Tom’s Travels

Hello All You Lovely People,
 
Well, I have begun teaching in Hanoi. So far I have one class but others will begin next week. Should have 21 to 23 hours within a short period of time. The class consists of 22,  yes, that’s right 22, students all of hom work for the Vietnam Customs Department (which could be good for me if I get into any kind of passport trouble).  They range in age from about 24 to 55 and fom executives to receptionists, but this does not seem to be a problem for them. So far I have not seen any indication of a “pecking order”. The students are very nice, friendly, talkative and enthusiastic. They are well motivated and actually want to have homework. When I say, “OK, now likes do exercise B on page 31,” I walk around the room and discover that half the students have already done the exercise. It’s refreshing but I’ll have to bring in a lot of supplementary materials.
 
It is an Elementary Class and therein lise my problem. Supposedly, they are elementary one and two, with a few elementary threes thrown in. When I gave them a writing assignment after the first lesson (write something about yourself) they made the common errors of “no ‘s’ on third person singular verbs, missing and incorrect articles, and incorrect spelling. HOWEVER, there was also:
 
“I enjoy learning English because it is useful in my job and I can talk with everyone in the world.”
 
English is a means to help me go abroad.
 
I have worked here for over five years.
 
She has studied English since 1996.
 
I’ve been working here for ten years.
 
I hope that after this course, my English will be better and I can communicate with foreigners fluently.
 
I was and am impressed. This seems far above elementary work and each example is from a different pupil in the class. They seem to have a good grasp of the rules of grammar. We began past tense the other night and they already knew the past tense of both regular and irregular verbs. I asked if they knew the past participle of the verbs and they looked at me with blank faces. When I said, “Do you know ‘go, went, gone;  see, saw, seen?'” they brightened up and nodded their heads enthusiactically. This will be an easy class to teach when I figure what they know and don’t know and what they need. to learn.
 
Though they were placed as elementary students they have a lot on knowledge already. They are generally very polite but the minute I ask someone to read something or to answer a question, there are about ten other voices in the room reading or answering.
 
The class runs for two and a half hours and meets three times a week. I’ll send you me schedule when it is complete but this class Tuesday and Thursday from 4:30 to 7:00 PM and from 1:30 to 4:00 PM on SATURDAY. YES, SATURDAY!!!! There are also classes on Sunday but that’s my day off. Most of the classes are mid-afternoon to 9PM. Very few early morning classes. Actually, the earliest may be 9AM. (I have one of those).
 
OK, so much for now. You should have gotten some photos the other day. If you did not, please let me know.
 
Hope all is well with you. Let me hear from you,
 
Love to all,
 
Tom

Hello Everyone,
Thought I should bring you up to date since I haven’t written recently. The monkey bite is healing slowly but I should have a nice scar to punctuate my story about the time I was attacked by a horde of wild monkeys in the jungle of Vietnam.
Since that trip to HaLong Bay, I’ve been to Hoi An, a small town just north of DaNang. Lots of damage due to Typhoon Xangsane still evident. Visited lots of temples and pagodas. Interesting but I don’t know anything about the symbolism. They are always crowded with statues, lots of gold and red color, incense burning and offerings of fruit in front of the statues. I want to learn more about the religion and the history. Would make me better appreciate what I see. From Hoi An, went to My Son (pronounced me sun) which is an ancient Hindu religious site built in the 1500’s and discovered by the French in 1896.
Am currently in Nha Trang enjoying a few days on the beach before starting to work next week. Went to the beach yesterday and got toasted. Today visited a temple with a reclining Buddha 18 meters long and another standing on top of the hill that is 24 meters high. Both look to be made of white marble. Impressive. Tomorrow I take a boat trip to several islands and I’ll probably get toasted again. What the hack. I never see the sun in Hanoi.
I’ve rented a four story house a fifteen minute walk from my school. A house is larger and cheaper here than an apartment. Go figure. A house in Vietnam is a vertical structure, one room wide and several stories high. There is a room in the front and one in the back on each floor. A stairway going up separates the two rooms.
I’ll send pictures of everything when I get back to my computer in Hanoi. Did you get the pictures I sent the other day?
I’ll send a group e-mail soon which will give more details of my travels. It’s been fun so far. But soon I go to work. I’ll only have one and a half days off each week so my traveling will be reduced. And so will my expenses.
How ’bout them Vols!!! Hope we can win out.
Go Georgia!! Beat Florida!!!
Go South Carolina!! Beat Florida!!!
Love to all,
PaPa, Dad, Tom

Hello All,
 
Well, here comes another long travelogue so hit delete if you wish.
 
