Home Again, Jiggity Jig and a Pig

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Home again. Here’s a wrap-up of my last 40-something hours. Yesterday morning I went with Susan to the post office and then for some last minute shopping. The post office had a sponge to wet my stamps, but my cold, sweating water bottle was more effective. We took a cab over to a store called Craftlink. This is a store that supports the minority craftsfolk in rural areas to get a fair wage and keep alive the crafts of the regions. It’s like a Ten Thousand Villages store in Vietnam and supported by Church World Services. Some of the craftsfolk are actually Mennonite. It was a wonderfully cute, 3-story store so we started at the top and worked our way down. With the power of Visa and knowing that I was providing a fair wage for workers, I had no trouble stocking up for gifts for the future!!

After shopping, we went to a restaurant called Koto. It was so cool and trendy, it could have been in LA or NY. It was started by a chef trained in Australia and is run by street children who are being taught to be cooks and waiters. They have an 18 month training course that is an apprenticeship, allowing the kids to learn a skilled job. Their slogan is, “Know One, Teach One” and there are a lot of great pictures of graduating “classes,” including one with Bill and Hillary Clinton!!

In the afternoon, I went with Liz (another Sandy-friend who had just arrived from the states) and Sandy jewelry shopping and to order more clothes. I was so impressed with the clothes I had had made, I ordered more shirts and a pair of pants. Liz will bring them back to the States next week. On our way, I saw a new thing on a motorbike that made me laugh so hard, that I had to replace “coffin” from my “number-one-funniest-thing-on-a-motorbike.” [The coffin was on our way to Ha Long Bay. When I told Sandy I had seen the bright red and gold coffin, she said, “It’s probably empty.” As if THAT was the funny part!] So I look ahead of us and notice hoofs hanging in front of the driver’s left leg. Before I can fully explain to Liz and Sandy what I’m seeing, I realize that there are hoofs and a HEAD hanging off the right side. The driver is going through traffic with a full-grown, albeit dead, pig hanging over his bike lying on its back. While I was (unsuccessfully) trying to get out my camera, Sandy said she pulled up next to a motorbike like that once—and then the pig started PEEING. Hers was still alive and on its back!!!

I got a manicure and pedicure while Sandy and Liz got massages and then we headed home. I had more pho (soup) for dinner and ate almost the whole thing!! After dinner we headed over to a ‘Culture Night’ from one of the school teams. They were doing an version of American Bandstand with music through US history. The team performed or lipsynced for everyone from Tammy Wynette to Greenday to Kelli Clarkson (of American Idol). On the stage with them is a statue of Ho Chi Mihn and he seemed the happiest when ‘Elvis’ was on!!

I took a cab to the airport for my 11:30pm flight. Once though customs, there was a little shopping center with the opportunity to spend what little VND I had left. I got some last minute small things. One of the Duty Free shops had Droste chocolate and I thought that the whole Dutch theme from the Japan portion of my trip was coming full circle. I didn’t get any sleep on the flight, though not from lack of trying or lack of space. I had no neighbor on the flight again. In fact, except for Japan-LAX, I had space next to me on every flight!! When I got to the airport, I had to go through customs and immigration to be able to stay in the airport for the day. I didn’t have to pick up my bags, however.

Now I had booked a Day Room on-line through the advice of several friends. When I got to the main lobby, I went to information to ask where the day rooms were. This is where the best laid plans go awry. Because I didn’t have my boarding pass for my 4pm flight, I had to go through customs, but now I find out that the Day Rooms are on the other side of Customs. However, I can’t go BACK through customs because I don’t have a boarding pass. And…I can’t get a boarding pass because the counter won’t open for another 2 ½ hours!! At this point, I REALLY tired from still being a bit sick and all the travel. I go up by the shops and find the observation deck, thinking I might be able to stretch out there for an hour or two, but the observation deck is actually outside and it’s been raining. I find a fairly empty hall with 3 seats in a row that don’t have arms and I just curl up and doze off and on.

