Spell of the Wild

29 March

Xian is a beautiful city of about 3 million. At it’s center is the old walled city. The wall is huge, about 80 feet wide on the top and even wider at its base. It is a huge square over two miles on each side and there are four large main gates at each cardinal direction.

We are met by Angela who will be our guide for the next few days. First on everyone’s list is to check into the hotel and get a shower. The Meihua-Goldentang is a very nice hotel and it is near the center of the “old city”. After breakfast, we tour Xian and in the afternoon ride bikes around the top of the old wall; everyone seemed to enjoy riding at their own pace, it was fun. In the evening we had a sort of Chinese Dinner Theater; a meal followed by a “light opera”.

———————————

We arrive in Xian at 7:45 and are able to go to our hotel for breakfast and a wash up. We head out to the museum of Shaanxi province and it contains some of the original terra cotta warrious. Xian was an important capital for several dynasties – most particularly the Tang. After the museum we had a Chinese lunch, then went to the wall around the old city of Xian. We biked it (9 miles). The original walls encompassed 30 square miles of Xian in the Tang dynasty. Xian was the eastern origin of the Silk Road which was so important in the 13th to the 15th centuries that people from around the world came here to set up trading stations including Arabic Muslims. Xian is home to a fairly large number of Chinese Muslims today.
Fran

30 March

It is 5:30am and I’m wide awake. Seems like a good time to go for a run on the old city wall. It is cool and I get some stares since I’m in running shorts and a tee-shirt. The top of the wall doesn’t open until 8am so I run around the base of it in a wonderful linear park. There are hundreds of mini-exercise areas and all are filled. It is barely daylight and thousands of Chinese, mostly older, are out for some type of exercise. Some are playing ping-pong or badminton, many are walking and there are dozens and dozens of Tai-Chi groups, most of these have recorded music, but sometimes one or more of them is chanting and one group had a guy playing a flute. Especially different, four old men at different places were going through a slow drill using old military swords. One of the men, maybe in his mid-eighties, was wearing an old Chinese Army hat with the red star front and center. He gave me a quick but penetrating glance. I gave him a hand salute and he immediately came to attention. Then he brought his sword to the center of his body with the point straight up, returning my salute. He was kind of hunched over, but looked straight ahead without expression. I ran on, wondering what stories this old soldier could tell; was he in Mao’s Army, had he fought against the Japanese invasion, in the 30’s and 40’s or maybe against the Nationalist Chinese. If only I could communicate with him.

Today will be special. We are going to visit the museum and excavation site of the Terra-Cotta Warriors. This is one of the highlights of our entire trip and we have all been looking forward to it. The Chinese in this area call it the “Eighth Wonder of the World”.

About an hour’s drive from Xian we pass the Mausaleum, then, a few hundred meters away is the site of the Terra-Cotta Warriors. It consists of many large buildings which preserve the excavation area and display the thousands of treasures found there. Site one has hundreds of the, larger than life, warriors standing in long columns. I estimated about 600 in one formation. To date, they have excavated about 7,000 warriors and horses. Most were broken and had to be “reassembled”. It is thought that the emperor, had 700,000 people work for 38 years to have this pottery army protect him in the after-life. Every warrior is a bit different and they reflect all ranks and specialties such as infantry, cavalry, archers, etc. Oddly enough, Chi’s son inherited the throne and he had all the experts killed to preserve the secrets they had discovered. They had learned to make mercury and chrome 3,000 years before the rest of the world figured it out. Additonally, about one year after the father’s death, one of the generals led a revolt, crushed the son’s followers and declared himself the new emperor. There was such rage and resentment that the uprising forces broke into the tomb of the father, breaking and burning 37 years of work.

Fast forward now to 1974, a poor Chinese farmer is digging a well on his property and uncovered a terra-cotta soldier’s head. He was only given 30 Yuan (now that is worth about $2, probably more in 1974). The farmer continued to live in obscurity until President and Mrs Clinton visited. Before the visit to the excavation site, the President asked if he could meet the farmer. Government officials found him and gave him a “crash course” in English. He learned to say “How are you” then he would wait for a response and say “Me too” thinking that would suffice when the President said “I’m fine and you?”. But, the farmer got a little confused and when he spoke to the President he said “Who are you?” Surprised, Clinton said “What?” and the farmer repeated, “Who are you”. Clinton said, “I’m Hillary’s husband” and the farmer replys, “Me too”. Of course this made world news and the farmer became a local hero. He now signs books and pictures of the warriors and has made enough to live well and donate to a local charity.

Angela gets us to the train station in time for the 8:16pm departure. Having had no dinner and not wanting to trust our fate to the train, we check-in and some of our group watch the baggage while others get “take-out” from the McDonalds across the street from the station. All seemed to appreciate this diversion. The train is great, our compartments are clean and comfortable. We still have 4 berth compartments, but they are so much nicer than our last train that most are pleased. This train is even smoother, I sleep well.

———————————

Today we get to see the terracotta warriors. There are more than 8000 figures; somewhere between 6 and 7000 have been unearthed. They are a bit larger than life-sized (for that time), and they were all vividly painted, although after exposure to the atmosphere the paint quickly faded to the point that we really wouldn’t know they ever were. Some of the figures which have been removed to a museum are being repainted to show the original colors. What surprised me was the huge buildings built over the pits to protect the excavation pits. The work to resotre this place is amazing. This has truly been a high light of the trip. Fran

We pack our bags, have breakfast and load on buses for a tour of the Three Gorges Dam. The dam is impressive but the tour was disappointing. We were able to view it from a distance but we were not taken into the dam, we didn’t see any of the generators or other machinery, we didn’t even cross on the dam.