I went to Hoi An a few weks ago for a long weekend. I fly to Da Nang and caught a taxi to Hoi An, about forty minutes to the south. Da Nang caught the brunt of Typhoon Xangzane and there was a lot of evidence of damage. Tree limbs were piled up on the edge of the streets, roofs were blown off and some smaller, ill constructed houses were completely destroyed.
 
The ride to Hoi An paralled the Pacific. I caught glimpses of the water but couldn’t see the beaches. Passed what is know as China Beach made famous by an America TV series about the war. Stayed at the Grassland Hotel which is about two kilometers from the center of town. The receptionists wore beautiful traditional dresses, long silk pants with a full-lenghth dress split of the side to just above the waist. The dresses button up to the neck and always have long sleeves, but are soft and flowing and beautiful. The Vietnamese value white skin and do everything they can to avoid the sun. On motorbikes, the women wear masks, hats and long gloves. I first though the masks were to avoid polution but now I think they are as much to avoit getting burned.
 
Decided to go into town and the hotel provided a bike for me to ride. Said to park it anywhere and lock it. That was an experience. Though Hoi An is a small town there was still plenty of motorbike traffic and plenty of honking of horns. I just tried to ignore it and go on.
 
Hoi An was also hit badly by the typhoon. I huge tree was down in one of the small streets and one road was still completely filled with mud which they were trying to sweep up.The town is filled with small shops and is famous for making custom-made clothes quickly and cheaply. I had a pair of shorts made. Picked the material, wanted pockets on the sides, knee length ( haven’t seen anyone here in tennis shorts). They measured me at 11 in the morning and I came back at 6 for a fitting and picked up the final product the next day. They weren’t as inexpensive as I had thought but I didn’t try to barter. The quality is excellent, they fit perfectly and they should last forever.
 
Evidently, I was there during the full oon of the eighth lunar month (whenever that is). They were having the Mid-Autumn Festival all over the country. Supposedly, the parents have been busy all fall harvesting the crops and now it is time do devote time to the children. The kids of all ages work in teams. They have Dragon costumes. One carries the large head of the dragon with the body streaming behind and the others wear pants that match the body of the dragon, so it looks like a dragon with lots of legs. One of the group beats rhythmically and LOUDLY on a large drum they push around town. While the dragon goes thru lots of gyrations, another member of the group collects money or candy (they prefer money). They were all over town and the drumming lasted til about midnight.
 
Bought a city tour ticket whcih got me into several tourist sites, an old house, a pagoda, the assembly hall, and a traditional music concert. Very interesting but I have no idea about the icons and symbols. In the pagodas, there are usually several Buddhas and each is presented daily with fresh fruit and water and flowers and candy and incense. But I don’t know why. (The edibles are given to the poor or children after they have spent the day with Buddha. Nothing is wasted). I’ll have to learn more about the religion and what the symbols mean. It would make the visit more interesting. At the end of the traditional music concert the sang the last song to the tune of “Aulde Lang Syne” and clapped rhythmically. This seemed very strange to me but I have been to three musical events now and each ended this way.
 
In the old house, they had a “Confucious Cup”, the only one in Vietnam. If you fill the cup 80% full, you can drink the tea. BUT, if you go beynd 80%, ALL the contents drain out. It was a lesson in moderation from the great man. If you try to take too much, you can lose everything.
 
Took a tour to My Son ( pronounced ME sun). It is an ancient Hindu religious center built by the Cham people much like Angkor Wat in Cambodia but much smaller. The area was built from the 8th to the 15th centuries but then abandonned and rediscovered by th French in 1898. During the “American War”, as they refer to it here, the My Son was used as a staging area by the Viet Cong so we bombed the hell out of it destroying about 70% of the monuments. The buildings are of red brick and rather small. The entrance is always facing north and there are no dorrs or windows to the south as it is associated with death. Restoration is taking place slowly. Again I was at a loss as to the many carvings and symbols and thus lost some of the appreciation of the place. But still, it was very interesting.
 
The bus trip was interesting as well. The bus drives in the center of the road usually to allow the motorbikes to pass on both sides. Of course, we had to weave around the occasional cow crossing the road. We also had to avoid the crops, corn and sweet potatoes (is this a presidential moment?) which occupied about three of four feet on each side of the road. The crops were drying and would be fed to the animals.
 
Halfway back, we transferred to a boat where they fed us and took us to a traditional woodcarving village. They were doing incredible three-dimensional carvings. Incredible stuff that would take a long time but one mistake and you start over.
 
Back in town, they were still beating on the drums.
 
I didn’t get to the beach which was only a few kilometers away. I wasn’t there long enough and there was too much to do. But I did see blue sky and sunshine, something I haven’t see in HaNoi as yet.
 
So ends another tale in the Travels of Tom Terrific. More to come or you can just ignore them.
 
