Our Singapore trip

We arrived in Singapore on Monday and spent the day at the National University Hospital.  I had a doctors appt and had to refill my meds for the next three months.  Singapore has great medical care. I was glad to get that out of the way so we could enjoy the rest of the week. 

On Tuesday I got to do some shopping with our friends and that night Mark and I hit the downtown Orchard area where there were thousands of Christmas lights and celebration.  They even had a hugh Noah Ark complete with characters and singing.  Many of the churches put on Christmas activities.  It was beautiful and of course I forgot the camera.  

On Wednesday Mark wanted to go to the zoo, we missed it several years ago because of rain and guess what, it was pouring.  After several hours the rain slowed so we made a mad dash for the bus, then we had to take the MRT subway, then another bus, we arrived two hours later.  By now the rain had stopped and we got to see many of the animals before the rain started up again. We truly felt like we were in the rain forest, it was so beautiful.  We arrived home after again riding the bus, MRT and another bus and only had one mishap when the bus driver though we should get off several miles from where we needed to be.  We finally were able to give him a street name that he knew and he called Mark back onto the bus to continue for two more stops. Thank goodness because by then it was really coming down.  The weather all week was cloudy and cooler than Vietnam.  Thank you God !

Christmas day was quiet and restful.  We took a walk in the park, along the beach across from our friends, flat ( that is what they call their apt).  This is a unique park, Singapore is so organized, in the park they have one pathway for walkers and another for bikes and roller bladders.  See my picture, they have little feet painted to let you know this is the footpath.  I love it.  As we proceeded down the path we came to a large water area, which is used for water skiing, well no boats but they are pulled by wires attached to pulleys in the air, and no ski's but they use boards. I think they call it wind skiing.  One guy had a Santa hat on and he was in the water more than on the board.  They even had a restaurant called Long Beach.  I felt right at home.

Friday was Boxing Day and our friends had an open house for 45 people.  Now you must understand this family has spent many years as missionaries in Papau New Guinea and other places.  She makes everything from scratch and has solutions for any problem I could throw at her.  She is now a high school teacher at the International school in Singapore and a super mom, according to her fellow teachers.  Now back to the party.  She made turkey, ham, quiches, home made rolls, pigs in a blanket, veggies trays, spinach puffs, pinwheels, ambrosia salads and pies and cookies and fudge, even home made whip cream for the chocolate cream pies.  Now you must remember that even though Singapore is more modern than Vietnam they still have small kitchens and as far as the oven, it is half the size of an American oven.  I watched in amazement as she went from one dish to the next and all of that after we hit the market early to get some of the forgotten items.  I tried to help prepare things but mainly stuck to the dishes and pans that just kept piling up.   I fell into bed exhausted that night after helping clean up and she was still on the couch reading.  Joyce you are my hero !!  Thank you for all of your great ideas and the goodies you donated to us.  We love spending time with you guys.  

A Singapore Christmas

Christmas in Singapore

Tomorrow we fly to Singapore for Christmas. We are staying with our great friends who have been so supportive during our time in Vietnam. I will have my doctor visits and stock up on my medications and hopefully have some time to do some shopping and see some sights. The churches in Singapore put on Christmas performances in the downtown area so it will be nice to see some festivities. I downloaded some Christmas songs as Mark failed to copy our christmas CD's onto the computer.

Our son Chris and his girlfriend spent Saturday in Mexico helping to feed an expected 10,000 kids and do some gift giving and other fun things. I look forward to hearing how it turned out.

Jen and Sam are having his sister and family down for Christmas. I will look forward to pictures. After they returned from the Grand Canyon and we talked by Skype the boys could not talk enough about all they saw. I have never seen them so animated!!

I want to wish you all a MERRY CHRISTMAS and hope that at some point in the next week you all can take the time to focus, relax and thank HIM for his great, free, gift to us all !! Blessings.

Evening Out

Last night we attended a Christmas Event. Before we arrived we decided that we needed to eat. Whenever we are in District 1 Mark always wants pizza. This time it was a Pizza Hut in the Mall. As I explained in my previous posts they go all out here at Christmas. The Hostess and waitresses all were dressed up in Santa outfits. You can even purchase, right on the streets little Santa outfits for the kids. So cute. After dinner we proceeded to the stadium where the event was being held. It was packed. On our way in we were introduced to a famous Vietnamese singer who had become a believer last year. I did not catch his name but we got a photo. They began with Christmas Carols in English and Vietnamese and then as the speaker was in the middle of his talk, it began to rain, I, being the well prepared person that I am had my umbrella up and ready to go, but we were told, that the speaker said that it would stop in a minute and guess what, it did!! People were clapping. They ended the message with an alter call and as in the previous night, hundreds went up. Much is happening here and we get to see it.
We ended our evening with a long taxi ride home. Last week when we returned from an evening out we had the taxi driver from hell. He would go head on with traffic and had no regard for anyone. It scared our friend to death. Last night we had the tortuous. He was so cautious that we were ready to get out and push him along. You just never know what you will get. Potluck !!