Back at the boat we place our luggage in the hall. It will all be moved to the lobby for our departure after lunch. We say good-bye to the friends we have made these past few days: our table-mates Judy and Karen, Sara and Johnny, a young couple from Sweden, Jen and her Mom from Clermont, Florida and, of course, the superb staff. Our waitresses, Cherry and Joy have helped us all gain a few pounds plus the bartenders Jack, Art, Tom and others were great. We also have received a lot of personal attention from Luther and Shirley who gave several lectures and classes.

As we leave the boat we are met by “Coffee”, our interim guide. All our gear is loaded on a bus and he gives us a brief tour of Yichang, a city of over one million. Coffee walks us through the train station and to our rail car. It is immediately obvious this operation is not “customer oriented: luggage has to be dragged over tracks with concrete stairs and no side ramp, the aisle of our compartments are filthy and reek of stale smoke. Betty is not a happy camper. It is not so much that she personally is uncomfortable, but since she made all the trip arrangements she feels responsible for insuring that all of us are well cared for, plus she thought she had arranged for us to have only two per compartment now we are told that they have only 4 berth compartments. Oh well, we will spend the night and get into Xian (pronounced – she-ahn).

—————————

After leaving our great cruise and its attentive staff, this day turns into a study of contrasts. Mr. Coffee is our guide – he’s a bit odd. He takes us to the dam in Yichang which was something of a practice project for the Three Gorges Dam. It does look quite similar – only smaller. It creates enough power for the entire province of Hubei. We stop at an Embroidered Art place. I picked up a red silk tunic. We boarded the train where we find disappointing accomodations – but this is a trek, and not everything can be known about in advance. Up to now we have been more than happy with our accomodations. Fran

We were underway all night. At 6:45 this morning we passed through the first of Three Gorges. The river, which is about 1/2 mile wide, narrows to about 300 feet wide with high vertical walls on each side.

Soon after breakfast, we board smaller boats to go up a tributary and finally we get into a sampan. Each time, the river narrows making the walls seem even higher.

Still farther down the Yangtze from us is the Three Gorges Dam. It is the world’s largest dam and hydro-electric power generating plant. It took 17 years to build and is being completed this year. Actually, the damming of the water was completed in 2003. Over 1 1/2 million people had to be relocated, 13 cities, 140 towns and over 1300 villages were submerged. The major work still to be done includes the ship-lift, one of the power stations and some new bridges. We are now floating on water that is about 200 feet higher than before the dam was built.

After dinner, the crew put together a cabaret show. Many of them were dressed in fancy traditional costumes dancing or singing. One of the acts was the “Changing Mask”, a secretive act by one guy who changes face masks so quickly no one can see how he does it. It was really good! As the show ended, our boat approached the locks that will get us through the Three Gorges Dam. The locks have five chambers and it takes about 40 minutes to go through each chamber. We are lowered nearly 200 feet. Five barges are lowered with us.

As on the night we arrived, our little group helped close the bar. Actually, this evening all the guys left that dubious honor to the women.

—————————-

We awake at 6:30 to see the “Gate to the Three Gorges” – IMPRESSIVE! At 8:30 we take a smaller boat to sail up one of the tributaries to see the lesser gorges. We see many relocated villages due to the rising level of the river as much as 100 -150 meters. We also see the hanging coffins of the Ba people. The Ba are now gone as are most of the coffins, but we could still see two. It is a mystery as yet as to how the people got them up the cliffs — and why. We passed a boat of local people who were singing their local folk songs – eerie and lovely at the same time. The river guides on our small boats also donned the local garb and strutted their stuff on the front of our boats – that was cool (and fun). We return to cruise ship a bit chilled and we are greeted with warm towels and a glass of warm coke with ginger – a very nice touch – then lunch and more presentations. Fran

Our cruise down the Yangtze River will take four days and three nights. We will go about 450 miles from near Chongquing to Yichang, China. The Yangtze is the third longest river in the world; 3964 miles. They claim that it is the largest river system with over 700 tributaries. The Yangtze Valley is home to 1/3 of China’s population which is 1/12 of the world population.

In the afternoon, we stop for a few hours at the city of Feng Du, the Ghost City. A chair-lift takes visitors up a mountain which overlooks the city. Several temples and a pagoda are on top. A local guide instructs us in how and where to walk so that we don’t have any ghost encounters.

The food on board is great and the entire staff is helpful and very friendly.

———————————-

Cruising down the Yangtze, on a Sunday afternoon — oh, yeah I’m not sure it is Sunday but —- We listen to a variety of programs available on the ship – facts about the Yangtze and the Three Gorges Dam project, Chinese language lessons, how to select and care for pearls, kite making and flying, silk embroidery, painting inside glass containers, etc. Some of us get hair cuts, pedicures, and manicures. In the afternoon we visit Feng Du – the ghost city where there is a temple to the God of Hell. After we return to the ship, we prepare for the captain’s welcome party. The party begins with complementary champagne and appetizers. Then we have a meal served individualy to our table. For dessert we have birthday cake and all guests with a birthday in March are recognized (me, Linda, and Charlotte made the list). After supper we are entertained with a neat fashion show of costumes of the Chinese through the ages. If this is cruising, I think I could get used to it!!! Fran

25 March: Rise and shine, pack and be in the lobby with our luggage by 7:45am. Vivian gives us lots of last minute advice on our way to the Guilin Airport. She gets a little misty eyed as we all say good-bye. We all have gotten to know her and really like her; she is almost like part of our group.

It has become a routine within our group that we collect a few dollars (or Yuan, or Dong) from each member to pass along to our guide and our driver. Fran volunteered to manage this task. She gets a feel from the group to determine an amount, then divides it by 8 and collects from each of us. Now, as we approach the airport, Fran gets the attention of everyone and tells Vivian and Li, the driver, how much we appreciate their efforts and she hands each of them an envelope. We have rounds of applause and it is time to drag our bags through the airport. Vivian sticks with us as we check in and have our bags weighed and x-rayed. It seems that the collective weight of our checked baggage increases everytime we weigh. This time we are 30 kilos overweight. We pass the hat and come up with the 330 Yuan (about $47).