Love to all,
 
 
Tom
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Hello Everyone,
At one of the dozens of travel agency/cafes in Hanoi, I saw this ad ” 4WD Jeep Trip — An exciting way to get off the bitten track and explore the diverse culture and immense beauty of Vietnam’s Northern mountains.” Excellent level of English! Except for that one word, which immediately struck me as a great title for my next installment. You’ll soon see why.
The Bitten Track: A week after we arrived, while waiting for our CVs to make their way through the cyber bureaucracy, we went off on a 3 day trip to Ha Long Bay, due east of Hanoi, on the coast (Gulf of Tonkin). We saw beautiful scenery, hundreds of rocky islands (there over two thousand of these in the vast bay, formed by a giant dragon’s tail), caves and pagodas. Had great meals, a moonlit overnight stay on a boat that looks like a Chinese Junk, swimming, and very exhausting hiking.
And then we agreed to go to Monkey Island. Guess what they have there? The guide said “You can relax on the (beautiful) beach, or go just up the trail 50 meters and maybe you’ll see some of the monkeys that live on the island.” Why, oh why, didn’t we relax on the beach? The 50 meter trail involved 20 meters down the beach and then 30 straight up a rocky cliff. We stayed at the bottom, shaking our heads, watching the 25-year-old French members of our group work their way up and then start shouting excitedly that there were monkeys all over the place up there. So, we started our rock climbing — getting each foothold was just challenging enough to be slow going, but easy enough to think “I can go a bit higher.” Near the top, I could see the monkeys scampering all around near our French friends and several other tourists already up there. I heard someone say, “Let’s get out of here. Stay away from that crazy one there.” Tom was ahead of me and hadn’t seen any monkeys yet. He grabbed a hold of a branch on the lone tree there. That’s when the largest “crazy” monkey jumped out of the tree and latched his teeth into Tom’s arm, hanging there for seconds. He was one angry monkey.
Fortunately, he retreated back into his tree, and everyone was able to make their way down. A local man dozing at the bottom of the trail leapt up when he saw Tom’s arm and took him immediately to the sea, washing the dripping wound with salt water. A few minutes later, the guide at the park station gave treated it with antiseptic and gauze. By this time, I was reading in Lonely Planet about rabies. Long story shorter now — the chance of the monkey having it was probably slim, but possible. If you have had a rabies vaccination and then are bitten by a rabid animal, then you just wash it well. If you haven’t had the vaccine, and don’t follow the complicated post-exposure treatment plan, you get rabies. If you get rabies, you die. Period. Tom hadn’t had a rabies vaccination, and despite the guide saying “we don’t think anyone has died from these monkeys before,” we decided to opt for the complicted treatment. We got back to the “main” island, Cat Ba, and went to the local doc. He knew about tetanus and wound treatment, but nothing about rabies. He thoroughly cleaned and sutured (8 stitches) the wound and passed out some Hungarian antibiotics. That’s another long story in itself. A 60-something doctor in Northern Vietnam–what sort of wounds was he suturing 35 years ago? Moving on, it took 24 hours to get back to Hanoi, but we had read that we had a few days window, and we stuck with the tour program to get back, instead of trying some other method of return which would’ve taken almost as long anyway.
Went to the Int’l clinic in Hanoi, where the head doc is a Dutch man who speaks fluent Dutch, English, French and German (maybe more, but that’s all we’ve witnessed so far). But he’d only been here for 3 weeks, and was much more familiar with crocodile bites from his recent stint in Africa. He consulted the young Vietnamese doctor, and all agreed that rabies treatment needed to be followed. (Was the monkey crazy? Or was it protecting a younger monkey that was also in the tree?) For the rabies potential, Tom immediately got 4 shots of immuno globulin and started the post-exposure 5 shots of rabies over a month. The cost for this is staggering, but had they not had it there, we would’ve been on the plane to Bangkok to get it. For the wound, which now had a red area all around it and was the more obvious problem, they reopened the stitches (not a good idea to stitch an animal bite — it locks in all sorts of bad things). They cleaned the hell out of it, and started a stronger antibiotic. We went back 4 days in a row for daily inspection, disinfection, and dressing, then got the all-clear and a kit to do all this on our own daily. The photos of the wound went to their Med Staff meeting for education (and entertainment?) purposes.
Over two weeks later, the wound is finally looking much better. We go back to the clinic once per week for the next shot and to chat with all our new friends there. I no longer see the angry monkey every time I close my eyes. We haven’t figured out the exact species, but I could pick that bugger out of a line-up if I saw him again. The moral of the story, in case you haven’t already figured it out, is “get your rabies shot before you go anywhere!” FYI, I’m following my own advice and have started a normal rabies vaccine program.
In between trips to the clinic, we were following up on jobs and doing more traveling while avoiding the typhoon that struck central Vietnam. We have signed on for jobs in Hanoi, to start at the end of the month, and are following on housing leads by the minute while living in a small hotel room. We took a fabulous trip to Hoi An, a UNESCO town in the south, and we might head to a beach resort in the south, if we can get everything arranged on housing soon. Not wanting to overwhelm with an even longer email, details on all of these things will come in the next installment of our Hanoi Herald (credit to Adam for this catchy title). There will be stories of the childrens’ mid-autumn festival, excellent meals, the wonderful reviving power of iced Vietnamese coffee on a hot afternoon, and the glories of having tailor-made clothes to flatter/hide figure flaws. For anyone even remotely thinking of coming to visit, these last 2 alone are worth the cost of the airline ticket. Stay tuned . . .
Hope you are all healthy and happy,
Colleen

