Author: Rene

It’s a tad different today in that the fog/smog blankets the view this morning, and the dinginess of a city is highlighted by the dull of the day. Our previous metropolitan views were entirely different, and this one gives a more “traditional” picture of what was in my head, and one which emulates any large, inhabited-for-centuries municipality.

Keeping up with the fast-paced interesting pronunciations of our guide will be the challenge for today. He is a joyful man, eager to share knowledge and question ours, and I’m about two sentences behind in translation! That could also be a product of travel exhaustion, which at some point, catches up with me. “Where did I put my toothbrush? Am I wearing something different today or a recycled classic? Where did I put that keycard?”

Today I am rejoicing in the fact that I threw in a pair of pants at the last minute – thank you, Sister. It will be cooler while we experience Vietnamese culture and thankfully, more humid. Thus, we begin the day with the obligatory visit to the first president’s mausoleum. Yes, if there is a tomb, mausoleum, stupa, sacred burial ground, it is always on the menu – as it should be. To understand the culture you need to understand what is revered.

This world is so utterly multifarious. How wonderful to know who you are in the face of this great diversity. I’m looking forward to new insights, even if the sites are blanketed a bit with the grey of the day.

Every morning we are treated to the lotus flower folding process. These gems are bountiful and decorate each bathroom – or as we learned – “The Hole of Harmony.” Much more pleasant term, don’t you think?

Along with the plentiful floral displays – oops – see the next centerpiece photo, also. This was for a private event, not our dinner, and each of the 40 tables had these gorgeous settings.

And then, Mother Nature rules, in spite of regimes, kingdoms, human intervention. We are so privileged to be welcomed here, as well as educated. While we learned history and cultural shifts from our experienced guide, “So,” I also learned how to take great panoramic shots from him. It was hard not to want to capture every inch of these beautifully intricate weavings of human and natural creation.

We continue on our journey to the next educational opportunity – Vietnam!

The little fellows look so harmless, too. We ignored the few we saw and reveled in the great ruins and history of the empires here. The ruins are readable, an attractive feature when doing novice archaeological exploration.

This next warning is always a concern, and probably a sign I could use at home! We continue on our journey of exploration in this heat, another indication that we’re not home anymore.

It was a tad difficult to recall the events yesterday once we were properly ensconced in our penthouse apartment with the private pool. Additionally, my iPad pooped out. Now I struggle to recall it all, but am absolutely happy with where our day is ending.

The past two days we went from adorable bamboo huts (see photo of my feet) to the as-close-as-I’ll-ever-get-to-living-in-one penthouse, (pool photo) to this gorgeous hotel welcoming us with its beautiful fresh flower display. (Flower photo!) We have yet to explore our new surroundings, but I am quite certain we shall enjoy all the amenities for the next few days. And right now, I am luxuriating in a lovely bed watching Nat Geo and the seahorses swim. (Of all shows!) Yes, 143 channels, 45 of which are English, while the others service 18 different languages.

A little taste of home.

The show I enjoy back home is “Expedition Unknown,” one of my favorites. Josh Gates, archaeologist and explorer tackles these adventures with humor and gusto. We have been operating with the same principle, only our expedition was known to all!

The head of the dive shop dubbed us, “Expedition Seahorse.” Next to our names on the whiteboard, “Seahorse!” Questions to the dive master, “Will we see a seahorse?” Family and friends thinking, “I sure hope they see a seahorse! It is the year of the seahorse, after all.”

S-U-C-C-E-S-S! That’s the way you spell success, by the way. Here is a pic of the little yellowtail guy, who was about six inches long.

Bucket list hope checked off. It was super exciting to have Mother Nature cooperate on this one. Off for the last dives of our trip here and hopes to see more of these little ones. Thanks to my spouse for spearheading this expedition!

Yesterday we experienced the Risky Market. Perhaps you’ve seen this on a documentary or YouTube video?

