More most excellent day photos

Dawn's Most Excellent Day

So, we left the hustle and bustle of Saigon to go down to the Mekong Delta - the very jungle -like region most people think of when they think of Vietnam. Our destination was a Homestay in Vinh Long.

A long drive got us into Vinh Long at about 11:00 p.m. and getting to the people’s home where we were staying was tons of fun. We parked the van, packed an overnight bag and headed to the ferry dock, where a river taxi took us across the Mekong River. A few of the men from the place were there to take us, so a quick point at me and gesture toward gentleman #1 had my keester on the back of a moto as we headed into the jungle down winding dirt paths. It was a beautiful night - clear sky, almost full moon, river inlets surrounding the path (and very narrow bridges - but hey, if I go, he goes - so just enjoy the ride I say).

We arrived, made the greetings, had tea and went to bed - the accommodations were almost identical to those we found on the trekking trails in Nepal. And sleep was lovely - we exchanged the honks of Saigon city traffic to crickets and oh yea, that coconut that fell on my tin roof in the middle of the night and scared the beejeebers out of me! My mosquito net kept the bugs out and I slept like a baby.

This morning I got to “help” our home stay lady, Mai, with her market errands, so at about 6:00 am we packed up the limes she had picked and were going to sell to one of the sellers at the market and we set off to the “bus stop”, which was basically a little dock a bit down the path. A little boat came and picked us up and brought us to the middle part of the river where we had to “transfer” to a bigger bus - this one was carrying other ladies on the way to the market with their goods - a big basket of ginger, some nummy looking plums, tomatoes, etc. They all killed themselves laughing with delight as I got on with Mai. We crossed the river and landed at the “wholesalers” side of the market - and got out. We bought some prawns, fish and some vegetables for lunch and also made our lime sale with an absolutely beautiful lady running a corner fruit and vegetable stand.

Mai headed back, and I wandered around the market and met up with the boys for coffee. After a bit, we caught a river taxi back and helped make lunch. Wow, quite the spread. One of the guys made amazing river boats out of cucumbers - I now am unworthy even to try to make radish roses - and a couple of women who work with Tan in the Mekong came and gave me a lesson in fried spring rolls. We had a blast, although some things are best left for the professionals!

The afternoon took us on a leisurely boat ride along the Mekong and eventually back to the dock where our van was waiting. An absolutely lovely day. Now off to Chao Doc on the border of Cambodia. I think we’re off to Phnom Penh tomorrow.

xoxo - and hope all is well with you. Wish you were here.

PS: Magic Food Find: Avocado Shakes - I know! Go figure - but delicious. I’ll try to recreate them when I get home and whip them up for anyone who is game!

DMZ

DMZ

First off, I should say that other than Tan, the boys don’t speak much English - so the majority of the discussion is in Vietnamese. Sometimes I know why I’m getting out of the van, and sometimes I don’t. It’s kind of good humor. Anyway, one day on our way down the coast, there was much talking and then we quickly pulled over, Nghia jumped out and bought a bottle of booze and a extra large pack of incense and jumped back in the car. Humm, I thought, I wonder what that’s all about? Is Nghia a meditation booze-hound? We carried on.

In a bit we came to the 17th parallel - aka the DMZ or former dividing line between North and South Korea. We stopped at the bridge - it had arches on both ends . As soon as we got out, a very stern voice came out of these massive bullhorns attached to a government looking building. Basically they were saying “Send us your leader and state your business”. We promptly dispatched Nghia and continued on with our picture taking.

Back in the van and further down the road, again, much conversation and a quick pull over next to some village ladies. This time Chao jumps out of the van, talks, gestures, jumps back in and proceeds to tell Hiep to get on down the road, so we do.

A short time and many conversations and gestures later, we pull over to a cemetery. Now, we had passed many along the way, so I wasn’t really sure what was going on, and when we got out of the van, along with the booze and incense, the mystery became too much and I asked Tan about it.

One of Chao’s relatives died in the war and his remains were recently identified. He is buried in this cemetery so we were stopping to pay homage.

We went to the main part of the cemetery and lit the whole pack of incense, said some prayers and then split up the incense. Chao and Nghia went off to find the grave, Tan started putting a stick of incense on each tombstone.

