High rises, Marriotts and Sheratons and a 6 km beach on the China Sea coast are the calling cards of Nha Tràng.  Because it is popular with Russians during the winter, you see too much sunburned skin.  To the west of the city lies a beautiful river valley with rice fields giving way to the Highlands. Very picturesque.  We take scooters (as passengers) 30 minutes to the west of the city weaving through narrow streets and markets, stopping to buy produce for our dinner.  We stopped at at rice paddy to walk along the irrigation ditch and I wind up on my backside!  Lots of fun though and we went into a small village that farms and makes baskets and chopsticks out of bamboo.  We raise a glass (sort of a mojito) with the chief of the village.  He talked about the the Vietnam war and his time in a re-education camp.  Meanwhile the ladies are cooking in the kitchen and we join them to prepare the vegetables and learn to fry in the wok using long chopsticks.  The next day on the way to the highlands we stop to watch the rice harvest. Fun stop off.

Just 30 minutes south of Danang is the beautiful riverside city of Hoi An known as the “lantern city”, they hang everywhere, across streets, on the fronts and backs of houses, in restaurants and bars and hotels and on fishing boats or just floating down the river. Hoi An is also a World Heritage site because of the architecture of some houses that have been preserved in this ancient merchant and trading city made up of Chinese and Japanese and Vietnamese peoples. Remnants of the Cham people are found including nearby ruins of My Son.

West of Hoi An lies the ruins from the village of the Champa Kings who were in power from the 4th to the 13th century.  The remaining structures are more than 1000 yrs old and reveal a culture with some Indian and Buddhist influences.

The young man on the right plays a double reeded instrument that was passed down from his tribe and he can play a single note for what seems like forever.

We stopped at a vegetable farm and watched and listened to a chef speak about their farming methods.  First of all the land is owned by the communist government (formerly owned by people) and they sell the “right” to farm to these people.  More productive farmers receive more land to farm.  Prices for the crop are set by the government.  It is not sustainable so most farmers have jobs in the cities as this chef does with his cooking classes.  They were raising herbs, (lemongrass, cilantro, basil) and vegetables like lettuce, eggplant, onions, beans, and celery.  They fertilize with seaweed and animal waste. The soil seems to be the perfect mix of sand and loam. They water with sprinklers and by hand daily and their growing season is 12 months. It is labor intensive… all by hand.  Extra money could be made by inaccurate reporting to the government.  Some call this modified communism and it always helps have a party member in the family. Many ingenious ideas… fish in the water trough to eat mosquitoes….green plants that are thinned are immediately rolled under to compost them.

As we travel south through the central highlands I am reminded of my prior trip to Vietnam on behalf of Friendship Bridge, a nonprofit in Denver, Colorado set up by American Army physicians serving in the war. We were part of a medical mission that travels regularly to Vietnam for medical education. We worked in the operating rooms and gave lectures in both Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi in 1995. At that time the US did not have a diplomatic relationship with Vietnam. We could not use credit cards, only cash and our supplies were subject to whimsical taxes everywhere. It was a life changing trip. I remember listening to these veterans talk about the war and eating French fries with them and drinking 333 (bababa) beer on China Beach that still looked like a moonscape after deforestation from the war. We also drive by Marble Mountain, site of a hidden Vietnam Cong hospital right near the American base in Danang. My uncle helped develop listening devices that were dropped along the Ho Chi Minh Trail to detect troop movements (before GPS). This trail is all along the road we travel now through fishing villages and high rises along China Beach and the bustling city of Danang.

Interestingly, China’s Forbidden City’s architect was Vietnamese.  This is reflected in the Imperial City of Hue’s citadel.  Surrounded by a moat and wall, the newly constructed (1804-1833) Royal residence  begs for photo ops.  Another site that brings in Americans and others is the home of the monk Thich Quang Duc whose self-immolation in 1963 made world news. We rode in a dragon boat up the Perfume River to the pagoda. He was  protesting the policies of South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem. Oddly the monks have this 🚙 shown in the photo.  I find the Vietnam war bits and pieces around the country disturbing and prone to propaganda.

MEDITATION DINNER

One of the most interesting activities we have done on this trip was to take part in a meditation dinner at a Buddhist nunnery. The nuns (who shave their heads) prepared our dinner. We sat down to a silent vegetarian meal and listened to the nuns’ evening chanting for 45 minutes. Some gongs and drumming but mainly rhythmic melodic chanting. After a nun dressed in light blue answered questions. Their ages range from 5-75, they rise at 3:45 am and chant four times a day and dwell on internal peace and understanding suffering. The nun who sat with her feet crossed under her was serene, young and beautiful. She had 3 shaved dots on the top of her head signifying advanced studies. No pictures allowed.