Upon arrival in Chongquing, we are met by Dan, our new tour guide. He is a high energy young guy (27, I think). We load onto yet another nice bus and our first stop is a beautiful, modern restaurant. We are seated at a large round table in a small private room on the second floor. Typically Chinese, there is a huge lazy-susan in the middle of the table. Family style, large dishes of many different vegetables and meats are placed on this and it is rotated as each person helps themselves.

In the afternoon, we tour the city with stops at the zoo and at the “Flying Tiger Museum” then on to the dock to board our cruise boat. The main attractions at the zoo are the Pandas. They have seven, we are able to see six of them. Most were eating bamboo, but some were sleeping. The first one we saw was 2 year old Er Shun and later we saw mother, Ling Ling. Each panda has its own indoor pen connected to a larger outdoor feeding and exercise area. The Flying Tigers, American Volunteer Group (AVG), was formed and headquartered here in August 1941. These american aviators helped the struggling Chinese Air Force against the Japanese. Their primary mission was to fly transport aircraft across the Himalayas from India to China; “flying the hump”. The Chinese are still very grateful to the U.S. for helping them in a time of need.

We board the “Victoria Cruises” a luxury cruise boat which is fully booked with 206 passengers. For some reason they have upgraded our group’s cabins. Each of our roomy, corner cabins have picture windows on two sides and private heads (bathrooms). Arriving a few hours early, we claim the bar as “ours” and are soon on a first name basis with all the bartenders. Later in the evening Fran leads us in
Russian dance practice. Since we already seem to own this select area of the ship, we feel obligated to help them close.

Oh yes, as we boarded, we were asked the name of our group and thinking of the name Michael gave our website we are now known as the Oriental Express.

——————————-

Today we fly to Chongquin. This city, like Washington D.C., has its own independent government. As such it is the largest city in the world BECAUSE it has absorbed the people moved by the construction of the Three Gorges Dam. People of Chongquin feel a close relationship with America because General Stillwell came here to advise Chinese Flying Tigers who battled Japan in WWII. During WWII the Chinese capital moved from Nanjing here to Chongquin.
We went to the Chonquin Zoo to see the pandas, also mandarin ducks – many beautiful birds, and monkeys. We also visited the Flying Tigers Museum where we got a demonstration of Chinese painting and caligraphy. It seemed like an odd combination – a military museum paired up with an art gallery, but I guess the American tourist make likely customers for the gallery.
On to the Victoria Star Cruise where we fairly quickly located the bar. Here Betty and I gave Jen and Linda a hard time about their luck in getting the best accomodations. We let them believe they got the upgraded suites and we didn’t. It was fun while it lasted. As we gave thought to the future stops on our trip, I thought practicing our Russian dancing was in order. Fortunately Linda and Jerry joined me which helped me look a little less like a lone berserker. Fran

24 March: We meet in the hotel lobby for the days activities: cruise down the Li River and bike ride in the little village and country side. A lady at the front desk tells our guide that some missing laundry was delivered to the hotel desk during the night. Hey, it’s my orange t-shirt.

OK, a 40 min bus ride and we load on a tour boat with about 60 other folks. The scenery is spectacular. Karst projections at every turn and along both sides of the river. We took lots of pictures; some of the karst, also of water buffalo, vendors on bamboo rafts and the galley crew squatting to wash our dishes on the aft deck with a hose. World class scenery and cheap beer; great fun.

We get off the boat about 60 miles downstream, walk through a very busy market and stop at a bike shop where our guide has arranged a bike for each of us. First we ride through the town; our first chance to really play in all this exciting traffic. Soon we are riding through the country side on very narrow rock and dirt farm roads. Rice paddies on one side and orange groves on the other, gardens with lettuce, peas, beans, tomatoes and potatoes. A few water buffalo help with plowing but mostly it is hand work. Jerry stops and grabs a heavy hoe to help two women in a small field. All the time while biking, we are weaving around through huge karst projections; very special.

After returing the bikes, we find a small place to refresh with a couple of local beers then catch a small battery powered micro-van which takes us to a large parking lot where our larger bus is waiting to take us back to Guilin.

Both this town, Yangshoe, and the city of Guilin depend mostly on tourism so they encourage the use of battery powered vehicles to help reduce air pollution. A moped is the primary means of transportation and most of the mopeds are battery powered. Neither a personal drivers license nor a vehicle license tag is required for a battery powered moped.

We get back to Guilin a little late, about 7pm but we still have one more stop. Vivian, our guide has arranged for us to visit her headquarters. The main offices for the China Highlights Tour Company just happens to be in Guilin. During the past year Betty has been coordinating this trip with a lady named Sunny via email messages. Now they will finally meet.

We had a very warm reception. Sunny was especially interested in how each of us was enjoying the trip. She asked many questions concerning how they could improve their service. They are sincerely customer oriented. After some pictures, Betty and Sunny hugged and we were off to the hotel.

