Thursday, May 23, 2013

Happy Birthday, Buddha! And a Plea...

From Wiki: "May 24, 2013,  is a holy day observed by Buddhists in Thailand. 

Sometimes informally called 'Buddha's Birthday', it actually commemorates the birth, enlightenment (nirvāna), and death (Parinirvāna) of Gautama Buddha."

There are multiple traditions associated with this day of observation, but one I particularly like is the release of birds, insects and animals by the thousands, in a "symbolic act of liberation".

So, in the spirit of a symbolic act of liberation, Erik and I would like to propose the return, to their factories of origin,  of all outstanding versions of "tacky Buddha (TB)," SE of which have been presented here in this post.  


TB is something that Erik and I have observed in far too many places throughout SE Asia...  


TB is also something we thought we were the sole individuals to have observed and named.  


So imagine our surprise when I stumbled, via a Google search, not only on the name "Tacky Buddha",  but also upon a YouTube video specifically "recognizing" TB, making a similar plea to our's, and watched some 500 times!





The tunnels of Cu Chi

Here is the story of the Cu Chi tunnels (an hour' drive by bus outside Ho Chi Minh City), as told in the words of our hosts.  

Cu Chi was always known as a land of gardens and fruit trees, there was always something ripening in all seasons.   It was a favorite site for picnics for those living in Saigon.  

Rubber tree plantations were an important part of the economy.  

During the American war this area was converted into a base from which the Viet Cong (VC) could launch attacks.   

Saigon airport was only 30km away and was a frequent target.  

In response, the US launched B52 attacks of hundreds of bombs.   

As a result of this "crazy batch of devils", a hatred of "US bombs and bullets" developed.  

To keep their homes and cherished countryside, the Vietnamese were forced to live underground, eventually developing an immense network of zigzagged tunnels, seventy five miles long and about two feet high.  


The deepest of the tunnel series were eight to ten meters deep, and "everywhere, there were hiding places."

To keep the enemy from discovering the soil dispersed during the creation of the tunnels, it was sent by bicyclist to the nearby Saigon River, in which it was dumped.  


"Locals became heroes for killing Americans. "

Using animal tracking techniques, they would follow the typical paths (GI's) would take, foretelling where the enemy would go.  

They then devised a series of traps of various types to snare the enemy, some which had been previously and successfully used with French invaders.  


The traps often featured deadly, pointed bamboo and metal stakes. 

A cheap, and readily available source of poison to place on these stakes was human excrement.   It was also highly effective in (eventual) killing.  

Another weapon used to advantage: unexplored American bombs.   These were disassembled at great personal risk and new  weapons and explosives were crafted to use against the enemy. 


The Cu Chi townspeople and Viet Cong kept cultivating the land or targeting Americans at night, while sleeping, eating and cooking in the tunnels and wider "bunker" spaces during the day.  

Human waste was managed within the body fitting (only) tunnels by digging a shallow hole,  and refilling it with dirt and ashes from the fireplace of the  cooking bunker.  

Many Vietnamese and VC were overcome by malaria, which was the second highest cause of death following wounds.  

One hundred percent of tunnel occupants were said to have "intestinal parasites of significance."  (Wiki)

To keep the enemy from finding the smoke rising from the cooking bunker stove, a series of ingenious filters were developed along the length of the bamboo-based evacuation route.  

Cooking was permitted once a day around 4am so that any residual smoke would be camouflaged by morning mists, natural to the jungle.  

The enemy attempted to find the tunnel entry points by bringing in hundreds of German dogs trained in smelling the clothes of the Vietnamese.  

But the Vietnamese countered by leaving the clothes of dead Americans outside the tunnel openings during the night, and the dogs would then simply walk by during the day.  

The American and allied troops complained that they couldn't see the VC, yet they would seem to be everywhere; appearing, disappearing and reappearing.  


American and allied troops couldnt imagine their enemy capable of building so complicated  a system.  

But Cu Chi guerrillas did, and stood firm at the gateway to Saigon, from which they eventually unleashed their deadly and successful Tet Offensive.

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and the War Remnants Museum

"We were wrong, terribly wrong.   We owe it to future generations to explain why."

-Robert McNamara, former US Defense Secretary in the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations

I knew it  wasn't going to be easy to witness or communicate what Erik and I would see here...