Christmas Event

Santa arrived early !!!

This week we had a great time with our pastor who was visiting from the US. He brought us many gifts from home. Jen sent us pictures the boys had colored and they are now on my frig. It feels like home!! She also sent a calendar with pictures from the year of the family. I love looking at it especially when I am missing them. We also asked for taco sauce and seasoning. I was in need of a crystal light fix so that was also in the package. We appreciate every ones helpfulness. A friend sent us some Christmas bears she had made. I kept one and will bless some children with the others. Santa has surely come early.

No one can come to Vietnam without doing some shopping,even Ken who hates shopping with a passion. So on Saturday we took off early for the tourist district. Mark and Ken spent some time sightseeing and going to the War Remembrance museum. They then joined me to get some souvenirs. It has been so warm, I am having trouble getting in the holiday mood, I need the temperature to go down to at least seventy something! The mall shops are all playing Christmas carols in English for all the tourist. They even have a very thin Asian man dressed up as Santa but they don't seem to do the lap thing and tell Santa what you want. The displays were packed with families trying to get pictures of their kids in front of them and vendors trying to sell them balloons and other toys. Everyone seems to love the season.
We ended our day with a wonderful steak dinner at a restaurant that we found. We were in heaven.

It was an awesome time of catching up on people and events. It was sad to see him leave for the next leg of his journey.

SANTA HAS ARRIVED IN VIETNAM !!

My Cyclo Adventure

On Wednesday, my friend picked me up and took me to the Metro, comparable to our Costco or Sam's club.  I needed to look for a small vacuum along with meats and other food items.  I found one that and box was not to large so after completing our shopping we went out to her motor bike and discovered that with the box and two large shopping bags we would not be able to carry this safely.  Her bike is smaller than her sons.  I offered to take a taxi back and she went to give the taxi driver instructions.  Well I am not sure what happened, they haggled awhile, I don't think she liked his price ?? After a few minutes she looked at me and said, you take cyclo home.  OK, I have not done that yet so, new experience!  They are trying to outlaw them in Vietnam because they are such a hazard, to slow for all of the motor bikers and taxi's.  I got in with my box and the thing is like a lounge chair.  He put the cover over the top because it was still sprinkling.  Now this was a very small, thin man and I am no lightweight especially with my box. We did alright the first few miles but then we came to a hill.  I really wanted to jump off and let him peddle up the hill  but their was a communication problem and there was rush hour traffic and the roads were flooded from the storm.  Well to make a long story short, we made it home in 55 minutes a 20 minute motor bike ride and as we came to my building I was pointing to it and he thought that I was admiring it.  He went right on past and I thought ok, now what, maybe he is going to the light to turn around?  As I said traffic was heavy.  No we passed the light and finally I began pointing back and trying to tell him to turn around.  He finally got the message. Arriving back I realized that my friend had my purse in one of the shopping bags with my money.  I did have a large bill so I gave it to him and of course he had no change.  He went to one of the men sitting by the building and asked for change. The nice man called me over and said he did not have any change but let him keep the change, he is very poor !! Well I ended up tipping him the whole charge for  the trip so he made double on me but he also had to peddle this not so light weight foreigner.  Never a dull moment !!

CYCLO

Happy Thanksgiving

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

I just wanted to wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving.  We are so grateful for all of you who are taking this journey with us, we could not do it without you !!

Since we are 15 hours ahead of you, I wish I could say that we had a great turkey dinner. Unfortunately, I don't think turkeys live in Vietnam, not the bird kind anyway, so I opted for a pork roast, which is plentiful and of course rice and a salad.  We had been given a bag of limes and we love the lime juice at most cafes, so I squeezed them for the juice and all I got out of the whole bag was one cup of juice.  Now I have never done this before but how hard can it be? Well....  I think what makes the drink palatable is the tons of sugar they put in it.  I on the other hand used splenda, and splenda and still more splenda, tart is a good word to describe the end results.  Even watering it down did not help.  

Mark has been teaching this week and for lunch they asked him what he usually eats.  He told them 1/2 tuna sandwich, yogurt, some chips and maybe an apple.  Well they wanted to please him but could not find a can of tuna so they brought him a can of pork-liver paste, yogurt, and for desert would you like some durian?  Durian is a very smelly fruit that you either love or hate, we tried it in Thailand on one of our trips and people were burping it up for hours, of course we were on the road in a van which did not help.  Never again!!  He opted for an apple. Smart guy. 

Tomorrow I will get to see my family by SKYPE anyway.  They are all going to Jen's for dinner. I hear even my grandsons are dressing up in their Indian costumes to show me what they wore to their school Thanksgiving party.  They are so cute !!  Grammie misses you guys.

Jen's oldest, Ethan, turned 5 years old this week.  Happy Birthday BIG GUY!!   

