¡Buenos Dias from Buenos Aires!

It is Christmas Eve in Buenos Aires (about 95 degrees and rainy) and here is our report on this extraordinary city.

We flew into BA (which is what they call it here) on Monday. The city is huge from the air - 16 million people in the whole area. When you get through baggage and walk outside, you see what you expect is the Atlantic, but wait; it is all brown. Because, it is not the ocean, but the Rio de la Plata, the largest estuary in the world - at some points 120 miles wide! Plata means silver in Spanish. The country, Argentina, is named after argentum, the Latin word for silver. Seems the Spanish thought the brown in the river was from silver. Oops...wrongo! It is only sediment. The name of the city is actually City of Trinidad and Port of Buenos Aires (city founded on Trinity day - Nov 2, and the port has really good air). But of course it is just called Buenos Aires.

Monday we did a city tour in the bus. There are over 1,000 statues and monuments! There are 40+ neighborhoods in the city. 
There are really beautiful areas and of course some very poor, run down shanty town areas. We were constantly warned about pickpockets, but no one had any problem, even walking at night. We are in Recolleta, one of the nicer areas. The architecture is very interesting...a mix of French (many French architects came over to work in the city) plus Spanish plus a local flavor. Palm trees and banyans abound. Perfect weather.

We promised more food details.  We were here on our 35th wedding anniversary so went out to celebrate on Monday evening at a lovely French restaurant called Nectarine. The food was amazing.  We started out with a French sushi roll/amuse bouce of smoked salmon on a pea puree.  Then we moved to our appetizers.  I had tomatoes prepared 5 ways (which was a perfect appetizer given that Wayne does not eat tomatoes so I didn’t have to share)...anyway, tomato foam, heirloom tomatoes, a tomato blini, salad with tomato dressing, and sun dried tomatoes.  Wayne went more inventive with pumpkin capellini served with duck magrait, prunes, and almond and garnished with vanilla oil.  Then, we moved to the main course... I had lamb that surpassed anything in Australia New Zealand...it was served with roasted sweet peppers, with Provence salad served with peas and fava beans in rosemary water.  Wayne had a beautiful pork loin.....served with avocado, shrimp, a green curry foam and hearts of palm tempura.  For dessert, I had dark chocolate roll stuffed with chocolate mousse adorned with mango sorbet and surrounded by dark chocolate and orange drops.  Wayne went for the red fruit cake (though it sounds more romantic in Spanish... gateau de frutos rojas) with a pistachio biscuit, red fruit sorbets, and a cheese cake adornment.  Truly glorious.  But the food adventures did not end with our anniversary.  For lunch on Tuesday we had classic empandas at a locals spot--these are meat and/or chicken turnovers which melt in your mouth they are so delectable...particularly when washed down with beer they are very yummy.  Speaking of beer, the alcohol has truly been flowing.  The wine (Malbec is my favorite) is great and hard to put down. To close out our eating adventures in Buenos Aires, lots of Italians here so we had great pizza for dinner on Wednesday night.  We had a BBQ (with the whole parade of meats) at a ranch for lunch on Wednesday. And how could I forget, the ice cream here is also great.

Forgot to mention (regarding our anniversary) that not only did a dozen red roses magically appear in our hotel room but so did a bottle of champagne with strawberries (which no one is claiming... hmmm).  A special anniversary gift was the yummy leather jacket i purchased (made to fit).... a must not miss stop for several of us on the trip... memories of our Viet Nam experience. 

Moving on to other adventures, a highlight of Tuesday was the tango show.  I never realized how many balletic elements are in tango.  It was really great.  Wednesday morning we went to a ranch at a pampas about an hour out of town.  The horses put on an amazing display but our favorite was the 3 day old pony.  OMG, so cute.  After 5 hours on the ranch we hurried back so that 9 of us could take the Jewish tour of Buenos Aires.  Very interesting.  The Jewish community here is quite strong (not quite as strong as it once was...but strong nonetheless).  We visited the site of the 1992 Israeli Embassy bombing (now a memorial), the Holocaust Museum, an extraordinarily beautiful conservative synagogue in the pretty-much defunct garment district, and a huge shopping mall financed by a group including orthodox Jews, so there was a mezuzzah at each entrance.  This mall also included the only Kosher McDonalds in the Western Hemisphere.  We did a double-take when we walked up to the McDonalds and "Silent Night" came through the PA system. Gotta love those intercultural experiences.  By the way, Buenos Aires truly is a city of immigrants from all over the world with the latest wave from other countries in South America.

Back to the Jewish Tour for a moment.  it is easy when you are caught up in the magic of Buenos Aires to forget that this is a country that sheltered many Nazi war criminals just after the war including Adolph Eichmann.  We marveled at Evan Peron´s tomb and the amazing cemetery where her remains rest but when we heard about her contributions to the Nazi settlement effort here (she flew to Switzerland with several phony passports), we saw things in a different light.

