Lia's Birthday and Friends in Manson

It seems impossible that Lia could already be 15 years old - the years go by so quickly. Doug and Grandma Jan had just returned from SE Asia and were included in a wonderful celebration in Manson.

Doug loves cooking and was invited to participate in preparing the meal. Lia's Aunt Elba is reported to be among the best tamale cooks but all the women are amazing cooks. Aunt Norma was the hostess and Mama Mia Maria certainly added to the cooking festivities. Making good tamales is a long but worthy process. We worked most of the days and made more than could be eaten for a party. Doug and I were gifted with the extras! Thank you very much - we have enjoyed them very much.

The next cooking lesson was Mexican Rice. Norma and Doug did a wonderful job. Then out came the condiments - green tomatillo salsa, roasted green tomatillo salsa, red salsa, Mexican Sour Cream. It was a feast to behold for Lia's birthday. Dessert was a choco flan which is a flan cake. Nothing that we had eaten before and it was delicious.

We will finish Lia's birthday celebration with a trip to the coast over spring break to look at a few colleges and spend some time together. That will be fun! The next morning we had brunch at dear friends Kathryn and Bob's house with our Manson friends Kristina and Fred and Nicky and John. We missed Kathryn McD and remembered our dear friend Esther Stefaniw. Our last line dance piciture at Kathryn and Bob's wedding included both of them.

Life in the Slow Lane: Thailand

City weary and tired of pollution we arrived in Phuket, Thailand late in the evening. Our hotel was located in Phuket Town which is not near any beach and not far from all beaches. Thoroughly leery of Asian traffic, Doug's suggestion of renting a scooter was met with many persuasive counter offers. In the end Jan climbed on hoping that nephew Seth and Meghan had never been so foolish in their Thailand travels. For the first miles Jan buried her head in Doug's back and made bargains with God. By the end of the first day she became brave enough to peek over his shoulder only to recall that we were driving a scooter on the wrong side of the road in a country where they did not know the language. Fear again! But how Jan longed for a scooter with Doug driving rather than that Trang mini bus with a reincarnated kamikazi pilot at the wheel.

After several days in Phuket we decided to head for the remote more southern islands of Ko Kraden and Ko Phai. A couple of hours of travel by on a long boat brought us to the amazing paradise of Ko Kraden. Stunning turqoise seas with amazing karst formations teeming with tropical fish. There are no motorized vehicles on the islands hence no noise and no pollution. Luggage and supplies were transported in human powered carts.

For nearly two weeks we ate breakfast, stepped out of our room and headed for the coral reef located just offshore. We snorkled for five hours a day often towing a kyak with fresh water along with us. The snorkling was world class and we longed for an underwater camera. Our solution was to head to the Phuket Aquarium to identify and photograph some of the things we had seen - huge pink and turqoise parrot fish, lion fish, spotted moray eels and a stunning variety of angel fish. It was second only to the Great Barrier Reef and much more accessible.

Thai food is wonderful, the people are charming and honest and we are planning our next trip. On our last day I did a spa afternoon. I had a facial, a 90 minute massage, a 30 minute reflexology treatment and a 30 minute herbal compress. That treat was $27 US including a generous tip. Time to leave Thailand and head back to Singapore to meet up with Martie and Wayne who have been in Myanmar.

Then we head back to the Northwest. IS IT STILL RAINING THERE?

Good Morning, Vietnam

In Hanoi we pondered the wisdom of a 12 hour night bus to our next destination, Hoi An. When we realized that the flight was under $50 each, the bus trip went by the wayside and we caught a flight for DaNang and a minibus to Hoi An. Hoi An is a World Heritage Site not unlike Antigua, Guatemala which was abandoned due to earthquakes. Hoi An, a major trading center, in the 16th and 17th centuries is charming. Dutch, chines, Japanese and Indian Traders came for fairs that lasted four to six months. Hoi An is ringed with temples and Trading Houses for the powerful. It was left relatively untouched when the river silted in and trading ships could no longer enter the port. Frozen in time, Hoi An is a treasure for the curious.