I know once I go through customs that there aren’t any regular shops, just Duty Free, and since I don’t need any Chanel, Guess, Izod, or cigarettes I need to do any shopping I want to do before I go through. I’m also not thinking overly clearly and am trying to find somewhere that will serve a “bland” breakfast. I finally find a little restaurant that has pancakes and eat my breakfast and the new 5-day does of antibiotics. Somewhat fortified, though still sickeningly exhausted, I head down to try to get my boarding pass. This is a fairly long line, though moving fairly quickly. I head through customs (convinced that there is nothing that I NEED to shop for in Japan that I can’t get in Little Tokyo in LA) and head into “Duty Free Land.”

Mental and practical note: just because it FEELS like Mall of America, doesn’t mean that it IS!! I’m staring at the map (no mention of Day Rooms) and looking at the “Guide to Narita Airport” brochure (mention of Day Rooms, but no map) and feeling like a hidden camera must be somewhere, when a middle-aged man, who is also a tourist, not an employee, says, “Can I help you find something?” I tell him I’m looking for the Day Rooms and “Gabriel-san” (my name, not his real name) kindly walks me over to the information booth that was around the corner. They point me in the direction of the Day Rooms and within minutes I am signing up for 4 hours of sleep. They give me a key to room D, and I am pleasantly surprised to find a twin bed and my own bathroom with toilet, sink and shower!! I sleep off and on (mostly ON) and was ready to go.

As I get on the plane and get settled into my seat, a group of US students get on the plane. This eighth grader gets on and realizes, to his EMENSE horror, that he is sitting not by his friends, but by ME!! The look on his face was slightly amusing, but when his friends walked in, saw who he was sitting by, and snickered or laughed!!! I’m officially the old lady that kids don’t want to sit by. As we landed, I said, “So, was sitting by me as bad as you and your friends thought it would be?” He blushed and said, “Yes,” but I’m thinking he meant “no” and was just flustered that I actually spoke to him.

So now I’m back, safe, and sound. Not as sick as even 2 days ago!!

Thanks for following this journey.

Should have chosen plan A

Sunday, July 29, 2007

Always go with Plan A. After an attempt to get up and ready to go see “Uncle Ho,” I realized that I had none of the energy required. Susan was going to pick me up and we were going to meet the Lomonoxop team and some of their students to go to the Ho Chi Mihn Mausoleum, the downed B52 bomber that’s sitting in a lake somewhere, and the Hanoi Hilton Prison Museum. When she got here, she and I agreed that a trip to the doctor would be a much better option.

Turns out I have “amoebas” and, even though I wanted souvenirs and I like pets, this was not what I was hoping for. The good news is that they know how to treat them and have started me on a European drug regiment that will kill them all. As a pacifist, I’d like to be appalled by that, but considering I didn’t invite them, I’ll let it slide! Today I have one thing that I have to do, but everything else is still up for negotiation. My extroverted self is really missing social interaction. With a few exceptions, this is day 6 of hanging out at home with only an occasional social distraction.

Sunday p.m.

I started feeling really good this morning and decided to go with Sandy to Hanoi International Fellowship. It was good to see a lot of the teams that I’d interacted with throughout the week and to worship in a international congregation. After church, I rode home and had pho, a Vietnamese soup for lunch. It was all broth an noodles, but it tasted WONDERFUL after several days of nothing.

This afternoon I packed and this evening, I went with Trang to go pick up my clothes. They turned out amazingly well!! I’m really happy with all of them. They are comfortable and beautiful. We walked around “Sword Lake”, I can’t remember the name in Vietnamese and looked at the pagoda and the “turtle tower.” It was a lovely full moon over the lake. We walked over to a bookstore and found a copy of Harry Potter book 1 for my collection. It was a hoot standing in front of the bookstore and hearing all these little kids say, "Harry Potter" in the middle of their sentences!!

It was GREAT to be out of the house and to have social interaction. I have really enjoyed getting to know Trang and spending so much time with her. Tomorrow there are 2 items on the agenda—some shopping and a massage!!!! Then it will be on the plan and home again. I probably won’t post again until I’m home.

Why antibiotics aren't just for breakfast anymore.

