Chinese Medicine

Eating Healthy

                                                                        Banana Leaf

• 
•                            Buddhist feast

Two times recently I have eaten vegetarian and also had my camera handy to snap a pic.  Actually I eat vegetarian food often but I don't always have a camera.  There is no dearth of interesting places to eat here in Penang, the city in Malaysia that is somewhat like New Orleans in that it is associated with all kinds of good food.

The top picture is known as banana leaf and is served in  specialized Indian restaurants.  Upon entering banana leaf restaurants the first thing to do is wash your hands.  Traditionally this food is eaten with fingers.  I don't particularly like eating this way so I can request spoon and fork.  After washing up, customers sit at a table and a large banana leaf is plopped down in front.  Servers pass thru the restaurant with pots of rice and vegetables and serve directly from the pot to the leaf.  Everything I have eaten in this type of restaurant has been delicious, a bit spicy, filling and cheap.  

The second photo is a picture of a vegan lunch I had at a Buddhist temple.  This month is the feast of the 9 gods and strict Buddhists eat only vegetables during these 9 days.  Most temples set up dining tents and serve food all day long, however this is a bit upscale and I was invited by Chinese friends to a sit down dinner.  There must have been over 10 dishes served  as our party sat around a big table with a lazy Susan in the middle.  Not surprisingly I left stuffed.

• 
  

A Day in the Life

This is Tesco where I do a lot of my shopping.  The ground floor is mostly a food court with McDonalds, KFC and several local vendors selling bee hoon, mee hoon, laksa, Chinese, Italian and Indian food.  The next level is mostly electronics and cell phone vendors and the top floor is a Walmart inspired mega store where I have bought a microwave, a DVD player, pillows, snorkel, beer, groceries, jeans, plant food and wine.  This one stop shopping destination is about 15 minutes from my home by mountainous seaside highway.  

Ready to go shopping

Where I swim everyday is a very large clean pool just outside my door

This is the first time I have published a pic of my motor scooter and this is how I drove from Tesco to my condo today.  If I had not lived in Vietnam and seen people moving refrigerators on the back of motorbikes, I would not have dreamed of buying  plastic stools and bringing them home on my back seat.  It was actually very easy, using a few bungie ropes.on my bike.  

This morning I woke up early, about the time of the first Muslim prayer call at 0545, and dozed until getting out of bed about 7ish.  I drank 2 cups of coffee while surfing internet and watching the only English programming I could find which was a Sponge Bob spinoff.  I then went to the gym to ride the stationary bike for 15 minutes and the pool to swim for 45 minutes.
Since I had not eaten all day and I had been grocery shopping yesterday I started throwing things together which eventually turned into chicken and rice.  I am unhappy with the food I buy here.  Some of the Indian and Chinese foods are good but Malay food is not to my taste, so I  really enjoy some simple dishes I prepare.   As always I am thankful for peanut butter and jelly.
I had a short nap before waking up to the mid afternoon prayer call, so I rode my bike in to Tesco to buy some sheets and a new pillow.  I came home and changed the new sheets and like the look, although here when you buy sheets you get a fitted bottom sheet, pillow cases, a bolster cover but no top sheet.  Go figure.
A friend stopped by after work at about 9 so we ate some of my chicken and rice I prepared earlier and chatted for an hour.  Now it is almost midnight and I will be going to bed soon.  So there you have it- a day in the life

English

Here is a brief history lesson on the country of Malaysia.  Until 1956 Malaysia, then called Malaya, was a part of the British Commonwealth, and as a result there was a legacy of very British customs such as high tea and driving on the left side of the road.   Now Malay is recognized as the first language, and English is a close second in this country of diverse ethnicities, Malay, Chinese and Indian.  I often hear conversations among locals that merge in and out of English just like a driver changing lanes on these sinister (as in left handed) roads.  I have been amused to hear my friends use such words as horrid, spectacles and fortnight, words I have not heard since my very proper grandmother from Charleston died.
Speaking of traffic, I have started driving my neighbor Stephen who has helped me in so many ways to get settled here to his doctor's appointments since he has sciatica and can not drive.  Riding my motorbike on  the left side of the road is much easier than driving a car.  My tendency to keep too far to the left reminds me of a similar actions/reactions when I was 15 years old and learning to drive my mother's car.  As I sat behind the wheel for the first time this week I realized that I had never before driven a car in Asia.  I saw the achievement as a milestone.

Settling in Penang

Several weeks ago in Vietnam I picked up my laptop computer by the LCD display and my thumb went right through the screen. Well, at that that time I was intending to travel to America to join the Renfroe family reunion so I decided to ditch that old HP and buy myself a new Apple MacBook Pro. If you have read some of my past blogs you may recall that the trip did not happen consequently I was left with an iphone and ipad as my means of internet access, both handy and convenient but inadequate as a primary computer.

After weeks of cursing and fretting over what to do about my web-less situation I defied local wisdom and checked on computer prices here in Malaysia and found that the cost is actually hardly different from in America. I am now proud owner of MacBook Pro. All this is prologue to my resumption of blogging.

As you have probably figured out the above photos are my new digs here in Penang, Malaysia. My view is $1,000,000 overlooking the Andaman Sea; the furnishings, adequate for short term but not very comfortable. You could describe my decor as Asian Goodwill meets college dorm room.  My easy chair is a pool lounger, for example. I have been trying for over a week to get some sort of TV connection but I have to adjust to island time here and wait until it happens. I figured I can use my telephone as internet hotspot and that is quite satisfactory.

The kitchen has a small refrigerator and a gas cooker. On the other hand I have a rice cooker which gets plenty of use. I am delighted to have a kitchen of my own for the first time since I left Williams Street, and I have even hosted a dinner party already. I served a Malay version of Shrimp and grits minus one main ingredient, grits. Rice works! Oh, and I did not serve wine. Malaysia holds the title for second most highly taxed alcohol in the world after the country of _______ (Try to guess what country.), but I did have equally overtaxed Tiger Beer, one six pack costing about $15. Needless to say there are fewer beer guts on the entire island of Penang than in Perimeter Road Super Walmart.

