Saigon

Disembarking the Amalotus we bused through the countryside to Ho Chi Minh city. We passed through miles of bright green rice paddies dotted with family graves placed haphazardly through he fields.

Saigon or Ho Chi Minh City as the government now calls it is home to over 10 million people and some estimate that it is growing at a rate of over 10 percent annually.  Apparently there are 7 million motorbikes in the city and it seems like they are all out everyday.  The traffic is crazy and it would appear that the lines on the road are for decoration only as cars, buses and motor bikes weave all over the place.  If a bike cannot find a clearing in the traffic they just go up on the sidewalk making walking interesting. To further complicate walking the sidewalks are where all the bikes are parked so you are darting bikes one way or the other.

This city is certainly one of sharp contrasts. Beautiful new buildings sit beside old run down ones and while the streets outside hotels and patrolled buildings are kept clear everywhere else the residents use the sidewalks as their kitchens and meeting place.  Very different from home to see whole groups of people sitting on small plastic chairs enjoying their meals. Though an improvement from Hanoi the smog is still ever present here as well. Certainly makes us appreciate the fresh air of home.

We visited the palace, a very old temple as well as he crazy central market but the highlight of our time in Saigon was our tour to  the Cu Chi tunnels.

Used by the Vietminh and the Vietcong in their wars against the French and the Americans these tunnels were excavated between 1948 and 1973 and cover a distance of 250 kms.  The maze of tunnels lead to chambers that served as kitchens, dormitories and even hospital rooms.  The ground above was densely booby trapped to protect against the enemy.  The enemy was literally walking above the Vietnamese unknowingly.  These were brilliant hiding places to protect locals during war time.  Touring just a small portion of the tunnels I cannot begin to imagine what it must have been like to live in this underground world with little light and fresh air.

Looking back on this amazing trip we realize how much we have seen and learned and are very great full to have had this opportunity.  We look forward to home but it has been wonderful to meet so many warm and welcoming people and to learn of their culture. Travel is such a gift.

Sidewalk parking lot

View of Saigon from our room

Central market with vendors eating their lunch 

The street scene

Portable restaurants everywhere

Waiting for business 

A hiding hole for the Vietcong 

Gruesome booby traps

Not a welcoming step

Ventilation holes disguised as termite mounds

Crawling through the tunnel

Underground dining hall

Vying for position

Enjoying a cocktail on the 23rd floor

Sa Dec & Cai Be

We started off our last day on the Mekong with a visit to the market in the town of Sa Dec.  Both sides of the street were lined with locals selling all of their food products.  Every type of fruit and vegetable were on display beside pans of live seafood,noodles and bags of spices. Some were cutting meat for sale after slaughtering the animal earlier that morning.  Apparently when they run out a family member will kill another so the meat is fresh. The vendors were eating their breakfast of pho as they conducted their business many sitting on mats on the pavement.

We visited the home of Marguerite Duras' lover which was the true life affair that led her to write the book The Lover.

A drive through the countryside took us to a Viet Cong camp at Xeon Quyt.  A really interesting walk through the dense jungle where we viewed the small bunkers where the soldiers hid waiting for their enemy made it quite evident that the Americans did not stand a chance against these people who knew the rivers and jungles so well.  An area where the US landed its helicopters is still riddled with land mines today. A very educational view of recent history.  On our drive we encountered numerous hammock coffee shops.  These outdoor shops have numerous hammocks set up and after a cup of coffee the patrons take a short nap.  Maybe Starbucks is missing an opportunity.

In the afternoon we went by boat through the floating market of Cai Be which was pretty well finished for the day and then we went on a walking tour visiting one of the few Catholic Churches in this mostly Buddhist country.  We then had an informative visit to a rice paper mill and coconut candy making shop.  The samples were delicious.  They also make snake wine here and gave out samples.  Whole snakes are actually soaked in the wine as it ferments and the locals believe it to be their own source of Viagra.  We did not think Canada Customs would appreciate us bringing some of this home.

After an entertaining musical show by the locals we set sail for Saigon.

Life on the river

Taking her wares to the market

Stalls big and small

The produce looked fresh though knowing it was washed in the river is a bit alarming

Wonderful smells

Eating while waiting for customers

Hard workers

Bunker in the jungle

Dense growth provided lots of hiding places

Would not want to cross this at night

Beautiful huge lily pads in the river

Candy makers at work

A cell phone break while making rice paper

Snake wine

Could not resist this face

Phnom Penh to Tan Chau

Yesterday we spent the day cruising down the Mekong leaving Cambodia behind and entering into Vietnam.  Our visit to Cambodia has been exceptional. Despite all the tragedy that has impacted every single inhabitant they are a warm and welcoming people.  Their capacity to forgive is absolutely incredible.  Everyone that we met welcomed us openly and was honored to show off their homeland.  With this degree of resilience I am sure they will go forward.

Today we had the most touching experience of our trip.  A group of us went for a visit to Evergreen Island which is a farming village virtually removed from tourism.  Our guide knew one of the residents and we were invited into the home of Mr Lok.  He is a 67 year old farmer who at the age of 15 went to fight with the Viet Cong to avenge he deathes of his two brothers.  Our guide asked if there were any Vietnam vets in our group of which there was one.  He stood and Mr Lok went forward and addressed him in Vietnamese which our guide interpreted.  He said that war is a book that is now closed and enemies are now friends.  They then shook hands and then embraced warmly.  There was not a dry eye in he room.  What a special moment to witness.  When those in our group enquired whether we could leave a token of our appreciation to Mr Hok we were told he would be insulted as he opened his home from his heart.  As we toured he village the local children followed along always trilled to have their picture taken.  With laundry hanging outside and chickens running around with their young it is a whole different world but the people are happy and well fed so who are we to judge.