Friday, July 27, 2007

So I stayed home last night and still not much better today, so I decided it was probably a good idea to see a doctor. I do not want to travel like this. The doctor gave me plan A and plan B. Plan A was to run tests to see if it’s something more rare. Plan B was to give me Cipro and 24 hours to see if that helps before doing plan A. I went with Plan B. If I’m not better by 11am tomorrow, I get more tests.

Tonight I actually got a piece of toast down successfully. Also, the great thing about awesome antibiotics is that you just feel like you SHOULD feel better because you’re taking them!! If they work, tomorrow will be a “tourist” day in Hanoi. If not, back to the doctor.

Harry, Pottery, and the deathly bowels

Thursday, July 26, 2007

So Tuesday morning we get up to go to Bat Trang (Pronounced “bach” “chaung”)Village. This is a pottery village with the whole street lined with pottery stores. They also do a large part of the pottery export to other parts in Vietnam and internationally. When I got up, I felt a little “funny” and figured I had eaten too much the night before. Around the 3^rd time I had to use one of the bathrooms in the pottery shops, I realized I wasn’t feeling well. We came home and I crashed for a 4 hour nap.

When I got up for dinner Sandy’s friend Susan was there. Susan had been in the states and was coming back. She had, graciously, agreed to bring me the new Harry Potter book to save me hunting for it in Japan on my layover. The American teachers from the Lomonoxop team came for dinner and we had waffles, eggs, and bacon. One of the teachers, Clay, had been sick when we got back from Ha Long Bay and was just starting to recover. Sandy and Susan told me (and Clay) to be careful with eating. The rule is 24 hours with only liquids, then ONLY thing like rice, white bread, and bananas. By about an hour after dinner I realized I had pushed the envelope!! I was faint, nauseous, and sure I was going to die from the stomach cramps. Turns out you don’t die, but just feel like that would be less work!!

Wednesday I had been scheduled to go “grass skiing” with the school, but I stayed home sleeping, etc. I had told Sandy the night before that, if I was going to be sick, I would at least want to read my book. However, Wednesday was so awful in the morning that I didn’t even feel up to holding the book until around 2pm!! You know it’s bad when you don’t even feel like starting the new HP book!!!

Now it’s Thursday and I feel like 2 days are unaccounted for. I’ve finished the book, so that’s something—I won’t spoil it, but it was written in a different, more reflective tone than the others. Tonight we were scheduled to go jewelry shopping with the team, but I’ll see how I’m feeling. Things seem to be on the mend. Sandy said she sent an email to UV to pray for my health and that seems to have helped!!! We’ll see what tomorrow brings….

Around town

Monday, July 23, 2007

Today was a low-key day of hanging out at home and sleeping in!!! After lunch, I went shopping with Trang (“Chuung”). We went to a store to have clothes made. I picked out fabric and styles for 4 different items—an “alsii” (I need to check on spelling), a blouse, a reversible jacket, and a dress. It was fun choosing colors. They will be ready for me on Sunday.

For dinner, we met friend of Sandy’s at this very fun restaurant. There we food “stalls” all around the patio that had all types of “street food” from various regions in Vietnam. It was like eating at an open air “food court” except we were seated, had a menu, and were waited on. There is a phrase here: “Same, same, but different.” That was definitely the evening. We had lots of different dishes that were the same, but different. I had Vietnamese Spring Rolls, which I love in the US, but they (of course) were different here. We had lots of shrimp dishes, but my new favorite food was tonight. It is call “banh cuon nhan thit” and it’s a mushroom, pulled pork thing wrapped in spring roll wrapper with the equivalent of Durkee fried onions on the top. Sandy and I are going to hunt for it in the US. We also had a dessert with something like a custard around bananas which was delicious. Tomorrow, we’re off to the pottery village!

Ha Long Bay-Day 2

Sunday, July 22, 2007

The wake-up call for today was just as harsh as yesterday. We met for breakfast at 6:30 to catch a 7:15 boat. We had bread, jam, butter, and sugar on a plate, but the Vietnamese teachers had a rice dish. We all got on the bus and headed sleepily down to the sea. There was a huge swarm of people and just trying to get through it to the gate was a challenge. The school had hired a private boat, so it was just our group on the whole thing. All the boats we crammed into the harbor, but you had to walk across the closer ones to board yours, if it was further out. We had to go up and over 2 other boats to get to ours.

