Blogs from Red River Delta, Vietnam, Asia - page 15

Our trip to Vietnam has finally arrived! It was such a relief to arrive in Ho Chi Minh City and be able to stretch our legs after a 12 hour flight. The temperature was an unbelievable 26 degrees at 5.30 am! We only had one hour forty minutes before our onward flight to Hanoi so you can imagine our panic as all the luggage was collected from the conveyor belt and ours had not made an appearance. After an extra 20 minute wait with about 6 others they finally arrived and we found our departure gate with time to spare. The drive from the airport to our hotel in Hanoi revealed a landscape similar to China with all the land alongside the motorway being cultivated and divided up into what looked like allotments. The ouskirts of ... read more

Hanoi started with a rude awakening. RUDE. Nancy and I took a night bus from Phong Nha to Hanoi. I took Advil PM (hadn't gotten the Valium yet) and slept fitfully next to the bathroom with the door that kept swinging open. My earplugs mostly stayed in my nose. At 6am, we were awakened by all the red lights in the bus turning on and a Vietnamese song BLASTING through all the speakers. You know those songs where it's a woman and a really wavering voice? Imagine that waking you up at 6am on a bus filled with red light and not being able to turn it off or down. This was followed by what I can only describe as a Communist March. Nancy and I were bewildered, to say the very least. We got dropped ... read more

I am forever interested in the traditions and customs around the world regarding the dead and always request a visit to a local cemetery The dead, according to Vietnamese law, must be buried within 24 hours. The body is placed in a wooden coffin without embalming and buried in a shallow unmarked grave at a time that is designated by the local fortune teller, but never when the sun is shining. After the burial the family makes altar offerings and prays for the departed. The sons of the departed wear special white garments and a short biography of the deceased is recited. Altar offerings are made to honor the deceased on day 3, day 49, day 100, and on the one year anniversary. Depending on the region of Vietnam, decay of the body is more or ... read more

Ho Chi Minh spent his life in the pursuit of improving the lives of the Vietnamese people. He was well educated and travelled extensively to broaden his understanding of life and learn the best ways to empower his fellow countrymen. He led the Việt Minh independence movement from 1941 onward, establishing the Communist-ruled Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1945 and defeating the French Union in 1954 at the battle of Điện Biên Phủ. He officially stepped down from power in 1965 due to health problems, but remained a highly visible figurehead and inspiration for those Vietnamese fighting for his cause—a united, communist Vietnam—until his death. He was a humb... read more

It’s Wednesday, 12/16/2016 4:10 a.m. . . . know I should be sleeping, but sleeping and trying to sleep are two completely different animals. The words swirling and the phrases forming in my head finally force me from the pristine, soft, white sheets and cozy pillow to pen my thoughts of the last 30 (or is it 45 hours) of travel. Departure at LAX, uneventful; Business Class is as promised, “a lie flat bed” (ever sleep on a fold out couch?) individual seating (access to toilets does not require inconveniencing another traveler) and an attentive cabin crew. The stewardesses (I count six to our cabin) and very handsome steward all are about 25, clear complexed, perfectly groomed and eager to serve. The young man had the most handsome dimples, (think Mario Lopez from EXTRA). I reflect ... read more