Archives for 2008

Today we visited the Mekong Delta. Last year, we also visited the Mekong Delta, but we went to different places. This is not all that surprising as the Mekong Delta is three times the area of the State of Israel. The route we took today provided a series of experiences. We very much enjoyed seeing the puffing of rice– an amazing process whereby the rice is heated in black sand in a very large wok over an open flame. The rice pops very quickly. The sand is then shaken out of the rice and voila! Then we saw the making of coconut candy- fascinating! and of rice bars (like granola bars) and rice paper like what is used to make spring rolls (what most Americans call egg rolls). Chinese egg rolls have a thick covering, spring rolls have a delicate rice paper covering that is also deep fried.

We also went cruising along the small waterways, saw the floating market, ate some new fruits (jack fruit and rose apples), and attended a performance of Vietnamese music. We had a pleasant, relaxing day.

Tomorrow, we go to Cu Chi where the Viet Cong hid out in tunnels during the war. From there we will go to a Cao Dai Temple. Cao Dai is a new religion that has elements of Taoism, Confucianism, Christianity and Islam (among others.) Their rites and rituals are very colorful and interesting.

This part of the trip is running by very quickly. Before we know it, we’ll be heading home. It’s hard to believe.

Pictures when I return.

An early morning flight brought us to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City -HCMC). It is a bustling city- colorful and busy. One of our first stops was to the Notre Dame Cathedral, a brick cathedral built by the French in the style of Notre Dame in Paris. Across the street is the post office- a huge building that looks like nothing so much as a train station.

While visiting those two places, we saw two brides and grooms dressed in Western clothing. Then we saw a bride and groom in traditional garb. One of the people in our large group recognized that the groom did not look Vietnamese and began speaking with his mother. She responded in Yiddish, being a Jewish woman who currently lives in New York! The groom’s family and friends had flown over for the ceremony. People looked happy. I don’t know. I think that cultural differences are very difficult for couples to deal with – even among Anglos who have different backgrounds. In this case, it is two different societies.

Shopping was interesting. I went to the huge market not far from the hotel. My older daughter had asked me to keep my eyes peeled for a specific product. I did find it, but it was an imitation. I bought it anyway. Someone will use it, at least I hope so.

Vietnam is so full of amazing scenes that it sometimes feels as if I am on a movie set. From the gorgeous little children (some of them are breathtaking) to the wizened old men and women, they are an enormously photogenic people.

Today on our train from Lao Cai to Hanoi, we saw flooded fields in which people were working- weeding, draining– all in their pointed straw hats. The train sped by and the pictures remain in my memory only, but there are many many pictures to share as well.

Today we are in Hoi An, an ancient port city with Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese art and architecture. It is truly a feast for the eyes. Tomorrow, we are on to Hue, the capital of Vietnam in the !9th and early 20th century. We will cruise on the Perfume River and visit the Forbidden City!

We had a lovely shabbat. We took a walk up Ham Rong mountain, passing the orchid garden and climbing to about 17.000 meters above sea level. We are only a few miles from China, up in the mountains- home to the Black Hmong, Red Zhou, and many other of the 53 Vietnamese minorities. The people here are very beautiful and very friendly. The landscape is breathtaking. Today there were some orchids in blossom, the small yellow-brown ones- but in addition the mountain had beautifully landscaped gardens. It was a perfect day, sunny, not too warm and not too cool. Tomorrow we go on to the market in BacHa.

We had a most beautiful day on Halong Bay. No kidding. The weather was perfect- sunny and warm. Had an adventure…

When we (the French speaking guide and I) got to the kitchen with all of our stuff they showed us the fish. Very nice… fins and scales… everything very nice except they were cooked… in *their* wok. “No no no,” we both said- “we must cook in OUR pots!” We explained that we need new fish. After all, we were on the open bay… there were fish… So we walk away and after maybe 10 minutes, they show us some other fish that they had cooked in foil. Can we see them? We went and looked. It was clearly the very same fish that we had earlier rejected. They had wrapped it up and tried to pass it off as baked in foil. So we proceeded on. Soon the boat stopped at a platform. Some of us got off the boat and saw that in the platform, a wooden floating floor, there were several square holes, cribs for fish. They took a net and fished out two lovely fish, however, they had no scales. Again they took out fish, this time of the 3, one had fins and scales. When we indicated it was OK, they proceeded to take out another 7 or so.. all of the time the fish were flipping around, moving the bucket to and fro. In short (or long) we had really really fresh fish for lunch.