Once we were all on board, we needed to get out. As we backed up, we did some bumping into other boats. There were men physically pushing one boat away from another. We finally got free and headed toward the open sea. We each had a ticket with 10 numbers on it to be punched off at various points. The first one was punched to get on the boat.

We crossed a large part of the bay and headed toward a dock by the Dau Go Cave. There were 20-30 boats crossing this section with us and we were surrounded by small fishing boats. There were several women who came along the boats to sell fresh fruit. At one point a small boat came up and rode along with us and one of the girls climbed up on our boat. It was the fruit sellers equivalent of being boarded by “pirates” except they were selling, not pillaging.

Disembarking was parallel to embarking in that we had to cross a boat to get to shore. When we got there, we were surrounded by a throng of thousands of people. We stayed together as best we could as we were swept along toward the stairs. We had to have our tickets out for punch #2 and we started to climb the stairs to the cave. It was a long steep climb up to the entrance. Once inside the Dau Go Cave, there were stairs and paths carved right into the cave. There were trash cans shaped like penguins throughout the entire cave and all over the island. This made NO sense to me, but apparently they got a really good deal on them, because they were all over…who knows? Maybe the penguin was indigenous to Vietnam. After all, they just found remains of a 5 foot penguin in Puru! We continued to be swept along and to just keep walking. You would expect a cave to be cooler, but when there are thousands of people in it, the temperature is comparable to the outside. We took many pictures and wandered through to the end. On the way out was another steep flight of stairs up. As we got near the light, there was a brief moment of hope that it would be cooler outside. I think it was—for about 3 seconds. We crossed several wooden bridges and then started a steep descent to the boats. The view was amazing, but the angle of descent was pretty amazing also.!

We re-boarded and headed out into the archipelago to look at different rock formations. Apparently, there are/were 1969 different rock/islands at last count. There is one famous one that is on shirts and tourist items from Ha Long Bay that looks like the sails of a ship (from 1 of the angles). “Ha Long” means “Dragon Descending” and they have their own version of the Loch Ness Monster story and how the dragons protected Vietnam from their enemies by putting the rocks in the bay and then scaring off the opposing ships. Supposedly, people still see the dragons in the water occasionally. On our way to our next stop, we pulled up next to a house boat and purchased fresh seafood for lunch.

At our next island, we were going to go swimming(the beach was punch #4, but we never found out what #3 or #5-10 were), but there was the opportunity to jet ski and parasail. Many folks (including Sandy) went up on the parasail and the Vietnamese teachers went for a ride on the jet skis. This was very atypical and one of them commented that, if her mother saw this picture, she would be upset. Sandy said she thought they were hanging out with too many Americans:-)

We were all a bit late getting back to the boat and our lunch which was now waiting. We had freshly steamed shrimp, but they all had eyes! I tried it because my rule is to try everything, but it wasn’t that great and couldn’t handle my lunch staring at me. We also had a freshly caught white fish, but, overall, this may have been my least favorite meal in Asia, which was disappointing. We did, however, have lots of fresh pineapple, mango, plums, and sugar cane (which tasted like a brown sugar cube), which made the snacks a highpoint.

On the way back, we were going with the breeze, so there was NO air movement. I don’t know when I’ve been so hot. I also didn’t know that the tops of my outer arms, near my shoulders, could sweat!! It was just as hot out on the deck as in the cabin, but out on the deck you also had direct sun! When we arrived at shore, we headed to the hotel to get a quick shower. Wow, did that feel amazing!!