New Furniture

Yesterday the rest of our much needed furniture arrived.  We are renting a semi- furnished apt. but there were some things we had to buy ourselves.  No Asian home can be without a shoe rack or cabinet for those who come to visit.  They could leave them outside the door, which many do but then you run the risk of someone walking off with them, so we invested in the three tier variety.  It has a beautiful finish and can hold up to 20 pairs of shoes.  A must have.  Then because we do want people to come and visit we had to get a bed for them to sleep in.  Our first guest was treated to a mat, a very thin mat, on the floor.  Fortunately she was used to sleeping this way.  We have a guest coming from the states who really does need a bed.  We ordered the frame but had not decided on a mattress.  There is a company in Australia that makes a special mattress that everyone here seems to love so we told our friend to order it for us.  That was at 2:30 yesterday, at 4:00 we heard a knock on the door and much to our surprise a gentleman had our new mattress.  He probably broght it on a motor bike !!  What service, the US should take note.  We had to run out to the ATM and get money to pay for the thing.  Did I mention that this mattress is only 10 centimeters in depth.  So now we have an official Asian bed!  Low to the ground.  I might be getting to old for this.  

   Then there was the chair that Mark wanted.  It is a wonderful wood variety, no rocking chairs in this country, that we could find anyway.  It has flowers made from eggshells etched into the wood.  It  moves, which is good enough for Mark.  The bottom extends out to make a lounge type chair.  I think he likes his naps to much.  The only problem is, it is all wood.  Not to bad but I think I will invest in a cushion for the head as I tried to nap in it and ended up with a headache.  I found a chair for myself which is a glider but I have to remember where we saw it and get a ride back there.   

New Furniture

The Goats

ODDS AND ENDS

Ok, so I hear the roosters every morning around 4 Am, early risers, and then the church bells, not sure what time they start but I was up at 3 AM and sure enough they were ringing, not sure why, do they have services at that hour? And of course, the dogs are also early risers and the horns of the people going to work start at 6 Am but why does someone not hear that baby crying and take care of him?  Well it turns out that that baby is a herd of baby goats.  We have a large marsh like area behind our apt building and as I was preparing to close the windows for the rain that was coming I spotted them heading around the pond and as I watched, they proceeded to go down the street and into a warehouse type building, that I guess they call home. I have seen and heard them several times since and they have found an old piece of cement to lay down on and sunbathe ! It is so cute to watch.  

Oh what you can see from ten stories up.  I love the view and so I am at the windows alot.  There always seems to be someones roof top that needs repair, especially since the wind can blow hard when the storms get ready to hit.  Since the roofs are made of tin, there is always someone out there banging away with the repairs.  Then there are the antenna's, of which every home has, they are a thin pole that reaches to the sky above the housetops.  The winds love to reek havoc with them too.  Of course, there is also the factory near us that has this metal crushing sound coming from it.  Do they recycle here?  

Saturday night Mark went hunting, on foot, since we have no motor bike, for a new place to eat.  He came back and we ventured out to his great find.  It was a couple blocks away and we had to use sign language and pictures to order.  We decided to just try the basic fried rice and there famous noodle soup.  We were not sure if they understood but when it arrived we ended up with fried rice with several types of meat in it and the soup, well, I have no idea but it had no noodles and  the meat in it had lots of bones. Next time we take the dictionary with us.  Then there are the girls who stand guard over you, I mean who serve you.  They never take their eyes off of you.  I am not sure if it was because we were foreigners and they were curious or if they guard everyone.  The service was good, the tea never ran out.    We ended the evening on the 17th floor cafe of our building, which only serves coffee and ice cream, not sure why they call them cafes, and watched the airplanes take off and land.  

I decided that I had to do something about my gray roots.  It was way past time to have them colored.  I got a recommendation for a salon that catered to foreigners and called them.  They wanted $80.00 US to just color and that did not include a cut.  Well we are on a budget so I went next door to the market and since it is pretty small they only had black dye so on Sunday Mark and I took a taxi across town to a larger market.  We had pizza and shopped at another larger market.  They had black and two bottle of blond.  I chose the blond since black just does nothing for my skin color, although I might blend in better.  The directions came in four different languages and since I am not fluent in any of them yet, I checked out the pictures and then found a bit of English subtitles.  I got ready for the process and prayed that I would not look like a freak at the end of it all.  Well the results were good but I sure enjoy it more when I can have it done by someone else.  Don't even ask about a haircut.  Mark got one for $1.00 US and yes you get what you pay for.  I had to cut the back because they only trimmed the top!! I think we will continue looking.

 

A Ride Anyone ??

After returning from Singapore, to our humble abode we realized that time is flying and we have to get some more furniture as our friend Ken from the states is coming to visit.  I don't think he would like the hard tile floors or the simple mats that the Vietnamese sleep on.  Our friend took me on his motor bike to look at furniture.  There is an area here that has tons of store fronts with much the same furniture.  It was about 4:30 PM when we began our trip.  Rush hour here begins at 4PM.  I have decided that if I am going to live here I need to have a better attitude about this motor bike thing.  After the half hour drive to the furniture store I am convinced that I can do this, even if we did almost cream a young girl who pulled out in front of us.  That lead to a conversation about women (girl) drivers.  He stated that it always seems to be the girls that cause the accidents.  Sound familiar?  We even stopped at a Pizza Hut and brought home two large pizza's, two for the price of one night.  He carried them and drove.    Now Mark is wanting to get a bike so we can get out more.  I trust the friend who has been riding for 10 years with no accidents or tickets but Mark??