In case anyone chooses to thrill me with a call, my new Malaysian telephone number is 60(country code) 194.135.574

and my mailing address is

Eden Seaview Condominium

Apartment 6-7-6

11100 Batu Ferringhi

Penang

Malaysia

Now that I have a new computer I will improve my blogging frequency, I promise.

Give up on the above quiz country with the highest taxation?  Here is a hint:  think Scandinavia.

Trying Again

I have despaired of resuming blogging since the demise of my laptop and having to resort to using my moderately satisfactory ipad, but maybe i will be more successful now than previously.  So far this seems to be working.
When I last was able to post something I was lamenting being unable to get to the Renfroe reunion.  It seems like such a long time ago.  I spent a week in Middle Vietnam instead of Washington and then flew to Malaysia last Sunday.  I am now in the island state of Penang and also in the island state of mind.
I have spent most of my time here looking at apartments and I can happily report that I  found one just an hour ago.  The apartment is the vacation home of a family member of friends I met the last time I was in Penang, so I am renting without paying a finder's fee and without signing a long term contract.  Also i am getting a pretty incredible price of 1000 Malaysian Ringit which is just $300 for a furnished 3/2 with balcony overlooking the Andaman Sea.  It is one of those  times to stop and give thanks.  I am justbwaiting for the cleaners to do their thing and I hope to be living there early next week.  Dare I dream my wandering days are over?

Face the Fact

I have come to the unfortunate conclusion that I will not be able to go to Seattle for a week of being Renfroe.  Flying standby as its perks but there is also the dark side.  I will miss the cool summer days and nights in the northwest, the delicious food and wine that everyone will be enjoying, the goofiness we share in our closeness and the  intimacy of being  with my loving family.  My consolation is expecting to be together again next year when my great nephew James gets married.

Since I have to vacate my apartment tomorrow I have made plans to go to DaNang which is a 14hour train ride north.  I leave tomorrow at 7 PM in a sleeper seat.  I actually plan to stay in the ancient seaside town of Hoi An.  There was a television series years ago called "China Beach" and this is the site of China Beach.

I mentioned before that I am now blogging using my iPad.  I have not figured how to add photos yet, so I regret the dearth of  pics.  I will experiment and hope to find a solution.

Not in Tokyo

I had planned to be in Narita Airport in Tokyo at this moment, alas I am not.  It was my intention to travel via Bangkok and Tokyo to Seattle for the biannual Renfroe family reunion, this year at Whidby Island near Bellevue, WA, where my nephew Jim Renfroe's family lives.  As you know I travel a lot and I am able to do so by flying standby as airline staff.   The catch is that I have  to travel off peak when seats are available.  Well, this is August and the heaviest travel month of the year, and I can not find available flights to get me to my destination.  There is still a possibility I can work something out for Tuesday, 7 August , which would get me there in time, however I am cautiously watching the bookings.
The past week I have spent getting ready for a final departure from Ho Chi Minh City, since I did not plan to come back here after Washington.  My guitar and bicycle have gone to good homes and I don't have to move my laptop because I broke it last week.  Yes, I lifted my laptop by the screen instead of the keyboard and the LCD shattered.  I was still pretty satisfied with the 3 year old HP although it was beginning to show its age.  To repair it would have cost more than I wanted to spend, so now I am down to iPhone and iPad for communication.  I will buy a MacBook when I have a chance,  but surprisingly computers, which are generally made in Asia, are far more expensive here than in the USA.  Go figure.
  I made a very accurate analogy yesterday that I will share with you.  I was riding a city bus in Saigon and my friend David from New York called using Viber, a fantastic app for your phones which lets you speak to any other Viber subscriber anywhere FREE.  At some point in our conversation he said, "It is so noisy there."  I told him, "The noise in Ho Chi Minh is to New York as New York is to Valdosta."  I think I am not far off so you can imagine the cacophony of horns blowing, motorbikes revving, cocks crowing, vendors hawking and twelve million people living in this mega city.

Mekong Delta

VIsiting the rice fields in Tien Giang Province, Viet Nam

Up close and personal with newly picked rice. Here the rice is drying in the sun for a week before going to the processing plant for husking(?) and packaging.

Diving board??

My friend Nick paddling his cousin and me up the river for an ice coffee.

Perhaps you remember hearing about the Mekong Delta during the days of the Vietnam War. There was some pretty fierce fighting in that part of Vietnam and the bomb craters are now filled with water and are used to raise catfish. I guess that is an example of lemonade from lemons.

I had an invitation to visit the village of a friend who was raised in the Mekong Delta last Sunday. To go there I had the option of riding on back of my friend's motorbike for about 60 miles or going by bus. I chose the bus. We left Ho Chi Minh about 11AM and got to our destination 2 hours later. Thirty miles per hour is average for travel here so it is fortunate that it is not such a big country.

My friend was raised by his grandmother but she was not home. His sister was there and she served lunch which was rice, fish and vegetables. For dessert we had mangosteen, a new fruit I discovered recently. Normally dessert is not a part of Asian meals. We ate typically Vietnamese style sitting on little plastic chairs about 20 inches high that are the same as kid's picnic chairs they sell at Walmart. An uncle came and ate lunch with my friend and me, and , also typically Vietnamese, the men ate before children or women. Fortunately no chickens flew up on the table as I had experienced when visiting a friend in a rural setting in Thailand.

After lunch we rode in a dugout canoe on the river up to a cafe for an ice coffee. I was pretty nervous the canoe that it would tip and the water was about as nasty looking as any I have ever seen. I did not want to swim there. The little boy in the pictures is a neighbor/cousin and he swims in the river every day, however.

This is rice growing country and the rice fields are lushly verdant. I have never seen rice that has been cultivated but not processed, and I suppose many of you have not either. I took a macro pic of this most basic of foods in this part of the world to show what rice looks like before before it goes to the factory for processing and packaging in plastic. (I reminded myself of a friend from Hawaii who visited me in Florida during the peak of corn season and he had never seen corn that was not canned or frozen. What comes around ....)