A train slowly parades down the middle of the end-of-the-track and little family-owned stalls sell their wares up to the edge of the rails. Right before the approach, the signal is given and scores of businesses bring in their tented tops and scoot in an appropriate amount so as to protect themselves, patrons and wares. I assume it was riskier in days of yore, as it seems tourists are protected well by many of the shopkeepers hollering at them! Instead of “move” or “danger, danger” as a warning, the shout is given, “You dead. You dead.”

We continued with the risk today as we sped down highways without seatbelts and bounced along the waters on the high speed boat to our island. Tomorrow we discover the local sea life! Cheers to “Year of the Seahorse!”

It’s always a treat to enjoy live music in a foreign land.

Yesterday we happened upon a closet-sized stall with a vendor selling kitchen wares, and Buddhas, of course. A friendly man, he inquired as to our homeland. That’s always an interesting progression of facts: USA, Colorado, “John Denver.” You might as well just say it.

Immediately this friendly purveyor launched into, “Country Roads,” and of course, I joined in for all verses. He had a very hearty voice and excellent pronunciation. After the smattering of applause he then regaled us with the story of his daughter, who graduated from CSU, and proudly showed us her two diplomas, the other for her PHd in psychology from Ohio State. He was just delightful and able to direct us to the nearest toilet in Chinatown, a valuable nugget of information.

This little glimpse of joy happened because I really like looking at kitchen merchandise when I travel, even if I have to move sideways through a skinny aisle to see the treasures. I found nothing of material value, only that of shared loves – music and family. A highlight of the day.

If we would have had the opportunity, I would have said, “let’s do it.”

Yesterday we saw many beautiful people in traditional Thai dress at the temples we visited. Gorgeously attired men and women followed by professional photographers, clogging the walkways for those of us trotting around with phones snapping pics. Okay – I couldn’t have possibly done the dress-up gig. These people were all younger than 25, not as pasty-skinned as “moi,” and were unfazed by posing and impairing the visitation process. They were awfully stunning though, and it would have been fun to prance around looking that good.

Of course I have no photos as I couldn’t hold a handrail and phone at the same time. Instead, I clambered up and down and over steps, always praying I would not fall or trip or cause another to do so. (If I make it up and over the one-inch transition in my hotel bathroom I will consider it a success.) Thus far my prayers have been answered and hope they continue to be today as we trudge through ruins and assuredly log as many steps as yesterday. (Over 15,000)

My next goal – to sleep past 4:30 am and quit waking up before the city. Good morning, February 6th.

After doing some higher math, I concluded that door-to-door travel was slightly over 30 hours. (Would have been slightly shorter had a member of the traveling party remembered to set her alarm in the house. It added approximately ten minutes to departure time. We are still reeling from the shock.)

Today I sit in front of this gorgeous early morning view with the river in front of me and the lights of the city barely blinking. It is calm and quiet, I am rested for now, and more adventure awaits.

Even in my exhaustion I was totally surprised by last evening’s beautiful dinner replete with the most delicious coconut cake I have ever tasted. Overflowing gratitude to one of the best sisters in the world – Pom. We met some of her family and friends, dined exquisitely, and celebrated the beautify of her homeland. Today we look forward to another day with this most knowledgeable native guide. She perfectly explains history to us lingually-challenged Americans and freely converses in Thai and English. It is just delightful to listen to her.

I give myself an hour before I want to sleep again, and hope that this caffeine jolt kicks in around then. For now, I revel in the beauty of this created world with its inexhaustible diversity and glory.

It’s always a little disconcerting when a travel visa is still pending and the plans are to leave in three days!

Thankfully, at approximately 1:30 am this morning, our visas came through via email. It probably wouldn’t have been impossible to track them down overseas but it would have definitely been inconvenient. We could have been stuck on a beach for a week while the rest of our group toured the exciting ruins and beauty of Angkor Wat, which is a personal travel goal of mine. Although the beach does sound lovely as I sit with a little heater at my feet?

All I need to add to my bag are two pair of sunglasses and some readers, then I will be visually ready for the stunning spectacles awaiting us. Whoo hoo whew!