Ho Chi Minh City

Back in Ho Chi Minh City, I tried to figure out how the water puppets are moved so expertly in the Water Puppet Show. I took a tour of the Saigon Opera House and saw a Vietnamese version of Cirque de Soliel production. I visited the still functioning Old Post Office, complete with tourist shops, viewed the Notre Dame Cathedral, noting the sign that kept visitors from intruding on those wanting to pray. I wandered the night market.

On the serious side was the visit to the Cu Chi Tunnels and the War Remnants Museum. Fighters lived in these tunnels, crawling their way through what in some cases were the equivalent of three stories. The tunnels were ventilated, had areas for sleeping, cooking, everything for daily living. The American would try to flush them out by flooding the tunnels, or using dogs. The Vietnamese have had to fight the French for their independence, and then the Americans in a war I don't think I'll ever understand our part. The Vietnamese are very kind, gentle, helpful people who don't seem to have a grudge against US citizens, yet the weapons they used show how intense they were to preserve their culture and freedom. It's sad to know there are still unexploded bombs here that continue to take the lives of Vietnamese, and generations are still suffering from Agent Orange.

HCMC and the Mekong Delta

My entry into Vietnam wasn't my smartest move. Given I'd been traveling all fall, and only had two days at home to prepare for 2 months in Indonesia and Vietnam I forgot that I'd put off arranging for a Vietnamese visa that I figured I could do in my spare time in Indonsia. Good thing I read that dollars are popular in Vietnam so I had enough for the 15-day "emergency" visa. The officials were saying how expensive it would be, suggesting I should get on a flight back to Kuala Lampur. I wonder how expensive that would have been. As if that wasn't enough, my dive gear didn't arrive, making me very happy I decided not to check my other bag. I've realized worrying about such things doesn't help any, so I didn't worry, and there it was at my hotel,the next morning.  No matter, I had to leave it at the hotel anyway rather than take it to the Mekong Delta.

I thought I was leaving the congestion and horn-honking behind as the tour van departed HCMC but it accompanied us the whole way. I along with three others from Brazil were excited about seeing the delta and staying with a family overnight. Our first stop was to get into a hollowed out boat and glide along the Mekong River and then push our way through a tributary. The scenery here is so lush, and the river made me think of the muddy Mississippi, especially when we were maneuvering our way through the tributary, where the oarsman went to the bow to pull us through the narrow channel, and the rest of us fending us off the sides.

We meet our family at the Homestay near Vinh Long and took off for a meandering bike ride, first going over a rickety bridge to take a small ferry across one of many canals, then continued on the narrow paths along the canals that are everywhere. We shared the paths with motorbikes, taking care not to fall off the paths. Fields of rice and other vegetation blanket the scenery. Small kiosks along the way make living along the delta manageable.

We helped,make dinner. First was the appetizer--small disks of batter were cooked on a habatchi-type grill, each one with a shrimp placed in the middle. We then wrapped it with a leaf, dipped it in fish sauce and ate many they were so good. Since the family raises fish, that was our main course, along with sweet potatoes and cooked greens. Watermelon was dessert.  All was very yummy.

Early the next morning we went on a larger tour boat to see the floating market where wholesale and retail selling was done. The wooden boats look ancient, and well-used. We climbed on one to have some fresh cut pineapple, and not unexpectedly, saw the skins being tossed into the  river, along with banana peels, plastics and what not. It will take major reforms to clean up the river and change people's habits regarding littering.

I stayed in Can Tho for New Year's Eve, walking the riverfront, getting lost, finding help in a young girl who held my arm as we crossed streets and wasn't sure she should leave me on my own, but she did and I made it back to my hotel safely. No fireworks here due to a poor economy. I understand there will be no fireworks for the Lunar New Year which is the real celebration here. New Year's Day seemed like a normal day, with the local buses running as usual. One took me to Vinh Long, where taxi drivers jumped on the bus, making me think Mr. Pho had arranged for one to pick me up there, but I fended them off. Getting directions to the ferry was confusing, being pointed in opposite directions so it was a relief when a motorbike stopped and the driver spoke some English. He took me to the ferry, didn't overcharge me, and even called Mr. Pho.

My ride awaited me on the other side of the river, Mr. Pho's cousin. Oh, to be away from the chaos of the city and the quiet of another homestaynwas welcomed. The home stays were originally staying in a home. They now are simple blocks of basic rooms with showers and toilets outside the rooms. I went for a long bike ride, stopping to check out the fighting cocks that are separated in wicker baskets, and just to people watch.  The next day I sat on a motor cycle, traveling along country roads to see some pagodas and the French tree-lone village of Tra Vinh. We saw rice paper being made, bonsai trees being shaped, pagodas under construction and I got to sample some local ice cream from a bicycle vendor with a bell. The whole day cost 500,00vnd, the equivalent of less than $25.

Christmas at Tulamben

Kari, our personal chauffeur, was at our door at 8:47 for our 9am departure for Talumben. It took at least 45 minutes of slow driving to get to the "suburbs", making me realize why Kari wanted to leave at 8am. The roads are almost all two lane and windy. Some of the medians are planted with all kinds of colorful plants and flowers. Motorcycles dart in and out, some drivers with helmets, but many without. I've seen up to four people on one bike and all kinds of things being transported---a full shop's worth of tea shirts, coffee service, clothes drying racks, packing materials, and three goats.