The next day he came back and we ventured out again, this time to the large Metro market.  We passed the meat section and they were handing out samples.  I took it and then asked what it was.  Would you believe I tried barbecue crocodile.  It was spicy from the sauce and OK,  but I do much better if I don't know what it is I am eating.  After buying our many items, I was stocking up since I don't get here often, I thought I would take a taxi back to our apt.  Oh no, he said, we can carry it on the bike !!  Well we had a case of diet coke plus a bug zapper, plus a juicer and a bucket for mopping and a mop,  plus a lot of meat and other items.  Well he packed it all into two large bags which he had in front of him with the case of coke.  I held the bucket and mop and wished I had a camera.  We made it home without mishap and I got to save myself, the taxi fare.  And he has never had an accident, did I mention that?  Now all I need is a helmet that fits me.  Mark bought one after we arrived but I just thought I would take other transportation, until I found out how much it cost for a taxi.  my Next venture will be a city bus !!

Singapore - Mini Vacation

We had to fly to Singapore this week to get a replacement insulin pump, mine died last week.  We have friends there who let us stay with them.  They live on the 19th floor of a 21 floor apt building. The view from their apt is beautiful.  They are right across the street from the water and we could see all of the ships docked there.  The lights at night were fabulous.  

Singapore is a little bit of heaven.   They have a very strong litter law and no gum chewing.  They have such a well built and well maintained island.  They only allow a certain number of cars on the island and those must be equipped with a machine that you insert a debit type card into.  As you drive in certain areas you are charged if it is a peak time of day and also  the machine debits money for parking in certain areas.  It can get quit expensive to own a car.  They have a great transit system.  The bus goes everywhere and also a subway.  

On Tuesday we were taken to a shopping area called Orchard Street.  It is a street that caters to those who love to spend money.  There is also a Starbucks on every corner.  Many of the malls are 5 - 6 stories and have most everything including grocery stores.  We also went to an Ikea store where we had lunch and I was able to look around.  I got so lost in that place, they actually had arrows on the floor to direct you from area to area.

Everywhere we go there seems to be funder storms as my grandson, Gavin loves to call them.

The lighting, lights up the skies and then the loud, loud booms come.  Our apt in Vietnam was actually hit by lighting last Sunday.  It was the loudest boom I had ever heard and then we heard something fall and crash.  They do have lighting rods on the buildings.

We have been invited back to spend Christmas in Singapore, they decorate the whole city, they have already started and we look forward to the programs they have.  It won't be home but it will be the next best thing.  

SIngapore

Neat Sunset

The View

The View and Other Interesting Experiences

Our apt is on the 10th floor of a 17th  story building.  We usually have a great breeze and the view is wonderful.  I have taken some photos.  Each night Mark and I have gone to the fitness room on the 17th floor to work out.  I am going to get into shape if it kills me!!  The breezes and view from the 17th floor are also spectacular.  

I go to the market almost every day, it is right next to our apt. building.  We have a pretty small refrigerator so I usually only buy for a day or two.  I was looking for meat to make hamburgers at the meat counter.  I waited my turn in line and hoped that the man spoke some English.  When it was my turn he looked at me and asked in English what he could help me with.  I pointed to some meat and asked if it was beef.  Things are not always what they appear to be.  He answered yes and he asked how much I would like, I replied 1/2 lb.  He gave me the oddest look, then I remembered that he wanted kilograms.  I just said 1/2 please.  He asked if I was from England?   Then when I got to the check stand, now remember I frequent this place, I got a checker who asked where I was from.  She also spoke some English.  Most of the checkout people, don't speak any English and just want to help me find the correct amount of money.  Their money is called Dong and 16,500.00 is about $1.00 US.  I carry a lot of Dong. 

I learned a funny thing about the trucks in Vietnam.  When they back up they don't beep like American trucks, they play the happy birthday song.  Don't know where that came from!!

I also had another strange experience, I opened a sponge to use for cleaning and guess what I found?  It had two holes in it. Not sure why they have that either!  I love these new experiences. 

Our New Home

On Monday Oct 20th, we moved into our new home. We will be here for at least one year. It has three bedrooms and three bathrooms and is furnished. We feel very blessed. We are on the 10th floor of a 17th story building. The 17th floor has a fitness room and a billard room. It also has a great breeze and view. I am trying to get along without using the air conditioner, too much. We have one in the master bedroom and one in the eating area. We also have fans in the office and kitchen. The evenings we usually have a great breeze but the days are hot and humid. Today it has rained all day. This is the first day of all rain since we arrived. It is great!

Our third day in the apt. we were treated to a Vietnamese lunch prepared by our friend and his girlfriend. They brought us a rice cooker and enough rice to last a very long time. They fixed the rice along with pork, fish with the heads still on, I still am not used to that, and then the veggies. They serve fruit and tea for dessert. They have been so helpful, taking us to look at places and then getting us settled. We are blessed.