This was a hot and tiring day. Our return bus broke down about 30 minutes into out trip and we had to wait for another ride to come by. We made it back to Ho Chi Minh on an unairconditioned bus sitting on the very back seats. I hope my next travels are more comfortable. Speaking of next travels, I am still anticipating going to Seattle next week but flights are not looking so great for standby.

A Story About Confidence

I met a Vietnamese man who teaches English and he told me the following story.

"My son asked me to explain the difference in confident and confidential. I told him you are my son , and of that I am confident.  Do you see the boy over there?  He is also my son but that is confidential.  Do not tell your mother."

All is well here and I am planning to travel to Seattle in about 10 days to attend the biannual Renfroe family reunion.  I have to get to Tokyo somehow, probably via Bangkok, and from Tokyo I am one flight away from the USA.  Although it's a long flight from Tokyo, somehow it seems like it is close to America.

Culo Inquieto

A few months ago I was traveling in Laos and I ran into a friend from Spain who roams Asia much like I do. I told him I was contemplating moving from Ho Chi Minh City to a then undetermined destination. My friend said to me, "You know, Eduardo, you and I are what we call in Spain 'culo inquieto' which means something like restless ass. " I agreed and made a vow to disenfranchise myself of that label.
Often I find myself not liking HCMC these days. The noise and traffic are abominable and learning the language, normally something I do easily, has eluded me. Riding my bicycle on the streets here has made made not like any Vietnamese. An insurmountable fault of HCMC is the distance to the ocean.
In a recent conversation with William Mackey he reminded me that I had mentioned the likelihood of my living in Penang, Malaysia, at some point. Thanks, William, for reminding me. Now I have charted my course to arrive in Penang before mid September. Penang is an island city/state in northwest Malaysia a few hours north of Kuala Lumpur by bus and a 20 hour train ride south of Bangkok. Like all Malaysia it is a melting pot of Malay, Chinese and Indian. Most importantly it is an island with several nice beaches. I have called on several resources in Malaysia to get information and I think I will be greeted warmly. I am quite confident that I will be happy there.
I know settling is a word I have eschewed at times but now it seems a desirable objective. I will appreciate your reassuring thoughts for my upcoming move. I hope I will run into my Spanish friend Francisco in the future and instead of culo inquieto we can be described as "corazon contento", happy heart.

Delicious Place

I was riding my bike today and came acroos this restaurant called Qua'n Nu'u'ong which means delicious place. I often order my food by looking at pictures and I see nothing on this menu that I want to eat. I wonder if anyone reading this would eat there. Just asking!

On the food front I just finished eating supper. I bought take away food to eat at home last night and I had so much rice left that I went to the supermarket today, bought a can of garbanzo beans, and Imicrowaved rice and beans together. I enjoyed the meal more than anything I have eaten in a while. It was good to eat "poor people food", as my Cuban friends call rice and beans.

In the Hood

There is no special significance to these pictures---just some scenes around the neighborhood. I will post more.

Wheels

I bought a bicycle over the weekend and for the first time living in Asia I have my own transportation. It feel wonderfully liberated to be able to move about the city more easily. I think I rode more than 10 miles yesterday, so I am not only mobile but I also get exercise while moving. Traffic here is not quite as difficult to manuever as it looks from the back seat of a motorbike, which is encouraging.

A Home Again

I moved to my new apartment this morning and I took everything in one trip except my guitar. I later took the bus with my guitar so now I am completely moved in. Ah, living lite, or lightly, depending. I will take a few photos and post them.
My presentment is deciding whether to go to bed with only a half bottle of water in the house or to go out in search of a store that sells water at midnight. Alas, such is the life in wanderland. Also I have a nice glass shower with hot water. I just need a towel!Pics soon.
If anyone has Viber on your phone and you want to talk you can call me at 84 0126 4994 748. I am discovering I like Viber better than Skype. Also I most highly recommend seeing"The Most Exotic Marigold Hotel". I think it is the best movie I've seen.
Please keep Renfroes in your loving prayers. Me too, while you are at it.

Back in the Rice

This is the street I will now call home, Huhyn Van Banh Street. I have been practicing the pronunciation and spelling all day long so I hope I can give the address to the taxi when

Where do I begin? I have been on such a long hiatus that I can hardly recount all that has happened since I last wrote back in May. So I think I will just start with today. After more than 2 months of living out of suitcases I finally found an apartment in Ho Chi Minh City. I arrived here on 6 June and since then have been diligently searching for a comfortable good value apartment. The place I found is in an area far from the familiar District 1 where I have spent almost all my time since I started coming to Viet Nam a few years ago. It will be challenging to learn new places to buy food, to swim, to drink coffee, to have laundry, etc., so I am a bit apprehensive but excited to be settling once again. I will have some pictures to post in the next day or so.

Change of Plans

I did not go to Argentina as I had planned.  Instead I am in Tampa and my friend whom I was going to meet in Cordoba is coming here on Thursday.  I will stay here a little longer and then travel up to Valdosta to visit before returning to Asia

The Little Boy Who Cried Wolf

.When I was very young I used to get quite a thrill out of screaming, "Help!", and watching my sisters or parents come running only to find that I was just playing around.  I got into trouble several times about this but my grandmother skillfully eliminated this habit by telling me the fable of the little boy who cried wolf.

Why do I allude to this story from my childhood?  Well, I have often said in this blog that I am planning to return to the US but tonight I expect to start out.  If you want to hear about an almost masochistic itinerary here is what I have planned.  First I fly from Saigon to Tokyo on Japan Airlines departing at  2330on 30 April.  I arrive Tokyo at 0630 and hope to catch an AA flight to DFW at 1130, arriving DFW 16 hours later at 0900.  If I make this connection I will only have a 4 hour layover in Tokyo, otherwise I will fly AA Tokyo to JFK at 1810, an 11 hour layover.  Where ever I end up DFW or JFK I will overnight and then continue on 2 May to Buenos Aires, Argentina and from there to Cordoba, Argentina.  My friends in Argentina just called me to say they are expecting me and I am sure that I will be enjoying a lot of delicious food and wine for a week while in South America.  After that I will head back to Tampa and rent a car to travel around Florida and Georgia.