Hi Everyone,

Well, I have a job starting October 26th here in Hanoi. Teaching 19 and a half hours to start but may increase somewhat later. Two days after I committed to this one, got an e-mail from the school in Danang stating they were interested, paid a lot more money, but didn’t know when a job would actually be available. Such is life. C’est la vie. Maybe another time. Still doing touristy things.

So, here comes another of those long, rambling tales of what I’ve been doing. If you’re not interested, please hit the delete button now. If you don’t want to be bothered with them in the future, please let me know. I won’t be upset or offended. I know that sometimes long e-mails cause trouble with your computers. And maybe you’re just not interested in Vietnam. Feel free to say, don’t send any more.

Well, here goes. Went on a three day trip to HaLong Bay east of Hanoi. Started with a three hour bus ride to the coast. Midway we stopped for refreshments at at “tourist” stop where they were making embroidered pictures. Over 100 young people sat at tables sewing. One person made the picture from start to finish. They had a drawing or photograph which they sketched on the cloth stretched in front of them. Maybe a tiger, a street scene, a landscape, a woman on a bicycle in traditional costume. Then they selected the colored thread they wanted and began to sew. A 20×24 inch picture took 25 to 30 days to complete. Larger ones took longer. They were incredible. You had to get close to see that they were embroidered rather than painted. It is a special art. I noticed that many of the people working there were crippled in some way. Maybe this was a vocation for those who could not work in the fields.

At HaLong Bay, we got on a boat which was very similar to a Chinese Junk. We had those funny looking sails though they never put them up. (other boats did). They fed us lunch immediately. Don’t remember what we had but there was a lot of it and it was good. Sat with a couple of nice young people from the Isle of Man, off the coast of Scotland. They refer to themselves as Manx, rather than Brits. Sailed out into the bay weaving through the islands. Most of you have seen pictures of HaLong Bay though you may not know it. Two thousand islands, each a huge rock coming out of the water and stretching straight up to the sky. Reminded me of Cypress knees at Reelfoot Lake, for you Tennesseans. First stop was the Amazing Cave. It was high up on one of the islands and we had a steep climb getting up there. I was soaked in sweat when we got to the top. The cave was huge but like any other, stalactites and stalagmites. At least it was cool. The view from the top was spectacular and I got pictures of the bay.

Next we went to TiTop Island, a short ride away. I had noticed this island before because it has a Pagoda on the very, very top. It also has a beach and we had the opportunity to swim. Rather than make another climb, I opted to cool off in the water. Others went to the top. All the tour boats stopped here, including a boatload of Russians, most of whom were overweight and wore bathing suits too small for their bodies.

Back on the boat, we sailed out into the bay and anchored for the night. Women in small fishing boats loaded down with merchandise, water, drinks, potato chips, cookies, etc., rowed out to us and called, “Buy from me?” There were several of these boats and they rowed from one boat to the next. We could even hear them after dark. Supper was excellent, Spring rolls, spinach, rice, cuttlefish (small squid) and a whole fish. I avoided the whole fish. Our group included the Manx, two Finns and six young French (4 girls and 2 boys). After supper, we played UNO and I got to practice my French. One boy lives in Aix-en-Provence and the others are from Istre, near Marseilles. Really a nice group.

The next morning, the women in the fishing boats were there bright and early selling the goods. We sailed to Cat Ba Island and got off the boat. We went to the National Park on the island and began a three mile trek. We climbed to the top of a mountain which had a metal tower on the top which offered a spectacular view of the area. I didn’t climb the tower. A lot of the climb up the mountain had been like climbing stairs, sometimes steeper. It was rugged and I was exhausted. One of the French girls noticed I was lagging behind and she slowed the others to let me catch up. Not only was I tired and winded, the tower had metal stairs. I’m not afraid of heights until I can look down though the structure on which I’m standing and see the ground. That bothers me. I knew I wouldn’t enjoy going up the tower so I didn’t. The climb down the mountain wasn’t a whole lot easier. I was by far the oldest in the group and it showed.

