30 Days And Counting ....Costa Rica Here We Come!

During the month of January, we will be trying an experiment.  Katy wants to go somewhere warm (who can blame her?) and Paul wants to keep working (perhaps we can blame him!).  So we are going to try and do both -- we are going to see if we can live for a month in Costa Rica while Paul works from there on a strong Internet backbone.  He plans to work most mornings and we plan to spend the afternoons exploring the local area and seeing if it feels like a comfortable place to live.  If it all works out, who knows ..... Here's a picture of the house we'll be renting, to whet the appetite:

At the Broadmoor

This weekend we are fortunate enough to be at the Broadmoor resort in Colorado Springs.  Paul is here to participate in a conference on cyber and drones. Katy is having a relax break doing nothing but grooving on the mountains. Here are a few photos:

A day in Carmel

A great day on the shore near Carmel

The Most Amazing Jelly Ever

Has to be this fellow -- the Indonesian nettle:

The Amazing Monterey Aquarium

We are in Monterey this weekend -- Paul was teaching today at the Naval Postgraduate School -- and we are enjoying the visit.  Today we wandered around downtown Monterey and stopped in at the Aquarium.  What a fantastic place.  Here are a few great photos of some of the things we saw:

 Jellies -- are fascinating

This fellow had to say "hello"

The Burj Kahlifa in Dubai

Today I went to the observation tower in the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. The observation deck is 480 meters up -- the tallest one in the world I'm told and open air.  And it's only about 1/2 way up the whole building.  Here's one of me at the top and one of the Burj from below

Trummers on Main -- 3 Stars

We went the other day to Trummers on Main St. in "historic Clifton, Virginia."  What a fun place!  Set in an old Colonial house, the interior is crisp, clean and with a large skylight wonderfully airy.  And the food matches the decor.  If we had to describe it the key word might be "playful."

Paul had a light and airy cucumber gazpacho to start, while Katy enjoyed a light beef tartare.  For main courses, Paul had a crispy rockfish with cheese risotto and Katy had a fresh cooked Cornish Hen.  For a side they had some brocollini and some beets garnished with blue cheese.  The wine, a Dusky Goose pinot noir from Oregon matched the food well -- fresh and fruity with a nice bouquet.  Paul indulged in the dessert -- a "deconstructed apricot cobbler" with the various pieces of the cobbler pie served sort of separately.  Again alot of fun.

Of course, the real pleasure was that we got to share the meal with family, Mike, Debbie and Aaron Kunzer joined us, as did Paul's niece Jordana.  And since it was a Father's Day gift, that made it all the more special.  We'll be going back sometime soon, for sure.

Shanghai and Zhangzou

Our last stop was Shanghai.  When people say that Shanghai is China's window on the West, they aren't kidding.  As you arrive and drive through the city it is clear that Shanghai is one of the largest, and most vibrant metropolis in the world.  If you like New York; if you like neon; if you like hustle and bustle, Shanghai is for you.  After Zhangjiajie, it was a huge change in pace and feel.

The first day in Shanghai brought us to a small gem -- the Jewish Refugee Museum.  We went there mostly on a lark, because Paul wanted to.  What surprised us was how informative and evocative the museum was.  We hadn't known that Shanghai was one of the few places, if not the only place in the world, to accept stateless Jewish refugees from Germany.  By 1937 they had more than 40,000 Jewish residents.  Of course, it became much harder to get to after the Japanese invaded and capture Shanghai in 1937, but still, Jews were able to live out the war in relative safety.  [Remarkably, the Japanese actually turned down a Nazi request to return the Jews to Germany -- odd given Japan's otherwise pretty violent approach to the war.]  The visit also gave us a chance to talk with Kyle both about the Holocaust and about the Rape of Nanking.  Perhaps most interesting of all, we found 18 different Rosenzweigs who had escaped to China -- maybe they are long lost relatives?