I have such a melancholy feeling to be departing Saigon today but I took extra Vietnamese money from the ATM yesterday so I will have to come back to spend it.  I can say that Ho Chi Minh City and Miami are my favorite cities I have lived.  There is no beach here but I am making do with the great swimming pools that are scattered around this city.  I have made many good friends here and I think I will be welcomed warmly when I return.  Now I am concentrating on getting the flights back to America and looking for my guardian angel to help out.  I will appreciate any positive thoughts anyone sends my way to help me make connections.  I expect to write next time from a different continent.  Hasta luego!

Pattaya

I traveled 2 hours south of Bangkok a couple of days ago to the beach city of Pattaya.  Pattaya became famous during the days of the Vietnam war when US military personnel would come there for R and R.  Not surprisingly the sex industry flourished and continues to do so today.  I only mention this to preface the following report of what I believe is the best TV commercial I have ever seen.  I will attempt to recreate best I can.
The scene is a beautifully furnished apartment in which a voluptuous brunette sits tied to a chair wearing only panties and a bra.  She manages to get to a phone and dials the local 911.  "Help me!", she implores the operator.  "I have been kidnapped."
The operator asks, "Where are you?"
"I do not know."
"Well, what can you see?"
"I have a great view of a lovely landscaped pool, numerous fine dining places,  a golf course and the Gulf of Thailand."
"Then you must be at Royal Pattaya Towers Condominium.  We will send help immediately."  To the rescue of the damsel in distress comes a handsome James Bond type who obviously expects some show of gratitude for his efforts.  Like I said, this is one of the best commercials I have seen.
Here in Pattaya, as in every beach town I have visited recently in Viet Nam, the majority of travellers are Russian.  One Russian I met explained to me  that they come from a very cold country and therefore they love to go where it is warm.  Almost all the signage here is in undeciperable Thai and almost equally puzzling Cyrillic.  Fortunately most of the menus have pictures.

Sa Bai Dee Pi Mai Lao

This is a pic from the balcony of my hotel of some of the typical Pi Mia Lao (Lao New Year) festivities. As I mentioned earlier, everyone gets soaked and it is a lot of fun (for 2 days anyway).

I was invited to a party and this is our host's father preparing to bless the guests at the party. Blessings consisted of chanted verses (which of course I could not understand) and tying of colored threads on the wrists of guests.

Party Food!

Guests at the party.

Yesterday was a most interesting day and my friend took me to the obligatory odd number of temples to pour holy water over the Buddha images. The temples were full of devotees and there were so many photo ops, but my camera chose to act badly that day.

Attraversiamo

Holiday shopping in Vientienne. My friend wanted new shoes and a backpack so we went to this "mall". My shopping was for Listerine or a local equivalent.

My neighborhood wat.

I am often influenced by books that I read and I am now reading (for the second time) "Eat, Pray, Love" by Eliazabeth Gilbert which I found in a book swap at a hotel or guesthouse somewhere along my way recently. It is definitely an Oprah type book in case anyone is interested in entertaining light reading, but I mention the book because I take today's title from the "Eat" portion of the book. In the "Eat" third of the book Elizabeth Gilbert spends several months in Italy enjoying the food and studying Italian, a language which she always wanted to learn. Her favorite word was "attraversiamo" which translates into English as "crossing over" as in crossing over the street or in a more metaphorical sense crossing from one state of affairs to another. Yesterday I crossed over the Mekong River from Thailand to Laos, hence commencing a new episode of my life. I am completely unsure of what to expect here, but hopeful of a favorable experience.

On 13 April the Lao-Thai holiday celebrating the new year begins. The year here is 2555, based upon the birth of Buddha, who preceded Jesus by 543 years, and the new year here coincides with Buddha's birthday. Like in Chang Mai, Thailand, was a few years ago, this will be a festive wet time with everyone slinging, throwing, shooting water at everyone else. To survive best I hope to keep my eyes and mouth always closed at moment of impact. Other than that I will just accept the fact that I will be soaked if I step outside. It is very hot here and the water at least feels cool.

I happily reconnected with a friend from a previous trip to Laos yesterday and he invited me to celebrate the new year together. Among other activities he said we will visit 5 or 7 or 9 temples (must be an odd number) and pour water over the Buddha statue for good luck in the coming year. Getting to participate with a local absolutely makes an experience like this far more interesting since I can ask about the significance of the activities.

For example, I wanted to know why all the water at this time, and here is the explanation I get. It seems that there was a king in ancient history who made a bet with the wisest man of his village, the wager being that the king would cut off his head if he lost the bet. Talk about going all in on a bet! Well, of course the king lost the bet, so he arranged that his head be stored in a nearby cave and that his seven daughters would wash his severed head once a year with holy water. I think you can put the rest of the story together. Water poured over the Buddha statue is holy water and throwing water at everyone on the street is a sort of blessing, if you can believe that. I am pretty sure that several of you who read this would not take being assaulted with a gallon of water as a blessing but more like a reason to cuss whoever had such audacity.

Well, I will try to have a few pictures of the celebration to share with you here. This will be my third new year in 4 months: January 1, Tet and now Pi Mai. At risk of sounding repetitive, "Happy New Year!"

Last Night in Saigon

I am now sitting in my hotel on Pham Nu Lau Street, the backpacker street of Ho Chi Minh City, nostalgically regretting that I am departing one of my favorite places but enthusiastically anticipating new adventures as I make my way to Vientienne, Laos. I wrote recently about the planned itinerary so I will not repeat all of that, but I just checked with Thai Airways and was happy to reconfirm that the flight I want to take tomorrow from Saigon to Bangkok still has plenty of seats available. I am leaving a day earlier than planned but it feels okay to be leaving this time. My previous departure from HCMC was not quite as comfortable since a week ago I was in a bit of a funk over a disagreement with a dear friend. Happily I can say I resolved the issues on this rebound and I feel like I will be returning here soon with a warm welcome awaiting me. When I next write here I ought to be in Thailand, if I am diligent and in Laos, if less dedicated. Het ga'p lai!