We found our van and rode to the hotel in town. Our room overlooked a large bay filled with the sailing junks. It had been a fishing village which now catered to tourists. We had lunch and were told we would go to Monkey Island at 2:30. We went to Monkey Island in another boat. They nosed into the beach and put down a board at a very steep angle and told us to climb down. The board, about 8 inches wide with 1×1 boards nailed on as steps, kept moving as the boat kept being pushed around by the waves. Anyway, we all made it. Our guide pointed out the path to climb to see the monkeys or we could go swimming. We set off to find the monkeys. This climb was steeper that the morning, but was only about fifty feet up. The French got to the top first and called down that the monkeys were there. I was near the top and saw a monkey about ten feet above. I grabbed a climb to climb up, looked down below, and felt a strong tug on my arm. I jerked my arm away and looked at it. My right forearm was bleeding. I had been bitten by a monkey. He was sitting on the limb screaming at me. Evidently, there was a small monkey sitting on the limb when I grabbed it and the big monkey, protecting the little one, attacked me. I had a deep cut about an inch long and and a spot about one-quarter inch round where the surface skin had been removed. Needless to say I started back down. I didn’t get any pictures of monkeys though I got a close-up view. One of the French girls was also bitten, but just a scratch.

We went back to the beach and got some first aid, disinfectant and bandages. We decided to go back to town immediately. In town our guide took us to a local doctor. He was a happy fellow wearing white pants and a sleeveless undershirt. He looked at my arm and told me I needed stitches. He put on a white jacket and a white pillbox cap. Now he looked like a baker. He sterilized his instruments by pouring a liquid on them and setting it on fire. He cleaned out the would and did a good job closing up the cut. We stopped at an Internet site and looked up Rabies, my major concern since I had not had a rabies vaccination before coming. It said I needed immunoglobulin and the rabies vaccination. The local doctor had neither. Supper at the hotel followed by more UNO.

Next morning, we got back on the boat and sailed back to the mainland with a stop for a swim half way. I didn’t swim because of my arm. Lunch in HaiPhong and the three hour ride back to Hanoi. Went to the SOS International clinic where they looked at my arm. Had a Doctor from Holland and one from Vietnam. I was in good hands. There was a debate as to what to do. They said that suturing the wound was the wrong thing to do. Never close an animal bite. They couldn’t decide if they should remove the stitches and reopen the cut or wait a day to see what happened. They opted for the latter. They gave me the immunoglobulin, some antibiotic, and the first of four shots, spaced out over for weeks, for rabies and told me to come back the next day. The immunoglobulin was VERY expensive so, if you’re coming to Vietnam, get the rabies vaccination first!

Went back the next day and they decided to remove the stitches. Pus began to ooze out, so they were pleased that they were doing the right thing. Ended up going back four days in a row getting the wound cleaned out and the dressing changed. Hope to have a nice scar so I can say, “Well, when I was in ‘Nam …”

It was a good trip. The area is beautiful and very different. It’s bizarre how the islands come straight up out of the water. If any of you have seen the French movie “Indochine”, you have seen HaLong Bay.

OK, more later on the continuing adventures of Higgiro.

