No More Talk, Just Pictures

View from the window of my cabin as we cruise along Halong Bay in the Gulf of Tonkin.

Limestone cave tour of the largest cave in the area, Surprise Cave, where Vietnamese families hid during the Vietnam war.

At a floating oyster fishery, a woman seeds each oyster which will result in a pearl, 3-6 years from now depending on the size of pearl desired.

Oyster fishing boat.

It is too hot for me to occupy the cabin on the upper deck, so I was upgraded to a lower cabin with a jacuzzi bath. Ah shucks!

Moon over Halong Bay. Goodnight now.

Breakfast.

Early morning Tai Chi class.

Spring roll cooking class.

The cruise includes a little kayaking so I paddle around one of the limestone islands, tie up at a little beach, walk through a cave to the other side of the island, and find myself at a lovely private beach where I swim in the bath- temperature water, being mindful of any jellyfish about.

I am a pretty happy camper today!

Perhaps a little too happy? My young guide asks if I would like him to kiss me for this picture! I remind him I am old enough to be his grandmother.

Sunset over Tonkin. Back to Hanoi tomorrow.

Our last day on the boats turns out ominous clouds. I skip the planned island hike when it begins to rain and decide to sleep in.

My large bed is placed right up against the glass door. In early morning I arise to the sound of small fishing boats passing right by my bed at eye level. Awesome!

Lunch on my own back in Hanoi at, you guessed it, Kentucky Fried Chicken! Also here is Circle-K stores, Burger King, Popeye’s, and Domino’s Pizza. I am a little weary from eating so much rice, noodles, and goat meat by now. I order 2 pieces of fried chicken and a Pepsi. Cost: 38,000 dongs, or about $1.62. Then back to my hotel for the remainder of the day, Tomorrow to Ninh Minh ( pronounced ning ming) for a bike ride and temple visits.

Near the entrance to the Bai Dinh temple at Ninh Minh, the largest temple in Vietnam.

Bronze temple gong weighing 36 tons. It is rung once annually at a festival on the sixth day of the first lunar month.

Said to be the largest image of Budda in Vietnam.

Turtles are one of four sacred animals in Buddism and are said to be a symbol of good fortune.

Some 800 carved stone statues or “arhat” line the passageways of the temple. Each was carved in place, taking stoneworkers some 10 years to complete.

Not far from the temple we board sampans for a water cave tour. Where finally I see a couple of birds.

Interior of one of the caves.

Our boat drops us off at the prop of Skull Island, built for the recent remake of the movie “Kong”. By agreement with the Vietnam government, movie makers left the village intact to be used as a tourist attraction.

Back in Hanoi i discover soft serve coconut ice cream served in, well, a coconut! Cold and delicious.

Outside of Tran Quoc Pagoda, a Buddist temple build around 570, local people sell turtles. For a small fee you can purchase freedom for a turtle, which is then set free in the lake a few feet away. The concept is related to good karma. Our guide discourages us from participating in this, calling the practice an exploitation of Buddist philosophy, and explaining, “As soon as they let turtle go, they recapture it to resell”.

Groups of school children visit the resting place of Ho Chi Minh, their national hero.

Ornamental plantings at the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum, one of the few places in the city that is free of litter.

Another temple visited today, this one to honor Confucious.

Men play a game on a broad sidewalk court that uses a small ball kicked over a volleyball net with their feet. Viewed from our tour bus.

Today’s breakfast cook got creative with my egg order. Each day I order the same single egg. Each day it is presented differently.

About 20 small eateries dot each short street in Old Hanoi. As I become more familiar with the neighborhood, I venture farther from my hotel with each trip. Today I discovered a “bakery” and purchased this delight. Now, seated on my tiny plastic sidewalk chair, I am wondering exactly what I have ordered. Looks like pizza, tastes sweet, seems like cheese on top but cheese is rare here. Underneath the “cheese” is whole kernel corn, peppers and onions, and a delicate crust, probably made from rice flour…wheat is uncommon here. For 38,000 dong—about $1.40, it is a fulfilling late supper. I enjoy watching the busy nightlife on the street as traffic rushes by me.