Our next stop was the Shanghai Museum.  What a =great= museum.  Wonderful collections of jade, calligraphy and even ancient Chinese bronze.  Katy and Paul could have spent the entire day there, but we could tell that Kyle was a bit bored.  So, after a sumptious lunch we went to the Jin Mao tower.  Jin Mao is one of the 10 tallest buildings in the world, and only the 3rd tallest in Shanghai.  If the day had been clear the views would have been great.  Alas the smog/haze/pollution obscured the view -- but we did get a nice look at the Financial Tower being built next door.  When it is finished it will be #2 in the world.

The days end found us at the Lost Heaven on the Bund restaurant.  The food is Yunann style -- sweeter and more salty than the spicy Hunan, but very good.  By now Kyle has become an expert in using chopsticks and has decided to disdain the offered fork.  [In fact, at breakfast Kyle is now eating individual Cheerios with a chopstick.]  After dinner we had a nice walk along the Bund by the water.  The lights, the energy and the pizazz of the place are unmistakable.

The next day, our last in China, saw us off to Zhangzou -- a water town billed as the Venice of China.  It isn't.  It's a nice enough little community with some small canals and interesting culture -- but its being overrun by tourists (there even was a Starbucks nestled in the old village).  Perhaps it was the weather that made us grumpy (100+ degrees and 70% humidity is NOT fun) but this was one of the few "misses" on the trip.  Not bad -- just not worth the 90 minute drive.

And especially so when we got stuck in one of the famous Shanghai traffic jams on the way back.  Stuck in traffic for 2 hours, our car overheated and we had to abandon it for the Metro.  Fortunately, Shanghai Metro is cheap, new, air-conditioned and easy to use, even for English speakers.  We converted the problem into an adventure and had great fun.

Our last stop was Century Park -- a large park in central Shanghai.  We went looking for "mini-golf" which we thought meant putt-putt golf as a way of amusing Kyle.  Our bad -- it really means Par-3 regular golf, so the trip was for naught (though we did ride a small roller coaster).  After another Metro home, we had dinner in the hotel (at the rooftop rotating restaurant -- talk about old school) and then went to bed.

And so the trip ends.  The next day we left our hotel in Shanghai at 830 AM for the airport.  Traveling through San Francisco, we completed our round-the-world trip and, 24 hours later, arrived safe and sound back home at Dulles.

Zhangjiajie

Zhangjiaje (ZJJ for short) is a special, magical place.  Located in southwestern China in Hunan province it is far off the beaten path for Western tourists.  Though there are many internal Chinese visitors, we were often the only Westerners in sight.  Here, again, we were part of the attraction with many people wanting Kyle's picture (and a few even wanting us).

Downtown ZJJ is booming.  Our hotel the Qinhe Jinjiang, is practically brand new.  The rooms were fantastic.  And the place was only 1/3rd full.  One of the things we saw throughout China was the burgeoning effects of the construction bubble.  Much of the area is overbuilt and if we had to guess we'll see it burst in someway or another.

Another thing we experienced in ZJJ was Chinese exceptionalism (something we'd seen elsewhere already).  Here in ZJJ everything was the "biggest" or "best" or "oldest."  At one point, we were shown a natural arch bridge that had developed over time and told, it was the oldest in the world -- though how anyone would know that (and how it could be older than the ones in Zion) nobody every said.  Sometimes this exceptionalism was cute -- but sometimes it was kind of off putting.

On the other hand, the topography in ZJJ was simply awesome in the old sense of the word -- inspiring us to be full of awe.  We spend two days wandering around the Chinese national park that has stunning karst topography.  Tall spires of rock, all crowned and covered with trees.  Plateaus that looked the same.  If you can imagine the Grand Canyon, and then cover it all with vegetation you get some idea of what it looks like.

Or, you can just go see the movie Avatar.  Apparently, the Discovery channel did some filming in ZJJ and James Cameron saw it, loved it, and took it for his movie (suitably modified with computer graphic effects, of course).  But the floating mountain of the movie is a real place -- it doesn't float, of course, but it looks like it might.To reach the area (known as Yuanjijie) we took a 300m tall glass elevator to the top of the plateau  -- the top was crowded with tourists, but serene.