Again looking at a 12 hour night bus ride coupled with a 5 hour ferry ride, we opted for a flight to Phu Quac for $50 per ticket. Phu Quac has an interesting history. It was used a prison by the French during colonization, the Japanese during WWII and by the Americans during the Vietnam War (or as the Vietnamese call it - the American War). It has limited infrastructure and beautiful beaches. There are no reefs and the off island snorkeling was not spectacular so long swims and an evening glass of wine on the beach was the ticket. A rather calm scooter rental due to little traffic. All in all a charming place filled with Vietnamese people trying to get ahead.


















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Saigon, as I will always remember it, is a charming city once you get past the pushiness and greed. Our first altercation was coming in from the airport when the taxi driver insisted the meter was in US $ rather than dong. Doug disagreed. Things mostly got better from that point with the exception of the market mafia (more later). By the second night we had found a charming hotel with extremely helpful staff. We were amazed at the price of $22 US which included both lunch and dinner. Both meals were fine and we enjoyed eating with the staff at the evening meal. If you are headed for HCMC try the DUC VUONG Hotel on Bui Bien St. and ask for room 825. There is a lovely terrace where we played crib in the evening and escaped the bustle of the city.

We went to the market one morning and Doug was looking at T shirts when the woman told him that she had more colors and sizes inside. We browsed for a moment and found our exit blocked by two lovely young women who insisted that we were barred from leaving until we purchased something. When we tried to leave they pushed us back in. Doug bought no T shirts from that stall.
Thailand is calling and we leave for Phuket tomorrow. This time our flight is only $30 and the alternatives are frightening. Soon from Thailand.

Vietnam: Hanoi

HECTIC IN HANOI

Vietnam has changed since Jan last visited in 2003. It has become a beehive of commercial venture and although it will never lose its charm, it did seem a bit hectic in Hanoi. There are many more cars and scooters and fewer bicycles. The traffic is truly frightening.

We stayed in a wonderful hotel in the old section of Hanoi that provided respite from the pace of the city. The service was charming and we ate delicious pho each morning for breakfast.

The old quarter of Hanoi is more than 1000 years old and is a maze of crooked and twisting streets that baffle most tourists but not Mr. Doug. He rented a pedal taxi for an hour and a half and armed with a map, he had a clear understanding of Hanoi which is organized by wares. There is a flower street, a holiday street, an electric motor street, a silk street and on. By the time we had been in Hanoi a day, he had the Old quarter figured out. It is a maze of activity and amazing sights.

Doug and I have fewer fashion consultants than those of you who have more children but we do have Shari, Doug's lovely daughter. Periodically she buys him fashionable clothing and comments on this engineer glasses that he has worn and replaced with identical frames for the last 25 years. The clothing was not a priority but Doug spent millions (of dong) updating our glasses. It is quite economical to do so, we spent about $100 for glasses that the frames alone would have been triple that in the states. The quality was excellent. Shari may wish to continue with her advice on clothing. We just aren't there yet.

Good and Evil in Land of Bali

Being Hindu in the most populous Islamic nation on earth has seemed to provide definition to the culture of Bali. The forces of good and evil abide in every nook and cranny. Evil is a real force that must be dealt with seriously through various forms of worship. The Kris Dance which is an ancient dance tells the tale of evil befalling the various servants of the king. The mischevious monkey and his friend, the Tiger are watchers of the drama. The evil Warong is a shape shifter and a force to be reckoned with. It is only the goodness of those who battle and their great courage and strength that gives the tale a positive ending. However, it is clear that the victory is that of a battle and the war of good and evil will continue forever.

________The gregarious engineer can not help but make friends as he travels. He agreed to exchange emails with a young Muslim man from Lombok to assist him with his English and met a Balinese policeman traveling from his job in Lombok to a celebration at his temple in Bali. Of course, we were given details and invited to join the festivities. We spent several hours in awe of the majesty of the rituals. All the worshippers were welcoming and delighted with our photography. The little girls were particularly fun racing to see their images on the camera. Although there was much joyousness in the celebration it was apparent that the matters at hand were very serious.