—————————–

Charlie, we sang “Happy Birthday to you on our Li River Cruise. You are 35. I don’t feel like I am old enough to have a 35 year old child.
Well, the cruise is incredible – the karst mountains jutting up on either bank. We are going to Yangshuo on the boat. Then renting bicycles for an hour or two, then back to Guilin on the bus. Our guide, Vivian, is making sure we don’t miss any of the sites as we cruise. The books say that many tourists consider this cruise the highlight of their visit to Guilin. Vivian and I agree the terraces were not outdone. But the Li River is really not to be missed! We get to Yangshou and hop on bikes for a couple of hours through the city and country side. The scenery was spectacular and we got to see the fields and orchards and small villages – one with a new business, “the Restaurant at the end of the Universe.” Water buffalo pictures were also available with the tourists! The roads are narrow and rocky, but obviously used for ages. Passed orange orchards, sweet olive orchards, pomelos, loquat, etc. and of course the ubiquitous rice paddies. One of the villages we passed through had a life expectancy of 82. Has to be at least partly because of the hard physical work they do. GREAT DAY! Spectacular scenery – good food – regular beer breaks – what else could you ask? Fran

23 March:
It is a 2 1/2 hour bus ride north from Guilin to the Longi area. This is a rural mountain area that is heavily terraced for rice paddies. The bus grinds uphill on a narrow serpentine road causing some gasps as those on the downhill side of the vehicle look straight down to the valley hundreds of feet below us. As the road gets even more treacherous, we stop and reload into a smaller van. Some of our group suspect that both drivers are deliberately trying to scare us; probably not. Finally, even the small van parks and we start walking. Charlotte really wanted to hike up to the high terracing but she has a bum knee and knew it would be unlikely that she could make it. The point where we started hiking has many vendors with tiny shops trying to sell post cards, conical hats and other trinkets. Viola, two guys have a reclining chair apparatus slung between two long bamboo poles. They’re offering to carry someone up the mountain. Charlotte quickly negotiates a price equivalent to 14 US dollars. Great! She will now be able to make it up the mountain with us. The hike to the top takes about an hour and the guys carrying the chair are ahead of us most of the way. Vivian, our guide, directed us to a neat little restaurant with a view (truly). After a wonderful lunch we had a leisurely hike back down the mountain, then the small van, the 2 1/2 hours in the bus and almost before we knew it we were back at the Bravo Hotel. However, just before arriving at the hotel, we stopped to pick up the laundry that we had left early this morning at a “Chinese laundry” on the street. When we dropped our dirty duds this am, I had a feeling that their system might be flawed when they marked each of the plastic bags we gave them with a ball point pen. Now, as we pick it up, it was one group price, plus they told us they had lost something, maybe some socks. Regardless of the numbers on our bags, the items inside were a complete surprise. Back at the hotel we all met in Steve and Jennifer’s room and laid out all the laundry on their bed. Each of us picked out what we recognized. Items that were unclaimed were held up and described as if in an auction until someone claimed ownership. This is not my first encounter with “Chinese laundry”, none have been in my favor. This time I was still missing an orange nylon T-shirt.

—————————

Warm and humid. We head for the Longsi Terraces. This area has been farmed for over 700 years by the Zhuang and Yao minority poeples. We climbed up into the mountains AFTER an adventurous bus ride in two legs. Our first bus was too big to make the second stretch. Road gets narrower and narrower until we reach a series of steps and paths leading through a small village toward the top. Charlotte – a real adventuress in modes of transportation – opts for the hand carried chair to go to the restaurant. The rest of us climb “the few steps.” At the restaurant, the view of the terraces is FABULOUS. Chuck, Jerry and Steve and I trek on to the top. Words escape me. How to describe a human accomplishment of sucvh natural beauty! I don’t really think it can be easily condensed into a few words. It is wonder – ful what people can accomplish in an effort to adapt to their surroundings.
Fran

21 March 2009 – Even with multiple interruptions, we managed to get a little sleep. At 6am we had a 2 1/2 hour stop at Nanning, China. We were escorted into a locked waiting room, at 7am we were told we could leave the room but must be back by 8am. Jerry, Steve and I went out looking for a place to change money into Chinese Yuan and for some coffee, finding neither, we asked several vendors for tea, still no luck. We wondered where “all the tea in China” was kept. Pointing to some pastries behind a counter, I offered a $5 US bill. It was reluctantly accepted. We got the pastries and a fist full of Chinese money. On the way back we found Betty and Charlotte trying their luck at a small kiosk. Then Fran arrived, saying that she had found an ATM to get Chinese Yuan. She led Jerry, Steve and I across an open mall and a parking lot to three ATM machines. The other guys got some Yuan, but I did not have our ATM card and I never use our credit card at ATM machines so I did not know the PIN number. Oh well, Steve, Jerry and Fran can buy the beer until I change money.

Back on the train, we watched the Chinese landscape unfold. Karst hills jutted up everywhere, much like Ha Long Bay without the water. Workers tended rice paddies, some with water buffalo but mostly with hand tools. The soil seemed red and dry and the people appeared to be quite poor. Mid-afternoon, we arrived in Guilin, a city of 650,000. Our guide, Vivian, welcomed us with a warm smile. At Hotel Bravo, our home for the next 4 days, we checked in and changed money. We had to change US dollars because they would not accept our Vietnamese money. Our group went to their rooms, unpacked and filtered down to the hotel bar; this is getting to be a routine. Also routine, is our group “toast” which started in Saigon. We count in the local language 1-2-3 then the local salute as we raise our glasses. In Vietnam it was “mo, hai, ba – YO”, in China it is “yi, er, san – GanBai”. Soon we were ready for dinner. Our guide had recommended a nearby Chinese restaurant, McFond. After a bit of searching, we enjoyed a great dinner.