Giving them some privacy, I wandered around the cemetery and thought it was curious that all of the tombstones were exactly the same. Other cemeteries we had passed looked much like ours. Different shaped headstones, some mausoleums, etc. Hummm. Walking around, I quickly realized… 1972...1972...1972...1972...1972...1972...1972...1972...1972...1972...1972...1972...1972...1972.…every…single…one. As tears were streaming down my eyes Tan came up and was telling me that this area was the site of some of the worst fighting in the war, with rivers turned red with blood and farmers still unearthing remains to this day. It is customary to light an incense stick on the grave and pour some liquor symbolizing that we are buying the young men a drink.

It immediately brought back the feelings I had as I’ve paid homage to other places of great tragedy and loss of life in this world like the beaches of Normandy and Auschwitz. This place wasn’t majestic - these cemeteries aren’t national monuments, they are so much more humble in what they speak. These are simple, community cemeteries that are found along side the roads and outside of villages, the same places our cemeteries are found, marking the loss of family and friends. In some ways I’m so glad we stopped, in others I hate that there are these places on the planet. All political viewpoints aside, this must have been a heart wrenchingly horrible place to be in 1972.

More photos

I’ll have guava juice and dragon fruit for breakfast please.

Good lord, I’ve become a blogger. Taking it from the top - literally - we started out in Hanoi in the far north, and basically drove down the coast. Which, for the record, is a freakin’ long way. We’re now in Phan Thiet and I’m blogging poolside while overlooking the South China Seas. How are things going in Minnesota?

For those who aren’t up to speed, I’m traveling with 4 men (good lord #2). Tan is a friend I met in VN the last time, and we’ve got Hiep, our driver and the cutest thing on the face of the earth, Nghia, a VN writer and Cheo, a photographer. Together, we’re working on putting together Tan’s new website - travel Vietnam.com.

I won’t give you a play by play - maybe just things that you might find interesting…

First up - food is fabulous - obviously tons of seafood which I can do with out, but I’ve been a sport and tried it all - well, almost all. There were these steamed squid things the other night that totally grossed me out. I was brave and took a piece, but just couldn’t do it. Since most tourists don’t like the local foods, the boys continue to be skeptical when I tell him to bring it on. I’ve scored huge points all around for my chopstick using prowess. I told Tan I did draw the line at dog, these partially formed chicken things and I added a new one to my list yesterday- rat. He told me that rat was really, really good and he used to eat it all the time as a kid in the village where the rats could eat corn and grain (“they were very clean“) but he quit eating it since he moved to the city. “Do they taste just like chicken?“ I ask? “They taste better than chicken!” Yup, don’t care, added it to my list.

The other little tidbit I’ll share is my first experience biking. We had an oh-six-hundred muster to go for a bike ride around Hue, the former imperial capital of Vietnam. What transpired next, since it was captured on film, will be mortifyingly hysterical. So, I get downstairs with my biking clothes on, only to have Tan ride up on his bike in full biker duds - the stretchy shorts and shirt. He had me change into a pair as well - good lord #3…some things are best left to Lance Armstrong. But, being a good sport, I did. Off we went - what I thought was going to be a bike ride really was a photo op complete with video and cameras - refer to my mortifyingly hysterical comment above. So I’m riding a bike that’s too big, teetering around, looking goofy in my biker digs and they are giving me directions on where to go in Vietnamese. I was supposed to wave at the camera when really I was just trying to stay on the bike. But off we went on the streets of Hue…which is where my life flashed in front of my eyes. You see, traffic rules and a bit, shall we say, undefined. So there are bikes, rickshaws, trucks, and a zillion motorcycles all on the road. I don’t know where I’m going, and I’m riding a bike on a city street that has no traffic rules. Then, I had to make left turns at intersections! At least 4 of my nine lives were left on the streets of Hue. When we stopped, and I’m pretty much shaking in my shoes, Tan just told me to ignore everyone and they move around you. The only thing I said was “You can’t have tourists do this”, which he said, oh no, I don’t (then why are we taking pictures? ). Tan said, yes, I can understand how you might be afraid if you are not used to it. Ya think?

That’s enough for now - I’ve attached some photos as well. We’re off to HCMC (Ho Chi Minh City, not Hennepin Center) - aka Saigon today.