(Until next time, for anyone interested in a handy Vietnamese phrase)

Rubber Ball

I departed Sai Gon by sleeper bus bound for Nha Trang, a beach town about 300 miles north of Ho Chi Minh. I had planned to connect there and continue north eventually to Hue where I could get transportation onward to Vientienne, Laos. What I did not know before starting on this trip was that a storm had settled in the sea between Viet Nam and the Philipines and the weather was awful and expected to remain that way for the next 10 days.

After optimistically waiting for better conditions for 2 days I finally decided that Weather.com was correct so I had to rethink my plans. Fortunately I had a delightful room on the 6th floor of a guesthouse with a balcony overlooking the South China Sea. I enjoyed sitting on the balcony sipping a few beers watching the dramatic weather conditions over the sea as I contemplated my new travel plans. I finally decided to return to Saigon, hence the rubber ball title.

The weather was at its worst the night I departed and I had to wade through knee deep water on the `street in front of my hotel to get to my bus. Two friends with whom I had endured some of the rain helped me tote my luggage to higher ground and I was so grateful for their assitance. I had my second very pleasant overnight trip on a sleeper bus. If you can imagine reclining first class airplane seats stacked 2 high, that is what these buses are like. A fairly comfortable bed and some powerful sleeping pills made for a satisfactory night passage back to my former home of Ho Chi Minh. I miss my apartment.

What is next? I will fly to Bangkok in a few days, rendezvous with my friend Tosh who will be living there by then, drop off a few things to lighten my back pack and then continue north to Vientienne, Laos, for Songkran, their 3 day celebration of Buddha's birthday. If you were reading my blog 3 years ago, you might remember that I was in Chang Mai, Thailand, for Songkran. It is an Asian equivalent of Mardi Gras and quite a party. As always my plans are flexible, so you know all this may change. But that is what I am planning for now.

Today

I am getting ready to depart Ho Chi Minh City soon and trying to visit some of the friends I have before saying goodbye. This afternoon I went out with my friend Mons from Denmark who used to be my neighbor. Now he lives far away from the center with his Vietnamese girlfriend who is a haridresser. While we were eating the delicious lunch she prepared for us the conversation turned to the possiblility of tattoos. We decided a less committed act of preparing for a new adventure would be dyeing my hair black. We tried it and voila!!! You can see the results on the next page.

Not a Tattoo

A New Installment

I have once again slumped into neglect of this blog and so this is my response to a request for a new installment. I guess one reason that I have not been writing lately is that things are pretty much as usual at this time. In Vietnamese language I would say, "Toi binh thu'o'ng.", just to show off a bit, and that roughly translates to, "Same ole, same ole." My language classes are very challenging so I spend a lot of time practicing and studying Vietnamese, but I am becoming a bit more conversational every day.

Unfortunately I have had pretty annoying sinus trouble for about a week which has prevented me from enjoying swimming. Every day I think the next day I will feel well enough to resume swimming, and I am hopeful tomorrow will be the day I get back to the pool. I have really missed the exercise and the refreshment of the cool water. It's really getting hot and this is only the beginning. Well, at least I won't have to mow the grass in this heat.

I know that I promised more pictures so yesterday I set out to take shots of some of my hangouts here, and the batteries in my camera were dead. I was going to lunch at one of my favorite restaurants, a vegetarian place with a Buddhist Tibetan theme and Vietnamese style veggies. I really wanted to share a glimpse of this place with you, but alas, battery trouble. When I placed my order at the restaurant I changed my mind about something and thought I was cancelling one selection. I guess I did not get my point across and I ended up with three yummy dishes, much more than I could eat. I still have leftovers in my fridge which I will eat tonight.

I guess everyone is aware that April 15 is looming in the near future, so I have decided that now is the time for me to make the long trip back to America to take care of my taxes. I am not looking forward to the marathon flights back and I hope that I will find a way to take care of taxes more easily next year. My planned routing at this time looks like I will leave Saigon at 8 PM on April 1, fly to Bangkok and connect there to Shanghai. I will have to spend a whole day in Shanghai before catching American Airlines to LA at 9PM on April 2. I arrive in LA late afternoon on the 2 April (Remember I gain a day because I cross the IDL.), connect to Miami and take the early morning flight on April 3 to Tampa. I am hoping for an opening on a Japan Airlines flight from Saigon to Tokyo which would make a much easier trip, so please keep your fingers crossed that I get lucky.

Well, as I mentioned above, "Toi binh thu'o'ng" (Same ole, same ole) Ahence the dearth of news. Just being here is an adventure, and I usually have more than one or two amusing surprises every day. I am sorry not to have posted in a while, since one reason for the blog was to let you know I am still alive. Let me assure that I am alive and well in Viet Nam.

Back In School

Co Thuy

This is Miss Thuy, my teacher for Vietnamese. Today was my 5th class so I am beginning to make simple sentences, and I even had a light bulb moment when I put together two words to form the Vietnamese word for "now". That may not sound too exciting but I was very pleased with my creation. This language looks fairly uncomplicated when written but the pronunciation is really difficult. I mentioned earlier about all the accent and tonal markings in written Vietnamese, and each mark indicates a rising, falling or loop de loop sound you make when speaking. Fortunately each word is only one syllable and grammar is not complicated. That's the good news, according to my teacher.

I have heard other westerners speaking the language fluently, so I think the same is possible for me to accomplish. For the first time since arriving here 4 months ago, I actually said something in Vietnamese to someone and was understood. I am very excited to be making a little progress in communicating.

On to more mundane matters, I have begun swimming seriously for one hour a day. It is really hot here, even until 7 PM, so swimming provides a respite from the heat and a workout for the bod. I have gotten my arms and legs in pretty good condition and I am working on those stubborn love handles. When I finish my swim I have the greatest natural highs I have ever experienced. I showed pictures of the pool previously, but the story of the complex where I swim is worthy of repeating. During the French occupation of Viet Nam this was the French Country Club and must have been a ritzy place. I love that it is now known as the Labor Club, antithetically to French Country Club.

I am still taking guitar lessons, but guitar has taken a back seat to my language course. I enjoy belting out a rockabilly version of "Jamablaya", "Tennessee Waltz ", "Amazing Grace", plus a few others and so far the neighbors have not complained. Relearning to play the six string was a good idea, however for ease of transport I will get a recorder and try to play it. I am traveling light these days.

