on our trip eek out a living working long hours in conditions that are less than desirable.  We are graced with much.    

Lastly......the bidet arrives in three days.  I am giddy with excitement.....

I hope this year brings everyone a little rest, maybe a little travel, and a big bowl of curry.

Love to you all.

Ed and Terry

Bye, Bye Tokyo

This is our last day.  A little sad leaving Tokyo today.  We're leaving Japan and ending our fantastic adventure. It's been a very memorable trip filled with gracious people, exotic out-of-the-way places, great food, scooter rides, and.......rest. This trip raised our energy levels back up to a more normal range.   For that, I am thankful.

Often, when Terry and I stopped to take a second or third look at a Tokyo map, a Japanese would stop and ask if we needed help finding something.  They were always in their 50 or 60s, sometimes a man, sometimes a woman.  Occasionally, they would walk out of their way to point out where we needed to go. It happened 4-5 times while we were wandering around Tokyo.  It was a kind gesture.  This didn't happen in any other country we visited except one.  In Bangkok if someone asked you if you needed help....it was the first clue there was a scam coming in the next breath.

Tidbits: Interacting with many different people was one of the fun things about the trip.  Finding out about their lives was something I sort of do naturally by asking lots of questions.  Several people in their mid to upper twenties moved to the big city with their spouses from small outlying villages.  They came into the city to make a life for themselves but couldn't afford to bring their children, which were home being raised by the grandparents.  One taxi driver told us he sees his son 3 times a year.....he works 7 days per week to make ends meet and send money back home.  A lot of people work 7 days a week.  Seems like an exhausting life.

Laos had the most laid back and spiritual feel about it.  It was like everyone had a music implant playing Jack Johnson or James Taylor music all day.  We happened upon a restaurant/bar above the river that was very quiet and low key. Utopia was the name. The place was frequented by young backpackers so we ambled in slowly, incognito, with our hats tipped low. Nobody noticed. The patron didn't talk much and when they did it was kind of low and hushed....the way you would chat in a library or maybe a church.  We sat for awhile, among the youngsters and their backpacks, downed a refreshing drink, then headed out. Next to the door was a sign that pretty much described this place exactly..."Zen during the day, Groovy ay night."

Luang Prabang, Laos, had the highest number of Monks per square block of any city we visited. Monks dressed in orange robes.  Calm and smiling.  You never see a hyper monk....I don't think they exist.  And many monks means many Buddhism temples or Wats is the proper name for them.  There are 5000 Wats in Laos, which is not a very big country. They are generally ornate and beautiful, as you would think a temple would be, with gold the primary color.  Buddhists believe in the existence and cause of suffering.  They also believe in moving down the path that leads to the cessation of all suffering. Tourists, on the other hand believe in taking pictures....of the Wats, hundreds of them.  Then move on to the next one and take a couple hundred more pictures.  At home, counting up all the pictures with every angle possible of a serious looking Buddha and ornate everything.....they say to themselves...."Wat have I done", (now that's suffering!!!..lolol....sorry about that.)

The food in Laos was great and it was cheap.  They had some killer restaurants that we enjoyed, but we also ate several times at the night market for 2 bucks a piece....at a buffet, no less.  I wasn't sure what I was eating sometimes, but damn it was good.  They also made these slush drinks....a little sugar, fresh fruit like pineapple, mango, strawberry, lychee, etc and ice.  That all goes into a blender on high for 30 seconds.....Instant hydration.  I had 5 of those a day.....

I liked the people in Laos.  They just seemed real without a lot of pretense.  Thais were very busy, Vietnamese were aggressive and mean sometimes, and the Japanese were high fashion and had a lets-get-ahead mentality...Tokyo seems a lot like New York.....that kind of energy. If I got to pick my neighbors out of the places we visited it would be the folks from Laos and would hope they invited me over for a BBQ.


I will write one more blog and that will be the end of my SW Asia blogging. I hope you enjoyed it.