Two hours out and the scenery is beautiful with fields of crops being attended to by the Indonesians--rice, corn, cassava and coconut. Houses and small kiosk shops still line the roads, but not as many Alfa, Circle K and Mini markets here. We stopped for a bathroom break and there was only a toilet at the gas station, no convenience shop. One looks up and all we see is green, with the occasional temple and Buddhist sculptures marking a temple or residence. Lots of furniture stores make me wonder what it would cost to have a custom made dining set made and shipped to the US. Given how thick the cut of wood is here, it would cost a fortune to ship. Despite the fact that we're going from the south of Bali to the northeast, we were never more than a block or so from someone's home. This makes me understand how Indonesia could have the 4th largest population in the world.  They might not live in high-rises, but there is a high concentration in what I'm seeing. The farther north we go the newer the construction, and somewhat larger homes and buildings. We don't see the black sand from all the volcanoes in the area until we get to the beach.

Three and a half hours later we arrived at Paradise Beach Bungalows, changing our room from one with a fan and cold water to one with air con and hot water. It added 50% more to the cost of the room, still less than $30 a night for a double room. The diving here is extra, no combo packages. Three dives for $75, 4 for $95 if all in one day, from shore. $7 extra for boat dives, boats that can only carry two,divers with equipment. They are hollowed-out canoes with side arms. The real question is, given the wave height, can we get out beyond the waves safely, and can we return safely without getting pummeled into the black rocks. We watched people returning to shore, some being pushed down to their knees and able to get up, even with a dive guide relieving them of the weight of their equipment. Boots and long wetsuits are a necessity in my opinion in these conditions. That was as the tide coming up. Sitting by the restaurant looking at the fish books, we monitored the waves crashing into the bulkhead, hoping that they would lessen, but as the tide rose, the pool chairs were getting a never-ending dose of sea water.

When we arrived the pool area was littered with dive gear from divers brought up here from the Denpasar area to dive for the day. By mid-afternoon the place was deserted. We sat at the restaurant into the evening, watched the rain pour from the sky and had an interesting conversation with Yon and Mary Lou. Yon is from the Netherlands, Mary Lou from CA. They met while leading dives in Bonaire, moved to Guam where Mary Lou earned her masters in marine conservation.

The waves calmed down more each day so we were able to dive as planned. We dove the SS Liberty three times to see the whole thing at different levels, with one early morning dive to see the family of bumphead parrotfish as they awaken. We took the boat one day to see the reef south of the resort, and dived from shore for our remaining dives. We couldn't get too lost as statues lined the paremeter of our resort. This was in part reef and muck diving. I got familiar enough with the house reef that I knew where to turn toward shore when we reached what I started referring to as anenome suburbs, vast numbers of anenomes housing a variety of anenome fish. We also saw a variety of starfish. I didn't see any cuttlefish here, but the last species I did see was a lone squid.

This is the first time I celebrated Christmas by diving, and it may not be the last time either. Three dives and a nice fish dinner was fine with me.

Diving at Lembah Strait in NE Sulawesi

Two final fives at Thalassa and I tumbled into the van that was to take us northeast to Bastiano's for muck diving. Seeing the harbor in the Lembah Strait had me skeptical of what the diving here would be like, especially when Sally said we'd be diving under some of the large wooden fishing vessels lined up. That said a chance of being electrocuted, until I realized the boats weren't plugged in. It was definitely a working harbor, something I wasn't prepared for. Manado was a wide open area with small fishing boats. Lembah was on a strait, which meant ebbing and flowing current and tides. Typically we dove 4 times a day in Lembah and more than once we had to change sites from what had been discussed because tide and current tables aren't monitored and they don't do drift dives here. Bol and Katrin were great spotters. We saw frog fish, leaf scorpionfish, gunnards, lizardfish, crocodile fish, a stargazer, a Spanish Dance, the queen of nudibranches in size which lays rose colored eggs in the appearance of a coiled ribbon, a rare blue-ringed octopus, the colorfully painted mandarin fish and shrimp and the unusual bobbit worm which are  snake eels normally seen with their head sticking straight up out of the sand a few inches.

When not in the water we relaxed and enjoyed the resort. Sally has been coming here for years so knows many of the staff. Tom, the manager, Jonathan and Rosa took good care of us, making sure on a daily basis everything was going well. We partook of the staff Christmas, celebrated on 16 December. First was a church service in the reformed restaurant for which boats had gathered guests from around the harbor. We heard Christmas music with Indonesian and English words. Dinner, which included fish, pork and dog (no I couldn't partake of that) was followed by dancing. Tom said the music would end at midnight, and it played up until the last second with the staff dancing their way back to bed. We knew the staff partied well the next day  but they still endured four dives.

Even after 26 dives here, I wasn't ready to leave. It was nice to have a dive boat to ourselves, and a sparse attendance at mealtime, but we were leaving before the throngs of holiday divers arrived.