I was on the computer the other day and I kept hearing this scratching at the front door. I opened it and in came the owner's dog. They have moved down to the 5th floor. I guess the dog knows how to get around and he just came back to his old home. We took him back and have not seen him since. He is one smart dog.

I went to the market next door last evening to get food for dinner. Most things also are in English but not all. I was trying to find chicken breasts, Mark only likes the white meat. I looked and looked but they way it was packaged I could not tell what I had, as I was purchasing it Mark noticed that the checker was snickering. He was trying to ask her what it was that we were buying. She did not speak English but I think it was the bag of french fries that we had found. Strange American's. Why would anyone want french fries when there was so much rice to be had.

We still have our American foods for breakfast and lunch and then for dinner we experiment. They always have rice or noodles and vegtables and meat is either pork or fish. Not to much chicken or beef. We have a restauant on the first floor of our building. We went there our second night and they offer all kinds of eel, frog, etc. not my favorites, then they also serve eel blood with wine, I passed on that one. I am getting good with the chop sticks. I can now pick up the peanuts that they serve as appetizers!!

Indonesia

Indonesia

We spent a week in Indonesia for a conference.  We traveled by Asia Air, which they title a low cost airline, we soon found out the reason why.  It cost us $4.00 per bag that we checked in, no assigned seats, consequently the line began to form 45 minutes before the boarding time and they was a race to the plane to get a good seat, these people don't mind pushing their way through.  There was no free anything, food, drink, blanket, and they only took the money of the country we had not yet arrived in.  We flew to Malaysia, got in at midnight and stayed at a hotel near the airport, we then took a 5:30 AM shuttle from the hotel to the airport and took another packed flight to Medan, Indonesia.  When we arrived we had to pay for a one week visa, the only problem was they did not like the new American bill we gave them so off to the ATM we went. We finally boarded a bus that the church had to pick us up and arrived at the hotel, only to meet another line for check in.  

There were at least 600 people at this conference.  They had 5 Hugh buses to shuttle us back and forth from the hotel to the church.  The first evening the Governor of the area came and was honored, he was a friend of the pastor's and a Muslim.  He welcomed us to the area and of course the press was there to capture it all on film. 

We were told many times not to venture away from the church or hotel by ourselves.  There were armed guards everywhere.  On Thursday they had arranged for a city bus tour and trip to a beautiful seven story mall.  There were five buses and we were escorted by a police car, sirens going and all.  We felt like royalty.  I am sure that the city wondered who the heck we all were. We also had four police girls, not women, on each bus.  They were so cute, not sure how much protection they would have been.  When we arrived at the mall we had two hours to shop.  The police women were stationed at the main entrance and we were released to shop.

On Friday afternoon we packed up and were taken to the five star hotel of the previous evening for a missionary retreat.  There were 35 of us from all over Asia.  We had two great days of fellowship and prayer.  We all needed to reconnect with those who know what it is like to be in the field.  At the end of the evening we just stayed and talked, none wanting to leave.  

  

Cultural Night in Indonesia

On the last night of our conference in Indonesia we were treated to a 8 course dinner at a five star hotel.  They even had a red carpet as we entered.  It was a cultural night and we were asked to wear clothing native to the countries we represented.  Mark and I had had shirts made from Vietnamese silk on one of the Vietnamese prints.  Each country was also asked to perform.  Our group sang God is so good in English and Vietnamese.  Mark and I, of course, did a great job of lip sinking the Vietnamese.  Someday we will be able to do it.  We had a great time watching all the different countries do different things.  The Thai girls did a beautiful dance as did the Bangladesh couple and many of the other countries.  The Aussie's had us all laughing.  They wore outback hats with cork hanging down on strings to keep the flies away.  It was a great way to end a week of wonderful fellowship and teaching.

Cultural Night in Indonesia

Copy and paste this into your website:

Observations of Vietnam

Taxi drivers wear white shirts and ties and love to impress you with a CD of Hotel California or turn on Ben and Jerry cartoons on the movie screen in the taxi.

Taxi drivers will make u turns or turn in front of a big bus to get where they need to be.

They also will go backwards down a long street if necessary.  This happened while we were in the taxi. Amazing.  The motorbikes just go around them.  

Everyone honks their horns even when there is no reason to.

Traffic laws are not followed here, but some are pulled over if the police feel so inclined.  You can even drive a motor bike up on the sidewalk if traffic is moving to slow.  Walkers beware !

When riding a motor bike the ladies choice of apparel is long silk gloves that go up to her shoulder, no skin showing, socks or stockings that are worn with their heels, a mask that covers their face and a hat under the helmet, all to keep out the sun.  Dark skin is not acceptable.

The first English phrase everyone learns is Hello, How are you?  

They have valet motor bike parking at many cafe's and stores.  

All the cafe's in our area put their menu's out front for all to brouse and they all have the same items.  Only difference is prices. They also station men out front to hail you over to take a look even if you just came out of the cafe next door.

