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.