Time to move on... we are leaving for a plane to Iguazu Falls in a few minutes and will report on those in a day of two.

Oi from Rio De Janeiro

Yes...we are in Rio.  Oi is Portuguese for Hello.  We have only learned a few words of Portuguese...like "obrigado" (thanks)...many words are almost like English (telefono, taolette). But you still can't understand what people are saying. Even those in our group who speak Spanish are having trouble.

But before we talk about Rio, here are some perspectives from Iguazu Falls. First of all, it is Iquazu on the Argentinian side and Iguaçu on the Brasilian (yes...Brasil) side. It is pronounced ee-gwa-SU (or ee-gua-SHU in Brasil) and it means "place where the waters end" as it is the place where two rivers flow into a third. We spent Christmas Eve on the Argentinian side and Christmas Day on the Brasil side.  Awesome.  Amazing.  Huge.  Breath-taking.  Majestic.  Thunderous. Magnificent.  Spiritual.  Iguazu has neither the volume of Niagara nor the widest single waterfall impact of Victoria.  But, in terms of sheer magnitude, it wins... it includes over 200 separate falls in a spectacular rainforest setting, with bridges and well-maintained nature walks over the river and up to the edge of the falls.  Whereas at Victoria (in Zambia) we were drenched immediately... at Iguaçu, there was no deluge until the very last stop on the Brazilian side.  Such a treat.  While the falls are off the beaten path, they should not be missed on a trip to this part of the world.  Indeed, they are in the "finals" for an updated "seven new natural wonders of the world" list.  We caught sight of several  coati mundi families (like raccoons) as well as an elusive Fruit Loops toucan. 

Our guide informed us the jungle was full of leopards, pumas, and the like...but even though we made a special request, we saw none of the above. Other than a sumptuous Christmas Eve buffet (in Latin America, Christmas Eve is when the big celebration occurs) the food at the Falls was not memorable.

Then, on Christmas Day, we moved on to Rio (pop. 7 million).  A fascinating city of contrasts--extreme poverty (in the favellas/slums) and over-the-top hotels and condos (in Ipanema Beach)... extraordinary diversity across ethnicity lines... a free and easy lifestyle that expresses itself through the samba, Carnaval (four days of partying like Mardi Gras but south of the border), and a ¨let´s hang out at the beach" orientation. Other descriptors for this city:  thongs, Speedos (both worn by all, in their respective gender, regardless of those individuals’ size), in your face, uninhibited, steamy (in all respects), energizing. The city includes the largest urban rainforest, mountains, bays, the Atlantic Ocean, and is overseen by the almost overpowering Christ the Redeemer statue.  Nearly everyone has seen the photos, but to be in the presence of this statue was awe-inspiring.  And to be there the day after Christmas when the cardinal was officiating at a mass was more awe-inspiring still.

We walked on Copacabana beach and boardwalk which has the world's smallest McDonalds - a little hut like you find on many Caribbean beaches - the kitchen is underground! Thousands of people sunbathing and enjoying the water there.  The beach is beautiful - clean white sand several kilometers long. No air conditioning in the favellas, so the beach is the destination of choice (and the temperature has been hovering upwards of 95).  The name Rio De Janeiro means "River of January" because when the Portuguese "discovered" it in 1502 (don't tell the natives) it was January 1st and they thought they were on a big river....but it turns out it was a bay off the Atlantic (so they were no smarter than the Spanish in Buenos Aires).

On Saturday morning, we got up to see the sun rise over the Atlantic. Wow!!  After a visit to Christ the Redeemer... 

...we did a bus / walking tour of the downtown part of the city - learned some history and about the current culture (10% upper class, 10% very poor, 80% middle class. But, for example, a teacher here earns about 450 Reals / month ($250 US)). Then we had a traditional lunch at the oldest cafe in Rio (hmmm...heard that before). The cafe was incredible - and the lunch featured black beans and rice and a choice of meats from boiling pots full - pigs ears, feet, pork lips, pork ribs, several kinds of beef... plus extraordinary desserts.  Our local guide informed us that Portuguese desserts are the best and I think he was right.  pecan tarts, all kinds of flans, beautiful truffles, fruit tartes, on and on and on. We tasted most of them.  Yummo!  Then we went to a Samba school. Preface: this is a very Catholic society, so even though it seems very loose in some ways, it is traditional in others. So they have Carnaval (same as Mardi Gras) in the 4 days before Lent. And they have a VERY BIG DEAL competition the last night (from 7pm - 7am) where the top 12 teams square off to show their floats and sing and dance before upwards of several hundred thousand people in a set of grandstands several blocks long. So each team has a huge warehouse where they build their floats and practice and keep everything VERY SECRET!!!! But we got to go in and they had a few musicians and several women wearing skimpy costumes (I mean 1 yard of fabric probably outfits all of the women!). I forced Wayne to pose with one of the women, very funny.  And then they had us (well, Wendy plus the other women) dancing with them!! Like a Latin Bar Mitzvah!  and we got to try on some costumes and headpieces (VERY HEAVY! - How do they dance in them for hours??).  One way to burn off the calories from nonstop eating.  