And Now My Fun Begins

It is now my time. I might be leery about leaving my new place, the Hanoi Charm Hotel and Spa at 1b To Tich; not to be confused with The Charm Boutique Hotel & Spa at No 3 Hang Quat Str. To be sure I get to the right place, I have carefully written down the name and address of the hotel to show the cab driver. The ride, which is a short one, costs me 20,000 VND (Vietnamese dollars) which is about $2 US dollars as far as I can reckon. They greet me warmly at the hotel, as if I am a visiting dignitary–bowing, smiling, and offering me fresh pineapple and passion fruit juice upon my arrival. Then a lovely young Vietnamese woman sits me down at a table and explains the hotel policies, helps me choose tours for the balance of my stay, and answers all questions. I feel completely at home and very special, even before she shows me to my room where the queen -sized bed is bedecked in fresh rose petals arranged artistically.

After a short rest I head out on my own, courage and map in hand, and make my way down the narrow crowded streets, through the exhaustive heat that even the locals say is “too much warm here”, careful to recall landmarks so I can find my way home. I stop for iced coffee (another 20,000 dong), and purchase tickets to the water puppet show and the cultural theater, and shop for little gifts for you. There are so many interesting and inexpensive things to buy here it is hard to overcome the urge to buy more.

Tomorrow I head out to Halong Bay for the overnight cruise, then later in the week, another overnight to somewhere else, and a day trip to yet somewhere else. Where, I cannot say. I only know that all of this cost me less than $200 USD and I immediately jumped on board. I am destined to exhaust myself doing the tourist thing.

Easy to understand why this is named Charm Hotel.

On my own at dinner and wishing you were all here!

At the water puppet theater.

French architecture is prevalent in the Old Quarter of Hanoi.

It is Broiling Hot Today…

And so we try to stay out of the sun, which burns through our clothing. They have strung a tarp over the cement mixing area and we are happy enough with that for now. Yesterday it reached over 100 F in the sun, and today it is even hotter. We don’t contemplate what tomorrow will bring. I can only say we are a group sweat team and for once I am happy with having such a dull sense of smell. My nose is not completely on vacation, however, and I get whiffs here and there of the strong ammonia odor of my own boots, a combination of sweat, body salts, and who knows what else, which creates an aromatic arrangement that one team member describes as “stronger than straight-out rabid wolf piss.” Yet our sweat-combined efforts have completed the foundation, exterior walls, and one interior wall. A hard won, albeit small, new home for Huan, his parents, and soon- to- be new wife. They are beaming at the prospect, though they will have to finish the roof, plaster the walls, pour the floors, and install the windows and doors themselves. It may take them months but we have given them a worthy start. Meanwhile, we will depart today after cleaning up the site, dismantling the staging, and taking part in a short ceremony. Then the long bus ride back to Hanoi. I will be very sad to depart my teammates, now my good friends, whose comraderie I have been honored to share, and who each go separate ways– some straight home. Others, like myself, on an extended tour of the country.

I have arranged a week of R & R for myself consisting of a 3-day long boat cruise along Halong Bay, some hiking and kayaking, and sight seeing in Hanoi.

Thank you again for sharing my journey.

Exterior of the near completed two room home, with front porch.

Our Hotel Compound

Apparently we are staying in an area famous for its mineral water. Given the limestone topography this is believable. So some years ago, the government decided the mineral water might attract tourism, so they built this rather lavish resort which has been our home for these weeks. Crown moulding, elaborate staircases of mahogany and granite, topiary and bonsai trees, lotus ponds, indoor pools, a restaurant, playground, tennis courts, a fast food shack, swim shop, duck pond, and the all-time Vietnamese favorite–karaoke. There are many seperate buildings set amongst the demonstration plantings. The economic experiment must not have gone well. The lotus pond is mostly drained and filled with sludge, walkways are crumbling, topiaries are overgrown, and sloppy work on the exterior porches has left paint drops all over the once beautiful granite floors. Still, it is the most elaborate lodging In the countryside ( in fact, the only lodging in the countryside) and we enjoy it for what it is, despite the sad feeling one gets that such a beautifully planned structure goes fallow.

Geese make a loud ruckus and quickly depart as I approach the pond.

A half empty lotus pond attempts to adorn the landscape here.

Interesting arrangement of natural rocks form the set of an outdoor performance stage.

The exit of the resort, looking into the community beyond.