The third day in ZJJ took us in a different direction to Tianmen Mountain -- another plateau with a huge hole that had been worn through it -- called the Gates of Heaven.  To reach the top of this one, we did take the longest (8 km) cable car in the world.  Kyle walked along the edge on a glass platform and then we too 99 hairpin turns up to the bottom of the Gates.  Kyle and Paul climbed 999 steps up to the mouth of the gate itself (yes, 9 is a magical number for the Chinese).  Along the way Paul shared his water with an elderly Chinese man who was struggling up -- they shared mutual near heart attacks without a common word between them, but the looks conveyed everything.  :-) Over all it was a real adrenaline drain for us -- too many heights and too steep.  By the time we were done we were totally drained and jaded.

Two other highlights of ZJJ deserve mention.  The first is that we went swimming at the pool at the hotel.  Not normally a notable experience but this pool was NOT heated.  Now we know what the people who got off the Titanic felt like.

The other was the food.  Hunan is known for its very unusual and spicy food and it did not disappoint.  We sampled smoked pork; spicy hot beef with chilies and plenty of other novel food items.

After the relative quite of ZJJ, we left the airport (very small -- a new one with jetways is planned) and headed for the big city, Shanghai.

Xian

We arrived in Xian by bullet train and went downtown to our hotel in the "Old City" center.  Unfortunately, "Old City" is a bit of a misnomer.  Though the city walls still stand, we would estimate that 80% of the construction inside the walls is new construction.  About the only difference between the old city and the new city outside the walls is a height restriction in old town.   And there is lots of construction in Xian -- it's a "small" city in China with "only" 9 million people.

The first evening we went wandering out to dinner without a guide.  The experience itself was amusing as Katy went from person to person asking (in her limited Mandarin) "excuse me please, may I ask, do you speak English?"  The extent of English speaking was very minimal -- almost the only folks who had any English were the younger generation -- and most of them have learned by reading and did not speak much at all.

Eventually, we wound up at what may well be the best dumpling restaurant in the world -- De Fa Chang.  It was hard to find but well worth the effort.  The dough was light and airy; the fillings were varied and tasty.  Perhaps most amusingly, the pastries were often shaped in a way that conveyed the contents -- so the duck dumplings had a duck shape, for example.

Our first full day in Xian began with a trip to the top of the city walls.  The view was quite nice and we had a great time taking a short bike ride, 1/4 way around the wall.  This was also the first time that we got accosted for pictures by Chinese tourists.  Kind of neat.

After the wall, we went to the Shananxi Provincial Museum which is, honestly, one of the better museums we've been in.  Devoted to the Silk Road, we saw a visual history of exploration, travel and commerce that was fascinating.  For lunch, we went to a very local Muslim Chinese restaurant where no English was spoken but the food was spicy hot and interesting.    The afternoon was spent at two of the "big" sights in Xian -- the old Bell Tower and the Great Mosque.  The locals say that Muslims have been in Xian since the 700s AD, but historians think it was likely a bit later.

Dinner was particularly interesting.  Once again, we went wandering to find a local Xian restaurant that the guide books had recommended.  We found it and sat down.  As recommended we ordered one of the Xian specialties -- a soup of some sort.  A short while later several round pita-like pieces of bread were put on our table.  Paul started to think about eating them immediately, when a kind lady sitting next to us (who spoke a smattering of English) made it clear we should not -- the bread was to be broken up into tiny pieces by hand, by us and then it was whisked away to be added to the soup to thicken it.  It was delicious.

Day two brought a highlight -- the Terra Cotta warriors.  [An aside -- on the way out to the site, we passed a coal fired electric generation plant with a line up of more than 30 coal trucks waiting to get in and make deliveries.  We understood better why there was so much pollution.]