The time is drawing nigh for taxes which I need to return to America to handle. I am able to file as late as June 15 since I am out of the country, but I am thinking of heading that way in early April. I have a short list of things besides taxes to do while there. Some of the thing on my list include Mexican food, ice cream, grits, new phone, computer, watch. Hmm! Half my list is food. Maybe I should forget the nachos and enchiladas. Also I am getting a bit of a shopping list from Vietnamese friends.

Well, that about does it. When I seriously committed to moving to Asia I made a proviso with myself to use this opportunity to improve myself in as many ways as possible. I think I am on the right path, and again I want to say how grateful I am for all the forces that put me here. I kind of like myself better than ever before, so I guess of all the ways I could improve, that is about the best of all. The journey goes well. Thanks!

Sneakers and Grits

I need to return to America to tend to taxes before April 15. I have been checking flights to come home and since I fly standby I am not seeing any options so far that seem to be satisfactorily underbooked for me to try. Still traveling to America in the near future is on my to do list and I am looking at many routings.

Some things I am anticipating back in the USA are buying some sneakers, not easy for me here where most shops don't carry size 11 (size 46 here). Also I want to buy a new computer, an iphone and a watch. It is easy to find a Rolex or Tag Heuer here for about $30, but it is a safe bet they are not real. I am also looking forward to eating grits, baked potato, ice cream and steak, but most of all I want to see family and friends whom I love and miss.

I have enrolled in a Vietnamese language course. My two lessons so far have dealt strictly with pronunciation. If you have ever seen written Vietnamese ~ ` ' and other markings my keyboard does not make are included with most words and indicate inflection and tones which are so difficult for foreigners. All words are only one syllable so once I learn to speak correctly vocabulary ought to be easy to learn. Just so you have an idea of cost of living here, I paid $200 for 20 hours of private instruction. My class is about 1 mile away and walking there is a good chance to review mentally my assignments. I now walk around with a little notebook in which I make notes and I usually find a friendly Vietnamese to help me if I have questions.

I Know, I Know

I know I have been lax about updates and I was shocked when I saw that my last entry here was 2 weeks ago. I will do my best to cover some of what has been going on today. Again I apologize for lack of photos. My old camera still works very well, but it is quite bulky, far too big for my pocket, which means I have to strap it around my neck and it just is not comfortable. I think I will buy an iphone next time I am in US, which ought to solve the camera problem. That being said, here goes with the accounting of the last several days.

I returned to HCMC last night after a week in Malaysia and Singapore. It was so good to be back home that I never left even to eat supper once I got back to my room. Fortunately there was enough water pressure and hot water for a relaxing shower which is not always the case. After my shower I dined on crackers and a duty free Bombay Gin martini before hitting the sack.

The trip to Malaysia and Singapore was actually a business trip for my VN friend Phu and I just accompanied him. He wholesales agricultural pumps which are manufactured in Kluang, Malaysia, and that was our first stop. We flew from HCMC to Singapore on budget priced Tiger Air for just over $100 return. Upon landing in Singapore we immediately took a bus from the airport to the Singapore Malay border less than an hour away. After clearing immigration so very efficiently we boarded a new bus to Kluang. By the time we arrived we both were tired and took the first hotel we saw which was quite nice. We strolled a bit through the town, had supper and went back to the hotel. The next day we went to the pump factory and I sat in on the business meetings which was so unlike my career with American Airlines and I quite enjoyed the experience. Evidently Phu is a good customer and by the time we were ready to leave the factory late in the afternoon, the boss had arranged for a car to take us to our next destination, Melacca, about 2 hours away. How luxurious to be treated so courteously! I could get used to that!

Since I have spent a fair amount of time in Melacca I suggested we go to an innl I had used before. We took a room without looking at it and was that ever a mistake. Things had definitely taken a turn for the worse here and we spent a very uncomfortable night in a very dreary room.

We changed lodgings first thing in the morning and spent the rest of the day exploring the wonderful ancient city. For lunch I took Phu to a banana leaf restaurant which is a style of Indian restaurant where a banana leaf serves as a plate and servers with rice and all kinds of vegetables plop a spoonful onto the leaf and you eat with your fingers. Later in the day I contacted a local friend whom we met for supper in a very different type restaurant with forks, spoons and napkins. I like variety, you know.

After a day of relaxing Phu began phase 2 of the business trip which was to search for a supplier of rubber air filled baby bed sheets for his wife to sell in her wholesale baby care company. As you may know Malaysia is a big producer of rubber and the first factory we visited made many rubber baby products such as the sheets, baby bottles, rubber baby dolls, etc., but their biggest product was condoms. Never did I dream I would go to a condom factory! Naturally there was some humorous discussion about one product depressing sales of the others. The sales manager said he never had a problem explaining to his wife if he came home with condoms in his pocket--"just business" was his logical explanation. Upon leaving he gave us both a handful of their products including one lighted vibradome condom which is touted to enhance the excitement. I have not opened the package, so no comment.

The remainder of the week was more factory visits and we collected samples of baby sheets for Thaou, Phu's wife, to peruse. No other factory visit was quite as fun as the above mentioned Takaso Rubber Products. After 2 nights in Melacca, we traveled by bus to Johor Bahru, the last point on the mainland of Malaysia and just across from the island of Singapore.

Johor Bahru has the same reputation as border towns everywhere---dangerous and unsafe. I kind of relish the edge of danger and was actually disappointed that there seemed to be no peril anywhere we went. For breakfast in Johor I had one of the most memorable meals of the trip---a kind of pancake served with 3 spicy savory sauces. Again this was a hands on meal.

From our hotel in Johor we walked a short distance to the Malaysia Departure checkpoint, completed our emigration process and boarded a bus to take us across the bridge which separates Malaysia from Singapore. We processed ourselves into Singapore easily and spent the final night of our trip in another hotel I had used previously, this one more satisfactory that my earlier recommendation. Because our time in Singapore was brief and the heat nearly suffocating, we did very little exploring, venturing out for dinner in nearby Chinatown and spending the rest of the time relaxing poolside.