"Guys were about to shoot these people", photographer Ron Haeberle remembered.  "I yelled, 'hold it' and shot my picture.  


As I walked away, I heard M16s open up.  From the corner of my eyes I saw bodies falling, but I didn't turn to look"

Photo taken at Vietnamese village at
Son My, My Lai.  

We had - and have - a moral obligation to have learned something from this, but have we?


The War Remnants Museum tells the story of the "American" (Vietnamese) War from the other side.  

One learns briefly of Vietnam's longstanding struggle for freedom from multiple, historic invaders, but here the story begins with the demise of the French and the arrival of the American imperialists.  

Especially well documented are the horrors and long-term effects of our spraying of agent orange, and of the insidious and long-term effects of its chemical component, dioxin.


Included in the exhibit is a poignant letter sent to President Obama from a young Vietnamese girl, Tran Thi Hoan, born without legs or her left hand and a 2nd generation victim of the effects of dioxin. 

In it, she seeks his (and our) assistance in reparations for this now multi-generational scourge, effecting both Vietnamese and American families.  


A special exhibit features American and other journalists, and the critical role they played, especially in this war, in informing the public of the realities of our undertaking.  

Here, no one's work and words touched us as much as  those of photo journalist Larry Burrows, pictured below in a photo taken three days before he was killed in a helicopter in Laos. 


He'd said: "I will do what is required to show what is happening" and, hauntingly, "I have a sense of the ultimate-death and sometimes I must say "to hell with that."

After leaving the exhibit, and reflecting upon our leadership that had led us into this war, words that I'd learned as a  Catholic child came to mind: "forgive them, for they know not what they do." 


There were far too many other stories to tell and quotes to share, but let's conclude with this one from a "just" war:  

"To initiate a war of aggression is not only a crime, it is the supreme international crime, differing from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evils of the whole." 
-The judgment of the Nuremberg        International Military Tribunal, September 30, 1945.  

Erik's Conversion...

Well, I know I'm gonna have lots of explaining to do to his parents, but I figured I should put it out there.  




We've lost Erik...   He's converted.  

To his family and friends, I wanted to let you know I plan to pull every string I can to bring him back to market capitalism via the magic that is Bangkok - but I can make no promises.

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

From Salad Rolls to Rice Crepes - All in One Class!

Our instructor wasted no time introducing us to the ingredients for our first dish, Vietnamese Salad Rolls, and in showing us how to assemble this mini masterpiece of fresh ingredients.  


We then mixed our peanut hoisin sauce , Nuoe Leo, and sat down for our first taste test.  Delicious!




We then made sizzling Vietnamese Crepes - Banh Xeo - from the rice milk we'd spun out earlier in the village.  


We ended with Southern - Style Beef Vermicelli and Hanoi-style Noodele Soup with Beef.  

Between all that cooking and eating, and the sweltering midday heat, I was happy to forego the boat return home for a comfortable and air conditioned taxi ride, instead!

Adventures in Vietnamese Cuisine

While Erik slept in, I began my day with the Thuan Tinh Island Cooking program with a tour of the bustling Hoi An market.  

It didn't take long for me to begin seeing, cataloging and photographing the unfamiliar, from meteor-shaped fruits and bowls of one inch dried shrimp, to this porcine head - on its way to some chef's table. 


Our guide stopped every few steps to collect and explain some new, fresh ingredient that we would then add to the baskets we were carrying.

We finished our shopping, boarded a boat and headed out on a leisurely forty five minute river cruise to a fisherman's village where the river meets the sea.  



There, we transferred to two small rowboats and entered a waterway of beautiful palm trees, many of which had been freshly harvested as thatching for roofs in the village.  



We arrived at our village and immediately were given a demonstration of ancient but still practical techniques for separating rice from its husk and for making rice milk; an important ingredient in today's cooking.  



Finally we arrived at the open air cooking studio with a beautiful garden surrounding it on three sides. 

Let the learning begin!




Monday, May 20, 2013

An Bang Beach and Celebrating Ho Chi Minh's Birthday

Erik and I had a killer breakfast at our Hoi An Home, the Ha An Hotel, and then headed out on a 3km ride to the beach on our borrowed bikes. 

Little  did we know the adventurous day that was in store for us!


It began when a seventy year old Vietnamese bicyclist encouraged us to stop at a rice field en route to the beach. 

Figuring there was nothing to lose, and being open to some adventure, we silently followed him into the rice paddy fields.  

