Feliz Navidad Y Prospero Ano Nuevo

As the sun sets on 2013

Happy Holidaze

Bahia de Tenacatita Mexico

As always at this time of year our thoughts  are of our friends and family. (At this moment of course they are of the great paddle boarding here in La Manzanilla). While we travel and visit friends along the coast of Mexico this winter it is on our minds of the wealth of friends that we do have. We are truly lucky! We wish that all have a great winter enjoying what they love and we hope to see you all in the new year. Stay Well!

Just the 3 of us.....

MERRY CHRISTMAS

ALL OUR LOVE

Salute’

Arriba….Abajo….el centro….de entro…..

Light at the end of the tunnel

Shuffling back to Hanoi thru Da Nang

My Khe beach in Da Nang

It appeared that we brought the good highlands weather with us to Da Nang. We dropped off our bags at the Sea Wonder Hotel, and headed into town to eat at Bread Of Life. Great food and big portions and of course the great staff, headed up by our friend Thao (I bet she is only 4' tall with a 6' smile).

Thao  and some of the staff at Bread of Life.

As we left our hotel a pavilion was being set up next to the hotel. A family of Vietnamese that has lived in the states for the last 30 years all came back and threw a block party for their Grandmother who was turning 90 years old. The family had lived in Southern Cal. but now from Boston. They invited us to join them later. When we came back from lunch, the party was just getting started, I decided I better join them and was paired up with one of the nephews (Rin) for him to make sure my beer glass stayed filled.

Pavilion took up the whole street, live band and karaoke.

Between the Vietnamese toasting (Yo) me and Grandmother and anything else, the food started rolling in. Seafoods, chickens, soups, salads, spring rolls was tossed in my bowl and another toast (Yo). so they say in Vietnam (or at least these guys at the table), If you are toasted then either 1/2 the glass or all of the glass must be downed.......

Rin & Grandma

After the party, the obligatory photos.....
Rin was a great host....
Thanks Rin, my best to your family.

One of our connections here in Da Nang was Chuck Palazzo, we weren't able to meet with him this time through and talk some more about his Agent Orange project (DAVA) because he contracted Dengue Fever. He said he felt like he had been hit by a truck, hopefully a small one. Get Well Soon Chuck and Thanks for all your help while we were in Vietnam.

So we visited the Linh Ung Pagoda, she is a
female Buddha and must be 100 meters tall.
She looks out over Da Nang from her perch
on Monkey Mountain.

Beautiful grounds and views of the area.

Back at the Sea Wonder Hotel, we became guinea pigs for their new lunch menu. After many photos, we finally got to eat the food.

Thuy is the big smile in the middle and was the hotel
cook/accountant.  

The owners

Chou, the receptionist and travel agent....Big Smiles

Thanks to all at the Sea Wonder, hope to see you all again soon.

Tony (on the right) from the Sea Wonder ( our home in Da Nang),
 insisted on one  last Ca Phe in Da Nang at his fav coffee place. 

After several hours of delays at the airport, we made it back to Hanoi and it's seeming chaotic traffic and incredible street food.

BBQ chicken, soup, chopsticks and new buddies. 

(Mike;s)  The birds are singing this morning, outside our balcony door.  There are many song birds in cages that the people have hanging in their homes or along the streets.  Helps to distract the sound of the traffic.

Our local neighborhood on Hang Hom.

(Mike's)  Yesterday, met with Chuck S., who brought along an American lady (anti-war veteran), who is retired military, and now is an associate professor at UNC - Chapel Hill.  Trude Bennett teaches in the Dept of Maternal and Child Health.  Nice info from her.

We met Chuck Searcy and Trude at an old French mansion in the French Quarter of Hanoi that had been turned into a swank restaurant and coffee shop. Trude was at a conference here in Vietnam and presented an eye-opening talk on the dangers of GMOs. Surprisingly the very company that brought Agent Orange to Vietnam during the American war is the same one pushing the Vietnamese government to test GMO crops in Vietnam. Will that circle every be broken?

Biker school kids, terrorizing the streets of Hanoi with
big smiles and waves

(Mike's)   Took a walk around the lake park last evening, and were immediately surrounded by university students wanting to talk American with the tall guys.  Many gringo tourists, but they want to speak to Americans.  We spent a couple of hours in two groups, talking about their interests and America, so they could improve their pronunciation.  Much fun, and invigorating.  Many thought that I was an English teacher.  I guess that I am, just not officially.

Where you from?   Can I have picture?

Great evening on Hoan Kiem Lake, I'm not sure how many Mike
talked to, but I spoke with over 20 university students.
Great positive energy for the future.

Chuck S. met with us several times to tell war stories, heart warming stories of returning American Vets and the good will they have brought to this wonderful country. These Vets along with Chuck in Hanoi, Chuck in Da Nang and my other Vet friends Suel Jones and Mike Cull have been the true ambassadors from America. Their good will and efforts to make a difference is inspiring and makes me proud to call them my friends. 

Spectacular last night in Hanoi
Hoan Kiem Lake and the bridge to the Turtle Temple...

With that we embarked on our forever flight back to America, sad to be leaving, but incredibly happy that we came. Those doors of perception that we opened on the first days of our visit were left wide open and the reality that is Vietnam is in our hearts and minds.......Yowsir!!!!!

Kon Tum The Bahnar villages

More Central Highlands
Friendly KonTum

After a short bus ride from Pleiku we arrived in Kon Tum on the banks of the Dakbla river.  Kon Tum is known for it's closeness to 5 different Montegnard tribe villages and beautiful Highland countrysides.

