Kuala Lumpur Malaysia

Leaving Vietnam behind and many good memories of the country and people I am  off to Malaysia and arrive at 3 PM whoops there is an hour difference in time so really 4PM when I arrive so by the time I get my visa,bag and find out where to go it is getting dark. They have two airports there one for the less expensive airlines and the other for the primo lines. If you come in like I did you have to go by bus to the other terminal and then take the train into the city which is a long ways.They have a great train system and I was lucky and ran into a couple of lady's from Australia in Vietnam and they gave me a review and name of  a place to stay in KL and was perfect. I could walk to and from the train station and what a city. You talk about shop till you drop this is the place to do it. I also ran into friends I met in Lao and was fun to be back with them and hang out. It is a couple from Seattle Mack and Chelsea and we kept running into each other in Lao and kept in touch and I hope we connect again in Thailand. Kuala Lumpur is a very big city but again using the trains is a great way to travel. Most of the folks are Muslim so you see the head vale on the ladies. You hear them call to prayer during the early morning and during the day The food is great and weather was good just a little rain on the last day but being from Oregon always have my trusty umbrella handy

Can Tho City-Delta Region Vietnam Issue 2

This is one of the port city's along the delta and lots of materials transported along this water way. I spent 4 nights in this area which was enough to get a feel for life here. People are very poor and very hard workers. There life on the river is simple and lots of them living on working boats of all sorts. Food is good and one item on the menu is snake (cobra) which they keep in  tanks at the restaurant. I asked about a small sample but they want me to order the dinner which did not contain a very big piece of snake. They say it has medical properties and will heal certain ailments Oh well maybe next time. Is there any doubt you are in a Communist country take a look at the flag with Ho.

Can Tho City-Delta Region Vietnam

To the south of Saigon is the delta and a different way of life on the water. The way of life for the people living on the shores of this water way will change in the very near future. The powers to be are moving all the folks living along the shore to living spaces off of the water way and it will be a big change for them. They want to clean up the river which is good but I feel sorry for the people and the change coming for them. I went to the floating market that is held each day of the week and it is like the wholesaler selling to the retailer. These boat come from all over loaded down with all sorts of things and they fly from a pole what wears they are selling. They are up very early in the AM to beat the heat and are done by 10AM I stayed with a local family for the night on the canal and did a bike tour of the area that day and the next morning went to the market on the river at 7AM. The family all live in one complex and the family is a unit. The grand mother was still with them and at 93 was still up and moving around. No one spoke English so was interesting to connect with them and understand each other sort of.
Life is speeding up for this country and big changes are on the way. You can see it in all parts of the country. Some of it will be good and  others not. Going toward the Wester way of life.

HCMC Vietnam

Big city life with coffee places like Starbucks and about the same price. Mostly folks from out of the country going in there. Yep a church in a country that the people mainly believe in Buddhism. Today I went to the palace and viewed the bunker style basement they used during the war years. I also visited the War Remnants Museum which had lots of information from the Vietnam war that the USA was involved in.They are still recovering from the agent orange and other things we sprayed on the country side. Lots of USA war materials laying around in the Museum. The poor folks that just lived in the country side got the brunt of the effects of the war. It is a lot like folks in the country's around Vietnam. We just bombed and destroyed a lot of there country and killed there people. So sad.
A great country and the people are hard workers and are very kind and warm welcoming. I am glad I had the opportunity to visit,

Hue Vietnam

The capital of Vietnam years ago and now a city of close to a half a million people. Located on a river. Many battles were fought here during the Vietnam war with the USA. It has a huge Citadel in one part of the city where an emperor lived. It is a walled city with in a walled city.

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There are also emperor tombs up and down the river. I was told today that 85% of the people in Vietnam have no religion. They do believe that there is a cycle of life that a person goes from human form to animal form because of sin of some sort and then to heaven. The type of animal depends on the types of sin you were involved in.So better keep an eye on that. After heaven the cycle starts all over again and back to human form

Can Tho Vietnam

I am in Can Tho. A city on the Delta south of HCMC about 5 hours by bus The delta region of this country is a very different way of life than say Ho Chi Mien City. HCMC has its paved streets, skyscraper buildings and expensive things to buy. It is a lot like New York in the way of life. But the delta is a different story. These folks still live on the water or very near and their life is around what the water can provide.They have a floating market every day of the week and I thought it was where the locals went to buy food for the family but no. It is the wholesaler that is selling to a middle person and then they in turn sell to the general public. If you look close off in the distance is a pineapple hanging from a pole. That is the way they advertise their product. They start very early in the morning and are about done for the day at 8AM because of the heat.It is in the 90's and up. I stayed with a family for the night on a canal and had dinner at their home and breakfast in the morning before going by boat to the market.Yep I had rice. It had been a while since I have had rice at least 30 min. or less. This city has large ships going up and down on the river. They dredge sand and use it in various ways.They also transport lots of people and materials back and forth.

Ho Chi Mien City Vietnam

What a town.  I thought I was in New York City.

Huge buildings and very modern shops and expensive places in the central part of the city. Interesting contrasts between modern and the past. I see people on the streets selling fruit out of the baskets they carry on sticks and they are standing in front of a Sheraton Hotel that is ultra modern. They have a beautiful opera house near where I am staying and at night the city is lit up and has an energy of its own.
I wake up to the sounds of cars and chickens. They also are up very early selling something on the street. There is a fellow that goes around with a bike and a speaker letting all with in a mile or two that he is open for business selling who knows what at 5:30AM.
The people here just could not be any nicer and love to see me no matter where I am. They don't seem to have any bad feelings about me being from the states and the past.

Danang Vietnam

This was the main base for the Vietnam war years. I heard that the US sent the US marines in to this area early in the Viet Nam war and they landed on China Beach fully dressed in battle gear only to be greeted by lady's with flowers
Now seems like a sleepy village but almost 500 thousand folks live here now and boy there is building going on big time here and to the south of the city. Huge hotels going in plus lots of Condo's. 

A couple from the states has a project here to help the people that are deaf and have a restaurant that employee's the locals with hearing problems. I went there for my meals a couple of times and got to talk with the manager. They are moving to a new location and should be much better for them. What a great thing to do for the people. If they did not work here there is nothing for them to do and would become a burden on the family.They are teaching them to sign and also how to cook and bake. They also have housing for them.
Went to dinner at China Beach with friends and the place we had dinner at was a seafood restaurant. You figure out what you want to eat by going over to some plastic tubs filled with different seafood items and get to pick which one you want to eat. We are talking fresh.
That reminds me of a sign in Hoi An and the beer was pumped out of a keg by hand and they called it Fresh Beer.

Hoi An Vietnam

Beautiful city on the river. I am close to the South China Sea and some small boats here for local transportation on the river. I have been staying in the older part of the city and lots of history here. They have restored some of the original buildings and have a tour that the funds are used to preserve the history of the city. 
I don't know who thought side walks were for walking they changed that here. I have to walk in the street every where and boy I am not sure what the hurry is about but these guys seem to be in a big hurry to get some where. They zoom around on everything built on wheels.
Warm and sunny now. I would guess in the 80's F some where. I am headed for Danang today at noon.