Love to all,

Tom

Hi Everyone,
Well, I have a job starting October 26th here in Hanoi. Teaching 19 and a half hours to start but may increase somewhat later. Two days after I committed to this one, got an e-mail from the school in Danang stating they were interested, paid a lot more money, but didn’t know when a job would actually be available. Such is life. C’est la vie. Maybe another time. Still doing touristy things.
So, here comes another of those long, rambling tales of what I’ve been doing. If you’re not interested, please hit the delete button now. If you don’t want to be bothered with them in the future, please let me know. I won’t be upset or offended. I know that sometimes long e-mails cause trouble with your computers. And maybe you’re just not interested in Vietnam. Feel free to say, don’t send any more.
Well, here goes. Went on a three day trip to HaLong Bay east of Hanoi. Started with a three hour bus ride to the coast. Midway we stopped for refreshments at at “tourist” stop where they were making embroidered pictures. Over 100 young people sat at tables sewing. One person made the picture from start to finish. They had a drawing or photograph which they sketched on the cloth stretched in front of them. Maybe a tiger, a street scene, a landscape, a woman on a bicycle in traditional costume. Then they selected the colored thread they wanted and began to sew. A 20×24 inch picture took 25 to 30 days to complete. Larger ones took longer. They were incredible. You had to get close to see that they were embroidered rather than painted. It is a special art. I noticed that many of the people working there were crippled in some way. Maybe this was a vocation for those who could not work in the fields.
At HaLong Bay, we got on a boat which was very similar to a Chinese Junk. We had those funny looking sails though they never put them up. (other boats did). They fed us lunch immediately. Don’t remember what we had but there was a lot of it and it was good. Sat with a couple of nice young people from the Isle of Man, off the coast of Scotland. They refer to themselves as Manx, rather than Brits. Sailed out into the bay weaving through the islands. Most of you have seen pictures of HaLong Bay though you may not know it. Two thousand islands, each a huge rock coming out of the water and stretching straight up to the sky. Reminded me of Cypress knees at Reelfoot Lake, for you Tennesseans. First stop was the Amazing Cave. It was high up on one of the islands and we had a steep climb getting up there. I was soaked in sweat when we got to the top. The cave was huge but like any other, stalactites and stalagmites. At least it was cool. The view from the top was spectacular and I got pictures of the bay.
Next we went to TiTop Island, a short ride away. I had noticed this island before because it has a Pagoda on the very, very top. It also has a beach and we had the opportunity to swim. Rather than make another climb, I opted to cool off in the water. Others went to the top. All the tour boats stopped here, including a boatload of Russians, most of whom were overweight and wore bathing suits too small for their bodies.
Back on the boat, we sailed out into the bay and anchored for the night. Women in small fishing boats loaded down with merchandise, water, drinks, potato chips, cookies, etc., rowed out to us and called, “Buy from me?” There were several of these boats and they rowed from one boat to the next. We could even hear them after dark. Supper was excellent, Spring rolls, spinach, rice, cuttlefish (small squid) and a whole fish. I avoided the whole fish. Our group included the Manx, two Finns and six young French (4 girls and 2 boys). After supper, we played UNO and I got to practice my French. One boy lives in Aix-en-Provence and the others are from Istre, near Marseilles. Really a nice group.
The next morning, the women in the fishing boats were there bright and early selling the goods. We sailed to Cat Ba Island and got off the boat. We went to the National Park on the island and began a three mile trek. We climbed to the top of a mountain which had a metal tower on the top which offered a spectacular view of the area. I didn’t climb the tower. A lot of the climb up the mountain had been like climbing stairs, sometimes steeper. It was rugged and I was exhausted. One of the French girls noticed I was lagging behind and she slowed the others to let me catch up. Not only was I tired and winded, the tower had metal stairs. I’m not afraid of heights until I can look down though the structure on which I’m standing and see the ground. That bothers me. I knew I wouldn’t enjoy going up the tower so I didn’t. The climb down the mountain wasn’t a whole lot easier. I was by far the oldest in the group and it showed.
We found our van and rode to the hotel in town. Our room overlooked a large bay filled with the sailing junks. It had been a fishing village which now catered to tourists. We had lunch and were told we would go to Monkey Island at 2:30. We went to Monkey Island in another boat. They nosed into the beach and put down a board at a very steep angle and told us to climb down. The board, about 8 inches wide with 1×1 boards nailed on as steps, kept moving as the boat kept being pushed around by the waves. Anyway, we all made it. Our guide pointed out the path to climb to see the monkeys or we could go swimming. We set off to find the monkeys. This climb was steeper that the morning, but was only about fifty feet up. The French got to the top first and called down that the monkeys were there. I was near the top and saw a monkey about ten feet above. I grabbed a climb to climb up, looked down below, and felt a strong tug on my arm. I jerked my arm away and looked at it. My right forearm was bleeding. I had been bitten by a monkey. He was sitting on the limb screaming at me. Evidently, there was a small monkey sitting on the limb when I grabbed it and the big monkey, protecting the little one, attacked me. I had a deep cut about an inch long and and a spot about one-quarter inch round where the surface skin had been removed. Needless to say I started back down. I didn’t get any pictures of monkeys though I got a close-up view. One of the French girls was also bitten, but just a scratch.
We went back to the beach and got some first aid, disinfectant and bandages. We decided to go back to town immediately. In town our guide took us to a local doctor. He was a happy fellow wearing white pants and a sleeveless undershirt. He looked at my arm and told me I needed stitches. He put on a white jacket and a white pillbox cap. Now he looked like a baker. He sterilized his instruments by pouring a liquid on them and setting it on fire. He cleaned out the would and did a good job closing up the cut. We stopped at an Internet site and looked up Rabies, my major concern since I had not had a rabies vaccination before coming. It said I needed immunoglobulin and the rabies vaccination. The local doctor had neither. Supper at the hotel followed by more UNO.
Next morning, we got back on the boat and sailed back to the mainland with a stop for a swim half way. I didn’t swim because of my arm. Lunch in HaiPhong and the three hour ride back to Hanoi. Went to the SOS International clinic where they looked at my arm. Had a Doctor from Holland and one from Vietnam. I was in good hands. There was a debate as to what to do. They said that suturing the wound was the wrong thing to do. Never close an animal bite. They couldn’t decide if they should remove the stitches and reopen the cut or wait a day to see what happened. They opted for the latter. They gave me the immunoglobulin, some antibiotic, and the first of four shots, spaced out over for weeks, for rabies and told me to come back the next day. The immunoglobulin was VERY expensive so, if you’re coming to Vietnam, get the rabies vaccination first!
Went back the next day and they decided to remove the stitches. Pus began to ooze out, so they were pleased that they were doing the right thing. Ended up going back four days in a row getting the wound cleaned out and the dressing changed. Hope to have a nice scar so I can say, “Well, when I was in ‘Nam …”

