DeNise Thomas
After a year of planning, we're finally heading out to Vietnam. I'll keep everyone posted as much as I can depending on the internet access. DMT Vietnam
Those of you at work, don't break anything...
Tạm biệt
Travel Blog Posts
July 10th 2008
Our next stop was Nha Trang. We didn't make any reservations for our personal trip until we got to Da Nang so when we did finally get to a travel agent we realized the Miss Universe Pagent was going on in Nha Trang. The rooms were hard to find. We did finally get one near the beach with the girls right next door. We did get the superior deluxe ocean view room on the top floor that wasn't taken. Okay, it was only $85 USD so we thought we'd splurge. It was very nice. There were Miss Universe signs all over the place but we never did see anyone resembling a Miss Universe contestant. It's a pretty big city though. In the morning we took a tour on a diving boat to the national parks in ... read more
July 10th 2008
On our way to QAui Nhon our drivers took a side trip to look at a Cham Temple. As we drove through a small village and some farm fields we came across a sacred site. It was a burial site of the kings of that area. The 3rd and last king was buried there. As we walked around, the caretaker was there and gave us a small tour of the area and what was still there from 300+ years ago. I'm glad Vy was with us because we would not have been able to understand all the history if she wasn't. And just up the road a few 100 yards were elephant statues just sitting in an area in front of someone's home. They were lifesize! Just around the corner was the Cham Temple. It was ... read more
July 10th 2008
Well this is the first day of our own vacation. We stayed in Hoi An a small town south of Da Nang. We hired a 12 passenger van with a driver and then took Vy with us for an interpreter. We'll stay a night in Da Nang then head south again to Qui Nhon for two nights, then to Nha Trang for two nights, then to Mui Ne for two nights then to Saigon for one night before getting the girls on the plane for home. Ted and I flying to Hong Kong to stay another day then to Vancouver BC, then home. It'll be nice to get a serious shower and sleep in my own bed. Hoi An is a World Heritage Site. It's a beautiful little village along one of the inlets of the ... read more
July 4th 2008
The wedding last night was beautiful. The wedding party was dressed in traditional outfits as the monk performed the ceremony. He chanted (sang) a couple of prayers which was very cool. We all enjoyed a meal and cake afterward. Almost an American wedding. This morning was our dedication ceremonies for the two schools. There were kids everywhere! It was so great to see. Ted spoke at the first school and help cut the ribbon for the new addition that was added. These are the most beautiful children. At the second ceremony, the kids danced for us. They were so good for being so young. We passed out small gift bags to each of the kids. They were filled with pencils, crayons, candy, a beanie baby and small toys. They were so excited but so restrained to ... read more
July 4th 2008
This is just a bunch of pictures that Amanda and I took from our "Click & Shoot" cameras. Most of the others on this blog are from our new camera. The little cameras did a pretty awesome job at taking photos as the new one!... read more
July 3rd 2008
Day - Not sure Well I skipped a few days of typing in my blog and have lost track of what day and what the date is. The computer says is 9:00pm back home on Wednesday which means its 11:00am Thursday morning here. We went to Hoi An yesterday morning and shopped the local markets. It was crazy busy with people, bikes and scooters. The clothes here are all hand sewn so if you want anything other than a t-shirt or tank top you have to get it made. They can have it done in 12 hours. You pick the outfit from a catalog, pick the fabric and they make it. They are really amazing seamstresses. They also can make you a pair of sandals custom fit. I’m going to check that out when we head ... read more
July 3rd 2008
So we’re up at 5:30am, breakfast at 6:00am and to the bus at 7:00am. More trenches to dig. It seems like it’s cooler today but I’m sure that we are all just becoming more acclimated to the heat and humidity. It got to 105 degrees today with little to no breeze. Where we were digging there are no trees so we try to work in shifts to not kill ourselves. Then the electricity went out and the overhead fans in the school didn’t work for an hour or so. We all couldn’t wait to get back on the bus for the AC. We stopped at the sea and swam for about an hour. Some of the others stayed but Amanda, Jessie and I took a taxi back to the hotel. Ted went back earlier to sleep. ... read more
July 1st 2008
We got up to head the Cham Ruins. This is where the original Vietnamese once lived. It’s a pretty beautiful place. The bricks are put together without mortar. Thuy says they are still trying to figure how they put the buildings together. Hopefully someday they will protect these ruins with ropes or something. You can walk all over the place and you can see the damage that is doing to these old buildings. We have a Buddist monk, Yukon, with us now. He is a friend of Thuy’s and is from Cambodia. He is here to preside over a wedding. A young couple in our group, Michael (the piano player) and Jerra are having a Vietnamese wedding on Friday. It should be very cool. They are getting fitted this afternoon in traditional clothing and then all ... read more
July 1st 2008
Day 7 - The Caves & DMZ We got up early, again, and headed to the caves. From what I’ve read and heard these caves were used by HoChiMihn as a hideout. This cave was awesome. You can’t even describe how beautiful it is inside. The stalagmites and stalactites were huge. I’ve attached many photos of the inside. We then headed to the DMZ. This is at the 17th parallel. This bridge split North and South Vietnam. I guess this bridge was blown up as soon as it got rebuilt. It’s really weird to realize the major fighting that took place here and how short of time it was ago for America. As we drove through the town away from the DMZ you can see some of the old buildings still standing riddled with bullet holes. ... read more
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