On Sunday, we enjoyed the beach some more then took a cable car up to Sugarloaf Mountain for amazing views and had an amazing lobster dinner. Speaking of food, we haven’t really had a chance to do extensive sampling of the food here in Rio but can thank our hotel for providing amazing and creative fruit drinks each morning--strawberry/orange, açai juice, parsley, mango, guava... and don’t miss the caiparina (sp?)--lots of fruit, lime is traditional--even more sugar, and the Brazilian answer to vodka.  Oh my. 

On Monday (our extra day), mere mortals might have chosen to relax, but first we took a walk around the neighborhood and visited  a grocery store with a full aisle of beans and rice.  Next, we checked out the subway prior to shopping in Ipanema (quite successful), then we took a fantastic tour of the favellas which should not be missed.  Our Land Rover took us into the heart of approximately 10 block area/200,000 residents (on the side of a hill with many cinder block squares stocked one on top of another,  as children age they build another residence on top of their parents’ home!) where we exited the vehicle and wandered up and down the narrow walkways.  Fascinating.  This is a low income area but full of energy, excitement, and wonderful people.  On the outside, the houses are cinder blocks and run down.  But, in the inside, they look quite lovely.  

We think Rio totally deserves the Olympics and we can’t wait to hear how the city is transformed.  

Well, we are ready to leave for the airport. We heard "The Girl from Ipanema" at least 100 times in the last 4 days so we won’t  miss that!  Thank you for joining us for our trip... we hope you enjoyed it as much as we did!

Adios and Tchau.

Sawasdee ka from Bangkok

December, 2008
That is the phonetic spelling for hello (the feminine version) from Bangkok, Thailand. Everyone here is so respectful.  We are greeted in this way incessantly, with coordinating hand movements, palms together under the chin (this is called the wai). 

The Thai language has 44 consonants, 23 vowels, and 5 tonations... so if any of our readers thought we would master it in 5 days, they were sorely mistaken. 

It is now Friday afternoon.  We arrived at the hotel on Thursday morning about 1:30 local time and, as you might expect, have pretty much been on the move since then. Our body clocks are so confused we have no clue what time or day this is... much more striking than in prior trips. The temperature is averaging around 75 with little humidity (for Bangkok).  Needless to say, we are loving the weather.

So, starting at the top.  We had not even left O'Hare when we heard our esteemed governor had really lowered the bar on political corruption.  Would you believe that story was front and center in the International Herald Tribune on Thursday morning?  It certainly put the political issues in Bangkok in perspective. 

The King just celebrated his 81st birthday and his picture is ubiquitous.  By the way, there is absolutely no evidence here of political unrest.  Everything is back to normal except that hotel and service personnel are especially grateful to see visitors.  Many people did cancel their plans and the hotels and restaurants, so far, have only been too happy to greet us and take our money (our bahts, that is).

General reactions. Ten million people in Bangkok out of 60 million in the country.  It's more frenetic and chaotic than Tokyo... and feels non-Westernized, more exotic than any other place we've visited. There are big highways (high as in "elevated") and many big beautiful boulevards (they also have a Champs Elysees), and then there are the extremely narrow side roads that are chock-a-block with stalls and pushcarts.  The traffic is amazing!  It is non-stop from dawn to night. They drive on the "wrong" side of the road so of course that is disorienting. And there are HUNDREDS of motor scooters and motorcycles (and the "passenger" often rides side-saddle and doesn't even hold on!!). The cars appear to move in a helter skelter fashion, but it is really more like a plague of locusts. Cars dart in and out, motorcycles go between cars and in FRONT of cars, all within inches of each other, but there are no horns blaring and no screeching of brakes...it is as if everyone is able to read the minds of everyone else and avoid collisions (sort of like the BORG Collective of traffic).  When there is a red light, it is often for several minutes at a time. How do we know? There is a clock next to the stop light which counts down the time remaining! So while it is red, all of the motorcycles weave their way to the front of the pack, so when the light changes, it is like the start of a motcross rally.  These guys make drivers in Italy look positively tame.  We have not even tried to walk anywhere.  The guidebooks recommend you take the river taxis or the elevated train (SkyTrain) and avoid regular taxis at all costs.