The warriors themselves live up to their billing.  The field in which they are buried is quite large and the number of them rather overwhelming.   It makes you wonder at how people try to cheat death -- and in some ways the effort here (from roughly 200 BC!) was quite reminiscent of  the pyramids.  We were overwhelmed by the grandeur of the place (and also by the heat inside the un-airconditioned facility).  One amusing note -- at one point Kyle dropped his water bottle over the side into the pit where the warriors are.  Thankfully, it hung up on a ledge and didn't break one of the warriors.  Overall, however, the views were simply amazing and we lingered for several hours, before getting back in the car and heading to the Xian airport for our flight to Zhangjiajie.

Beijing

Our trip began with something unusual.  Instead of flying West from Dulles to Beijing (mostly over the pole) we flew east over the pole to take advantage of the tailwinds.  So, in effect, this trip was a round-the-world flight (we came home heading East to San Francisco and DC).  That's something we'd never done before.

And oh my what a long flight.  Lose a day and arrive totally wiped out, followed by a long 1 hour trip into town from the Beijing airport.  Fortunately, we had a wonderful hotel -- the Red Wall Garden.  Right in the heart of Beijing near the Forbidden City, this was a walled "hutong" hotel with a central garden with a fish pond to sit in and relax and a comfortable duplex room for the three of us. 

We walked out that evening into one of the first restarants we saw -- with a menu that had no English on it only pictures and, more remarkably, no bathroom.  If you had to go ... just hold it.

The next day started bright and early with a trip to Tienamin Square and the Forbidden City.  Tienamin was enormous and (as we noted in an early post) somewhat foreboding.  The Forbidden City was quite a lot of fun -- beautiful architecture.  One of the interesting things was learning something of the symbolism of the buildings.  For instance the number of animals on the corners of each roof signified the importance of the building -- the more the merrier.  Likewise, the two lions guarding the the City were male and female -- distinguishable because one of them held a globe while the other held a cub.  This is something Kyle noticed before either of us.  Oddly enough, however, the remaining treasures (Chang Kai Shek took most of them to Taiwan) were not terribly well preserved.

One of the more remarkable things we saw was a small family house (a "hutong" -- walled garden) near the center of the city.  We took a rickshaw ride to get there (no cars allowed) and were shocked to hear that the going price for these was $5000/square meter!  The owners were, in fact, multimillionaries.    And the first day ended with an amazing Kung Fu show -- the master broke three metal bars on his head as the climax of the event.

Day 2 saw a trip to the Wall.  As we said it was truly GREAT.  Wide enough to drive a car on at the top and 1000 miles long more or less.  You could see its grandeur and scale even in the small sample of what we walked.  Kyle climbed one of the taller/steeper pieces while we waited for him.   We'd write more, but in truth words don't do the scope and scale of it justice.  On the way home we stopped to wander in a small art community that looked very much like any similar one in Santa Fe.  Lots of nouveau stuff that was a bit out there - and totally surprising for an authoritarian country.

Our last day in Beijing started with a trip to the Heavenly Palace and local park.  As we said, the park was teeming with people in the early morning.  Mostly older folks, all of whom were out with friends.  Some were doing Tai Chi; others ball room dancing.  There was music being played; an opera singer singing; Mai Jhong and water calligraphy.  It was busy and vibrant early in the morning and full of life.  If we were old in Beijing, that's where we would go.  Altogether a total hoot.

Then it was off to Xian.  We took the bullet train there -- a 6 hour journey with top speeds of 200 mph.  The ride was smooth as silk as it ran on an elevated rail line.  Obviously the construction was fantastic -- but as we learned it was also done by taking the right of way from the locals without any compensation (or environmental impact assessment).  As we travelled we saw construction everywhere --- literally 100s of new buildings going up.  There is clearly a boom going on -- but the scope and scale made us wonder if it might also be a bubble waiting to burst.  Only time will tell.