Ornate plantings are found throughout the compound.

This at first appeared to be a metal sculpture, but instead, it is a broken down bit of playground equipment.

A contemplative sitting area in a grove of trees.

Vignettes and Observations

Tuesday, May 14, 2019

CHICKENS do cross the roads here. As well as the back yards, pathways, fields, front porches, shop fronts, etc. Chickens are the ubiquitous form of life here. Second to chickens are dogs…what appear to be a Chow type breed (one wonders how they came to be known as chows), and German shepherds. Our worksite has no fewer than 8 dogs, a few adults and some very muddy nursing puppies. We have seen a couple of cats. The dogs and cats noted here are pets, we believe. You never know for sure. All of these animals appear clean, healthy, well fed, and content. Dogs laze about two and three at a time in muddy driveways, on porches, in front of shops. Rarely are they leashed. Cats tease the dogs, just like at home.

RAIN may be the next most ubiquitous item. Vietnam is a tropical rainforest after all. Or perhaps it is more accurate to say, a steam bath. Paths are often muddy and in our first few days here we had so much mud caked on our shoes it added about a pound to each foot, seriously. Soils here are bright red/rust-colored clays. It is raining as I write tonight. Thunder and lightning caused our workday to end early. Fortunately we departed when we did…the unpaved roads flooded very quickly and soon motorbikes could barely cross. Our bus driver had to back the bus up slowly for several hundred yards in drenching rainfall to take an alternate route home. Deluges of water rushed down dirt alleys, through the stepped farmlands, and quickly overflowed into the road. Overfilled streams and ponds floated trash and debris into the streets, all in what seemed to be minutes. Interestingly, I saw a game of volleyball still in progress. They do love their volleyball here.

MEALS here are hearty. We are being overfed thrice per day, and hardly an hour goes by without a snack…Vietnamese fruits, cookies, soft drinks. I am headed to dinner soon where we will be served 3 or more main courses of meat dishes, a couple of vegetable dishes, sweet potatoes, and the ever present bowls of steamed white rice. With dinner we have Vietnamese beer. Others drink wine they purchased earlier in the day during our daily stop in town.

VIETNAMESE PEOPLE are as advertised: happy, friendly, warm, hard working, family centered people. They also spend a great deal of time laughing and joking amongst themselves. Sometimes– we are pretty sure of this–they are poking fun at us. That is all okay with us. We are the clumsy strangers after all, trying to adapt to a different culture here. What I find most interesting is that despite the heat and humidity, the local people don’t seem to break a sweat. Despite the unclean living conditions, they are always well groomed, clean, neatly dressed, and never muddy. Ditto for their charming and polite children.

THIS is a home gardeners paradise and everything seems to grow everywhere. Common home crops are taro, banana, sweet potato–which are green rather than pink–sweet corn, nut palms, morning glory, watermelon, squashes, jackfruit, dragon fruit, passion fruit, mango, coconut, melons and watermelon, carrots, and things I cannot identify.

Elsewhere in the country pineapple is grown. And Vietnam claims to grow some of the best coffee in the world. Rice crops, of course, are everywhere.

THE COUNTRYSIDE seems to be divided into farm worker communes with everyone sharing the work and the spoils. A commune has an entranceway with their name on an arched sign overhead. Within are the dirt roads, foot paths, and alleyways leading to private homes within groups of home arranged by families. We also note several buildings, including a community house with the ever-present volleyball court. A small hospital or infirmary is located at each commune where women deliver their babies.

SUDDENLY Vietnamese men and women began running from the worksite. When we inquire we learn they have gone to capture a snake someone spotted. “For safety, or for food?” I ask our interpreter. “For food” he answers.

I STRAIN my neck to get a glimpse of the songbirds here, but despite that it is just past sunrise and the place is filled with birdsong, I get absolutely no reward for my early rise today. Wary from generations of being trapped for food, none of the usual sounds I make to lure birds to the tip of branches for a better visual view are effective here. Instead, they take flight, and my old eyes barely catches a glimpse before they disappear into the grey morning sky. These birds are not curious, and I make do with a few Common sparrows and pigeons. Kill an eagle at home and you get jail time. Here, you get dinner.