So Thursday, we had a wonderful breakfast outside by the river. Bangkok used to be "The Venice of the Orient"...many rivers and smaller canals and life was certainly water-oriented. But many of the smaller canals have been filled in over the years.  Speaking of being filled in, we are filled up (and have only been here two days).  Our breakfast buffet has everything imaginable! It rivals some of our other favorites like in Melbourne and Bobadilla, Spain. Lots of local fruit:  we had Rose Apple (which is like a trianglular apple, tastes like an apple except not sweet...just apple-y) and rambutan (which is a big red hairy thing -  "rambu" means "hair in Thai - that is sweet and not like anything we ever tasted. Also had guava and the sweetest, most juicy pineapple ever (even beats Hawaii). Then we took a tour (with Looi--our other local guide is Yewie, all we need is Dewie and we're all set... quack, quack) around the city (just 6 of us....the official  tour does not actually start until Friday night, so only a few came early like us)....but mostly we stopped and walked through an amazing wholesale flower market. Then the fruit market..so many wonderful things.

We got back around noon and went to CURRY QUEEN for lunch!!!!  No blizzards here, but really wonderful food.  Everything is cheap in Bangkok.  Right now, 100 baht is about $3.  We had a scampi dish and a fried rice dish and a 24 oz bottle of Singha (local beer) for under $9.

Then we went back to our room and crashed for a few hours. Then, it was time to eat again.   We had a reservation at a very good restaurant. It is only 3 miles from our hotel, but the cab ride took 45 minutes!!!  Traffic!!  But there is no way we could have walked there even if we wanted to...the streets are like a maze.  Some signs have both Thai and English, but if you get lost, you'd be doomed. We had a nice dinner and the cab ride back took 10 minutes!! Not so much traffic in that direction.

Today, the focus was on food again.   We had an early breakfast because our main activity was a Thai cooking class!  Alas, we should have skipped breakfast (and all meals for the month of November!)  We got picked up at 9 and were delivered to the "school" by about 9:20. We have no idea where it is in relation to our hotel.  It was us and a newlywed couple from Leeds, England and a businessman from Zurich (this was his 4th class!!!!). It was an awesone experience. 

We made 4 different dishes. First the teacher (a really cute Thai woman who kind of spoke English) would demonstrate how to make the dish (and they gave each of us a packet with all of the recipes). Then she would pass it around so we could taste it. Then we each went to our cooking station (where all of the ingredients in the right proportions were magically waiting for us), and made the dish again ourselves (all were stir fried). Then, we took what we made and went to a table and ate that!  First we made stri fry vegetables (corn, peas, carrots, garlic (they are BIG on garlic) and ground pork, with seasonings. We put that aside and each made 5 little stir fry "baskets" from a flour and lime juice batter with a special basket mold. Then we filled the baskets with the pork-veggie mixture and ate it. Next we made a stir fry glass noodle and muchroom and shrimp dish.  Same routine. So good.  This is where Wayne hit the wall--fatigue and appetite satiation-wise!  Next up was stir-fried beef with veggies. Wonderful!  Then we made yellow curry chicken.  We have gained 10 pounds in two days--not a good trendline.  (if you are really curious about this, check out http://www.baipai.com/.)

Tomorrow we begin our temple and palace tour with 28 other smiling Americans and 2 Canadians.

Bangkok eye (and mouth) candy

December, 2008
We've only been on the official tour for two days and we're still fairly sleep deprived (could've titled this "Sleepless in Bangkok"), but if the past 2 days are any indication, we are on a journey of sensory overload.

Saturday we took a boat ride on the Chao Phraya River (River of Kings) to see Wat Pho ("Wat" means temple--there are over 400 temples in Bangkok alone!) This is a huge complex of buildings. One contains a 150' long gilt-covered reclining Buddha. There are also tons of statues of Chinese and Dutch (you can tell by their wooden shoes) guards, and animals - some real, some mythical. Then we went on to the old (previous) Royal Palace (there are at least 3 in Bangkok). Again a vast collection of buildings and temples (the whole society is built around Buddhism)  -- many buildings covered in colored glass mosaics that magnificently reflect the sunlight. Then back on the boat and a short ride and we docked at a restaurant for lunch. As is often the case when the whole group eats together, we were served family style. First: shrimp and veggies in crispy noodle baskets (kind of like what we made in cooking class!), then curried chicken, then beef and veggies, then prawns with onions and garlic. All served with a generous scoop of sticky rice of course. Then it was back to the hotel. It was free time so we went on the Sky Train (the "EL") to the Jim Thompson  House Museum (no, not our former gov...you know...the one who actually finished his term with being under indictment!). At each stop, as the train got closer to our destination, many people wearing red shirts got on board. Vas ist das?  The station we were going to is called "National Stadium Station" because (duh) that's where the National Stadium is. So we figured there was a big soccer game or something. It wasn't until we saw the front page of today's paper that we learned there was a huge political rally there for the recently ousted Prime Minister!!!  (BTW: the train is easy to use and very clean. In each car are TVs that continuosly show ads, but at the bottom it tells you (in Thai and English) what the next stop is. Also, you know where we have signs in ours that say "Please give up your seat to a handicapped person" (or somesuch), here they have signs that say "Please give up your seat for a monk"!!!!!). Anyway...we got off and found our way to the museum. Thompson was a US serviceman in WWII who stayed in Thailand after the war. He reestablished the Thai silk manufacturing industry. He bought 6 houses from various parts of the country and reassembled them into 1 big house in Bangkok and filled it with beautiful antiques. Now it is a museum. Then it was back on the train to the hotel.

