Backing up the Truck
(For those of you who missed our Facebook posts or email dispatches, here is a recap of our few dispatches from Vietnam and Cambodia.)
Sunday afternoon, December 1, Da Lat (the cool SE highlands)
Greetings from Warm, beautiful, and friendly Vietnam:
The flights were long and uneventful, but we made it to Ho Chi Minh City (called Saigon by everyone but government officials in Hanoi) late Thanksgiving day. It was a delight to wake up early the next day and see the city of 8 million people and 3 million motorcycles come alive. We hired a private guide tour with our friends from Spokane, touring back alleys and even going to the top of the former CIA building where people were frantic to get aboard the last helicopter out in 1975. It is now surrounded by much taller office buildings, hotels, and apartments. Shanti and Skyler arrived at different times, and it was great to be with them again.
We loved Saigon for its energy, public parks, and strange blend of Asia and colonial France. It's clean and the people are friendly. The food and traffic are amazing, but unlike Bangalore, the traffic flows. One simply steps out into the street and the hundreds of motorcycles avoid you.
Saigon (Ho Chi Minh) Temple
Out for a Sunday outing to look at Christmas decorations.
After getting up at 4:00 AM today, we took a short flight to the highlands to Da Lat.. It's a mountainous tourist area for Vietnamese who want to escape the heat. We're staying in a very nice, but deserted villa. We rode about 21 miles today, stopping for tooth-enamel-eating coffee and later for some delightful Pho. The traffic was a little nerve-wracking at first, but we just go with the flow. Shanti and I are taking it easy this afternoon, but Kathy and Skyler went into town to explore and visit the markets. Tomorrow we have a 62 mile ride to the coast. The two guides are fun and knowledgeable, and the 12 of us tourists from the NW get along well and are fortunately all about in the same physical shape.
The Kelemen Klan
Kathy the Cow Piper
December 8
Hue, Vietnam
When we went to a Salem Travel Club presentation about Vietnam last month, the presenter was asked "What are the downsides of going to Vietnam?" He replied, "None!" Some other members of the audience who had also been to Vietnam echoed his comments. And now Kathy and I join the chorus. The scenery, the food, the accommodations, and above all, the people are all delightful. as are our traveling companions and our REI Adventures bicycle guides.
Yesterday, after a day layover in the beautiful city of Hoi Ann, we bicycled along the 20-mile Da Nang (China) Beach, then climbed a 1500 foot pass in 6 miles, followed by a fun 7 mile descent back down to the coast. After lunch we biked through over 20 miles of elaborate cemeteries, where the markers were more elaborate and expensive than the homes next to them. Ancestors and family are everything in this culture.
December 6 was an emotional morning as we experienced the news of Nelson Mandela's death and a visit to the site of the shameful 1968 Mei Lai massacre. We were granted a rare interview with one of the seven remaining survivors. He was 11 at the time and only survived because his siblings and parents' dead bodies shielded him. Mr. Comg bore no ill towards Americans, and thus, like Nelson Mandela, he is living proof of the redemptive power of forgiveness. I still marvel at how Vietnam and its people have seemed to get over the war and move on.
We travel mostly on rough remote rodes where tourists are seldom seen. The bus transports us and our bikes through the dangerous Highway 1 traffic. Today, after a tour of Hue (the site of the Tet Offensive), we fly to Hanoi. And then tomorrow or the day after that, we bicycle to a village and stay with a family.
Coming down the Hue pass
Miles and miles of grave markers
Every meal is a new adventure. Everyone is healthy, we put ice in our drinks, especially the strong coffee sweetened with condensed milk. It can almost dissolve the stirring spoon! We have our aches and pains, but they seem insignificant compared to the whole experienced. If there were downsides to Vietnam, they would be the plastic litter in the countryside, and air quality, which is starting to take a toll when we need to use our lungs so much. Most of the Vietnamese wear face masks, both to keep their skin from tanning too much (lighter skin is highly valued) and to help protect against the air quality. I think I'll buy a couple fashionable ones for my bike rides in the cold mornings back home.
Hope you are all staying warm and are enjoying the holidays. It seems so wierd to hear Bing Crosby or Frosty the Snowman in tropical 80 degree weather!
December 9 Hanoi
Today we are leaving Hanoi this morning on a 4-hour bus ride to the top of a 3,000 foot pass, then a 20-mile ride to our home stays with a Vietnamese family. Will miss our very nice hotel in Hanoi. These were my thoughts last night:
40 years ago I would have never guessed that I'd be on a Boeing jet to Hanoi, having a delightful conversation with a 38-year old Vietnanese factory supervisor named Susan, then having a fabulous dinner with a fine Chilean cabernet and conversation with our tour hides whose fathers served in the North Vietnanese army, then going to a Citibank ATM (totally unimaginable in 1973), finally strolling through the French quarter to our hotel with Jack Daniels in the mini bar and a big screen TV playing Stephen Colbert. The future had been good. 20 years from now, I hope my unborn grandchildren can say similar things about Baghdad and Kabul.
Christmas Time in Hanoi
December 15
Siem Reap, Cambodia
It's 10:00 Am Monday, and probably 7:00 PM Sunday on the west coast. Kathy and Shanti are asleep. Skyler is now back in Boston, and I am at our one-half star hotel's computer that has a floppy disk drive, but no port for a thumb drive. Kathy came down with a bad cold and sore throat, so she did not get up at 4;30 to catch the 6:00 AM sunrise at the magnificent Angkor Wat temple. It was definitely worth it, but apparently, many other tourists thought the same way.
Cambodia is a very hot, humid, and relaxing place, compared to cool, bustling, and polluted Hanoi, which we also liked very much. It's definitely less developed and a much poorer country than Vietnam. It's a matriarchal society, so the women are more casual in their apparel and everything just seems more mellow. Our private guide takes us over rough roads where many don't go. We've seen some amazing things here, including the temple where Tomb Raider was filmed. Yesterday we went to a floating fishing village by muddy road, then a half hour small wooden boat ride.
At night, this town comes alive. Quite the bustling nightlife, open-air restaurant, and bar scene. Thousands of tourists, mostly from Japan, China, Korea, and Australia. Lots of young backpackers in short-shorts and skimpy tops, which don't play well at the temples. After Kathy and I went to bed last night, Shanti went out by herself and enjoyed the nightlife. Ahhh, to be young again, but hey, I'm the one who is still up and about. We'll have drinks and dinner tonight with some friends from our Vietnam trip, who are with a different guide company. This whole trip has been quite a social event.
We depart Tuesday evening to Saigon, the to Seoul for a-hour layover, then to Seattle, then to PDX. By crossing the dateline, we get back Wednesday afternoon. We'll miss this place, but I'm looking forward to getting back to my normal life.
Hope this finds you all well and in the holiday spirit.
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