———————————–
Boarded the train in Hanoi at 6(ish) and headed to the border at Da Dong. Our berth was not especially comfortable or clean, but we made do and got a couple of hours of shut eye before we had to change trains at Da Dong – which we did around midnight. Back on the train that will take us across the border and on to Guilin. Took a couple of hours to take care of all that what with passports, customs, moving baggage, etc. Settled in agin for more sleep. Up at 7:00 for all to debark for about an hour at Nanning. We got some RMB, bought some snacks, and jumped back on for the last leg. Another nap, then to the dining car. Going to have to practice up on my Chinese!
Landscape: Karst. Little fields surrounded with stone fences, tilled with hand held plows behind a water buffalo. Seems quite primitive in the country side. Vegetable gardens and rice paddies.
Fran
————————————-

22 March: Breakfast at the hotel, meet guide and bus at 9am and we are off to tour the city of Guilin. Parks, hilltop climbs, a cave and we are ready for lunch at a wonderful little Chinese restaurant. In the afternoon, we visited a large display of South China Sea Pearls, we were told how the pearls were made and how their quality is graded. One of Fran’s objectives on this trip was to buy some nice pearls. Today is her day!! She got matching earrings, pendant and ring. All very beautiful. Later, the women visited a silk factory while the guys found a beer across the street.

In the evening, Steve and Jennifer and Jerry and Linda walked a few blocks to see the “night market”. Betty got on a computer at the hotel’s business center. She posted all the previous journal entries. As she finished, Fran arrived, so we all had a drink before retiring.

Later we learned that the “Brothers Johnson” crew (which also includes Linda and Jennifer) had dined “American”. They ate at one of the two McDonalds’ in Guilin. I’m sure Linda appreciated it. She doesn’t care much for foreign food and even though she never complains, two weeks is a long time to go without “comfort food”.

——————————

Guilin – City of forests – Sweet olive tree blossom. This city is famous for its scenery, and I can see why. Of course the karst is what it’s all about, the caves, the jutting cliffs, the interesting rock formations; but it has also devoted much public land to parks which are beautiful. Today we visited three of those parks. The first was Fubo Park with its climb to an overview of the city. The second was devoted to vistas of the Li River and Elephant Hill formation. Jennifer tried to buy us all some luck by purchasing a turtle to release in the Li River. I hope it works. We have a great lunch which our guide Vivian helped us order. The big hits were the sizzling beef, green beans, and sweet and sour pork. In the PM we went to a cave – WOW! And then to a pearl outlet. I did a little damage there!
Fran

6 March: After a short nap at Fran’s house, Betty and I along with Fran and Charlotte were picked up by a van arranged through Wayne
Bernikel. Jerry and Linda were already on the van. It was 12:15am and very foggy. We arrived in Minneapolis with time to spare.

7 March: It was a long flight with stops in Denver, San Francisco and Hong Kong. Betty was able to lie down in 3 seats and get some sleep, but I only cat napped. The leg from California to Hong Kong had four full length movies. Total Flight time was 27 hours. The pilot “greased” the landing in Saigon and we were in Vietnam. We breezed through immigration and customs without a problem. We were met at the airport by “Thi” our tour guide for the next three days. He and the driver, loaded our considerable baggage in the back of a very modern van. It was a 20 passenger vehicle so there was plenty of room for all the luggage and each of us had a separate seat. “Look at these wires” gasped Charlotte. Hundreds of electric and phone wires were drapped along the street, some hanging as low as six feet from the ground, others much higher and a mass of black spaghetti in between. At each street intersection this confused mess was hanging on one hidden pole and drapped out in all directions.

First impression of Saigon was hot, humid and busy; mopeds and small motorcycles everywhere. Horns never stopping.

9 March: Toured CuChi tunnels and Tay Nihn Temple. Had lunch in large restaurant near the temple; Dinner at Chateau again – not nearly as good as the night before.

10 March: Flew to Dalat. We were met by our tour guide, Hei. We stayed in a quaint old french style hotel (Hotel Novotel) – very nice. Toured Dalat. Dinner in the hotel annex across the street. I lost my Tilley hat before the tour. Dalat is very beautiful; we all loved it.

11 March: At breakfast the cute little waitress, returned my hat. It had been found in the lobby where I left it and was secured behind the bar. We bussed several hours through the mountains to Nha Trang. Stayed in the Saigon Yasaka Hotel which was very nice. Our balcony overlooked the South China Sea, hundreds of Bonzai were everywhere especially near the 11th floor pool. We ate at Lac Canh Restaurant and grilled on our table – great fun. (Betty) – on the way out we saw the dishwashing which consisted of a lady sitting on the floor with a pan of water washing our silverware – we all said – just keep walking – don’t look.

12 March: We arranged a special boat tour for a fishing and snorkeling day. We had lunch on an island, rested then went fishing and exploring again. Returned to the island (a VinPearl Resort in development) for an outdoor seafood bar-b-que. Then night cruise back to Nha Trang.

13 March: We bussed 40 min south to Cam Ranh Bay airport then flew to Da Nang, where we were met by our tour guide, Phoung, and bussed to Hoi An. Had a tour of the old Hoi An city, nice. Saw silk worms in action, ordered tailor made formal shirt for my “Dress Uniform” and tux.

14 March: Jerry, Steve and I arranged with our guide, Mr. Phong, to take a special trip to see Chu Lai, Jerry’s old base. Plus we went to the Champa Tower (11th century) and to the MyLai Memorial. Very emotional!

15 March: Drove along the coast over mountain pass to Hue. Saw the citadel, a folk dance show and Pagoda. We took a boat ride on the Perfume River to the Century Riverside Hotel. Had dinner at Tropical Garden Restaurant with live folk music.

16 March: Visited two kings tombs (seemed that they must have bankrupted the country to build these elaborate memorials to themselves). We flew to Hanoi, met our guide “Dan” at the airport. Checked in the Rosaliza Hotel. Charlotte, Fran, Betty and I walked along the lake and through the “old city”. We tried to find the French restaurant recommended by our guide but couldn’t; we found the “Wild Rice” instead. It was wonderful! Later, we found out that during this same time in the afternoon and evening, Jerry and Linda, Steve and Jennifer were doing much the same thing. They found a place along the lake where Linda could have a hamburger.