China -- The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Well, we are back from 11 days in China with grandson Kyle.
It was a great time and we'll be blogging some of the details over the next few days (to make up for not being online in China while we were gone).  For now, though, here are some highlights:

The Good:  Lots of China was very good -- both in expected ways and in surprising ways.  We enjoyed the trip probably more than we expected to:

--Sometimes long-anticipated sights disappoint.  Not in China.  The Great Wall is really, really GREAT.  And the Terra Cotta warriors and Forbidden City both lived up to expectations.

--We had a wonderful, pleasant surprise in Zhangjiajie, the mountain area in SW China where the background for the movie Avatar comes from.  It was a delightful place with almost no foreigners, but lots of internal tourists from China.

-- One unexpected pleasure (or problem, depending on your perspective) of going to Zhangjiajie (and also Xian, where the Terra Cotta warriors were) is that we were so far off the beaten path for Westerners, that =we= actually became an attraction.  People wanted our photos (especially of Kyle) and one guy even came up and started running his hands through Kyle's hair.

--The food was either very bad (like bad US Chinese food) or, for the most part, very very good.  We had lots of interesting new things (smoked pork in Zhangjiejie and seaweed soup) as well as some of the best of familiar things (if you go to Xian get the steamed dumplings at DeFaChang!).

--We loved the parks -- especially the Heavenly Palace park in Beijing, where the mornings would find all sorts of people enjoying themselves with early morning exercise.

--The Bund at night in Shanghai is a must!

The Bad -- Not all of China was top quality.  Some lowlights:

-- The weather (especially in Shanghai) was pretty bad (up to 100)!

-- The pollution (especially in Beijing) was also pretty oppressive.

-- Public toilets -- yuck!

-- Traffic.  China is teeming with people and that means that it is teeming with cars too.  On one trip in Shanghai it was so bad that our car overheated and we had to get out of the care and head for the Shanghai Metro, which was, thankfully, quite easy to navigate.

-- Chinese exceptionalism.  It isn't all bad, but apparently, from the Chinese perspective the best, biggest, fastest and smartest everything is in China.  It's a pretty insular place.

The Ugly -- For the most part, we did not see the ugly side of China.  Indeed we saw alot less of it than we had expected too.  But when one person told us of how his family had lost their farm without compensation, we saw the fist inside the iron glove.

Indeed, one image will stay with us for a long time.  We were at Tienamin Square by the Forbidden City.  Kyle noticed alot of fire extinguishers around and asked me what they were for (you can see two in this picture of us).  I didn't know so I asked the guide.  He said "crazy monks."  Apparently the repression is so prominent in Tibet that the government must take steps to stop the self-immolation of protesters, to include having fire extinguishers stand like sentinels on the plaza.

Off to China -- Without the Blog

We are off to China tomorrow for a vacation with our grandson Kyle.  Unfortunately, because of the cyber security concerns with personal electronics and remote access in China we won't be doing a live blog from there as we go.  For those who are interested, however, we promise to blog it in retrospect when we get back.

The plan is to start the trip in Beijing where we will see the Forbidden City and also walk the Great Wall of China.  We are staying in an "old style" hotel, so that should give us a bit of a taste of how China used to be.

Then it is on to Xian to see the terra cotta warriors and learn a little bit of Chinese history.  To get there we'll take the bullet train, which should be an interesting thing in and of itself.  After Xian we head to Zhangjiajie in the southwest part of China.  The countryside here is said to be magnificent -- it was the backdrop for the movie Avatar.

Or last stop is going to be Shanghai.  Big city, the Bund, neon lights, and a side trip to the water town of Zhouzhang.   It's gonna be a blast.

Day Two In Newport

We had a delightful day in Newport.  The weather was perfect -- mid 60s and sunny -- and we had a new town to explore.  After a wonderful breakfast at the Malbone House we went out to The Breakers (the Vanderbilt summer home) for a visit.  It's huge - more than 70 rooms -- and ornate.  But also confused. --  they had Roman, French and Italian styles all at the same time.  Still a great place to see, if only to understand the excess of the Gilded Age

age and think about that kind of conspicuous consumption. 