(Mike's)  Another beautiful morning in the central highlands.  Had another great day yesterday.  After taking the "expensive" public bus from Pleiku to Kontum, which set us back 22,000 VND (Vietnamese dong) or $1.10 each, we made the 30 mile trip in 90 minutes over a bumpy main highway that is being rebuilt.  This two-lane highway is  only one of two that go from Saigon to Da Nang (i.e. Hwy 14)  The other being the coastal highway that extends all the way north to Ha Noi. Beautiful countryside along the way.

Dug out canoes on the Dakbla River

 (Mike's) By the time that we arrived at our hotel (very nice hotel & room for only $15 per nite), Stretch went for a nap in the room while I walked around the area close to the hotel.  About 4 blocks away, I found the closest of the 6 orphanages that are in the Kon Tum area, and set up a time for a tour when the English teacher is there.  

Mike with some of the kids at the Orphanage?

We took an afternoon walk along the multi-purpose (cows grazing, rice drying, boat parking and tourists gawking) promenades along side the river. We hadn't been walking 15 minutes when a couple of gals offered to walk with us and show us their Bahnar village. Mostly she wanted to practice her English and her friend wanted to stay texting..

Luc & Phien our new local guides.

Phien's village's Rong house and volleyball field

Drying rice on the road

We had a nice long chat with Phien and promised to meet Phien again the next day, now it was time for the night market and some dinner.

Always beautiful fruit and Bun Bo (beef soup) for dinner.

We started visiting a group of orphanages in the area. There are six all with the names Vinh Son. This morning we took a tour with Manh and he took us to 2 Bahnar villages and Vinh Son 5. 

The sister and Manh tell us about Vinh Son 5

80 children eat out of this kitchen

The big pots cook under this lean-to.

Seems the farther away from the bigger town we get the more desperate the needs of the orphanages. With only 2 toilets, one small kitchen for 80 kids, they definitely had some challenges. Unfortunately all the kids at Vinh Son 5 were at school for the morning, so we just chatted with the sister and was showed around.

                   The villages were all busy with something, even though most villagers were in the field harvesting coffee beans and rice.

Nearby in the village, grandma drying rice by the traditional
Bahnar style home.

the kids are always ready for a giggle.

Local Bahnar back-strap weaving.

Not too many gringos around these parts,
we got lots of attention

 babies carrying babies

this girl was trying to look us in the eye,
 very cool stilts 

 After a couple villages and lots of smiles we left Manh and his driver and met up with Phien and we bused to another village were her sister lives. We strolled around the village and gathered up our usual entourage of giggling kids.

Phien with her niece & nephew

Part of Mike's Entourage, this was the comedy part

This was Phien's sister's lean-to for 3 kids and husband,
the kitchen is covered by the clear tarp. They had been
in this home for 5 years and very soon to move into a
government home for the very poorest.

Their new house, only a shell, no utilities, no bathroom,
no kitchen, just 2 rooms, but dry.....

Imagine me telling a story? It was one way to disperse the kids

We encouraged Phien to continue studying and keep working on her English. Her English was incredible from singing English songs, coupling that with a great voice and a talent for tour guiding she would make a great singing tour guide..... After meeting Phien's Mother & Father (also working out picking coffee beans), we took a late night bus ride back to Kon Tum with most of Phien's family and a bus load of sugar cane.

The next morning it was off to meet at the first orphanage that Mike was invited to when the English instructor was there.  As it turned out, we were met with a bunch of little girls in fancy dresses and the orphanage was a girls school and Mike had been invited to a program to honor the teachers on Teacher's Day. They also invited a girl who spoke English so we would have an interpreter.  Pretty dang ole nice.

Quite the 8am welcome to the school.

Ready to dance....

May I have your attention....
I will sing for you

All the teachers in their uniforms

Our Interrupter Nhi on the right with her teacher friend.

After lunch we met with our faithful tour guide Phien and she took us to the Orphanage in her village, Vinh Son 2. Very nice facility with 180 kids, the supervisors were napping but the kids were excited to see us. Their English skills were very good and we chatted for a while.

Bahnar style prayer flags, woven out of bamboo.

Vinh Son 2, the kids wanted to take the photos with my camera

Chatty Chatty take my picture.

Thanks for picking the flowers out of the tree..

Besides assistance from the Catholic church, a group of American Vets who were stationed in the highlands also started an assistance program called Friends of Vinh Son Orphanages Vietnam (http://www.friendsofvso.org).

Mud room Kon Tum style.

More kids at Vinh Son 1

The kids were all great and happy to have someone to talk with it sure seemed they were pretty well adjusted to living with a bunch of other kids.

group break dancing with assist

Phien was great showing us around 

Killer coffee in the highlands

           









We finished up the day walking around Kon Tum with
 Phien & Luc. We drifted into I Love KonTum Coffee across the street from our hotel and met our interpreter from earlier (Nhi) and said goodbyes to all our wonderful guides (of course they already knew each other).
The next morning we took a car back to the Pleiku Airport and got there a little too early and noticed that where Mike was stationed during the war was staring right at us. Engineer Hill overlooked the Air Base and still did. In 1970 all vegetation was eliminated around the military facilities and now it was alot greener. We couldn't go up there today because it is still some sort of military facility. But just before our flight out of the highlands a little piece of his past showed up.

Engineer Hill over looking the billboards and airport.

Back to Da Nang after a enjoyable walk through the hilltribes of Pleiku and Kon Tum