December_21_2001page1

Happy Holiday to everyone!

Wow...we are back. It feels like we have been out of communicaton for a long time, and it is nice to back in the land of fast computers! We guess it has been about 6 weeks since we were able to add to our journal. We had two things going against us:

1) The internet in Vietnam is restricted to the use of certain sites. Ours being a personal webpage was banned from viewing or working on. Also, the internet in Vietnam is incredibly slow. Many Vietnamese people feel it is the same around the world, but just have never experienced fast, unrestricted internet use. More than one traveller left the internet cafes in storm, but not us...If we wanted fast internet we would stayed here in Bangkok.

2) Brad developed the "eye infection" that just would not heal.

You will recall that on November 26 we arrived in Nha Trang after a 8 hour bus ride from Dalat. We met our friend Martin who was on his way north. He was just recovering from a bout of conjunctivtus. The next morning Brad woke with a red eye and much irritation. It seemed probable he had contracted it from Martin. The first week we treated it with antibiotic eye drops and progress was made. Suddenly, on the next Saturday it was again irritated and swollen. We visited a doctor and a large number of medications were prescribe for bacterial conjuctivitus plus infection. Two other visits over the next two weeks to the doctor and we felt we headed in the right direction.

Our stay in Nha Trang was very comfortable because we stayed in a new hotel in a large room with two big beds for $5 a night. Complete with hot water! Better than that, we made friends with the day manager, Duc. He was college educated and very interested in the rest of the world and its people. He was very concerned about Brad and helped out at every turn. We spent several nights drinking Bia Hoi (Draft beer) with him. At night a makeshift bar is resurected on the street sidewalks were locals gather to drink cheap beer and have fun. Tourists usually drink more expensive bottled beer in the restaruants. One night while Brad was not feeling well he even took Jennifer with him. He was very concerneced that Brad would be jealous and would not let her pay, of course. So she slid him the money under the table so as not puncture his proud manhood. He is a very proud Vietnamese man who makes about $400 per year. And this is probably about double the average persons yearly income. It was great to have such a nice friend. On the fun days in Nha Trang we enjoyed the beach which had a rather large surf crashing on the shore. One crashed Jen and she lost her traveling wedding ring, and one crashed Brad and he lost his sunglasses (which he was wearing to protect his poor little eye, of course).

From there we headed to Hoi An (a 12 hour bus ride). It was a beautiful little city with excellent shoppoing! Brad was still laying a bit low, the eye was about 80% healed, so Jennifer sought other experiences. She went to an orphanage. Right up her alley and should have proved to be fun. Much to her and Brad's dismay, she returned to the hotel 1 hour later with her head hanging a bit low. She was told it was no longer "convenient" to accept volunteers, but they would show her around and accept a donation. She spent about 20 minutes in the room for children with disablities. The facilities were far below par and the kids just needed some love. She made the rounds to 5 beds with 3 children to a bed and touched them and smiled at them and talked nice words. They smiled and clutched at her, but the director said it was time to go. Now we were both blue and feeling a bit out of sorts. So, when your down you do what a city is known for, so we went shopping! There are wonderful clothes shops with silk and tailors spread all over. We picked one and went a bit crazy. On the first day, Jennifer was measured for two Ao Dias (traditional Vietnamese outfits) and a dress, and Brad was measured for a black suit and 3 silk dress shirts. They we ready for us in 24hours. We tried them on, loved them, and decided to buy more. Jen got another dress and Brad another suit and more dress shirts. How many of you have ever seen Brad wear a suit? The clothes were built to our bodies and looked and felt great! The cost...a dress, $12 and the suits were $30 each. Some how Brad spent more than Jen, which is a shame, but now Jen is getting a new Holiday outfit for the parties in Bangkok. We shipped them home and can not wait to wear them!

The eye felt nearly healed so we headed to Hue. An easy 6 hour bus ride to the north. On this trip we met a war veteran who was very friendly and happy to meet us. His name is An. Like the other stories we have heard, he worked for the US Army and was sent to "re-education" for 3 years after the war. He correctly termed it prison and talked about a friend who committed suicide while there. He was interested in finding some American friends from the war. We exchanged emails and a letter he had prepared in an effort to help him when we get back to the states. The letter was written by another US traveller who helped him with his grammar. He was an interpreter who was not allowed to speak english for over 20 years and, just in the last five months had gotten his job as a tour guide. He said, "Back then they did not need me, but now they do...huh". He has a great spirit and we look forward to hearing from and, if possible, helping find his friends. It is too bad he can not view our webpage.

Go to page 2