It’s hard to believe the day has finally come and aside from worrying about transporting everything I have, I am ready and anxious to leave for Vietnam. Almost everything is packed. I am waiting to pick up the challot and then I will pack them and the cheeses and the beer bread (yes, beer bread) that I have made – into the last spaces I have left and I am hoping they will fit. We may need warm jackets for transfers in Tashkent and perhaps for northern Vietnam in the mountains, so I would like to find room inside my suitcases for my jacket rather than to carry it as another item (I already will be getting on the plane with my magic vest, my rolling carry-on, and a knapsack). The good thing is that from here on in, my luggage gets lighter and lighter as we consume the products I am carrying. I don’t know when or where I will have internet access nor how much time I would want to spend on the computer, so I may be while until I post again. Meanwhile, let’s hope the weather in Hanoi and Sapa will be excellent for my travelers this week! Tạm biệt

So much going on at the same time!

The renovations will begin while I am away, but I will be lucky enough to return well before the biggest, messiest part. I am sorry I turned in my gas mask.

Meanwhile, the trip is really shaping up well. I am pretty certain that all of the major and most of the minor points are taken care of. We have some logistics still to work out on the spot, but everything we could do from here is done. “We”, from here on means Rita and I, Rita being the French speaking guide who will be guiding a French speakers’ group that will be staying at our hotels, flying with us, and eating with us, but we will be touring on separate buses and seeing the sights separately. One of the challenges we face is having our suitcases transferred at the Bangkok Airport from Uzbek Airlines to Vietnam Airlines without having to go through baggage claim. Last year, the guide was successful in getting that done, but it is not their usual procedure. Rita and I will tag team on that one. I think that the two of us together are a force to be reckoned with…

Tomorrow we have friends coming to visit and spend shabbat. I will be great having them here, I am sure, and a welcome break from all of the planning and rushing around of the past week.

Last night we did a walk through with the man who will be doing our renovations. It’s funny that when you think of doing renovations, you think of how nice it will be when it’s finished. If you’re like me, you don’t think of all of the mess and confusion involved with the process. But last night, as we began to talk more concretely, it became apparent that this will be a major inconvenience. At present (just to make things even more complicated) it seems that the renovations will begin while I am away in Vietnam and Cambodia. Then the contractor will be on vacation (in the middle of the work) for about 10 days. And… my sister will be visiting. And… we have two grandchildren due during this time.

Today we will be ordering the staircase that we will be putting in to replace the very heavy concrete (with stone risers and treads) one that the house had when we moved in. Because one enters the house and is immediately in a hallway that contains the staircase facing in the opposite direction of the door, the entry to the house was dark and cave-like. We’re hoping that the open metal and wood stairs will give a feeling of openness and light. We also are going to be increasing the size of our kitchen window also to increase the amount of light coming into the house and allowing us to enjoy the garden outside.

But it all makes me nervous.

Since you asked…

The company that my husband and I guide for is Shai Bar Ilan Geographical tours– website: www.shaibarilan.com/eng

This company has been doing kosher tours all over the world for about 30 years and has developed all sorts of clever ways of dealing with our kosher food needs. Our travelers are served freshly prepared, strictly kosher meals everywhere we take them. I won’t go into details, but what I will say is that all food is prepared by professional chefs and by us (the guides) in and with utensils that belong to us and there is always a guide supervising and assisting the cooking. When we travel to places like China and Vietnam, our people are able to eat food prepared in the manner that local food is prepared. In China, we have wonderful vegetables not commonly eaten in other places. Ask my granddaughter about the lotus we had one evening in Beijing! In Vietnam and Cambodia, in addition to all of the delicious food we have for our main courses, we are able to eat the most delicious pineapple I have ever tasted. Bananas too are plentiful. So in addition to see, hearing, and experiencing a different culture and landscape, we actually eat well too!