After that we took a walk along the Cliffs -- it is always humbling to see the power of the waves crashing against the cliffs.   Katy, as always, looked marvelous as we climbed down the rocks.

Lunch was a pleasure -- we joined Don, Trudi, Ed and Giulia for a meal at the Black Pearl.  What can be better than New England Clam Chowder in New England??   And this was some of the best chowder we'd ever had. Add a little shopping (where else can Katy find shoes in her size?) and a visit to the oldest synagogue in the US and the day is complete.  Next up -- fine dining ....

Off to Newport ....

We are off to Newport for the weekend.  Paul will be doing some rugby evaluation at the New England Championships and Katy will be touring the city, seeing the mansions, shopping and hanging out with her friends. 

If the first night is any sign, we'll have a great time.after a spooky drive across the fog-covered Narragansett Bay bridge we arrived at the beautiful Francis Malbone House where we will spend the next 4 nights.  It was late, but we still enjoyed a dinner at the Clarke Cooke House Restaurant where we shared a 1/2 bottle of Sancere and had some great fresh cooked fish (Halibut for Paul; Sole for Katy) along with fresh beet salad.  Nice way to start the long weekend.

Pinch us --- We Are On the West Coast

OK ... so pinching isn't really necessary.  But sometimes you have a great few days that really "sing" and you wonder how it is that you are so lucky.  The last few of these have been like that.

It started Thursday with a flight to San Francisco.  Paul had been invited to participate in a symposium on cybersecurity being sponsored by the Stanford Journal on International Law.  It was really quite a prestigious invite.  The keynote address was delivered by the Secretary General of the International Telecommunications Union, Dr. Hamadoun Toure.  The ITU is at the center of some political controversy over its efforts to "regulate the internet."   To be honest, Paul went to the meeting very skeptical of the ITU's efforts, but both he and Katy came away rather more impressed with Dr. Toure than before.  He may be wrong, but he seems quite sincere.  That's Paul and Dr. Toure in the photo.

Other attendees at the conference included Howard Schmidt, President' Obama's first CyberCzar and, most amusingly, Marc Rogers, whose claim to fame is that he is the Chief Security Officer at DEFCON.  [For those who don't know, DEFCOM is the uber-Hacker convention, and being chief of security there is a little like being the bouncer at a bordello -- very challenging indeed.].   Overall, the quality of the discourse was high and we enjoyed ourselves greatly.

Of course, no trip to the Bay area would be complete without good food, and the Standford journal did not disappoint.  We had dinner Thursday night at Tamarine which featured a nouvelle Vietnamese tasting menu.  The tamarind shrimp was truly special.  Then on Friday night we went out with colleague/friends, Brian and Cynthia, who took us to their favorite restaurant in San Francisco -- Kokkari.   Kokkari is an upscale Greek place -- Paul had goat stew and Katy had the brazzino.  You can tell we liked it -- we lingered for 3 hours drinking wine, eating and chatting.

But the highlight so far, at least from an intellectual perspective, was breakfast Saturday morning at Coupa Cafe.  Not because the food was good, though it was, or that the coffee was truly excellent, though it was as well.  The highlight was our chance to have a nice engaging chat with Whit Diffie, who we had met earlier at the Standford conference.   If you don't know who he is -- click on the link!  Suffice it to say that if you use on-line banking or credit card services, its secure because of him.  In the cryptology world, he is a big deal.  But he is also, in the end, a really fun fellow to talk to -- full of off-the-wall ideas and stories.  It was just delightful to have breakfast with him.

And now, we are in Napa.  We spent the afternoon at two wineries -- our old favorite, Casa Nuestra, which is a nice "hippie place" and a new one for us -- Alpha Omega.  The AO bottling of ERA (their name) is really special.  We had a chance to taste a barrel sample and ordered 3 bottles on the spot.  That's Katy taking the barrel sample.

