Happy Gobble Gobble Day!

I don't have much to be thankful for so I plan on doing the following. Since it is 11/24 here, I'll tempt fate by downing a huge bowl of bird flu infested pho. Should I survive to see 11/25, I will do the same tomorrow being that it is Turkey day back home. If all goes well, I'll blog back stating that I am so thankful to be alive!

COME ON! (which literally translates into "ThankYou" in Vietnamese - although spelled differently). I have everything to be thankful for. For starters, I am in the old capital of Hue (pronounced who-a) in Central Vietnam and was able to speak to Erin this evening. Most of the internet cafes in China had headsets with microphones hooked up to the computers so Erin and I were able to speak live to each other via google talk once we split in Nanning. Since crossing the border however, I have not been as lucky. We basically have been reduced to cross each other's paths in cyber space via "old fashioned" email. After wandering around town this afternoon, I saw this cafe which had the headset and hoped to find Erin on line. Not only was I able to talk to her but her sister Shay was there and then my sister Jenn got online in Northern California so I talked to her and my mom too. Oh happy day! Always great to hear from home. Much different than the last time we traveled in 1996. So much so that my family doesn't even feel as if we have been gone for 4 months as we communicate via email often. Aahhh...the joys of modern technology. Speaking of which, the engineering of the rice fields in Sapa (just left there)is pretty awesome if you ask me.

And here is a photo of a house that was built with a slight elevation so that they could put these beer bottles in between the concrete slab and the base of the house so that sunlight captured by the bottles is then transferred inside.)

Back to other good news - Erin's mother Cindy is making progress. Here is the report from my father in-law Chris:
"Today, Cindy got some positive action with her case. One of the Doctors took the lead to be assertive about her care. Wednesday morning Cindy was taken to have an MRI to determine once and for all if she has gall-stones. He said in 80% of cases of pancreatitis the gall bladder is the cause. Long story short - They found stones in her gall bladder and have treated the pancreas by implanting a stint (plastic tube) to allow the pancreatic fluid to drain into the intestine and the hope is that it will also drain the cyst and the infection that is there.Long term recovery is 12-18 months, gall bladder removal sometime in that period.She is encouraged by the support and prayers she knows are going for her.Thanks, Chris and Cindy Jensen."

Please keep her in your thoughts and I am sending my well wishes to her and all of you for a safe and happy holiday.

Other things I am thankful for - Nice rooms in a hotel for $4-Phat fresh meals for under $3-Internet time for .40 cents per hour-Beer for .75 cents (tall bottles and less for draught) and finally,I am thankful that I still snicker everytime someone says Dong - Thanks Mark:)

From Hanoi, I went via overnight train on a hard sleeper to Sapa. In the northwest of Vietnam, it is known for it's ethnic minorities and trekking.

I did a 2 day trek through the rice fields and valley and spent the night in the small village of Ban Ho. The weather was not the best but at least it didn't rain. The family that we stayed with was very nice and the dinner that evening was ridiculously gluttonous. It was nice to get the heart pumping again and the contrast in cultures is always eye opening. It's a hard life that most of these villagers lead (compared to our standards) but yet they still have the ability to smile and laugh each and every day. Here are some of the kids and my accomodations for the night with a view from the balcony.

When we got back on the second day, we booked our train tickets for the night train back to Hanoi. It left at 9PM and got us into Hanoi at 5AM. The rest of that day was spent looking for breakfast at 7AM (another killer bowl of pho on the side of the road for 5000 Dong or 33 cents),

window shopping for Erin, taking in the sights

and playing "Look for the woman with the cone shaped hat".

All of this was in an effort to kill time before we jumped on the night bus to Hue. It left at 7PM last night and got in this morning 12 hours later. I can't do this shit any more. I look around and all the backpackers are in there early 20's! They get up all bright eyed and bushy tailed while I look for my teeth and try to work the kinks out of my lower back after 4 hours of sleep.

It was a down day today as it was raining but I plan on touring the DMZ fields tomorrow and the Old Citadel the day after before heading on to Hoi An.

Save some turkey for me!

FMP