Vietnam

We reached Sadec at 9am after a long three hour drive in a travel van where we found a canoe waiting to take us into the temple.

We filled the canoe with nine

and floated down the muddy waters of the village river.

These are the huts that villagers call home.


We arrived at the temple where we would be passing out supplies to the nearby village people.

I call them the ACTION TEAM.

This little one greeted us at the door.

Apprenticing monks.

We passed out bags of rice,

toys, pastries, and candy to children of all ages,

and money amd boxes of green oil to the older villagers.

Most families here cannot afford shoes for their children.

Shy little girl, who turned out to be really loud.

Awwww...

Vegetarian Meal

Garden fruits

Jackfruit Tree. Imagine if one of these fell on your head.

We then headed to another village 40 minutes away, where 230 children were waiting.

This is the classroom where they have Sunday school.



We got home around midnight, in time for the hotel's Christmas Eve party, but mom and I were too exhausted to join in the festivities.

Here's two pictures from Saturday's Wedding at the Five Star Equatorial Hotel in Saigon.


Food was disappointing and I didn't so much enjoy seeing a suckling pig on every table. That's 30 suckling pigs. =(

Last night, we had dinner at the Rex

on a rooftop with palm trees and elephant statues.

There was a well-lit bar,

and a full house.

Mom and I,

and 10 other people, including Co Lan,

enjoyed drinks,

and Asian dishes like these.
There was a live band, and best of all, the rooftop was the best place to be on possibly the coolest night in Viet Nam in a while. For once, I was actually cold.

This morning, mom had a wake-up treat in store. We all climbed into a Vinasun Taxi,

and rode to the Golden Lotus Foot Massage Club, where we each got a 90 minute full body massage (even though it's called "Foot Massage". I know.) Let me tell you, it was WEIRD! I've been to Ole Henriksen in LA for a full swedish massage before, and it was so different. My masseuse, with his knees to his chest, hoisted me from under my back, and suspended my torso in the air as I teetered back and forth. More common techniques he used were walking on my back, which knocked the wind out of me, and cracking my neck, back, fingers, and toes, which I tend to cringe at the sound of. The best, though, was hearing my mom giggling and "oofing" in the lounge chair next to mine.

More shopping was done at An Dong Plaza,

then we drove home, crossing a very important bridge. This is cau sat, the FORMER steel bridge, significant because at the age of 5, my mother was almost pushed off of it while fighting with her four year old sister. Bittersweet, yes. Nostalgic, yes. haha.

We packaged more supplies,

and filled 25 bags with sweets and toys for more kids this coming Sunday until it was time for dinner.

Hai San Quy Thanh has one of the best seafood in the city.

Coconut snails, anyone?

We had shrimp the size of my hand,

crab,

and more snails.
As we were leaving, I went up to look at their display tank of fish. Nothing special usually. But here I saw KANJI painted onto the scales of the fish?

Things to look forward to: Saturday: wedding. Sunday: Orphanage in Sadec. Monday: possibly Nha Trang.

Women sell fruits out of baskets like these near the sidewalk vendors.

A fruit stand in Cho Ben Thanh in Saigon.

Robes in Cho Ben Thanh.

Com Tam Bi Suong.
My lunch of broken rice (intentionally)

Mom's Che Thap Cam. You can get desserts like these anywhere and practically everywhere here.

This precocious little fellow was selling lottery tickets to nearby customers. For a few pocket candy and money, he let me take his picture.

Tau Ben Nghe floating on a river of Song Bach Dang. This is the site of our dinner cruise.

Onboard Tau Ben Nghe. Not long after this was taken, tourists filled the dining tables awaiting for the ship to set sail.

Mom and I outside Tau Ben Nghe.

A few of the dishes we ate onboard. There's shrimp marinated in fresh coconut juice, fried bass, and DEER (no, not beef).

Front row seats: Along with the live band and numerous singers, the cruise show featured a fire dancing extraordinaire, who ate, touched, and blew fire to upbeat techno music (haha). I have it recorded in small clips, if anyone's interested.

Seafood fried rice. Self-explanatory. Really Good.

Mmm Soi Ga. Fried Sweet Rice cakes with chicken!

After dinner palette cleanser.

Shopping for treats under Cho Cau Muoi, a row of shops on the lower side of a bridge.

I'm packaging the treats for the kids at the orphanage.

These are for the kids. Hope they've got a sweet tooth.

One of my favorite fruits! Trai thanh long tastes like a mix between a kiwi and a watermelon.

Cut into wedges, peel back, and eat.

PHO 24. The cleanest pho place I have ever seen in my entire life.

The well-known PHO 24. Pricier than the usual, but still underpriced for what it's worth. Mmmm...

The entrance to Chua Dieu Giac, temple and orphanage.

Pagoda at Dieu Giac

Quang The Am Bo Tat.