This trip reaffirmed two opinions I formed years ago. First, Malaysia is one of my favorite countries-- friendly multicultural (Malay, Chinese, Indian) locals, excellent intercity transport on a fine highways, lush green scenery everywhere providing delightful oxygen filled air. Second, Singapore is the most expensive city in southeast Asia where everything seems to cost too much. My standard to evaluate travel/living costs of a country is the average price of beer. In Viet Nam and Cambodia, one beer costs $1; in Thailand, $2; in Malaysia, $3; in Singapore, $5.

Now I am happy to be back in the land of $1 beer and plenty of vegetables with every meal. I am anticipating a trip back to the US sometime this spring to take care of taxes so I will start planning soon. Again, sorry for the gap in communication. All is well in HCMC.

A War Story

Last weekend I went with a friend to visit the area where he had grown up. I noticed that his family house was much older than other buildings in the area. I asked why and I heard the following fascinating explanation.

The area where he lived was occupied by the Americans during the war and the Viet Cong were in the adjacent neighborhood so there was fierce fighting in the streets. It was easy to imagine the opposing forces firing on each other in the narrow streets. When the Viet Cong finally overcame the Americans they destroyed all the houses in the neighborhood but spared his family home since his mother had provided the Viet Cong with food. Prior to the war my friend's family had owned 20 hectares all of which was usurped by the victorious north. My friend said he and his father made numerous appeals and a small part of their land was returned including the family home. There is a large new Buddhist temple very close by which was rebuilt after the war. The wartime Buddha of the temple was sent to jail for 10 years for cooperating with the Americans. His replacement reconstructed the present temple. Incidentally, my friend's family is Catholic
Sadly I have no pictures to support this story. I am very photgraphically challenged as my camera is too bulky to take around with me. I think I will have to buy an iphone with its fine built in camera next time I am in the USA.

Yet Another Chicken Story

I was in a part of the city yesterday where I had eaten twice unsatisfactorily in a small cafe when the old hunger alarm went off, so I found a new place to try. I ordered chicken and rice from the menu and noticed below the entree listing I could order additional rice, additional chicken or additional chicken organs. I pointed to the additional chicken organs listing and attempted to explain to the waiter not to put organs on my entree. Instead, he understood that I wanted to order additional organs. Well, since I had a bowl of mysteries in front of me I went ahead and ate it all, trying not to wonder too much what I was eating. Actually, not half bad!!!

Here is just a side note to my lunch experience yesterday. As I was eating my chicken, rice and additional organs the music playing overhead was incongruously Bing Crosby singing Jingle Bells on a hot February day in Ho Chi Minh City. Just another day in my sometimes surreal life.

A Riddle

What is the difference in a rotisserie chicken in America and in Viet Nam?

Give up? The answer is in the blog entry below.

The Answer to the Riddle

I love most things about living here in Ho Chi Minh City but it does get tiresome to have to go out to eat every time I get hungry. I like to cook and I long for a kitchen but it just is not available at this time, so I have found a substitute which is take away food. I recently discovered a market that sells what we would call rotisserie chicken at our local Publix. It is actually quite tasty, seasoned with a lot of garlic and lemon grass, and I have made meals at home of chicken, a baquette and sliced tomato and cucumber. There is one significant difference in Publix chicken and what I buy here. When you get a whole chicken in Viet Nam you also get the head and the feet. I have yet to eat either, but I am working up courage for that and a few other culinary adventures.The answer to the riddle is that a rotisserie chicken in Viet Nam also includes the head and the legs.

I remember when we were very young my sister Rena and I watching our Daddy wring a chicken's neck. Rena would not eat chicken for years after that. I am pretty sure she would not be happy to find a really whole chicken in the package even today. Right, Rena?

All Paths Lead to Bangkok

The lotus is symbolic of perfection of the Buddha and in this very spiritual country is common.

For one reason or another I keep returning to this city which, frankly, is one of my least favorite in Asia. What before was touted as the land of smiles as the Thai tourist board self proclaims would be more accurately described as the land of indifference. However, the food is pretty good, English is widely spoken, some sights are very incredible and prices are reasonable.

I am here with an old friend who now lives in Hawaii so touring around together has been fun. I am a bit more daring than my friend and we have eaten and visited more cautiously than I would do on my own. I must admit that I have enjoyed the luxury of the upscale hotel where we are staying. The complimentary breakfast buffet includes familiar items such as omelets, hash browns and yogurt as well as more unusual fare like ginger chicken, rice soup (congee), papaya, pineapple and mango. Breakfast is filling enough that I eat only two times per day. Having seen the typical tourist attractions such as the royal palace and some of the more famous wats, I am seeing some more local attractions. Today I will go to a new interactive museum which is reported to be almost Disney-esque.

I will return to Ho Chi Minh tomorrow on Air Asia, the excellent low cost airline based in Kuala Lumpur. I will be glad to get back to my gym, my guitar and my swimming hole. Viet Nam is really beginning to feel like home.

Tet Flowers

Viet Nam is a perfect climate for growing flowers. It is hot, wet and fertile. (Sounds kinda sexy, doesn't it?) These`are some of the beautiful flowers on display and for sale in the parks near my home.

Tomorrow is Tet Eve. So far I have no plan but to hang loose and see what comes my way. I will depart on the second day of the lunar new year for Cambodia and Thailand, as I mentoned before. Meanwhile, chuc mung nam moi for the year of the dragon.

Address

Chick, my Vietnamese "granddaughter"

In many cultures children address non family members by family names as a form of affection. When I lived in Miami, many of the children of my Spanish speaking friends called me, "Tio" which means uncle. Here in VN I have a friend who has a 4 year old daughter. My friend told me she now refers to me as "Ong" which unfortunately means grandfather. Lordy, lordy, I don't like to be reminded that I am getting old!!!