When we came down to the lobby, the owner of the hotel (and one of the mother’s of a student who was along) greeted us and then gave us all presents to take back. We thanked her and told her again how lovely her hotel was and then we all got on the bus. When we were on the bus we unwrapped out gifts. Under the wrapping paper was a box for a battery-operated, singing dolphin. Though this had a lot of appeal for me, it turns out there was a small figurine of the ship-shaped rock formation in the box. Too bad, that dolphin was very intriguing for me…

On the way back in the bus, we closed the curtains and pretty much everyone was out very quickly. Half-way back, we again stopped at the rest stop from the day before. Trang said she wanted to buy me a treat and asked what I liked. She ended up buying me something that she translated as “milk candy.” It tasted like a slightly less sweet type of fudge, but it was white. As we pulled back on the road, we stopped by a stand on the side of the road and the English Department head bought a bunch of fresh pineapple. We had some on the bus and then it looked like she took about 20 back, probably for meals for the teachers later that week.

We passed several fields and workers on the road home. In one field, amid the workers, water buffalo, and labor, there were 2 kites flying high overhead. While it was too far from the road to see who was flying the kites, it gave a great sense of joy and playfulness.

Ha Long Bay-Day 1

Saturday, July 21, 2007

We met the teachers at the school at 6am (actually, we arrived around 6:15, but the bus didn’t come until 6:30) to go to Ha Long Bay. There were 24 of us total. 12 Americans, 4 kids from the school, and 8 teachers from Lomonoxop School. The 4 students were students who would be heading to the States to study. 2 this year, 2 next year. One of them is the daughter of Ms. Ha, who is the head of the English Department. Another was the daughter of the people who owned the hotel we stayed at and a third was a boy whose parents had paid to rent the bus for us to drive up. Lomonoxop has a very good exchange program with a school in Louisiana called Christian Life Academy. They take kids who are Juniors and Seniors and then many of them apply to colleges in the states.

We drove for about 1 ½ hours and then stopped at a rest area. It was a covered market with a bathroom building out back. It seems like it’s the ½ way point for the trip and several busses were stopped there. When you walked into the bathroom, there was a row of squat toilets. Fortunately for me there were also 2 restrooms with doors!! When I walked out there were about 25 people using the squat toilets at the same time…my was that crowded. When I got out, one of the US teachers was taking a picture of the bathroom building and Trang (Pronounced “Chuung”) commented that she had never seen someone take a picture of that!! While we were waiting to get back on the bus, there was a pond, small rocks and the US teachers (boys!). With boys, water and rocks, the only logical thing to have happen is that the boys start throwing rocks into the water to see who can throw the farthest.

We drove a couple more hours as the sky clouded up. We asked if it was supposed to rain and were assured it would be dry, however it started to rain and pour for the daily monsoon. I was glad we were in the bus and not out walking in town. When we got to the hotel, it was still sprinkling and cloudy, but it looked like we had driven through the worst of it. We stayed at “Number One Hotel.” When we got there our rooms weren’t ready yet, so we all dropped our stuff in one room and got ready for lunch.

Lunch was an amazing event. We sat at a very large table with all of us and began dish after dish…boiled eggs/tomato and cucumber slices, shrimp, squid (of varying sizes-see picture), beef, French fries, soup, greens, rice and watermelon for dessert. Plate after plate kept coming. We knew when we saw the rice, we were near the end, but there were 9 different dishes in all.

After lunch we had our “siesta” time for everyone to rest and take a nap. I played cards for a while and then went to read a book. We met at 3:30 to go for a “walk along the beach.” What is said and what is meant are not always the same. We actually went swimming. There was a long pier with a floating dock off the end. There were 5-6 of us who didn’t swim, but most of the American Teachers did.

When we went back to the hotel for dinner, we were at 2 different tables. All the Americans at one, being served a version of “spaghetti” (actually noodles with butter and garlic) and the Vietnamese having fresh seafood. It was definitely a situation of the local food looking better than the “American” food. In the evening we took a van/taxi to the “Dolphin” show. Actually, it was folk dance, folk music, then sea lions and a beluga whale. Some of the Vietnamese teachers stayed for “water music” which was like a musical fountain. We were all ready for bed by the time we got home and everyone said they slept well. The American teachers are on thin mattresses on wood at the school, so a bed (even an extremely HARD bed) was far more comfortable for them.