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.