It was a good trip. The area is beautiful and very different. It’s bizarre how the islands come straight up out of the water. If any of you have seen the French movie “Indochine”, you have seen HaLong Bay.
OK, more later on the continuing adventures of Higgiro.
Love to all,
Tom

Here’s a copy of my group email update from a couple weeks ago.
CK
Hello Prague People,

Here’s a quick rundown on the Vietnam experience so
far. Sorry it’s only one of those lame group emails,
but it seems to be the best way for me to stay in
touch with people, and I am thinking about all of you!

Days here: 7
Hours awake from San Francisco to here: 36
Days that mysteriously disappeared during flight: 1
Population of Hanoi: 5,000,000
Motorbikes in Hanoi: 4,000,000
Motorbikes on road at any given time: 3,000,000 (the
others are all parked on the sidewalks, forcing you to
walk out in the streets)
Helmets seen in Hanoi so far: 1
Number of times the driver honked the horn from the
airport to the center: 500 (10 honks per minute x 50
minutes).
Near-miss, potential accidents witnessed: astronomical
Accidents witnessed: 0
Temples/pagodas visited: 8, all very beautiful and
peaceful, with thousands more throughout the country
Dead communist corpses visited: 1 (apparently visiting
Uncle Ho’s mausoleum is automatically added to every
city tour, whether requested or not).
Friendly people: almost everyone
Hard-sell, aggressive street vendors: 50%, but they
smile, and eventually leave us alone. For some reason
they take Tom’s no much more firmly than mine.
Vietnamese words learned so far: 5 (please, thank you,
good morning, beer, icecream)
New (to me) fruit types eaten: 4
Types of rain that can fall in any given day: 5 (see
Forrest Gump for an excellent description of this).
People wearing conical hats: everywhere, not just in
movies or posters.
Number of times forced to wear conical hat for cliche
tourist photo by won’t-take-no-for-answer-street
vendor: 1
Beautiful women in traditional dress: dozens. I plan
to get one of these beautiful long dress/slacks
outfits made.
Number of job offers so far: 0. Apparently things
move slower in that regard than we were expecting. But
we are hoping for something with a university, and/or
on the coast, and we have ruled out HCMCity or daycare
jobs completely, which does narrow the field.

I hope the above doesn’t come off as a negative
impression–it certainly isn’t meant to be. It’s our
first time in Asia and the sights and sounds are very
foreign, but we are enjoying the new experience and
trying to make the most of this time as tourists while
we can.

Running low on battery power in laptop and brain, so
can’t think of other things to add right now.

I’ll write again once we get settled somewhere. In
the meantime, I hope all is well with all of you.

Take care and keep in touch,
Colleen

Hi All,
Well, I’m still in Hanoi and unemployed.Maybe the stories about schools desperately seeking teachers was a myth. Or maybe that was just in Thailand. Anyway I have sent resumes to several schools and am waiting to hear from them.
Took a city tour the other day and visited, among other things, the mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh. Big marble block building. Very austere with strict rules regarding deportment. No cameras, no laughing, no talking, no hands in pockets. We went thru screening before going in and moved in single file. Beautifully uniformed guards moved us along. No stopping, keep moving. The big boy was laid out in a glass coffin. Looked like a wax dummy.
The Presidential Palace was next door but Ho chose to live simply in a two room house on stilts. Will send pictures when I can.
Visited Temple of Literature which is an ancient school but looks like a pagoda.
Monday, went to the Perfume Pagoda. It’s a two hour ride from Hanoi. That in itself is an adventure. There are many, many, many more motorbikes than cars in Vietnam and they crowd the streets and roads. Cars just weave in and out honking all the way. But we killed no one. After the car ride, there is a one hour boat trip. four passengers and one FEMALE rower in a metal flat-bottomed john boat. And it began to rain. We bought flimsy ponchos, very flimsy. Everything in my backpack got wet. Was able to protect my camera. They we went up a mountain. I chose to ride the cable car. The Perfume Pagoda is in a cave. It’s the most sacred pagoda in Vietnam. Interesting but not spectcular. Mostly just a huge cave with the Budda and decorations inside. Pictures to follow.
Enjoyng myself and seeing the sights while I can. Will let you know my progress as I know it. Anxious to find a job. but wanting to see what there is to see.
More later,
Love to all,
Dad, PaPa, Tom