The Orphanage courtyard at Dieu Giac.

They greeted us with a song.

This one refused to tell me his name, but insisted that I take his picture. Dapper little fella, isn't he?

This one just wanted the bag. Haha, CUTIE.

The boys were having a bet about what treats were in the goody bags we gave them.

Well-behaved and polite little girls. Many are responsible and mature beyond their years.

My mom is making conversation as she hands out the gifts to the eager children.

Four months old. This precious bundle was left outside the gate of the temple a few days ago and found crying by a monk.

Brian and Hien, who is enjoying her jello cup.

Passing out gifts.

The boys were intrigued with my camera. Here they are playing on the bunk beds. No mattresses and very little sleeping space.

My mom and our new friend (far left, who is a reporter in Saigon) with the caretakers of the younger children.

"Mother" and child.

A back room of the temple where visitors can come to purchase handiwork like this.

One of the most energetic little girls I've come across.

This is Hien, age 6. She made sure that I knew she loved jello and that my earrings were bigger than my head. She even shared that headband with me.

Definitely an unforgettable 2 days with lots more to come!

I'm finally here! After 13 1/2 hours on a plane from San Francisco to Taipei, a 3 hour wait, then a 3 1/2 hour plane ride from Taipei to Ho Chi Minh City (HCM), I checked into An An Hotel with my mom and caught up with friends who have settled in for a week now. To make my travel blog a lot more convenient to read, it will just be a photographic account (and brief commentary) from now on. Sorry for the lack of depth and detail, but if you'd like to hear more about anything specifically, feel free to e-mail me!

So here goes...

17 total hours on an airplane. EVA Air. Over the Pacific Ocean. That's 17 hours of eating, sleeping, reading, and doodling in my sketchbook.

Chicken and Pasta. My super late dinner on board. I had two more similar to this. EVA takes good care of their guests, whether you're first class or travelling economy.

The street outside our hotel, An An, in Saigon.

The view from my hotel room. The nine-story hotel hovers over the surrounding housing complexes. Rust-colored and age-worn, balconies and miniature gates line the rooftops.

My room. Not exactly New World Hotel, but for 30 USD a night, it's a spotless clean and comfortably furnished living space with the necessary amenities. Recommended.

A few sights along the ride in the city:

The main mode of transportation. Come 5pm, streets are packed with these. Jay Walk carefully. There are few crosswalks and way too many toes in danger of being run over. I speak from experience.

If you look closely, people are wearing face masks. There's so much pollution. LA is GREEN by comparison.

Industrialization in progress.

Diamond Plaza, one of Saigon's upscale shopping centers. It used to be the Jeancontre headquarters for importing foreign automobiles by Peugeot. My grandfather worked as their supervisor of accounting in the 60s.

In the center of Saigon stands the statue of Tran Nguyen Hang, a historic hero.

My first dinner

Translation: Restaurant of Good Eats. Story has it, the owner is a Vietnamese American who hired all the owners of his favorite street vendors, and combined them here to provide guests with one of the best variety menus in the city.

You would normally see this on a sidewalk. The restaurant has one room in the center of a courtyard. Folks can choose to dine either inside or outside.

The entrance to the courtyard.

The hut in the middle of the center room. No cooking is done here, but they do take care of all the drinks and desserts, including a fresh-cut coconut my mom had.

Bun Bo Hue

Dining tables circle the drink hut. Each had its own waiter in white.

Chao Tom & Banh Hoi
Shrimp Paste on sugar cane and vermicelli patty.

Goi Bo Bop Thau
A salad/slaw with beef and starfruit.

Our meal of 5 entrees, 2 drinks, 2 teas, and 3 desserts served 4 people for a whopping 181,000 VN Dong... which is really only $12.48 USD.

I've been raving about finally stepping foot outside the country. It's been nearly eight years since I've been back to Vietnam, and even when I was there summer of '98, I was far too young to comprehend the meaning of family reunions and temple visits. Our family has been through a lot in the past two years. The death of my grandparents, my great aunt, and two great uncles have been somewhat of a religious revival for us, not to mention a reinforcement of strength and unity. But I'm not going to Vietnam this winter break for the purpose of rediscovering my family's history, or spending lavishly on underpriced items at the expense of someone's mother's tedious factory work, though these things are inevitable. I'm on a mission.

An orphanage in Tam Binh, the site of HIV/AIDS Treatment under the World Wide Orphan Foundation

An orphanage in Hanoi

Each week, I'll be visiting sites like these throughout Southern Vietnam with my mom and a few family friends. We'll be overseeing and funding the remodeling of run-down facilities, donating care packages to orphanages, and my favorite part: playing with the kids. I'm sharing my mission with you, in hopes that it inspires one of your own.

All travel plans are a go! I'm departing San Francisco International Airport on December 17th, 2006.

Make sure you check back from time to time. I'll be updating the site so you can follow along with me!