Tokyo....the City

We are nearing the end of our trip and are now sightseeing in the great metropolis of Tokyo, the most densely populated country in the world. Thirty Five million folks live in the greater Tokyo area.  The transportation system here is one of the best anywhere, with wide use of subways, trains, and buses, (the primary choice of personal transport is the bicycle, a few electric but most are "manual").  It is also one of the most confusing systems to use and getting lost is pretty darn easy.  Our hotel is near the Shinjuku Train Station, the busiest train or subway hub in the world, amazingly, serving 3,000,000 people per day.  Rising to the street level or entering the station offers a whopping 200 differrent options of exits or entrants depending on whether you're coming or going. It's sometimes overwhelming to see so much humanity in one place so you might forget whether you're coming or going.  I personally passed 500,000 people on the subway platform and tunnel trying to get back to the street level.......half those were men in black suits and ties.....the other half were women, many of them younger, wearing Hello Kitty socks, a Mickey Mouse something and looking a lot like an anime character.  In general, it's very busy here.

Everybody bows.  They bow for any reason.  It's automatic.  I guess they're being respectful.  Being a respectful guy myself, I always bowed back, which causes them to bow again.  Ornery as I can sometimes be, a couple times, I bowed a second and third time to see what would happen.....and my bow would always be followed by their bow. So....trying to be the last one to bow or attempting to out-bow your Japanese counterpart would take a serious commitment and some cervical stretches beforehand.

This is important.  I would like to nominate the bidet as a UNESCO World Heritage product....or the Eight Wonder of the World, which ever one is most appropriate. There is a huge need for the bidet in the United States. The Japanese bidet is the best.  It has 3 settings. One directs a warm slow stream of water at your bottom, (Oh my)...the other setting directs a more stern stream of liquid for those hard to reach issues....(giggle).  There is another setting to regulate the pressure of each stream of water.  Hygenic.  No fuss.  No muss.  A little tissue at the end of the whole procedure and boom....you're done. I'm thinking about getting one of these little numbers for my own enjoyment....I mean my own use at home.  The worst bidet was in Thailand, although a bad bidet is better than no bidet at all.  The Thai bidet looked exactly like a hand held kitchen sink sprayer operated with the thumb.  Unfortunately, the pressure was so high the first squirt made my eyes water. Ooops.

Lastly, a visit to the Tokyo Sky Tree was on tap yesterday.  The Sky Tree was the tallest broadcasting tower in the world until someone from Dubai wanted to make sure their turban was bigger than anybody else's turban.  At 2080 feet tall, it's nearly a half mile tall.  To get perspective.....the Space Needle is 605 feet tall.....so if you were careful enough to stack three Space Needles on top of each other ....it'll still be shorter than the Sky Tree. The observation deck is at 1480 feet....I jumped out of an airplane when I was younger (lots of courage and no brains) at 1000 feet.  So it's waaay up there. 

Tokyo is the cleanest place in the world, at least by my estimation.  It's pretty amazing how clean they can keep a place this big.  There's little or no trash and the whole place seems like it's wiped down on a daily basis.  It contrast, Bangkok was the filthiest place I've ever been and wondered why everybody wasn't horribly sick....with malaise, infection, and some ungodly life threatening disease being the norm with trash, litter, and pollution run rampant.  But everybody looks as healthy as a water buffalo.  I don't get it.

Tidbits:  Like the Vietnamese males, Japanese men smoke.  I didn't see one woman smoke, but the men smoke like chimneys all over the place.  If you ever thought that, generally speaking, women are smarter than guys....there's the proof.  Unfortunately, homelessness is alive in Tokyo.  Hard to believe for some reason.....you'd think maybe they could get a job cleaning something......Also....we didn't see  any homeless women, just men.  Food.....the food here is so good it's unbelievable, (but it's been good everywhere, really.)  A funny thing.....they have barkers outside on the sidewalk yelling to potential patrons about the benefits of the goods sold inside, e.g. makeup, suits, household good etc.  This seems a little inconsistent with the prim and proper behavior they generally portray.  Consider an  attractive woman at the mall entrance to Nordstroms at southcenter yelling at the top of her lungs about the lace undergarment or the petite size clothing on the second floor, trying her best to coax you in the door, (over the commotion and loud voices you hear the guy at the piano playing Blue Danube in the background.  It just doesn't make sense.  

More later.  But not much more.  We're nearing the end of the trip.

More of Hanoi

We had some great food at a place named Highway 4 in the Old Quarter of Hanoi. There was a license plate above the front door from Oklahoma, of all places.  I didn't see any Oklahomans running around anywhere. Tough to figure.