Lining the river are very old boats which on closer inspection are homes to the fishermen and their families. It is a common sight to see groups of people sitting together sharing a meal or socializing. I must admit that seeing the water in which tilapia is raised will prevent me from making that purchase.

Told that we were to visit a rattan factory conjured pictures in our minds that were far from reality.  The building was a rickety old structure with a couple of rows of very basic looms.  Unfortunately power had been cut off so the looms were not working but we did watch a local hand dying the rattan that is used in the weaving and another cutting woven pieces into the appropriate sizes with a old cutter.  The average worker In the factory makes 6-7 dollars a day.

The activity on the river continues with every type of old local boat out fishing to make a living.  Fascinating.

Mr Hok and family. A truly memorable visit.

The old and the new

Inside the living area

Local homes on Evergreen Island

Delightful children greeted us every where

Home along the bank with the boat ready to go to work

River home

Close neighbors 

A smile from is lady out for a stroll

Inside the rattan factory

Hand dying the reeds

Vibrant colours

The Pol Pot Regime (note not for children)

One of the most emotionally charged mornings we have ever experienced.  We visited two of the sites that recall the dark days of the Pol Pot regime.  For three years,eight months and twenty days Cambodia experienced one of the most horrific genicides in history and this unbelievably was from 1976-1979. Under the Khmer Rouge regime in this short period of history one quarter of Cambodias eight million people were murdered and almost two million more either died of starvation and overwork or escaped into neighboring countries.

We first visited the killing fields which was one of more than one hundred such sites throughout the country..  Here over 20,000 people were brought here from Toul Slengs torture cells where they were bludgeoned to death to avoid the cost of bulletts.  After the Vietnamese army defeated the Pol Pot regime in 1979 mass graves were discovered each containing 100's of remains.  It is now a very solemn site where a large memorial stupa filled with the skulls of the victims is a very sobering centerpiece. Pieces of clothing and bone still are found around the grounds.

The second site visited was that of the Toul Slengs Museum also known as S-21. Previously a high school it was taken over by the regime and served as a center of interrogation and torture for people of all ranks.  The pictures were unbearable to look at and I cannot believe how any human could inflict such atrocities on anyone.  Only 7 individuals survived this prison and we had the honor to meet one who has written his story.  While the book is now in my possession I am quite sure that there may be portions I am unable to read.  There is not a Cambodian alive who was not touched by this personally and in fact one of our guides came from a family of fourteen and only he and one other survived. I cannot begin to understand how they came through this with the wonderful spirit they exhibit today.

The monument where today Cambodian students come to learn the history i hopes that this can never repeat itself.

Bra lets that the families put on the mass graves to honor the victims

Needs no explanation

Over 20,000 skulls contained in his memorial

S-21 a living hell on earth

Barb wire to keep prisoners from committing suicide

One of the seven survivors

Koh Chen and Oudong

Tying up to a rickety little wharf along the shore we went a wonderful walking tour of the village of Koh Chen.  The residents here specialize in working with silver and copper to make the jewelry and other items that are sold throughout the country. We stopped at one family home to observe some of them at work. As we walked through the village one could hear the pounding sound of the engraving coming from many of the homes along the way.  We were privileged to be invited into one of the stilt homes. The floor was plywood and the furniture very sparse but everything was clean. In contrast there was an IPhone charging on an old table.  The kitchen was tiny and held just a heating element.  Most people in Cambodia do not have refrigeration. We also stopped at a school where we got to go into the classroom and interact with hh he children.  They were eager to speak what English they knew and loved seeing their pictures on our cameras.  They sang a lovely song for us and we in return sang If You are Happy to them complete with actions.  A very special visit.

In Oudong we went to the biggest Buddhist monastery in the country where sitting cross legged on the floor we received a blessing from the monks.  During the tour of the grounds we were witness to the nuns and priests serving out food to the monks who then chanted their thanks.  In Cambodia people often move to the monastery for a finite length of time and in fact the elderly sometimes move to the monastery for the end of their life so they will in their belief go to Nirvana for eternity.  As he average lifespan for a male is 63 and a female 65 these so called elderly are young in our standards.

We then went by bus through the countryside. To Kampong Tralach where we went on an oxcart ride through the village.  These are still the most widely used means of transportation in the countryside and are used to harvest crops and carry hay, animals and family members.

We carried on down the river to Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia.  We went on a Tuk Tuk tour of the city.  With cars, motorbikes,bicycles and Tuk Tuks sharing the road driving would be a harrowing experience.  Many were even going the wrong way.  A city of two million people it is spread over a fairly large area and the different levels of economics are all represented.

This is the outhouse for the home on the shore.  Functional but not exactly private.

Kitchen of the home we visited

Cambodian classroom.  Wonderful experience 

Buddist temple

Nuns feeding the monks

Oxcart, the Cambodian limmosine 

Local selling pho through the park

Tuk Tuk ride through Phnom Penh

Young dancers who entertained us on board

Darling children

Socializing in he park

Various means of transport

Many means of carrying goods

We are a source of entertainment for the local children

This one is for the grandchildren