Sunday, October 18, 2009
Sunday, October 4, 2009
September in Viet Nam...
This was my first time in September in Asia and I read this is the rainiest month of the year. Well I took a chance and looking at the weather now in October I went at the right time because they are having Hurricanes and lots of rain now. We did get rain but it was showers and we would just sit it out then go do what we wanted between the outburst. I flew out of LAX to Hong Kong for the first time and was impressed with HK. There is great shopping there but it was tough because there were so many people. Then I flew to Ho Chi Minh on Labor day morning and Trong was there waiting for me. We spent 2 nights there visiting with friends and relaxing then took the second worst bus ride of my life to Dalat in the mountains in the central highlands. It was a 5 hour bus ride that took 9 hours with some very rough washed out road along the way. The city of Dalat is a beautiful place with flowers everywhere and a lake right in the middle of town. It was very cool and wet there but we had a great time taking the motorbike around see people and places in this romantic city. Too soon it was time to go back to HCM but this time we flew and spend 3 nights going to the zoo and taking care of last minute things and saying goodbye to our friends. Next spring I will be going back and hope to bring Trong back with me. We are waiting for our papers to go through for her visa. We both are waiting impatiently for this.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Sunday, May 3, 2009
April Showers...
Well it has taken me 2 weeks to finally be able to sit down and write this because of first health and second work has been very busy. This was a great trip and had both happy and some sad things happen. There was a group of 6 of us that got on the airplane here to fly together to VN and we arrived at about noon on April 3rd. The flight was long and late arriving but not too bad otherwise. My lady Trong was there waiting for me and after a little hassel with customs her and I got into the cab for our hotel. Because everybody had their own adgenda the group was spread out between 4 different hotels. But that night there was 12 of us all having dinner together at a very nice place with great VN food. There was 1 other white person besides me but almost everybody spoke english so the conversations were lively and full of fun stories. The next day Trong and I had many things to do for get ready for our trip to the resort town of Mui Ne and our engagement party in Dalat on April 13th. I also had made a appointment with a denist in HCM for Trong for a checkup and cleaning. She had never been to a denist before and I was happy to hear that she has no cavities and perfect teeth and the best part was it cost me $12 USD for the visit. So after doing some shopping and taking care of business for 3 days we got on a bus for a 5 hour ride to Mui Ne. The trip started off normal till we got out of the city traffic and into the country side when our driver who got his license at Nascar put his foot to the floor and off we went with all other traffic diving for safety in the dirt to each side of the rode. This went on for about 2 hours when I noticed something up ahead which turned out to be a speed trap and we were pulled over and our sporty driver given a ticket costing him about 1 weeks wages. After much chatter inside the bus off we drove with dust and gravel flying on both sides of the bus. This went on for another hour or soo before you guessed it we werer pulled over again and given another ticket costing him 1 month wages. So with a serious face on our driver which fit the white look of terror of all of us we had a nice safe ride the rest of the way.
Mui Ne is a beautiful resort town on the South China sea that is quiet and very special. The place we choose to stay was small and charming. There was a great pool, nice beach, and we had a wonderful cottage right on the sand. We had 3 quiet days there and we love this place and look forward to returning in the future. But it was time to go up to the mountians to Dalat where Trongs family waited for us for our engagement party.
We had a great hotel in Dalat that was very cheap and had huge french windows that opened up for the afternoon breeze and watch the beautiful sky blow the clouds by. The morning of the 13th Trong left early for the family house and I relaxed till it was time for the procession. The phone rang in my room and the front desk said you have many people here waiting for you. I walked down to the lobby and there were about 10 people there to be my side of the procession and of course none spoke english but everything went great and off we went to the family house with a great ceramony and great party after. It was a beautiful day and a special time for both Trong and her family and myself. We spent some days with her family and friends till it was time to go back to HCM and of course my trip back to the US. The sad part of the trip that I mentioned in the beggining was that the person who was supposed to be my best man lost his father to cancer while we were there and was not able to be with us for the ceramony. Our heart goes out to Tu Phan and his family for their loss. I am glad we were able to give some comfort to him and his family who have given us such great friendship.
Mui Ne is a beautiful resort town on the South China sea that is quiet and very special. The place we choose to stay was small and charming. There was a great pool, nice beach, and we had a wonderful cottage right on the sand. We had 3 quiet days there and we love this place and look forward to returning in the future. But it was time to go up to the mountians to Dalat where Trongs family waited for us for our engagement party.
We had a great hotel in Dalat that was very cheap and had huge french windows that opened up for the afternoon breeze and watch the beautiful sky blow the clouds by. The morning of the 13th Trong left early for the family house and I relaxed till it was time for the procession. The phone rang in my room and the front desk said you have many people here waiting for you. I walked down to the lobby and there were about 10 people there to be my side of the procession and of course none spoke english but everything went great and off we went to the family house with a great ceramony and great party after. It was a beautiful day and a special time for both Trong and her family and myself. We spent some days with her family and friends till it was time to go back to HCM and of course my trip back to the US. The sad part of the trip that I mentioned in the beggining was that the person who was supposed to be my best man lost his father to cancer while we were there and was not able to be with us for the ceramony. Our heart goes out to Tu Phan and his family for their loss. I am glad we were able to give some comfort to him and his family who have given us such great friendship.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Travelin Man...
Well I finished off 2008 with my 4th trip to Asia and logged 80,000 air miles. Not a bad year filled with fun and adventure. And I started 2009 with my lady Trong in the beautiful town of Dalat in the cold wet mountains of central Vietnam. I must tell everybody that it is official that I have become a motorbike person. At first I did not want to be on motorbike but this is how everybody gets around there and so now Trong and I travel everywhere we want on motorbike and even if death is just on the next block from some bus or taxi I have made the transition. I arrived in Ho Chi Minh the day that Vietnam won the soccer cup from Thailand for the 1st time in 10 years and the whole country went wild with celebration. So after a 24 hour ordeal to get there I could not sleep for another 18 or so hours. I did some business and saw some friends before flying to Dalat to be with my girlfriend. It was very cold and rainy when I arrived and the rain did not stop for 3 days then was on and off for the remaining 8 days we spent with Trongs family and friends. Dalat is a very romantic city and the flowers it is famous for really stun you with beauty. But we both were ready for some sun and warmth so we took bus to the beach town of Nha Trang where we both had friends to see and visit. The weather still was not great but we went to the Cambodian temple there that was built when the Cambodian people occupied the central part of Viet Nam many years ago. So after 3 days there we took the night train back to Ho Chi Minh for 6 days of fun with friends in the city and countryside. The days went by quickly and I hate to leave my lady for home but reality came and I flew home to everybody here sick with this throat crude that will not go away. Sorry for taking soo long to post this but I am just now feeling human again. I have plans for next trip and there will be some great pics and stories for the future so till then....
Friday, January 16, 2009
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