Now we are happily ensconced in our delightful B&B (the Oleander House) and relaxing waiting for dinner.

A Perfect Day in Washington DC

Yesterday was a perfect day here in the District.  It started off with the family (Mike, Debbie and 3 of the boys) coming over the night before and joining us for dinner, along with Katy's cousin, John Higgins.

The next day, Mike, Debbie and Josh got up at 5 AM to go volunteer for the Cherry Blossom run.  The rest of us slept in a little, but at 6:30 AM we go up (Paul, Katy and the other two grandsons, Ryan and Kyle) to go for a walk down to see the cherry blossom trees.  We were joined by our neighbor Nancy and her daughter, Joselyn.

A brisk walk took us down to the Tidal Basin just as the race was starting.  We saw a bit of the race and some of the trees (which were still not in full bloom) as we walked over to the Jefferson Memorial and then back around the basin.  A quick Metro ride home took us to Le Pain Quotidien for breakfast.  Nothing is better than a hot cup of coffee, fresh squeezed grapefruit juice, and a salmon and chives omelet after a long, invigorating walk.  Katy discovered a new bread spread called "Speculous" with cinnamon in it that was just wonderful.

After that it was back home.  Ryan and Kyle left first and then the others swung by just to catch their breath heading home.  After lunch, we went into the backyard and started a fun few hours of clean-up.  It's always a great day when we open up the back yard, pull out the outdoor furniture, hang all the art and bring the fern out from indoors.  It says "spring is here" like nothing else.  And the weather warmed up perfectly -- I did most of my dragging and lifting in a t-shirt.

The day ended as well as it had begun.  Dinner at one of our favorite local restaurants, Zest was, as always, just cozy.  We both had the Kale salad with butternut squash.  Katy's catfish and Paul's duck were well-prepared.  Add a glass of wine each and what could be better?

Only one thing -- finishing the night with the last episode of the BBC's Sherlock, season two.  If you haven't seen the show, go get the DVDs now.  We can't wait for Season Three this Fall.

Cooking for Passover

Katy's first effort at Sephardic Leek Patties

Luang Prabang

Luang Prabang is a small town in northern Laos that reminds us of nothing so much as Taos, New Mexico. It is a bit of a hippie/backpacker place e with 43 Buddhist temples and 1000s of monks. Each AM the monks walk the streets begging for food and the tourist ritual is to buy food to give to them. We did that this morning.  There is a fun cafe culture here too with lots of great crafts. Katy bought a new dress and we died some silk shopping too. Besides a boat trip on the Mekong the other highlights were some great food and a dance concert by the Laotian national ballet.

From here it is back to Hanoi tonight and then homeward bound. A great trip -- totally different from our others,

Siem Reap

Here we are in Siem Reap, home of Angkor Wat, and other temples.  I imagine Camboida is a lot like Vietnam was 10 or 15 years ago.  Still just coming out of its slumber.  One of the drivers of change is going to be tourism at Angkor and the other temples.

Today we went biking in the heat (95+) while everyone back home was watching the Super Bowl.  We saw two temples, Te Phom (the famous tree root temple from Laura Craft tomb raider).  They have a great debate going on whether or not they should kill the trees -- they make great photos, but they are very bad in the long  run for the temple).  I personally like the nature v. man theme and would keep the photos in place

We had a great lunch, on a Khmer dish called Amok (kind of a curry dish but drier with more meat and veggies and less rice).  And the Angkor beer is really quite fine.

The other temple we saw was Banyon, named after the Banyan tree under which the Buddha taught.  The entire complex was build by the Khmer king Jamarayam (I know I'm not spelling that right) to commemerate his conversion of the entire country from Hinduism to Buddhism -- hence the name.

Overall, another great day!

Phu Quoc

Phi Quoc is a great beach vacation. But it doesn't feel like Vietnam. The resort is cut off from the island and filled with Europeans. We are actually the only Americans here. But it seems like we've already left the country. After so many great days seeing some of the back roads of Vietnam this is actually a bit of a let down. The resort could be in the Caribbean for all the difference. Its a nice rest of course but a bit disappointing in some ways. 