That evening we attended a water puppets show accompanied by live singers and musicians. It was considerably better than the local folk music we heard in Hoi An....which sounded a lot like somebody strangling Glen Campbell while he's trying to sing "Wichita Lineman"...after he took a couple big hits of helium. Not my cup of tea, so to speak. During the puppet show there were live singers and musicians playing cool Asian instruments which you just don't see at Open Mic night at the local neighborhood coffee house. Very interesting when the play concluded and the puppeteers came out behind the curtain standing waist deep in water. They manipulate the puppets from underneath the water instead of from above. Great fun to watch and the Asian music was great.

Everything is very compact in SE Asia's big cities. Shop owners with a 100 sq foot business, (that's pretty big), normally make their residence in the back. Along with a wife or husband, a couple of kids and maybe Mom and Dad....makes for a cozy little family nest. Everybody works the store.  Every one does there part for the household.  On top of that shop is 4, 7, 8, maybe 10 floors or more. The buildings are not very wide but sometimes very talI.  I have a couple of pictures.


A couple of observation here about the Vietnamese in Hanoi....many shop owners like to have a beer after their morning coffee.  Beer and coffee just seems like it would upset my stomach. Call me crazy but that could make for a long day when beer is number one on your  9 a.m list.  Secondly, somebody forgot to tell these guys that smoking is bad for you. All the men smoke, for cryin out loud. But hey, if you're going to have a beer in the a.m.....might as well light one up while you're at it.

As you can see by the picture, Hanoi is a busy place.....And your local Hanoi Telecom at work       



We visited Hanoi Hilton where thee Vietnamese imprisoned the pilots they shot down in the war. Vietnamese propaganda in high gear showing the prisoners enjoying a Christmas party, a basketball game and some arts and crafts.  I thought much of it was a bunch of bullshit until it donned on me...what the heck were we doing over there anyway?  Everbody trying to put their own spin on it to save face. All the countries in SE Asia call the conflict "the American War".  So when will we understand, as an American society, the wasteful cost of human lives in wars like Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq?  And consider NOT doing that again...?   I sure hope it's in my lifetime, otherwise, its just heartbreaking to think about.

We spent a couple days in the rain, than returned to Bangkok.

More later.

Drizzling in Hanoi

We left Hoi An and landed in Hanoi Vietnam.  Drizzling and much cooler than what has been the normal for the last month. There is a period in northern Vietnam ....about 3 weeks worth...where winter morphs into spring.  Druing that period, it rains or drizzles and the temperature hits a rock bottom of 65-70 degrees, some of the coolest weather of the year.  Moon and I happened to hit that period.

The ride into downtown Hanoi was both interesting and a little bit terrifying....seems like everywhere we go the driving and traffic gets crazier by a multiple of 10.  The Vietnamese take the trophy for maniacal but skillful dare devilish driving, hands down.  NASCAR drivers come here first to learn and practice their skill before driving on the circut.  Tailgatting, cutting in front of other drivers, speeding, weaving in and out of traffic like you're on meth?...in the rain?...it's all ok.  I'm going to start taking pictures of the different shades of my white knuckles......Getting used to holding on to whatever is available.

The general rule when loading a scooter is if you can move you're ok.  Doesn't matter if you can see or not.  Load up your scooter to the hilt.  Chickens, 4 people on a scooter, barrels, food and produce were just a small variety of what we saw loaded on scooters.  Pull a large water buffalo into town for a bath and a comb-out....easy.(below left).   Can't see because you couldn't leave that one big sack of something at home?....it'll fit somewhere......if they have scooter hoarders I have a couple of pictures of that below.....
 


More later.

Cham Islands Outside of Hoi An

Outside of Hoi An is a Pottery Village, supposedly famous, but we couldn't find it and nobody knew where it was when I asked for directions.  Funny....Straying miles out of the way trying to find this place....the goal became finding our way back to town, forget about the pottery.  The ride through the rice paddies and out-of-the-way hamlets was pretty interesting and beautiful...that was worth the trip in itself.  We happened on the village and their famous pots while trying to find our way back to town.....it was right around the corner from the first person we asked. LOL.  The pots are thrown on a wheel that sits off the ground about 6 inches and is operated manually by a second person who keeps the wheel turning by kicking it as it goes around.  I have a picture.  The Vietnamese people are an ingenious bunch....and they have electricity.....as I observed many times, they can gerry-rig just about anything....so I think the manual pottery wheel is for effect......for the tourists. It was fun to watch anyway.