The park is the place to be in the evenings.  Games played are badmitton, and hackey sac with a birdie from the badmitton set.  They also play a game like volley ball with a net but they use their feet.  They have a some bicycles whose riders love to do tricks and a few skateboarders and they also race remote control cars.  The carnival has a permanent place here also.  It has a bounce house for the kids and a circus on the weekends.  

Most men smoke.  

They also feel that all foreigners are a source of great wealth.  The prices go up for many things and you should count all change that is given back to you.  

Many women also where an outfit that we would call pajamas, I thought the girl serving us breakfast the first day had just gotten up until I saw her that night, as we went to dinner, wearing the same outfit.  Then I noticed others wearing them as well.  

It is hard to find a building that has an elevator, most just walk up the five or six flights of stairs. Now I know why they stay so slim.  

If you want to know how much you weight or your height, they carry a large scale,that talks to you, up and down the streets and for only $1.00 they welcome you to stand on it.  

Pharmacies are everywhere, 3 on our street alone, and they will sell you most anything. Outdated meds are normal. 

As we continue our journey here I will add more to the list. 

 

Mekong Delta Trip

On Friday we took a three hour bus tour to the Mekong Delta.  After arriving at the river we boarded a motor boat to take a tour of the river.  Many people live on the river in small boats. They live, eat and sleep on these small boats.  They also go up and down the river selling their fish, potatoes, pumpkins, watermelons, etc.  The river itself is pretty dirty.  They bath in the river and also use it as their toilet.  The landscape along the river was beautiful.

We came to our next stop where we were shown how they make coconut candy and rice paper. We were given samples that were delicious.  We were offered tastes of rice wine, but only the strong were daring enought to try it.  It is made with snake or scorpians and no one seemed to like it.  We also were shown how they pop rice to make rice cakes or rice cripies.  They heat a kettle with sand and when it gets very hot they add the rice, that then pops.  After this they transfer it to a strainer and any that are not popped they use again.  They then add sugar and malt and cook for 15 mins then spread it out on a table and cut it up.  It was pretty tasty.

After this tour we continued down the river to an island where we were treated to a real Vietnamese lunch, we had soup, pork, rice and spring rolls, that are so famous here.  For desert we were offered a series of different fruits.  After lunch we were serenaded by a group of workers that live on the island.  They also had two ladies sing stories which were quite beautiful.  

Another 15 minutes down the river and our trip concluded in a market place, much like the ones in Thailand, which sells, fruits, veggies, and the eels, snakes, frogs, etc.
It was a long day and hot but we stopped half way home at a beautiful rest area and restaurant which provided the ice cream to top our trip off.

Mekong Delta Trip

Cu Chi Tunnels

The Handicapped Store and the Cu Chi Tunnels

On Friday, we took our first bus tour to see the Cu Chi Tunnels.  On the way our first pit stop was a handicapped handicraft store.  It was a two hour bus trip to the tunnels and the tour company has their first bathroom stop here at this shop.  As you enter you are greeted by table upon table of handicapped people working on pictures and all sorts of lacquered ware products.  Many are made with egg shells or sea shells.  It was all done by hand and was absolutely beautiful.  I wanted to buy so many things but only had twenty minutes, so Mark promised me that when we get our own place we could go back and check them out again. 

The final stop was the Cu Chi Tunnels, an area near Ho Chi Minh City that during the war was famous for its underground tunnels.  The tunnel network became legendary during the 1960's for its role in facilitating the Viet Cong control of a large rural area.  The maze of tunnels was amazing. Most were destroyed by US bombings.  Some of the entrances to the tunnels are so small that the people had to hold their hands above their heads to descend into them.  See some of the pictures.  In these tunnels they had hospitals, eating areas and supply centers.  There were also many booby traps for the American Soldiers, that tried to enter them. According to the authors of the book The Tunnels of Cu Chi, it was the most bombed, shelled, gassed, defoliated and generally devastated area in the history of warfare.  Today they have replanted much of the foliage and crops but there is still a poor outcome of crops due to the chemicals used.   

 

Handicapped Handcrafts

Sights and Observations

Monday we had to head to the post office so we made it a time to see more sights.  It was about a 20 min walk from our hotel to the post office.  We had to go past a park around a traffic circle and then through the downtown district which includes many high rise financial buildings, dept stores and many, many hotels.  The area we are staying in is known as the back packer district, cheaper hotels and dorms for only $3.00 a night if you like,  but the downtown is where the wealthier visitors stay and a shoppers heaven.   We first passed the Independence Palace, this is where in 1975,  a tank belonging to the Northern Army broke throught the gate and began the fall of Saigon and the south.  The next stop was the Catholic Cathedral and then the post office which is the only one we could find in town, it has a map of Vietnam on the walls that was painted in 1938.  We had to take a picture of the Highlands Coffee Shop, they are a chain and are similar to our Starbucks.  The Saigon River was our last stop, they have a ferry to cross but that would have put us further away from our hotel.  