The photo is more like what we are used to seeing. Typical rice paddy by the side of the road.

Life in Vietnam

So we spent the last 3 days biking around Vietnam and we really got a taste of life here. Often we were the only non-vietnamese around for miles. The folks were friendly and entrepreneurial in nature but also very proud of what they have accomplished. Scooters are everywhere and so is pollution. Speech so free it seems but nobody criticized the government. They seem acutely aware of rising Chinese influence and anxious for some western protection. All in all a study in contrasts.

Today we went to a floating market where dozens of boats hawk their wares by sticking a sample on a bamboo pole. The boatmen live on the water in ways we no linger do in the US. The market sells its food alive. A bit weird to our eyes but the Vietnamese like to see their food killed before their eyes.

Late in the day we transfered to Phu Quoc for some much needed R&R. After 3 days of biking we deserve it. Here's our beach.

Biking in Mekong delta

Through the miracle of technology we are in the middle of the Mekong delta but still have wifi access.  We spent the say biking on small paths filled with scooters and children rushing out to say hello to us. It was almost surreal  at one point a 300 pound pig went by in tow to a motor scooter. It was also amazingly hot and now very buggy with mosquitoes.  The neatest part was the frequent ferry rides across the tributaries. You get a really sense of a detla to visit,

Now we are in a local home to stay the night.  Huge meal just done. Soon to bed. The photo is of the family heirloom mother of pearl cabinet.

Hoi An is magic

We spent the last three days in the wonderful town of Hoi An. It is the food capital of Vietnam. We took a cooking class and has several great meals. Last night we both had Cha Can -- a grilled fish and noodle concoction that was out of this world. And since we learned how to make mango and cabbage salad all our friends will get a taste.

Hoi An is also the clothing capital of the country. Paul got a new tailor made sport coat. Katy got a blazer and a local outfit called the ao doi in which she looks stunning. It is Almost embarrassing how cheaply we got them and how quickly.

Sadly you won't see any pictures of the dress.  Paul dropped the camera and broke it!  We hope to get a new one in Ho Chi Min city later today. Oh ... Almost forgot. We also got a Ho Chi Min refrigerator magnet!,

Traffic in Hanoi is wild

Day 3, 4 in vietnam

Day 3 in hanoi was a nice hike in BanVi national park. We went for a 5 mile hike up to about 1200 meters. At the top was a small pagoda for the mountain gods. Of course the view was fogged in.  It always is for us. So we didn't see anything at all despite the effort.  But it was still a good hike and worth the effort. When we got back to the hotel we had a well deserved beer and some photos noodle soup to fortify ourselves.

The next day it was off to HaLong bay
. The bay is a fascinating place with karst projections dotting a shallow bay. Highlights included a visit to a floating fishing village (a bit touristy for my taste) and a wonderful morning tai chi class on the top deck for sunrise

Hanoi day 2

Another day in Hanoi. Very crowded city. But it has several oasis. Here are two photos of the Quan Tuc pagoda which sits in the middle of a lake -- one of the quiet spots.

We also saw the temple of literature -- which is the oldest university in Vietnam. Founded in 1076. We were most amused to see both a college class and a host of kindergartners there all praying for academic success.  If only it were that easy!

First day in Hanoi

It was a great first day. Friends took us around the city. A unique and beautiful place. 100s of lakes and pagodas everywhere. One in center city has a 100 year old turtle in it.

The traffic is wild. No lights. Cross at your own risk. Just walk straight y ahead and don't make eye contact. The old quarter is a wild cacophony of noise and cars and people but it all seems to work out fine.   It reminds me a bit of the souks in the middle East.

We went to a ceramic shop and Katy took her first molding class. Naturally we had to buy some bowls and a tea set.

Arrived in Hanoi

A grey day as we try to recover from jet lag.  Here is the view from o our hotel window