"Talk to Me Goose..."

A few of you have said that they have had trouble commenting on the stories, so I have now changed the blog settings to allow everyone to comment if they want to (apparently it was set to Google account holders only). I am not sure if allowing unrestricted banter from my family and friends is a good idea, but go ahead and fire away!

"I am the hand wash...I am the spin cycle...Cuckoo Ca Choo, Cuckoo Ca Choo!"

That's right, marriage is about sacrifice, and one of mine is that I am doing all of our wash by hand in the shower every few days. Thought all the moms would like this post.

"Pho"-getta About It..."Bun Cha" is Better!!

They say that you go to Southern Vietnam if you want good clothes, and that you go to Northern Vietnam if you want good food. Forget the four custom-made silk suits, shirts and ties...I want some good food! Who really wears silk anyway?

If you know me, then you know that I absolutely love "Pho", which is Vietnamese noodle soup flanked with everything from beef and chicken to cow stomach and snails, all served in a heavenly broth. Well, sorry Pho, but I have a new love and "love thy name is "Bun Cha"! Bun Cha basically consists of tender chunks of beef and pork barbecued to perfection over hot coals on a Hibachi grill out in front of the restaurants. The meat is served alongside a large bun of cold rice noodles and a variety of condiments (fresh peppers, cilantro, basil, lettuce, cucumbers, bean sprouts, and garlic). Your server provides you with a bowl of fish sauce blended with flavors from the fats of the meat, as you sit in quite possibly the smallest seats in the world and mix your meat, noodles and condiments at will. Throw in a cold beer and a filthy mug and you have paradise on Earth.

That being said, the Pho here is absolutely amazing and the days have been cold and rainy...YES!! In addition, to all my Pho buddies, the spring rolls in Hanoi are very similar to Pho Cong's, which I have discovered is unique to Northern Vietnam.

Oh...we also went to a temple in the middle of a lake where a giant turtle gave a sword to a King 1,000 years ago.

Ho Chi Minh and the Scholarly Turtles

I looked far and wide for the bronze bust of Senator Joseph McCarthy, but it was nowhere to be found. I scanned all of the guide books, walked for hours along major thoroughfares, meandered down every side street I could find, and checked each city park that I came along, but in the end, I settled for a few photos of Lenin's monument and a journey through the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and Museum. The museum was incredible, as it was filled with artifacts documenting the socialist revolution and Ho Chi Minh's rise to Vietnamese leadership. Surprisingly, the overall theme of the exhibits was very modern, with a few sections higlighting everything from a life-sized model of Ho Chi Minh's humble beginnings to recreations of battle encampments from the "American War". I could not help but think of the perspective that my parents must have held towards Vietnam from the 1950s through the 1970s as I walked down the vivid and sometimes graphic exhibits within the museum. I found it refreshing that located just outside of the building, was a Pagoda with many people mumbling prayers and making incense-cleansed offerings. In fact, there are a number of temples and even a Catholic cathedral that are located within walking distance of the memorial, displaying the fact that Hanoi is a modern city much like any other in Southeast Asia.

One of these sites is known as the Temple of Literature, which was built to honor a vast number of famous scholars. Each scholar has a large stone turtle dedicated to his memory, which is flagged by a stone tablet that highlights their many achievements in a variety of fields. The tablets (and the temple itself) also pay homage to the many teachings of Confucious, one of which basically states that all strong societies must have men of knowledge.

We were stampeded by a mass of young students as we walked through the temple. Apparently, it is good luck to rub the heads of all of the stone turtles for those who want it or need it. They seemed like they needed it...must have been exam week.

Who Wants to be a Millionaire?

I pride myself on many things when I travel, like being able to decipher maps (most of the time) and sampling local dishes, no matter how weird or exotic they are, but perhaps my greatest talent is calculating exchange rates. This was true until I went to my first Vietnamese ATM and was provided the following choices for withdrawal: a) 600,000 , b) 800,000, c) 1,000,000 , d) 2,000,000. Let's see there are 18,300 dong to the dollar, carry the one, divide by ten, damnit Ryan there is a line accumulating behind you, just make a choice. I closed my eyes and withdrew one MILLION Vietnamese Dong. Despite the funny sounding name of the currency that I had just received from the ATM, Mariana and I were hoping that I did not just break the bank upon making our withdrawal. After a little sweat and some swift long division, I realized that I had withdrawn roughly $55 USD. I checked my math again and sighed with relief while simultaneously cursing such a ridiculous exchange rate.