Our last stop on that day was to a village that practices an ancient form of Hindu not practiced anywhere else. Until recent times the village was only visited by anthropologist and persons interested in the unusual double ikat weaving done in this village. Times do change and now for a few pennies an elder will guide you through the village and tell you a little about the culture. The bride and groom were just married in this village and we received a brief history of the purification rituals. Interestingly, the main form of entertainment is cock fighting. We were given a restrained demonstration with two long legged and fierce roosters who were most anxious to rip one another. It was very interesting but less so when our taxi driver told us his father lost all of the family land in a single cock fight.

From Bali

Bali differs substantially from the rest of Indonesia. It is predominantly Hindu with a decided Balinese twist. Life seems to be a tryst between good and evil forces which can be mediated by placating the gods. Offerings designed to produce good are deposited everywhere...small baskets with fruits and flowers, joss sticks and other prayers.

Natural disasters such as the 1963 volcanic eruption are deemed to be produced by failure to appease the gods properly. Much of life is dedicated to averting evil.

The young man is wearing a white headscarf which tells us he is going to temple to carry forward the serious business of life. Balinese religion infused into every aspect of Balinese existence and can not be viewed as a separate part of Balinese life.

Balinese food and drink is wonderful. We sought out traditional dishes (which is not always easy), sampled several types of beers and wandered through temples in proper garb.

Snorkeling was very good in several areas prior to the tumultuous seas that accompany the full moon and cause an underwater sandstorm and impenetrable waves.

Martie and Wayne met us in Amed and we spent two fun days together sampling the cuisine and exploring.

Laidback in Lombok

********************************************We heard that Indonesian taxi drivers are intent upon converting non believers to Islam and our trip to Sengiggi, Lombok was a case in point. Exhausted after a long day of travel we embarked on the taxi ride of our lives. Jan spent the entire trip huddled in the back seat with her eyes closed whimpering while Doug tried to mediate the situation from the front seat. The rain poured as only it can do in Indonesia but the darkness did not obscure the near misses with motorcycles, other cars and small horse drawn carts without lights. There is a rumor in the part of the world that lights increase fuel consumption and many are thrifty. Despite the best efforts of the driver, we arrived safely in Sengiggi and Jan recovred in short few hours.
The morning brought us an Indonesian breakfast of spicy fried rice with a side of vegtables and we spent the day in recuperation by the pool with massages ($8.00) and a leisurely walks in the nearby village. Indonesia (with the exception of Bali) is predominantly Muslim but the people on Lombok are less conservative than other areas. Women can chose whether they wear the headscarf and many do not. There did not seem an air of tension between the dominant Muslims, the Balinese Hindus and few Buddhists. The children were playful and happy and all people were courteous, helpful and honest. The fruits in Lombok are delicious and some are unlike anything that we had eaten before. New to us were ranbutan (lychee) and mangosteen. Each day we eat pineapple, mango, papaya, watermelon and what ever we can try that is new to us. We have not been disappointed.

We spend one day traveling to the central area of Lombok which is nearly devoid of tourists. There was not a single hotel in the day's travel. Our driver, who spoke excellent English, was delighted as he pointed out the various "Lombok tractors" that we photographed. Doug and I did a trek to a falls got caught in a rainstorm and learned that banana leaves do make a nice umbrella in a pinch.
Some premier diving is found on the Gilli Islands off Lombok. We hired a boat to go to the Gilli Islands which are about a 2 hour boat trip. The diving conditions were not perfect but the diving was spectacular. We saw six turtles, beautiful angel fish, parrot fish, blue tetrans and about a 100 different types that we could not identify. Our trip included the boat, captain, a guide who snorkled with us to make sure we did not get into trouble and lunch for about $60 US.

Next we head to Bali which is a different Indonesia where the people are predominantly a variety of Hindu.