Egg Salad

What, you might ask because of today's title, is he writing about now? Well, on Christmas evening I was invited to a potluck dinner, and for the first time I can remember there were no deviled eggs at a potluck. Since that day I have had the joneses for that good ole timey southern treat. This week I asked a friend to bring me some boiled eggs (since I do not have access to a kitchen) and I have been enjoying egg salad sandwiches ever since. An unexpected surprise that I can pass along in case anyone wants to experiment with a new taste is that I mistook thousand island dressing for mayo in the grocery store, which turned out to be a serendipitous mistake.

Dragons and Lions

These are pics of the forementioned dragon dancing. Technically, it is dragon and lion dancing. The top picture is the dragon dancing, about 10 boys with long poles supporting the cloth dragon and performing intricate maneuvers on the ground. The second picture is the lion dancing and this is only 2 boys, one playing the head and one the tail. This performance is actually very dangerous since it is performed on tall pedestals and involves leaping from one to another with intervals of delicate balancing with the tail supporting the head or vice versa. Unfortunately one team had a mishap and one of the dancers was taken away on a stretcher.

These are traditional performances and part of celebrations of all types from weddings to ribbon cuttings and especially new years. How exciting it was to be the only westerner at this so very Vietnamese performance. A friend recently told me my face has a slightly Asian cast. To paraphrase a popular song from a few years back, "I think I am turning Vietnamese."

A Joke

Some things I see here are so surprising like this joke printed at the bottom of a placemat. It was about the only thing I could read in the entire restaurant.

What's 3 X 2?

A little boy returned home from school and told his father that he had failed the math test.

His father asked him, "Why did you fail?"

The boy replied, "The teacher asked me

'How much is 3X2?' " and I said "3 X 2 is 6."

"Well that's right" said the father.

The little boy continued, "Then she asked me 'How much is 2 X 3?' "

"What the hell is the difference?" asked the father.

The son replied, "That's exactly what I said to the teacher and that's why I failed the math test."

ba da bing ba da boom

Preparing for Tet

The biggest holiday of the year in Viet Nam is the lunar new year called Tet and it is only a few days away. Because the lunar new year is based on the moon (duh!) the date varies each year. Lunar New Year will fall on January 23 this year. At that time the practically everyone in the country goes on vacation for a week or more. There are a few tourist facilities like restaurants which will be open, and I am sure hospitals will still be open. Hopefully I will not need the latter.

I was here for Tet two years ago and that was my first experience in Viet Nam. Now that I am more familiar with the life here I am more aware of the importance of the holiday.

Last night after I ate supper I walked home via a street I have not walked in a couple of weeks. I was delighted to see the entire length of the street has been strung with millions of lights and I am sure when lit that street will glow as brightly as the strip in Vegas. I think I mentioned earlier the enormous twin dragons being built with styrofoam and metal frames. When I passed last night the frames are now filled in with potted flower plants to form the bodies. Unfortunately I forgot to take my camera along but I will return for a Kodak moment and I will share with you.

Another tradition for new years is dragon dancing. Before coming to Viet Nam a couple of years ago I had only seen dragon dancing on television or as background scenes in some movies about Chinatown in San Francisco and I was always intrigued. There are teams from all over Viet Nam which compete for national title to represent the country in an international competition in Singapore and tonight I am going to the first of the competitions. This is something I have been asking about ever since I arrived here in November so my inquiries have paid off.

As for my plans for Tet, I have not made a plan yet for the actual night. I was at the Saigon River the other time I was here for an unforgettable firework display, but the crowds there were really daunting and I do not know if I really want to get into that again. On the second day after Tet, January 24 I will go by bus to Siem Reap, Cambodia. That is one of my favorite places in Asia, and I will spend 2 nights there before traveling onward to Bangkok on the 26 to meet my old friend Toshi who is on vacation there from Honolulu. While in Siem Reap I look forward to eating delicious Cambodian food as often as my stomach will allow.

Home

If you were wondering what my living situation is, have a look. I moved from my first apartment to another within the same building. Moving took about 30 minutes including packing. What a great way to live: my worldly possessions can be transported in a backpack and a few plastic grocery bags. I will take a picture of my clothes closet and post here another time. When I think of the bulging closets full of things I used to have, I much prefer this lifestyle. I could use another pair of shoes but shoes my size are not easy to come by in this part of the world.

The first picture above is the view from my balcony on the 5th floor (or 6th floor if you number floors like in America). I am in a neighborhood both residential and commercial. The closest buildings to me are residential and a bit further are hotel and office high rises. The second picture is looking down to the street from the balcony. It is a lovely place for water balloons, but I have yet to find the shop selling balloons.

Moving inside the next picture is my electronic center. Here I have a fridge which at the moment has ice, ice cream (some habits are harder to break than others), a little cheese (exceptionally expensive here), jelly and peanut butter, beer and water. Next to the fridge is the TV and fan. As of now I use the fan more than AC since the temperatures are very pleasant. The other two pictures need no explanation. The wild color sheets are provided along with maid service, a luxury I have not had since days long gone. When I leave my room in the afternoon I return to find everything neatly back in place and fresh sheets on the bed. It is easy to get used to this life.

My routine is something like this. Typically I go to bed about 11-12 and wake up between 7 and 8. As I have mentioned before my time is 12 hours ahead of east coast USA so when you are eating supper I am probably getting up the following morning. I go to the gym 3 times a week and to the swimming pool alternate days. I usually have bread and coffee in my room for breakfast, and then I eat one or two other meals during the day. Once again I am trying to develop a little skill drawing with pencil so I enjoy spending time each day in that noble pursuit. I have started relearning to play guitar on a borrowed guitar and I plan to buy my own next week when the guitar shop I know gets in more stock. I usually have some bit of shopping to do every day and often I take a bus to a modern shopping center which sells groceries, hardware, clothes, etc., something of a Vietnamese Walmart minus the overweight customers. The sun rises and sets early here. By about 6 PM the night lights are twinkling on the streets and motorbikes clog the roads so it is a nice time to sit in a cafe with a ca phe sua da (ice coffee with condensed milk) and observe whatever is going on around me.

I know I have kept up the blog like I intended and I do have several excuses. I will spare you the details but I can sum up by reaffirming the old saying, "Time flies when you are having fun." I continue to say I am happiest I have ever been and I am so thankful for all the things in my past that put me here.