Whenever you go anywhere, there are many street vendors plus those who just carry there wears to sell, I have been offered so many books, sunglasses, wallets, zipo lighters even  in the resturants they just stand there waiting, hoping,  until you just turn away and continue your conversations.  Then, there are the cyclo drivers,  always asking,  where you from and where you going,  I take you there.  We had one cross a busy street just to escort us across, he risked his life twice for us so we paid him 5,000 dong, about 30 cents for his help.  Then there are the shoe shine people.  Even if you are wearing sandles they want to shine them. We sat down for ice cream,  Mark ordered a scoup of coconut, which turned out to be a scoup of chocolate in a coconut with a cone on top, and I kept telling the boy no shine my tennis shoes but he took out his toothbrush anyway and I kept insisting that because of the rain it would not help, finally I had to just get up and leave and then, of course he says,  Please I am hungary !!! 

More Sights in Vietnam

Caught in the Rain

On Friday, Mark and I decided to go Apt hunting. He had seem some on the internet and decided to check them out, of course, only having a street name did not help so we had lunch at a KFC and asked if they spoke English and could direct us to the street, four maps later we had a vague notion of where we were headed. Remember many of the street names have the same word in them so you may think you have the right street but don't. After walking for a mile or so the sky opened up and the wind started blowing so that my umbrella, my third on this trip, wanted to just blow away. Thank goodness that KFC is on every corner, we headed in for desert to wait out the storm. They usually only last ten minutes or so. This is where I took the pictures. Nothing stops these people, mainly because it rains alot and they can't afford to stop and wait it out. They just throw on a poncho and take off. Some, if they don't have them with them pull up to a street vendor and buy one. I bought one after that storm and boy they help, especially since Mark does not like to carry his umbrella, but they are hot.

Now back to my story, we ended up not finding the new apt building on that long, long street but took a taxi to another area that I like to call the Beverly Hills of Vietnam. Most of the people that live there are foreigner's whose companies are paying their expenses. We found a real estate office and the lady, who spoke English took us to look at several in a gated area. Not gated like we think of gated but a gate none the less. Three of the buildings did not have lift's or elevators so we ended up walking up four flights of stairs, twice, more like eight because there were two flights for each floor. We liked the apt but No way could I do those stairs alot, especially with groceries. My face was so red by the time we got up there that the poor lady was worried about me. I tried to tell her that my face always gets this way when I am hot. Most of those apts that we saw were out of our price range but the lady was so nice. Mark dropped his cell phone in the taxi on the way back and he called her and she actually called the cab company and the dispatcher put a call out and three hours later the taxi driver returned our cell phone and we gave him a nice reward. How rare is that?

We are now searching for a place to live closer to the airport and friends. Hopefully we find one soon, the suitcases have taken us over.

Another Rainy Day

Touring Day

We spent the day doing a walking tour of some of the sights of Vietnam.  We started at an indoor market, had lunch at what turned out to be a very loud disco type place but the pizza was good and ended up at the War Rememberance museum.  We spent several hours there, it was heart wrenching.  One thing I forgot to mention, is that everywhere a tourist goes in vietnam, you are followed by men driving what they call cyclo's, which are basically bicycles with a cart in front.  They want you to let them take you places, they usually ask where you are from.  They don't give up easily.  After we came out of the museum we heard Hey, Mr California, need a ride?  We had met this guy three hours before at the Independence Hall which happened to be closed and he suggested we go to the museum, we did and he say us come out. Persistence!!  We were on a walking tour but that made no difference to him.  After getting lost on the way back to our hotel I almost took him up on his offer.  We ended the day at the Highlands Coffee Shop down the street from our hotel with a great Lime Slushy type drink.  It was a very hot and humid day for a tour but we needed the walk after sitting so much.  There are so many places to see, next week we plan to see the caves that the people hide in during the war and also some beautiful beaches.

Touring

Sunday in the Park

A funny thing happened on the way to lunch. We were walking through a park to get to the restaurant and as we were watching a group of people racing remote control cars, another group of young people asked us if we would take their picture. After Mark did they asked us to be in a picture. We asked them why they were there and they said that they were looking for something good to do for someone. What a thought, they wanted to help poor people or do something for a group of blind people. We were able to share with them why we were in Vietnam and the girl in the yellow shirt who seemed to be the leader gave us a business card, it was her fathers and he has something to do with the film industry. We gave the card with email and phone numbers to the group we were meeting with and we will see what happens. Just another exciting day in Vietnam.

Students in Park

 

We Have Arrived

We arrived in Vietnam on Tuesday. We are told that Ho Chi Minh City has over 8 million people. I have never seen so many motorbikes in my life. There are not very many street lights and when there is one it looks like a race is getting ready to start. They do not have many cars in town, just taxi's. The motorbikes even go up the curbs if they don't want to wait. The front of the business's have people to direct you where to park you motorbike. It is truly amazing. We have spent the last several days exploring the city, of course we do this around 11 AM and I have decided that that is not a good time as the heat and humidity sends us back for a second shower, and a rest. I carry a washcloth, since Kleenex is not always available, I definitely need something to wipe my face and neck. I hate sweating. I have lost seven pounds since beginning this trip, probably just from sweating so much. We have come to love the rain, it usually just lasts a short time but cools things off. We get a great breakfast at our guest house, they serve us a French baguette, fresh fruit and coffee or tea. We also have found several places that have great bakery items. I will have to be careful with all of the delicious pastries.