Everywhere we go the smell of delicious food is present.  It's amazing! 

So after a short rest, it was time to eat again. We went (on the Sky Train) with 3 other couples to the Blue Elephant restaurant. They have branches all over the world, but not in the US. It is in an old house and each dining room is amazingly decorated. We all ordered so much food that they could barely fit the plates on the table! They started everyone with an amuse-bouche of sweet corn soup, a small piece of chicken and noodles, and a shrimp-veggie salad. Then we shared an appetizer of grilled scallops. Then Wendy had steamed sea bass served in a half-pipe bamboo stalk. Wayne had prawns in a black peppercorn sauce. Yummo! For dessert, Wendy had assorted ice cream scoops; Wayne had a chocolate lava cake (!!! finally...some chocolate!!!) that came with a scoop of mulberry leaf ice cream. To paraphrase Clemenza: "Take the chocolate, leave the ice cream." We were all so stuffed we were afraid we might not have room for breakfast! On the way out, they gave each of the women a stalk of orchids! Yes!!  They are ubiquitous here.

Odds and ends:  This is our 4th Tauck tour, but it is the first time we are NOT the youngest couple!  We must be getting older.....

They have 4 seasons here: hot, hotter, hottest, and rainy. We are now in the hot season, but the newspaper said that some Thais have been seen wearing sweaters and complaining about the cold!!!
OK...back to the tour: Today we had to be at the dock at 8:00 for a trip along some of the canals that branch off the river. People live right on the banks in raised houses (sounds like NOLA), and often go out in little boats to sell things to people on the river. Then we went to the Royal Barge Museum. These are long decorated boats that the kings used to use in river "parades". This was a "must miss" stop. Then up the river to another former "palace" (really the king's home in the cooler suburbs outside the city). It is entirely made of teak, so of course it is the biggest teak house in the world!  It has 80+ rooms and we saw about 30 on the tour. Many antiques (the house was in use from 1901 - 1938), and rugs and lots of photos of the king and family. It was somewhat like going through Versailles, but not nearly as opulent. Still, very impressive. Then back to the hotel for a free afternoon. Tonight we have a group dinner and see an authentic Thai dance ceremony. Sounds like fun.

Tomorrow early we go to the airport and on to Chiang Mai.  We'll be back with more in a few days. Lah gorn na. (bye for now)

Heading to Hanoi

It is Wednesday morning at 9:20, December, 2008.  We are in the Bangkok airport waiting for our connection to Hanoi... after two absolutely magical days in northern Thailand, Chiang Mai.  Hope everyone is doing well.

Chiang Mai is such a special place... though the fact that we were booked into the Four Seasons didn't hurt as they say.  Set amidst the mountains.  You walk into the open-air lobby and look out at beautifully manicured rice paddies, gardens, statues.  On our first walk there we ran into two water buffalo (escorted, of course).  Each room has a sala (pavilion with a mosquito net covering, very romantic.)  The rooms were beautifully appointed.  Of course, I had to check out the spa which was amazing... they do a combination massage (Thai and regular) that was indescribable.  Just say it was one of the top 10 massages of all time.

Anyway, aside from the amazing resort, in Chiang Mai we had three destinations-- 1) temple, 2) elephant ride, 3)  crafts market.  The temple and the monastery (12th century) were so different from the temples we had visited in Bangkok.  Here, we made a group offering to several monks.  As those who have travelled here know, it is taboo for your feet to face forward--particularly in Buddhist shrines.  It was comical to see a group of 30+ 50, 60, and 70-somethings sitting on their knees.  Our next destination was the definite highlight... a visit to the elephant camp with an elephant ride in the jungle.  While we did this in Zimbabwe during our Africa trip, this was an altogether different experience.  We fed the elephants--they enjoy eating half a bunch of bananas at a time.  Then, we watched them being bathed (though it was more like a synchronized swimming performance).  Then, the talent show... lots of marching, lifting, some formations.  But the piece de resistance was to watch one of the elephants do a painting.  I kid you not. Perhaps you saw this on PBS... it was familiar...but seeing it in person was wild...single brush strokes in different colors in a tree design with flowers, grass, and leaves.  They sold the canvas for $15 afterwards but we chose to take a pass. 