Two days ago was the snorkeling day.  A trip out to Cham islands, about 6 kilometers from Hoi An, (which is just south of Da Nang in the middle of Vietnam between Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and Hanoi.)  Our Vietnamese Junk boat was run by a Vietnamese captain and a bunch of French Guys....all of them were great with the divers. They actually looked like they enjoyed their jobs....it was refreshing.  We accompanied a variety of fishing boats out of the harbor and into the bay.  The trip out took about an hour.  At 30 minutes Moon and I were handing out candied ginger to several of our cohorts who were starting to turn green with sea sickness  We were a hit.  The ginger worked.

(This fellow is rowing something that looks exactly like a wok or half a coconut. There are usually two of these on a boat and they are turned upside down so it looks like there are two little domes.)

We arrived at our destination, donned wet suites and jumped into water.  What a shock....it was cold and I didn't expect it.  78 degrees.  Moon is a warm water person but she stayed in for 30-45 minutes.  I was amazed she made it that long.  There was a second opportunity but most of the folks stayed on the boat....even though we all had wet suits....it was chilly.  It happened to be the better location, clarity was better, more fish, and tons of coral.  Then the boat took off for a beach where a local lunch was prepared for us....whole fried fish, prawns, several different salads, noodles....a great meal.  It was a It's always enjoyable to be stretched out and relaxed on a boat. It was a good day.

(Our Captain and first mate playing a Vietnamese game....sort of a cross between checkers and chess.  They play for money.....always.  Card games and whatever this was are favorites.  Vietnamese are big gamblers.)

The hustle and bustle of Hoi An, Vietnam

The operative word here is hustle. Hoi an is known for its tailoring and shoe making as well as the historic old town where locals sell trinkets, art, pottery, cloth and silk and, of course, t-shirts. The Vietnamese are hard-sell entrepreneurs. "What are you looking for", "Where are you from?", and "How long are you staying?" are the three questions one is asked while doing any kind of browsing in the markrets or on the street...it doesn't matter whats on the shopping list...squid, art, or clothes.

What you're looking for gives them an idea of the item you're seeking and everything in the entire universe that is even remotely related to that item, ("You want t-shirt?" We have many t-shirts. Good quality. How about bowl?  Bowl go with shirt when you eat with friends.  You buy chopsticks,go            with bowl!  How bout nice table runner...would go well with shirt..and bowl!"...you get the picture.)  Where you're from gives them a chance to inform you they have a bother in Portland when you tell them Seattle is your hometown.  Now you're friends because you have something in common....(geez).  And "How long you staying?" ....that gives them an opportunity to assess whether they'll have time to custom make a dress, shirt, suit, or leather anything for you or exhaust themselves trying.
(This is the guy we bought a street painting from....he could speak english but his daughter did...the first thing she said to me was, "Good quality painting....Where you from?")

Getting your  attention is prime to making a sale so they may block your way, following you down the street, rub your stomach, grab your arm, or scream, "you buy something"!  It way funny at first....then it became obnoxious.  The Vietnamese are a gracious bunch, but disgust is often shown if there is no sale. One guy tried to sell us a paper we already had and just would not leave us alone...he finally left but rode by several times giving us "stink eye".

The word I'm searching for a word that describes the way the Vietnamese drive...it's a cross between the behavior of an out-of-control kamikaze and a determined 6 year old who is way overdo for a nap.  That word describes them perfectly.  The bigger the city, the more dangerous and chaotic the traffic. I know that I've written about this before, but the way these people drive is.......just not believable.  Thai drivers negotiate the streets like crazy people but still, they have a sense of self preservation. But the Thais pale in comparison to the Vietnamese.

From the looks of it, most everyone owns a scooter or bicycle, mostly scooters.  I did my own survey late yesterday afternoon during rush hour while waiting for Moon to get her hair colored.  Fifteen to 20 scooters to one bike.  Of the bikes, 2 out of 5 are electric, so that makes them scooters. Cars or trucks were a distant 3rd.  The reason there are few cars?....there's simply no where to park them.  Not many buses or large trucks although they were there.   The pecking order seems obvious...you give way to anything that's bigger, heavier, or that's coming right at you, head-on.   But then, that's not always true.....and I could not figure out what the clues were to help make that decision.  Some kind of internal high pitched bat radar thing going on here....who knows?

We had a great time at the market,  which is the center of business and social happenings.  Every city has one somewhere.  Hoi An's was down near a waterway by the Old Town.  I guess just about everybody has an Old Town too.  I'll add some pictures.  More later.