There, we passed some free range ducks enjoying a swim amongst the water lilies, but apparently headed to dinner plates in Hoi An based upon the cutting gesture our escort made across his throat as we passed.  

Neither Erik nor I were inclined to share that information with the contented ducks.  



Next, our escort pulled a greenstalk of rice from the ground and pointed the kernels out to us.  

I'd never seen a rice stalk up close before, and truly began to warm to the novelty of this unique adventure featuring no  spoken words between us.  

Suddenly, our escort was waste deep in the water.  

He picked some lotus flowers, returned to our sides to deliver one to each of us, and headed down a concrete causeway, shooing a cow off the causeway during the process. 

We arrived at a small shrine of some sort.   A multi-language plate explained that the shrine honored a Japanese man who'd returned from Japan to Hoi An to be with his Vietnamese lover.  

We placed our lotus flowers in a vase and left a couple of US dollars at the shrine, too, as this was apparently a hybrid shrine and homage to Buddha was apparently expected.  

We said a smiling goodbye to our escort and headed to our next stop; a roadside village that encouraged visitors to wander amongst its vegetable gardens.  Wonderful!



Finally, we arrived at the beach, had a delicious lunch of shrimp fried rice, and got drawn into some kind of celebratory beer fest with a group of four Vietnamese guys at the next table. 



We soon learned they had the day off due to it being Ho Chi Minh's birthday and it quickly became evident that they wanted us to join them in honoring old Ho!

Three cases of beer and one major karaoke event later (a story that's not going to be told here), we left our new, best, dearest friends and returned, via taxi, to our beach.  

There, we swam off "the effects" before making our way back to Hoi An for a good, long nap!


Hoi An, Vietnam's Coastal Pearl

From Wiki: "The Old Town is a UNESCO Heritage Site, and wandering around these beautifully preserved streets is a treat in itself. 

The most famous sight in Hoi An is the covered Japanese Bridge, but the entire town is one giant Kodak moment."

Trust me: I couldn't have said it better myself - and so chose not to...


We're here for two days to recharge our batteries.  I can't imagine a better place to accomplish this in Vietnam.  


This town is truly one of the pearls of SE Asia.  

Beautiful!






Sunday, May 19, 2013

Happening Upon the Holy Grail of Buddhas...

This from Wiki, regarding the Stone Mountain shrine we visited above "Stone City", yesterday:

 "The Marble Mountains are home to several Buddhist and Hindu grottoes. 


A stairway of 156 steps leads to the summit of Thuy Son, the only marble mountain accessible to visitors.


 It allows a wide panoramic view of the surrounding area and the other marble mountains. 

There are a number of grottoes, including Huyen Khong and Tang Chon, and many Hindu and Buddhist sanctuaries, the pagoda Tam Thai, built in 1825, Tu Tam and Linh Ung, and the tower of Pho Dong. 

The sanctuaries feature statuary and relief depictions of religious scenes carved out of the marble."


What the quote above specifically fails to mention is the "holy grail of Buddhas" that Erik and I came upon...

As we turned the corner of this particular cave, whose entryway was adorned by the beautiful statue above, we came upon a sight that took my breath away.  

There, in front of us appeared an immense, cavernous hall, streaked by streams of sunlight from an opening far overhead, but clouded by incense.  


As our eyes further adjusted and feasted upon this holy site, we eventually realized that imbedded in the wall opposite us was an immense and most beautiful Buddha. 


He and the setting were simply stunning, and we spent the next fifteen minutes silently absorbing this incredible scene; one of the most exciting discoveries of our trip.  


Marveling at Marble Statuary, South of Danang

We had read that Danang wasn't much of a city for tourists, but two sites we visited yesterday changed our opinion of that!

The first is referred to as "Marble City" and is a town nestled among five mountains that is rightly famous for its stone sculpture making and its stone-cutting crafts.  

One large shop our driver took us to had acres of stunningly beautiful statuary, just a few of which I've captured here by photo.  





I would have loved to have shipped a few of these beauties home, but thought better of it given the limited space on our garden terrace in the city.  






Elephant Trekking in Thailand (Part 2)

Following about a one hour walk in the woods, we returned to the base camp and the river that runs alongside it.  

There, we dismounted and frolicked with our elephants as they enjoyed a well deserved drink and a cooling bath.