The absolute best part of the elephant adventure was our ride.  Whereas in Zimbabwe, we trekked through the brush--one elevation only--and were seated on elevated pillows so felt nothing.... in Chiang Mai, this was more of a thrill ride.  We sat on an elevated seat with a seat belt, ha!, and bounced our way up and down through jungle paths (including one segment that was totteringly close to the edge).  Everytime time we descended, I white-knuckled the handles for dear life.  The 18 elephants trekked together in a single line.  It was particularly exciting when they descended into the river, one by one...which was probably up to 3 feet deep before we were through.  Just let me say that I had further evidence of why you should only drink bottled water as a result of the elephant ride.  No further description necessary.  While the trek was somewhat harrowing, it was worth it.  The last destination in Chiang Mai was the crafts market.  Highly acclaimed, but not worth the afternoon.  I didn't buy a thing but made up for it in the hotel gift shop afterwards.

I would be remiss in my write-up of Chiang Mai if I didn't describe the food.  Our guide recommended we consider having rooom service night one because of the setting.  While we've had our share of mediocre room service, we took him up on it.  It was lovely... as good if not better than any restaurant meal so far.  I stuck with Thai... Wayne had more continental choices.  The prawns with peppercorns were to die for... the broccolini was great.  We had an appetizer of chicken wrapped in banana leaves which was very good and, of course, fresh fruit for dessert.  Wayne had grilled sea bass.   For dinner Tuesday night, we decided to depart from Thai and have Italian (the other option at the hotel).  They were doing yet another Thai dance performance in the other restaurant with yet another buffet and we decided a break would be good.  Our dinner was fine; but our dinner companions did not share our political persuasion so our conversation topics were quite limited!
Some miscellaneous thoughts as we leave Thailand.  The Thai women are absolutely beautiful.  People say this but it is so true.  The Thais are very nice; our guide explained that this might be attributable to their Buddhism, which is the Southern brand, including a tinge of Hinduism.  People from the Hill Tribes, who we met at the elephant camp, were even more gracious and their children were just too precious.  Evidence of the monarchy is everywhere and thou shalt not say anything against the king.  Thais seem to be somewhat embarrassed by the political situation.  But, it is ongoing and they seem to be used to it. The service levels in the hotel and restaurants are unbelieveable.  When we went down for the early (4:00 am) continental breakfast this morning and wondered if there was any type of juice beyond OJ, they went in the back and squeezed some pineapple juice.  I could go on and on.

Making Sense of Vietnam

Sin Chow--hello from Vietnam. It is 3:30 on Tuesday afternoon, Dec 23, 2008.  Happy Chanukah! We have been here a full week, stopping in Hanoi, Hue , Danang, Hoi An, and Saigon and haven't had a chance to report in until now.  What a textured and complex country.  We flew in not knowing what to expect, carrying our physical and emotional baggage, and we'll leave tomorrow for Cambodia so gratified we came, but still mystified by the immensity of what we experienced.  An absolute assault on our senses and a must not-miss destination.
 
First, politically.  While the Chinese and French have been gone for a long time (Chinese for centuries and French for decades), their influence still lingers in architecture,  cuisine, and language. Yes, it's a communist country and yes the north won the "American" war.

Three-quarters of the population was born after 1975.  The  Buddhist influence is strong so most people (not the  government) appear to have let go of their anger about the  war (at least toward Americans).  There is no social egalitarianism here.  There is extreme poverty and great extravagance.  And while seeing Ho Chi Minh laid out was chilling in more ways than one and seeing the omnipresent red flag with yellow star is powerful, we are past the cold war, Vietnam's business presence is growing.  It was not at all uncomfortable being an American here. Of course, you need to take the anti-American museum captions and displays with a grain of salt.  For instance, we stayed at the Hilton Hanoi and visited the Hanoi Hilton where we saw the day-to-day activities of the American POWs glorified.  And we contrasted Ho Chi Minh's office and lodgings with the opulence and corruption of the President's Palace (now Reunification Hall). We traipsed through the woods and crouched through the Cu Chi tunnels where many thousands lived and over 10,000 Viet Cong died from the late 40s to the mid 60s, witnessed those horrific living conditions (yet awful traps) firsthand.  Our favorite guide told us that Ho Chi Minh city is only called that by people in the north; it's Saigon to those down south who refuse to be "brainwashed" (his word).  So, we are more conflicted than ever.