Legend has it that Halong Bay was created in the 13th century when the Mongols invaded Vietnam.  The King of Heaven sent  mother dragon and and a baby dragon to defend Vietnam.  The dragon spewed fire and jewels making a wall to keep the Asian hordes out of Halong Bay.  After defeating them the wall became the limestone in the more than 1900 islands from Haiphong to Quang Ninh Provence. This Unesco World Heritage site has been discovered but is a feast for the senses.  Junks ply the waters offering overnight gourmet dinner cruises and cave explorations. Halong Bay is the number one tourist destination in Northern Vietnam.

Tet Nguyen Dan translates literally to “the first morning of the first day of the new year.” This day varies by the year but is always in either January or February. The Vietnamese consider Tet to be their most important holiday. We arrive on the day before New Years Eve.  The Hanoi airport is packed with families waiting for their loved ones to arrive.  It is the custom to go home for this holiday.  We don our masks and wear them on the plane and airport to decrease the risk of the new coronavirus from China.  The Vietnamese teacher who is my seat-mate is excited to see her family. Vietnam feels different than Thailand immediately, more motorcycles, more horns more people in small shops eating and shopping together.  I like it!

Tet is a time for paying tribute to ancestors. Each day for the duration of the week of New Year, offerings are placed on the household altar and incense is burned in memory of the departed.

Locals purchase cherry blossoms and kumquat trees and place them around the house, these plants are iconic in Tet folklore, symbolizing prosperity and health.

After our arrival we join the cacophony of people and motorcycles and make our way to a generations old coffee shop that makes “egg coffee”. Better than Vietnamese coffee even, they serve expresso strong coffee with egg yolk whipped with sugar on the top! Super! We sit in tiny seats 10 inches off the ground. The coffee is served in a small bowl of hot water to keep it warm!

WATER PUPPETS

Dating back centuries is the art of water puppetry for which northern Vietnam is well known.  Hanoi’s famous Thang Long Water Puppet Theater houses a show that is not to be missed.  We got to go behind the scenes to visit a water puppet artist and see his studio and small theater.  The puppets are made of a light wood and are lacquered and foiled with several layers and take up to a month to make just one.  Hint: The dragons spew water at the audience.  This puppet master’s family has been creating these beauties for generations.

It’s nothing but New Years here… shopping for food, decorations and of course making sure you have envelopes for “happy money” for the children for good luck! Don’t forget the chicken with a crown for lunch and sticky rice with mung bean paste in the middle.

Mostly this is a holiday like anywhere else in the world… you spend it with family.

In the north of Thailand lies a beautiful province Chiang Rai. It’s capital is a smaller city with lots of charm. Round lanterns bedecked the streets in preparation for the Chinese New Year and the city just glowed.

Outside of Chiang Rai there is a shiny white and silver temple, Wat Rong Khun that is being built by a Thai artist, Chalermchai Kositpipat, (a 50 yr project) and already attracts huge crowds to help pay for it.  Part Salvador Dali part Vegas, it is garish and is intended to show the path from living a bad life to a good life. Small ornaments can be purchased to obtain good karma.  No pics allowed inside and strict surveillance is employed. Not sure how I felt about it….

The Golden Triangle is north of Chiang Raiand is actually the border between Thailand, Myanmar and Laos through which flows the Mekong River. This mighty river originates in Tibet, and flows through China, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam into the South China Sea.  If you want to take a “slow boat to China” it takes about 2 days traveling north.  This area has been home to the opium trade for centuries and still is today with poppy fields hidden in the jungle.  It is thought that opium originated around the Mediterranean and was brought to China and India by Alexander the Great. Britain later capitalized on trading tea for opium leading to the opium wars.  These Chinese growers probably brought the cultivation of poppies to the Golden Triangle.

Near this area lies the Doi Tung Royal Villa that was constructed in the late 20th century under the order of Princess Srinagarindra.  It is believed that besides serving as a home for the princess, Doi Tung’s purpose was to dissuade the nearby hill tribes from growing opium.  The garden is gorgeous. Worthy of your time.