17 March: Bussed from Hanoi to HaLong Bay through small villages and rice paddies. This seems to be a poorer area than Hanoi or southern Vietnam; more bicycles, lots of workers in rice paddies and fields. A small truck had run over a moped in the middle of the road just before we passed by it. In HaLong we boarded a junk to cruise HaLong Bay for the next 24 hours. Two Austrailian couples (Fred and Lorraine and Robert and RoseMary) were already aboard. Our guide/translater on board is Loi. We cruised through hundreds of karst islands protruding vertically several hundred feet out of the water. The weather is foggy making for an eerie atmosphere with these ancient limestone islands all around us. This area is a World Heritage site designated by UNESCO and is very popular. Over 500 junks take visitors from all over the world on 2-5 day cruises to see this amazing place. At various sites along the way we stepped from the junk onto a smaller bamboo dingy to explore a cave, climb a peak, see monkeys or a lagoon. The dingy was towed behind the junk when we were underway.

The meals were great, mostly seafood and almost endless courses. We all ran a tab for drinks, charging them to our room.

18 March: Another foggy day, the islands appear to be stacked one behind the other with hundreds all around us as we glide quietly along threading our way through them. After a side trip to see the monkeys, we started the slow trip back to the docks at Ha Long. Just outside the harbor, our boat ran aground. Another tour boat tugged and pulled ours for about 20 minutes until we floated freely. Soon we were saying good-bye to our crew and loading on a launch that would take us to the dock. There, we said farewell to our cruise guide, Loi, and linked up with Dan again. During the four hour bus ride back to Hanoi, Dan told us lots about local Vietnamese customs and history. As with all our guides, Dan is a fountain of information. His father was a North Vietnamese Army (NVA) soldier during the “American” war. Dan told us of the hardships and bombing that his family endured.

Back in Hanoi, we stopped for a tour of the “Hanoi Hilton”. Its real name is Ha Loa prison. This prison compound was built by the French during the colonial period then, of course used by the North Vietnamese to confine American pilots shot down while bombing the Hanoi area. As expected, the displays and explanations had a strong NVA slant to them. The torture, food deprivation, lack of medical care and other hardships were not addressed. Some pictures showed our airmen playing volleyball, basketball, smiling as they opened packages, etc. They were always in clean clothes, seemingly happy and in good health. There were a couple of pictures of John McCain. One noted that he was a U.S. Senator and was a candidate for president. Actually, it was not as “anti-US” as I had expected.

Back at the Hotel Rosaliza, Jerry and Linda were lucky and were placed in a suite. Steve and Jerry hustled out into rush hour traffic and bought a case of Heineken. Jerry and Linda invited us all to “party” in their suite. We missed dinner.

19 March: Our schedule has us touring the City of Hanoi today: The Ho Chi Mihn Mausaleum, a Fine Arts Museaum and much more. “Uncle Ho” is a very respected leader and very well like by people in both the north and south of Vietnam. This is a weekday so the line to go through the Mausaleum is relatively short, maybe 1 kilometer (.6 miles), our guide tells us that on some holidays it can be over 5 km (3 miles) long. No cameras are allowed, cell phones must be turned off, if wearing shorts, they must cover the knees and no talking allowed. “Uncle Ho” asked that there be no memorial and that he be cremated and his ashes spread in north, central, and south Vietnam because he wanted the whole country together. However, when he died in 1969 at the age of 79, the Vietnamese Communist Party leaders had him embalmed and built a huge Mausaleum (Russian architecture) within nicely landscaped grounds in which he is now displayed.

Unfortunately, Betty was not feeling well today. While waiting in line at the Mausaleum she thought it best to return to the Hotel. Even though, I know she could easily get back on her own, I joined her. We caught a cab and now I have time to get up-to-date on my journal entries. We plan to intercept the group for lunch.

Later – I thought I knew how to find the Wild Rice restaurant so we could link up with the rest of our group. But not, we walked up and down several streets in the area, we tried asking directions, nothing was working and the meeting time was getting close. As a last ditch effort we caught a cab. The driver did not know of the place so we had him take us back to our hotel. The good folks at the front desk called our tour guide’s cell phone to get the location of the restaurant. The guide told them he was running late and would stop by the hotel to pick us up on the way to the restaurant. Lunch was great!

In the afternoon, our guide planned a cyclo ride through the “old city”, then a walking tour of a large lake park, a shrine, the market and ending with a “water puppet” show. The cyclo ride was really interesting. Cyclo is similar to the older rickshaw but with a bicycle arrangement behind the customers’ comfortable double seat. A guy then pedals the little machine, pushing the two of us slowly through busy traffic. For about an hour, he carefully aimed us from one near collision to the next. We all enjoyed the ride and tipped our individual drivers well. During our walk through the lake park, Betty decided to catch a cab back to the hotel. She had really been looking forward to the Water Puppet show, but her stomach was demanding immediate attention. A couple hours later, we were placed in the front row seats for the puppet show and just as the show started our guide escorted Betty to the single remaining seat beside us. Perfect!

Happy hour was in Linda and Jerry’s tenth floor lounge again. We arranged for a hotel employee to get us some pizza and all was well.

20 March: Our schedule for the day was “open” for the morning and a visit to the Fine Arts Museum in the afternoon, then go to the train station at 5pm.

Betty and I decided to use the morning to see the attractions we had missed the day before. We took a cab to the Ho Chi Minh memorial, saw the presidential palace, Ho Chi Minh’s stilt house (he declined living in the palace while so many were living in poverty) and we visited the Ho Chi Minh Museum. As expected, he is revered by the Vietnamese, especially, those in the north. He is a national hero. We found it very interesting, however, both Betty and I had some pointed arguments with our museum guide. The war propaganda she had been subjected to conflicted with the propaganda we had received.