Moving to that assault on the senses and starting with the visual gifts of this fascinating country.  Vietnam is a spectacle of colors--from the beautiful flowers everywhere, to the markets with their full array of magnificent silks, lanterns, vegetables and fruits, clothing, meats, candies, teas, and fish.  From the breath-taking scenery on the Hai Van Pass to Danang (rivals the road to Hana but wilder) to the 19th century royal palaces and tombs and ancient city, to the beautiful lakes in Hanoi, China Beach in Danang... all was beautiful. Of course, the presentation of the food was every bit as beautiful as in Thailand. The adults (many wearing masks as protection against the pollution--no emission standards here and also they'll go to great lengths to keep their lily white skin white) and the children were so memorable.  The teeming cities with almost more motor bikes than people and the cyclos galore (these are tricycles with front seats for one passenger each).  We took 4 cyclo rides.  The carry-poles (bamboo poles carried across the shoulders with two baskets carrying a wide range of items ranging from fruits and vegetables to French bread) were everywhere. We loved watching citizens of Hanoi playing badminton and/or doing aerobics or Tai Chi on our early morning walk.  The water puppet show in Hanoi and Cham Hindu statues from the 7th century on (in a wonderful museum in Danang) were visual treasures. The rice paddies nearing harvest time. The Christmas decorations.  We could go on and on.
 
But sight was not the only sense where we were assaulted. Vietnam is a cacophony of sounds.  The cities with their constantly-blaring and beeping horns; the gentle chanting of Buddhist novices at the Tu Dom pagoda outside Hue.  The constant chiding of street merchants for us to buy a T-shirt, a postcard, take a picture.  The harsh staccato language  with six tonations (the letters "ma" are pronounced in 6 different ways--each with very different meanings.  A slight slip of the tongue could mean disaster!).  [The written language is just over a century old, by the way, and uses Roman characters.]  Other sounds: the crashing of the surf at China Beach .  The constant din outside our window in Saigon past midnight.  The Christmas carols (in English) sung by a choir of high school students at our spectacular seaside resort in Danang (a growing tourist destination). 

As to the sense of touch.  There are silk merchants and tailors everywhere and two actually reeled us (Ok, Wendy) in by the sumptuous silks.  So soft and luscious to the touch and now I am the proud owner of several custom-made jackets and camisoles that may not get a lot of wear but will have been completely worth it based on the precise tape-measurement experience.  Of course, Wayne is concerned that I will give these items away which will not be the case...but given the amount of food that has been consumed it may very well be several years before I can wear them.
 
On to the sense of smell.  We won't easily forget the smells up and down the side streets of Hanoi at breakfast time (people preparing noodles, rice dishes, meat curbside--then dining with their neighbors). The smells were even stronger at the small country village outside Hoi An.  As we watched the old women whack at the fresh meat and fish, we couldn't help but back away.  But perhaps the smells in the Saigon Cho Benh Thanh (Central Market) were most pungent.  This market, taking up a full city block, was pulsing with merchants selling every conceivable type of product--including, but not limited to, electronics, bed linens, lingerie, toys, fish, meat, vegetables, and fruits. We had an actual durian encounter, as you may know, durian is the absolute smelliest fruit around (our hotel in Danang actually had signs forbidding durian in the rooms). The 91  degrees outside only intensified the "fragrances" coming from this market.
Alas, we won't forget taste.  We liked Thai cuisine, we loved Vietnamese cuisine...not quite as sweet as Thai, not quite as hot, with French influence.  All of our meals were good.  We had two particularly lovely lunches in beautiful settings (one on the river in Hoi An) where we feasted on carmelized eggplant, beef with peppers, chicken with vegetables, prawns in all shapes, flavors, and sizes, lots of pork, and the ubiquitous white rice (once my favorite food). But our first dinner in Vietnam was perhaps our most memorable where we dined at the Ba Mien restaurant in Hanoi and chose the set menus.  While my menu included 10 items, they were not served in true degustation style...but rather, in groupings of 2 or 3... so only 3 courses.

I should make clear that several couples on our tour group keep Kosher so are eating fish and vegetarian.  They have done very well.  But neither Wayne nor I have any aversion to shellfish (and Wayne loves his pork)... so we have been exposed to the full array of dining possibilities.  For this particular meal (loosen your belts), I started with crab meat and aloe vera salad, Imperial Hue spring rolls with pork, shrimp, star fruit, green banana and herbs, and Fried Hanoi spring rolls with crab meat, minced pork and glass noodle.  These were served together on a plate with a candle.  The soup was next--asparagus soup with crabmeat, mushroom and steamed crab meat dumpling.  Next, came the main course(s) which were grilled scallops with lemongrass scent, wok fried Wagyu beef cubes and capsicums with black pepper sauce, rice with wok fried vegetables and braised abalone (which I ignored).  The dessert course included banana custard with caramelized bananas and passion fruit sauce and tea with green tea macaroons. Please understand, the serving size for each item was relatively small and the pacing was appropriate.  With 10 of us at the table and most of us having the set menu, the total cost was Nine Million Five Hundred Thousand Dong! (covered by our tour except for alcohol which was minimal in this group).  That's about $45 each (the U.S. dollar goes a loooong way here).
 