Chiang Mai (new city) was found in 1296 A.D., 720 years ago By King Meng Rai, as the capital of the first independent Tai State “Lanna” (Kingdom of One Million Rice Fields). It lies in the northern province of the same name. It seems smaller and more manageable than Bangkok with a very walkable old city. We enjoyed the shopping and temple sightings and also discovered the surrounding northern area with hiking trails, hill tribes and elephant sanctuaries.

A controversial tribe to visit is the “long neck” Karen tribe. Two decades ago, an intensifying civil war between Karenni separatists and the Burmese army caused Kayar residents to flee Myanmar. Thailand granted the Kayan temporary stay under “conflict refugee” status. Some of these “misplaced people” have set up a tourist camp to make money. They have a custom of wearing long brass coils around the girls’ necks starting as young as 5 yrs of age. Is this exploitation or what? You decide.

This girl is 17 yrs old, no longer attends school, is single and has a stall selling handmade scarves and carvings in the tourist camp. She started wearing the coiled brass necklace when she was 5 yrs old and has had it off only twice since then. Admitting that it was heavy in the beginning, she chooses to wear it.

The elephant has been a contributor to Thai society and its icon for many centuries. The elephant found in Thailand is the Indian elephant, a subspecies of the Asian elephant. The Thai sacred and royal symbol was the white elephant. They are not albinos but are genetically different. White elephants are not white, they are a dusky pinkish grey. Through time elephants have been used in jungle work (teak trade) and in wartime such as in Thailand as profiled in the book “Elephant Company” by Vicki Croke.  Today they are an endangered species. There are only about 4000 elephants left in captivity in Thailand and perhaps 1000 in the wild.  A short distance from the long neck village is an elephant preserve where we learned about elephants, fed elephants and bathed them in the river.  In turn they sprayed us with water.  It was so much fun. The mahouts (lifetime caregivers) were superb and control them mostly with voice commands. All of Thailand and all travelers seem to love 🐘🐘🐘.  Elephant pants, shirts, t-shirts, bags, statues and jewelry are everywhere.

Don’t miss the markets in Thailand and Chiang Mai’s Sunday market is the best.

We learned from a “master” monk today.  He seemed to be in his 30’s; was charming, educated, smart, clad in orange robes with a great sense of humor and a cell phone at his side (checking the timer often). He taught us how to bow to a monk, parents and a master. Next he demonstrated wrapping his robes for going out of the temple (no shoulders showing), in the temple (right shoulder showing) and for formal occasions. This robe is an orange rectangle about 8×5 ft with a belt 1×8 ft.  The cloth is left from burial shrouds and sewn together in squares and rectangles to resemble rice paddies.  He has three of these.  Thailand has only male monks and female nuns.  Most boys become monks for a short period of time and that is one of the best ways to educate children at no cost to families.  The most important thing for a Buddhist is to do no wrong, do good and have a clean mind. He emphasized that intention is critical.  Monks rise at 4:30 am, chant, meditate, and collect alms for breaking their fast. Next they go into the community for service from 8-5 pm, eat, chant, meditate and retire. Very impressive young man.

A UNESCO World Heritage City, Sukhothai houses a vast number of historical sites and temple ruins. As the first capital of Siam, the Sukhothai Kingdom (1238 – 1438) was the cradle of Thai civilisation – the birthplace of Thai art, architecture and language. ‘Sukhothai’ means ‘the dawn of happiness’, and the kingdom did enjoy an extended period of peace and prosperity until it was annexed by the Ayutthaya Kingdom.

Buddhism is a way of life, we are told, not a religion.  Every Buddhist believes in reincarnation, karma and Buddha.     The core beliefs of Buddhism are harder to understand and they are personal: see suffering, what is the cause of suffering, understand suffering and the way to get rid of suffering are the four stages.  For example: Recognize you are suffering. It is because you are sad.  You are sad because you have lost someone.  Accept that it is part of your life’s cycle. This was explained to me by our guide, Are, who became a monk for a short period of time when he was 25 yrs old.  Thais may do these short intervals as monks 3 times in their lives.

We headed for the the local market the next morning to purchase food to give to the monks. They are not allowed to cook so they rely on alms giving Buddhists to bring them food.

Well this usually means food for me and the rest my mates. The best was sticky rice cooked with coconut milk and flavorings inside bamboo tubes and roasted over the fire for three hrs. Flavors… brown rice with black beans, black beans, egg custard, and pumpkin…. very sweet and delicious! Not so delicious… grilled rat ( I was weak and did not try it). The most adventurous of us, Diane, had our guide procure some for lunch…tastes like chicken! Haha