OUR CONSTRUCTION PROJECT is coming along nicely. We have a teriffic team of apt workers fueled by Vietnamese coffee and Pepsi, both local and Habitat workers. We work side by side all day long without a word of common language, but we communicate nonetheless. Now, one week into our build we have learned a couple of basic Vietnamese words, albeit poorly, and they have learned a word or two of English. Most notably, “Okay”, and “Hello”.

I AM having a blast. The work is hard. My teammates are great fun. This is an exotic exerience. And Habitat for Humanity is the best!

Signing off till the end of the week when I will update you on our final construction progress.

The house at the beginning of the build. This will be a two room home with a small front porch. Poured cement pillars will support the brick walls we are laying.

Below, local children enjoy coloring with crayons and coloring books we have brought.

This young man is the owner of the house under construction. He will occupy the home with his mother, father, wife and baby.

The home owner with his arm around his elderly mother. To his left is his brother. Also in the photo are his father, his brother in law and his sister.

Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, and the Chicken Who Won’t Be Crossing the Road Again

It is our big weekend off and we have been looking forward to the “cultural trip” planned for us. Habitat doesn’t allow us to stray on our own, but they do plan interesting activities for our time off. We met up Saturday morning for an early bus ride to our overnight stay at the Pu Luong Nature Reserve and Ecolodge, a lovely accommodation with thatched huts, elegant rooms, fine food, and an infinity pool. Trouble is, you have to first live through the harrowing bus ride. They call it “cooperative driving”. I call it balls-out recklessness. Up through curvy mountain passes we went, narrowly missing the pigs, the ducks, the water buffalo, oh, and the people, the motorcyclists, and other tour busses in the wrong lane. Our bodies aboard the “luxury bus” defied gravity as we experienced the true nature of centrufugal force. We held on tight and offered spontaneous “oohs” and “aahs” each time we didn’t get our sides scraped by the vehicle coming at us too closely and in the wrong lane. It also seems to be common practice–or perhaps sport here–to speed along in the wrong lane around blind curves, all the while blaring one’s horn in a “Here I come” warning to oncoming vehicles and wildlife. The dogs, goats, people, and cows all seemed to come out of it unscathed, except for the one lone chicken, may he rest in a peaceful broth tonight; he will never cross the road again. Chickens of Vietnam take note!

There is so much more to say, but pictures are my best resource, so here they are…My room at Pu Luoung Ecolodge. Ecotourism is a new concept in Vietnam, and this lodge is a very nice attempt.

Built into the side of a slope, from inside the infinity pool one has the illusion that the water is never-ending.

Thatched huts are a great place to gather, drink a little gin, and see the great view… when the weather permits.

Typical view of the scenic valley below us. We are in a rural agricultural area of mostly rice paddies.

Cut rice stalks are left in bunches to dry before being shaken from the stems.

Rice is set out to dry in large bowls. Later this will be separated from the chaff.

Rice farmers live on the paddies in small thatched huts. The body of green water here serves as a duck pond.

Spectacular bamboo water wheels along a river near the rice paddies. The wheel scoops up water and delivers it via overhead bamboo troughs to the paddies. This array contains 3 large wheels.

Here we see illustrated the concept that all art derives from nature.

The tiny structure you see in the distance along the river is a fishing hut.

Rice workers returning from the paddies.

In this part of the country houses are built on stilts, “because of water, mudslides, and dangerous animals” (tigers, snakes, rats), according to our guide Truang. The animals are housed below, the family above.

Whew! What a week!

We have finally reached Friday, the end of our first week of the build. We have a very strong team and each of us is working very hard every day. The heat and humidity have been bearable, partly because we have not seen sun. Instead, a fine mist falls on us as we work. It is always wet here.

On the weekend we continue to be under the care of Habitat, and our Team Leader, Tricia, has arranged a private overnight tour to a national park for some hiking and relaxation. We have sure earned it.

Finally, bowing to my penchant for front doors in foreign countries, below are a few pics. I find that the entryway to a home tells a lot about the culture of a people.

And now we work..