We leave for Cambodia (Angkor Wat) in the morning.  We will leave you with one more impression of Vietnam. The traffic is crazy and you take your life in your hands each time you cross the street.  One of our local tour guides (and all 6 of our Vietnam tour guides have had the same last name--Nguyen,pronounced Nwin, by the way) gave us some excellent counsel.  Nghi (pronounced Near as in near and far as he told us) suggested that we keep three principles in mind:  Be confident, walk slowly, and never look back. We added another, it's now or never. Traffic lights are just a suggestion, not to be taken seriously.  With these principles in mind, we successfully and safely navigated many busy streets in Vietnam .

Siem Reap, Cambodia

December, 2008
Hi everyone:   The name of this town literally means "Siam Defeated", to commemorate a 17th century victory over the Thai people.  But you probably know it better as the home to Angkor Wat.  As you may remember from our earlier email, "wat"means "temple", so Angkor Wat translates as "the city which is a temple". It is the largest religious monument in the world. It was built in the 12th century. In the middle are 5 towers with lotus-shaped tops. The outer walls represent the edge of the world and the surrounding moat represents the ocean (a common architectural theme in the temples in this area).  I believe our guide said the outer walls are each a mile long. The structure is made of sandstone, which is harder than our sandstone, over a substructure of tufa (volcanic rock). They would build a layer, then pile dirt up around it so that the elephants could pull the stones up the incline to build the next layer. When it was all done (after about 30 years), they had to dig out the whole thing!!  And all of the walls are covered with exquisite carvings showing battles, ceremonies, etc. There are over 2,000 bas relief carvings of asparas (celestial dancing girls). This temple is unusual in that all other temples face east (toward the rising sun) while this one faces west, since it was partly built as a shrine to the king for when he died. We walked around for about 2 hours and got a good sense of the scale, history, effort and beauty.  Also, for those of you who watch The Amazing Race we were in the room where you pound your chest and it makes an echo, and we did and it does!!! The reason is that it is a small room with a high valted arch ceiling so the sound reflects. Many of the halls and rooms had this type of ceiling and you can see how the huge blocks of stone are fitted together like a jigsaw puzzle (no cement or mortar here!).

The next day we visited the temple of Ta Prohm (means Ancestor of Buddha).  This is the temple you always see (and featured in "Lara Croft - Tomb Raider") with the huge kapok and banyan trees growing on, around and through the walls. Some of these trees are over 300 years old. Here, like at Angkor Wat and the other large temples, much restoration is going on. But again, there are many magnificent carvings. This temple is made of laterite.

Next, Angkor Thom (which means "Great City"). It was built around 30 years after Angkor Wat was finished. Leading up to this temple is a wall with several hundred carvings of elephants showing how they were used. Some are carrying warriors into battle, others showing hunting scenes. The detail is incredible as you can see feathers on the birds, individual leaves on the trees, etc. Then you get to the inner temple, called Bayon (which means "amulet"; the Cambodians believed that wearing a sacred amulet on a rope around your neck was more protection than armor. Not sure how that turned out). The remarkable thing about this temple is that there are 49 huge pillars and each one has a face carved on each side (pointing north, south, east, west). Truly amazing. Then there is a long wall showing scenes from a military procession preparing to battle the Cham (remember them from the sculpture museum outside Danang??). In front are the Chinese mercenaries (on foot) followed by Cambodian generals on elephants then followed by people supplying the food, etc.  Again the detail is incredible. In one scene a woman is holding a turtle who is apparently biting the butt of the man in front of her and his head is turned back in a scowl. Our guide said either she was being playful or trying to get him to walk faster. In another, there is a sea battle and you can see the oars in the water and the fish and even alligators eating the soldiers who have fallen or been thrown overboard.

Our last activity was a boat ride through an estuary into Tonle Sap, the largest lake in southern Asia (our guide said 35 miles to the other side). What is amazing here is the 1,000,000 people (many Vietnamese left over from the 1979 - 89 campaign against Pol Pot) who live along the shore in houseboats. But they move around as the estuary dries up in the summer and then expands greatly in the rainy season. The lifestyle is abysmal and very primitive (from our point of view), but the guide said they have a steady supply of food (they trade the fish they catch for fruits, veggies and other necessities), and some even have electric lights and tv's (that they power via car batteries!). 

That ended our fabulous tour of Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia. We are now getting some R&R (OK....just trying to avoid coming back to the nasty winter weather) by spending a few days in Phuket, Thailand. As elsewhere, the tourists have stayed away in droves due to the economic and political conditions. But we are loving it.

PS:  Several times during the trip Wayne wore his "Obama '08" shirt and all of the locals who saw it smiled and gave a thumbs up and shouted "O-ba-ma...yes we can", so, yes, the world (at least this part of it) is very happy and excited for our new prez. And they are even more interested in his success as, through no fault of their own, the bad economy has decimated the tourism industry here.  So, along with all of the wonderful people we met on our journey, we wish all of you and the whole world a much happier 2009.