Vietnam

View Album

Get your own

Final Memories in Thailand

I am sitting in a Japanese coffee shop, in Bangkok, using their Wi Fi . We left Mae Sot Thurday and traveled back to Bangkok with a caravan of two cars, a truck and one van from the Church. We were all returning from a great Pastors Conference and many of the College students also taught at an English camp. The trip took seven hours and someone asked Mark how his legs felt. I responded with, Oh we just cut them off each trip and reattach them on arrival. Remember Thai's are short and they don't have much leg room in their cars, buses etc.

Have I mentioned that Thailand has hugh bugs. We have seen several ten inch millipedes, snails that would be a gourmet's feast, and large, ugly cockroaches. We even found one baby frog in our bathroom. The market in Mae Sot is full of buckets of eels, snakes, frogs and a lot of fried bugs to munch on. We always love to take people there and watch them experience Thai delicacies.

You know you are back in the big city when you have to head to Pizza Hut for a Cesear Salad. In Mae Sot when you got a salad it was two small pieces of lettuce, loaded with tomatoes, onions, cucumbers and an occasional worm. Tonight we may even try to find the Sizzler in the Mall.

Neil, Diana, Noi 1, Noi 2

Oasis Coffee Shop

Final Days at the Oasis

Today was the final day I will be able to go and spend time at the Oasis Coffee Shop with my friend Diana. Tomorrow we begin a conference for two days and then return to Bangkok for our final few days. The girls in the picture are Noi 1 and Noi 2. They have such servant hearts. Noi 2 does not have a mother so she loves to give and get hugs from people. These girls work from 8 AM to 8 PM six days a week. They work 2 extra hours on Wed and Sat nights for functions at the Oasis. I gave them each a plant with flowers as a going away thank you and they told Diana that Christians have big hearts. They are Buddhists but have ask Diana to pray for them at various times. The mural in the background is being painted by a Burmese artist who is working to make some extra money to support herself. The Oasis is truly that for many who come to Mae Sot and don't have any friends. Diana makes them all feel welcome and offers much information to those who need help. I will miss your smiling faces and friendship.

water buffalo

waterfalls

MAE SOT WATERFALLS

Yesterday, Neil and Diane Gilbert, missionaries to Mae Sot took Mark and I touring for the afternoon. It was a perfect rain free day, one of the few since we arrived. We visited two waterfalls and traveled the back roads between Burma and Thailand. The country is so green and lush, we even ran into some water buffalo's, not literally. They were grazing on a hill. We only have one more week in Mae Sot, our conference begins next Tuesday and on Thursday we will travel to Bangkok.

MOTHER'S DAY IN THAILAND

Happy One Mi !! Today Aug 12th is Mother's day in Thailand. It is the queen's birthday. In December they celebrate Father's day, the King's birthday. The school's and banks are all closed. All the mothers were given flowers and honored at the school's yesterday. I received a flower from the missionay's wife who has the Home of Hope, they have 19, at risk children, who call her mom.
She was honored by all 9 children that attend the school. So Happy Mothers Day to you moms out there. When in Thailand do as the Thai do.

The Team

Mark and Debbie in Thailand

Our Time In Mae Sot Thailand

This is our third week in Mae Sot since the team left in July. We spent a week teaching some Pastors from the Hill Tribes a program called Community Health Evangelism. After that we spent four days in Chang Rai where we were able to cross the border into Burma for a day. We visited the church and orphanage of the pastor whom we have known for years and able to see the new progress he is making. We were also able to see Ron and Debbie Grosser, our friends, who came over years ago after taking one of our trips, they now have a home for nineteen at risk children from a Lahu tribe. This was the area where we were going to make our home.
Last week Laura Bush, the First Lady arrived in this small town to visit the Burmese refugee camp and a medical clinic for the Burmese. We were able to go to the same clinic the next day. We were given a short tour of the place and if you think our county hospitals are bad. They had at least 75-100 people listed who were all waiting to have cataract surgery. The place sure could use some cleanup. It is better than nothing but sanitary it was not. The young girl in the picture is 29 yrs old and had her legs blown off in a land mine accident. She has prosthetics but they don’t fit well and she has no one there to help her. The families are expected to take care of their loved ones and bring them food. We were able to pray with her. We also had an opportunity to pray for a young man who was there because of stomach problems. He takes care of his mother and younger brother but they were back in the refugee camp about an hour away. After we prayed for him he told the interpreter that he felt heat all over his body. God’s anointing is awesome. We are believing God for his total healing.
Saturday night I was able to speak at the English Church that they have started here. I shared about our getting here and our future plans. There was a group of young people there from Colorado and they had just arrived from Cambodia. They saw some powerful times of ministry as they shared the gospel and God did some great miracles.
We will be here until the end of the month and then we will leave for Vietnam on Sept 2nd.