Lest I forget, amidst the street food, the museums, and the temple visits, I am here to work. And blessed to be among a very experienced crew. Of our 15, only 4 are first-timers. The remaining are self-described “Habitat junkies” who have repeatedly traveled the world building houses with Habitat. They tell of adventures in Africa, Cambodia, Trinidad, Venezuela, Costa Rica, and elsewhere. One teammate describes his Habitat adventures as a way to rest from his volunteer duties at home. This is his second international build this year. He has two other trips scheduled. Most of us are retired, or in some cases, independently wealthy. There is the lawyer, the retired veterinarian and his wife, the nurse from Hawaii, the Australian woman who works in advertising, the fellow from California who is the Superintendent at a nature preserve, the chemist who is our Team Leader, the Canadian and his wife from California who used to live in Ireland, the couple from Wisconsin, the church worker, the retired engineer who lives on his daughter’s horse farm, and me. Tricia, is fearless and wonderful Team Leader. She is a bundle of enthusiasm, energy, and wit, who is organized and keeps us on task.

On the Vietnam side is Dat, the local Habitat rep who interprets between our group and Mr. Minh, the Vietnamese Clerk of the Works.

We are building a small but sturdy house for a very excited young man, his parents, and wife to be. The entire community seems to turn out—-the men to work, and the women with their children to watch. Below are photos to fill your imagination.

My teammates, Marion and Shiela cut thin rebar into short pieces that will fortify larger rebar for concrete reinforcement.

Karen uses a makeshift jig to bend pieces of rebar into a square.

Samantha hammers curved pieces of rebar into straight pieces.

Squares of thinner rebar are used to hold together an arrangement of 4 heavy pieces of long rebar which will form the structure of the cement corner beams.

This is the house we will be replacing. Our local HFH rep, Dat, is shown here.

Foundation of the new house, a two room structure with a front porch. The grey cement house in the background is a pit toilet, the only sanitary facility other than a garden hose.

Near the end of the day, one of the Vietnamese men places a soccer ball at our feet and holds up 4 fingers. He is challenging us to a game of volleyball, a major recreational activity here. We accept. I can’t say if we won or lost; nobody kept score.

The countryside is lush with verdant rice patties. We have seen water buffalo wallow in this mudhole.

Dragon fruit, anyone?

Children peer from the existing house, fascinated by our presence. Underneath the structure items are stored, dogs rest from the heat, and chickens protect new broods of chicks.

View from my hotel balcony. But now to bed!

And now, we eat…

“In Vietnam, we eat everything”, explains Lam, our street food guide on my first night out in Hanoi. He then asks the group about our food preferences. One of my teammates, an experienced Habitater who has been here several times replies “No dogs, and no cats”. He isn’t kidding, and I soon understand what Lam means by “everything”.

Prior to my arrival here, I had researched accounts of bird watchers who expressed disappointment about birding in Vietnam, partly because locals trap and eat the song birds. This is one of the cultural differences I must come to accept. In a country where simplicity and poverty abound, a roasted robin is a tasty treat. I immediately feel both guilty about my overweight pet cat, as well as embarrassed to show local people his photograph. Cute cat that he is, I begin to imagine him as Sunday dinner for a large family here. Again, I am both blessed and thankful for what I have.

Traun, my day guide, and I had a frank discussion about Vietnamese cuisine. He eats dog, but not cats. He is fond of cats so he won’t eat them. Yet he has pet dogs. When later I describe this paradoxical conversation to my Habitat team members, they draw a correlation between American culture and pets. Don’t we also keep chickens as pets, but eat them? Enough said, I guess. For now let’s just say I am careful to identify my food before I pick up my chopsticks, although most plates we are served are described as “pork”.

Back at the hotel, breakfast consists of a nice buffet of omelets to order, fried banana, boiled sweet potato, beef chunks, rice noodles, bacon and ham, cheeses, fresh melons and papaya, and many other foods. This evening, we dined for the first time at our work hotel, about 3 hours’ drive from Hanoi city. We are in the countryside where we dine on platters of chunks of roasted chicken, beef with vegetables, sticky rice rolled into bamboo, heaps of vegetables—among them is boiled morning glory which tastes very much like spinach, and bok choy with wood ear mushrooms. In the center of the table are small bowls of soy sauce, fish sauce, salt, and ground peanuts. A filling and delicious meal, although, spoiled American that I am, I balk at no dessert.

After the meal, I retire to my room where I prepare for tomorrow, our first official day of work, feeling both satisfied and grateful for this food, touched with umami of local cooks here.