Back at the hotel, our guide helped us load our considerable luggage on a bus, we said good bye to the Rosaliza Hotel manager and the staff and made our way through Hanoi rush hour traffic to the train station. As with all our guides, we hated to leave them. We all seemed even closer to Dan. He must have had similar feelings, he had a special scarf, made by one of the Vietnamese ethnic groups, for each of the women in our group.

As we carted our luggage through the station and down the long platform, dozens of guys were trying to help us. Now, each member of our little group is perfectly capable of moving their own gear and prefers to do it themselves. However, these guys persisted in trying to get their hands on our bags so they could get a tip. They even followed us down the narrow aisle on the train. Jerry seemed to really attract them. He had three of them trying to squeeze all the luggage into a tiny compartment.

We have two 4-berth compartments for the eight of us. It is a bit tight but reasonaby comfortable. The train rolled out of the station at 6:30pm. About 11pm we were awakened for all the bureacratic harassement of a border crossing. First it was a passport check, then a baggage check, then we stopped to switch trains. Finally, about 2 am we were underway again, but were herded off the train again at 7am to “rest” in a station waiting room.

First “day” of trip – dark. Arrived Mpls/SP at 2:45 and boarded on time (6:05) headed for Denver. We might have been able to have gotten another hour’s sleep before leaving.

Many hours later somewhere over the Pacific we are making our way to Hong Kong. At home it is 6:00 PM. In Hong Kong it is 8:00 AM. I have no clue what time it is HERE (where ever “here” is)……So we arrived at our hotel aroud 9:30PM, went to our rooms, dropped luggage, and found the bar.

8 March: Had Saigon tour including Museum of War, very well done. Had dinner at Chataeu Restarant. Jerry, Steve and I had some beers in hotel bar until closing.

I am 60!!! It’s about 6:00AM and I’m up for my birthday. It’s warm because the air won’t run without our key card in the light switch and we can’t figure out how to turn off the closet light. Today we take a tour of the city – Ho Chi Minh.

Saw the War Remnants Museum. That was very difficult for me, especially the section on the effects of agent orange. Went to the post office, a beautiful building built at the turn of the century by the French. We also went to a Buddhist temple with unbelievable ceramic reliefs all around the top of the building – both inside and out. After lunch we went to the Chinese market in China town. We walked through canyons of stuff – fabric, shoes, luggage, spices, candy. We watched the men outside loading cyclos with huge bundles they couldn’t even see over to deliver from the market. Chuck traded his assistance with one load in order to get a picture.

We are up at 5:00 so we can leave Saigon by 6:45. We are headed to the Cu Chi tunnels. The traffic is unbelievable 7 million people live in Saigon and there are 4 million scooters – all of them are out there today! Cu Chi – what a story! Living and fighting from these underground fortresses. As we made our way through one of the tunnels we met the residents – bats. A couple of our “tunnel rats” weren’t too comfortable with the little flying mammels, but we managed. I think the guy who demonstrated the “ins” and “outs” of the tunnels was in my guide book. We also went to a temple dedicated to five different religions – Hindu, Islam, Buddhism, Catholicism, and Taoism. We saw part of one ceremony – three different ones are held each day at noon. Our drive to and from Cu Chi is through the jungle. We saw rubber plantations, rice paddies, water buffalo – so many unusual things to someone who has lived all her life in Minnesota. The Vietnamese seem so “happy” or maybe content. They work very hard. Their children are so well taken care of. I wonder what their family lives are like.

Up at 5:00 and off to the airport to catch our plane to Da Lat. We arrive at 8:45 and we’re on the road into the mountains to see a beautiful waterfall. We rode to the bottom in a small rail car – then back up again. Went to a lovely Buddhist monstery, then to the summer palace of the last emperor of Viet Nam. Checked into our hotel then went to lunch. After lunch we went to another temple, a craft center where they make beautiful embroidered wall hangings and a market where I got some tea. We had a beer in the market and were very entertained by a young lady selling paintings on silk. Da Lat is a lovely little mountain city on the move. It’s the flower capital of the world. There were acres and acres of green houses and flowers and plants everywhere! Bonsai is a really popular art here. At the monastery we saw a 300 year old bonsai tree.

I am standing at my hotel window overlooking a daycare watching an adult playing with four little ones. Children here are so cared for by men and women alike. Lots of grandparents taking babies to the park, mothers and daughters walking arm in arm -a lot to like about these people.
On the bus at 9:30 and headed to Nha Trang. We drove through the mountains on a brand new highway (fortunately). Stunning views! Many places were being cleared for coffee trees, others for banana trees. Drove through areas of ethnic tribes peoples. Soil is very red – iron? Does that mean volcanic action? I think so. Where is Gary when I need him? At certain elevations they had planted huge grasses to stop erosion. a big problem. A little farther down, kudso had taken over everything. We had to pull into a roadside garage to get a tire or two changed. As we got closer to Nha Trang the new road ran out and we’re on a paved goat path! Nha Trang is unbelievably beautiful!

Fishing: After a very short lesson, I dropped my line and THEN, I caught the first fish! Very small, dark grey with bright blue spots. He went back and that was the end of my luck. Everyone caught at least one fish. Jennifer was the most successful. The water was so clear. The little islands in the bay are volcanic. Two have electricity – the rest don’t.
Snorkling: Fun, lots of coral. Lunch – OK. Then a nap, but first I tried to climb over some rocks to wade, and fell and really banged up my left shin and thigh. After nap more fishing, then a barbeque supper and back to the hotel.