Many of the hotels and nicer restaurants prefer US currency, so having some dollars on hand is a must in Vietnam. Unfortunately, there are plenty of times that you need a sizeable amount of dong in your pockets - (*aside - I will continue to make these tongue-in-cheek comments until I leave this beautiful country, so if you don't like it, then you don't have to read my blog) - like when an old woman wearing a traditional cone-shaped hat and carrying a long pole with fruit baskets hanging on both sides runs up to you demanding that you take a picture with her. These pictures are a lot of fun, but they always require some kind of compensation, so she asked for 100,000 dong and we paid it to her. We did not mind being gouged for probably 90,000 dong over the normal price of 4 baby bananas and a few slices of pineapple, simply because Mariana and I knew that our $5.50 payment probably made that woman's week. I am not sure, but I think I heard her cackling loudly as we walked away. When the day was finally over, we realized that we spent somewhere in the ballpark of 450,000 dong or $25 USD.

Mom and Dad - please send money!!

Gooooooood Morning Vietnammmm!!!

We woke up at 3:30 am this morning to catch an early flight to the Vietnamese capital city of Hanoi and all went well as we landed at 8:30 am. Foreign visitors are immediately handed a pamphlet warning of taxi and hotel scams, so finding safe transportation took us over half an hour and was quite intimidating. The ride from the airport to our hotel in the Old Quarter of Hanoi was 45 minutes long and allowed us to get a true feel for the agrarian Vietnamese country side, as well as the busy streets of the city. By busy, I mean insane.

Mariana and I have taken some crazy cab rides in countries like Costa Rica, Colombia, Cambodia, and Thailand, but Vietnam certainly takes the cake. As we were flying around slower moving motorcycles, moto-scooters, rickshaws, ox-driven carts, cyclists, and unfortunate pedestrians, I could not help but imagine what the driving test (if there is in fact one) would be like here. So, fortunately for you, I am going to allow you exclusive access to the one-act play that unfolded within my mind:

Instructor: "Ok, let's begin. Have you adjusted your rearview mirrors and checked for all of your blind spots?"

Student: "No."

Instructor: "Fantastic, a lot of students get that question wrong...well done. Now make sure you hit the gas pedal as hard as you can and don't worry about merging, because the other vehicles will move out of your way long before they will hit you."

Student: "Ok."

Instructor: "I really liked the way that you just ignored that traffic light back there, you should never let such things as rapidly moving right-of-way traffic deter you from motoring through a busy intersection."

Student: "Thanks."

Instructor: "Now let's practice some parking. Find a spot and pull the car in quickly."

Student: "How's this?"

Instructor: "Perfect, you have parked in the middle of the street at just the right angle to block all thru traffic, and on your first try...incredible."

Student: "Thanks, I practiced some with my dad."

Instructor: "Well although I would have liked you to honk a bit more and perhaps frightened a few more pedestrians on the sidewalk, I don't see any reason not to grant you a license. Just remember to never look in any direction except directly in front of you while driving and you are going to make a fantastic motorist. Well done."

Scene.

Farewell for Now Thailand

Bangkok is a city full of eccentric side shows, bizarre gastronomies, and down-right ridiculous practices, but more importantly, it is a city inhabited by mostly loving and humble people. Even the truly down-trodden, disenfranchised poor will consistently greet you with a passionate "Sawasdee Ka/Krup" and a traditional "wai". They hold a deep respect for those around them (friend and stranger), which I am assuming stems directly from the eternally ingrained teachings of Buddha. In addition to their humility, they revere their King with such vigor that it is completely incomprehensible to almost every outsider. There are many ways that I could improve upon myself, but perhaps the virtue that I desire the most from the Thai people is their passion. Mariana and I will always cherish our travelling experiences wherever we venture, but we will move on to our next destination with a profoundly enhanced respect for the nation of Thailand and its beautiful citizens.