Left Nha Trang at 6 to catch flight to Da Nang at 7:45. Short flight then on to Hoi An, an ancient trading center. Several countries set up stations here – Japan, China, India, etc. Hoi An is also the major center of the Champa culture. We toured a museum holding many pieces of Champa architecture which were uncovered in an archeological expedition at the turn of the century, 1900-1905. These people were very sophisticated and highly influenced by Hinduism. Now, Hinduism has been replaced by Buddhism. We also visited Marble Mountain and climbed to the top. Beautiful! All around the base of the mountain are marble carving work shops – statues, fountains, mortar and pestals, jewelry, on and on, BUT not from Marble Mountain. Inside the mountain were many “rooms” which usually were altars and worship centers. One very large one was used as a hospital for VC soldiers during the war. In Old Hoi An we had lunch, then went to a couple of shops. One tailored silk cloth into garments, but it also had the silk worms and showed the entire process of spinning the thread and weaving it into fabric. Really interesting. We met some fun kids at the bar at our hotel. They love to tell us jokes.

Shopping in the old city – a free day.

On the road to Hue. Drove through Phu Bai and what was Camp Eagle where Don was stationed. Difficult for me and Betty. Hue ancient capital of Viet Nam and at center of many struggles for control of the land. Also another art and fashion center. Saw beautiful mountain scenery, old highway #1 at the mountain pass, China Beach and drove within striking distance of Khe Sanh battle field. Yesterday Chuck, Jerry and Steve visited Phu Bai where Jerry was stationed then went on to My Lai -“very solemn” – Chuck’s description, a dark day. No one who lived and was at all aware of what was happening in the 60’s and 70’s could not know a trip through Viet Nam would have many moment requiring reflection about who we were, and are, and what we want to do about it in the future.

Cruise on Perfume River – mostly a sales pitch to a captive audience. Hue Citadel is a large structure as was the emperors’ tombs which all served to impress us with how much the Vietnamese people were taken advantage of by their rulers. It should be no surprise to anyone what appeal communism and Ho Chi Minh had for these impoverished people and their bankrupt country. AND we do joke about the similarities to US politics and the shenanigans in Washington, but I am very proud of our govertnment and our constitution, and our people’s constant efforts to keep our leaders honest, if not noble. On to Hanoi – this should be interesting!

Today is our trip to Ha Long Bay, a World Heritage Site (Natural???). The karst limestone mountains shoot straight up out of the bay – amazing! We went to one to explore its caves – what can I say! We climbed another mountain to a pagoda – 400 steps to the top. The view from the top was great – I think I’ve seen some of the views in pictures of the place. Ha Long Bay is at the beginning stages of development and as such there are problems to deal with – trash, unscrupulous dealers and guides, inadequate safety precautions; but I’m not sure that when all those requlations are in place, the site will be any more impressive for it.

Dan, our guide spent some time explaining the importance of feng shui to the Vietnamese people. He feels that the people are very superstitious. He said that the three most important duties of a man are to obtain a house, a wife, and a water buffalo.

We took an early morning trip to a lagoon in Ha Long Bay. On the way we fed monkeys – neat. The lagoon had to be approached through a tunnel. When we got into it the walls of the mountain/s rose up all around us. Were we in an ancient crater?
My legs are feeling the effects of the climbing yesterday and the bruising I got in Nha Trang. As I look around from the top deck of our little cruise boat I just can’t get over the spell cast by this place. I wonder how I’ll feel about other cruises on the trip.
Each of our guides has been so different and so interesting:
1. Thi – Saigon
2. Hai – DaLat
3. Phoung – Hue
4. Bao – fishing trip
5. Dan – Hanoi
6. Loi – HaLong cruise
They love to tell us jokes – have an earthy sense of humor. On our way back to Hanoi, Dan tells us about the police corruption. They stop trucks and local buses all the time and drivers are used to bribing them regularly. One truck driver told Dan it costs 3 million dong to drive from Saigon to Hanoi.
We tour “Hanoi Hilton” – very discouraging. Dan said, “I don’t know what to say about this.” I thought that was both honest and eloquent.

Betty wasn’t feeling very well today. We went to Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum. Lines can be 5 kilometers long, two abreast to enter. It was impressive mostly because of the reaction of the people who come here to pay their respects. The museum was not only a place of honor to Ho but also something of an art gallery and comment on the violence of the 20th century – an impressive monument to a man who obviously dedicated his life to his people. Visited the One Pillar Pagoda, another testament to the devotion of the poeple to living a good life. We toured the Temple of Literature, founded in 1070. It honors Confucius who taught that the highest aim of a man was education. It was the “university” where the promising young men of the outlying communities came to take the examinations to qualify for court service. A man who passed the first level of examinations received the title of “Doctor” and his name was inscribed on a stone tablet (stele) held on the back of a stone turtle – one of the four revered animals. Many of these stele are standing and the names have been recorded from centuries past.
At 6:00 we went to a water puppet show portraying many of the folk stories of the Vietnamese. It was really fun. The musicians were great.

It is humid here beyond belief! My clothes just don’t dry. I finally got out my micro-fiber towel and wrapped things in it to squeeze out all moisture I could, and by morning things could be packed.
Today the morning was free, so I walked to the quilt store and ordered a quilt – $205 including shipping. The store is an outlet for a nonprofit organization that empowers women. Over 200 women work on the quilts. The money pays them a salary and funds scholarships, books for rural schools, medical and dental education in the villages. I also got a bunch of brochures to hand out when I get home. In the afternoon, I went to the fine arts museum. Lots of laquerware. Very dark. War was the subject of the vast majority of the art. Why wouldn’t it be? I think it will be a while before there is a true Vietnamese school of art. Many of the objects could actually be touched! I doubt the country has any money to put into preserving their art which is a shame because some of it will be lost due to the conditions of its display. The silk paintings seemed to be to be suffering the most. I could have spent more time there, but that seems to be the nature of all my travels. The Johnsons and Charlotte spent the afternoon shopping and enjoying a few drinks. I like the flexibility to do as we please.