Hi Everyone,
 
Well, I’m finally getting around to e-mailing everyone to let you know what is going on with me. For those of you who don’t know, I’m in Vietnam. I’ve been in Hanoi for the last two weeks seeking employment as an English teacher. So far, I’ve had two offers, both in Hanoi, but haven’t made any commitments as yet. Would prefer working in a smaller town on the coast. Quieter, maybe cooler with a breeze, and near a beach.
 
Hanoi is a big city with 5 million people, 4 million motorbikes, and three helmets. The streets are incredibly crowded, many more motorbikes and bikes than cars. There are traffic lights only at the major intersections and only the cars seem to pay attention to them. In most cases, motorbikes converge on the intersection from four directions at once. It’s like schools of fish or flights of birds coming together, somehow they enter this melting pot and come out the other side unscathed. It’s a miracle. So far I have not seen a single accident.
 
The secret to crossing the street is to wait til there are no cars coming, step out, walk at a constant pace, and don’t look. If you don’t panic, and walk slowly, they will judge where youi are going to be when they get to you and they will try very hard not to hit you, but they will pass very close to you. It’s like walking in the ocean and having a school of fish swim by. Somehow they move around you and never touch, it’s just not as frightening.
 
There is constant noise in the city. Constant honking of horns on cars or motorbikes. Most of the time it’s to let the person in front of you know that you want to pass or , at least, to let them know that you are passing them and they should not move into you lane (and, believe me, I use the word lane very lightly). I’ve seen cases in which our bus would pass another bus by pulling out into an oncoming stream of motorbikes. It was the responsibility of the motorbike to pull over to the edge of the road or take on a bus head-on.  Sometimes the busses just drive merrily down the center of the road, with motorbikes taking what was left of the road. But everyone is constantly honking their horn. I really think in some cases they just like the sound of their horns. And there are a variety of sounds, not just the one note blaring we have in the States.
 
Hanoi is a big, crowded, dirty city. The weather sucks. I haven’t seen the sun since I’ve been here. The people are nice and friendly. Most want to sell you something, of course, but they don’t harass you. Women with a board over their shoulder and two hanging baskets want to sell you fruit or bread. Men with three wheelers want to give you a ride round town. Men with motorbikes want to take you somewhere. Just say no and keep moving.
 
I’ve been living in the old quarter of town which the guide book says is the most densely populated area in all of Asia. I can believe it. Small shops line the streets and they are packed with merchandise, I mean, absolutely packed! The people live in the streets, literally. In the old quarter, the side walks are so filled with parked motorbikes that there is usually no room to walk. You walk in the street and ignore all the honking and pray no one hits you. It’s worse at mealtimes. The shopowners cook their food in little pots they set up on the sidewalk then gather around and either sit on little stools about six inches high or just hunker down. (Everyone here can hunker down, squat, sit on your heels, for those not from the South). At mealtime, the street is the only avenue open. Periodically, between the shops, there is a narrow (3 foot) passageway leading to the back.  I’m told that as many as 25 people live back there and share one bathroom. No wonder they live on the street.
 
In addition to looking for employment, I’ve been on three tours. The first was a tour of the city of Hanoi. First stop was the mausoleum of THE Man. Ho Chi Minh. A large cold, marble building with nothing inside but HIM. We stood in a long line to enter but it moved fairly quickly. No cameras, no hats on the head, no improper dress, no laughter, no talking, no hands in pockets, no stopping. There were beautifully uniformed guards who herded us through quickly. If you hesitated, they touched your arm to move you along. We were in the the room with HIM for about a minute making a big “U” around the body. He looked very yellow, well, even more than normal. Could have been plastic as far as I could tell. In and out. No time to make a quick inspection.
 
Next door was the Presidential Palace. Ho refused to live there but preferred a simple two room house on the grounds. We walked around the balcony and looked inside. Spartan to say the least.
 
We went to the Temple of Literature. Actually, it’s a Buddhist Temple where students went to study. It was dedicated to Confuscius (sp?). I’ll have to read up on this to understand the realtionship. Maybe more about this later.
 
The rest of the day was devoted to going to different pagodas. I was “pagoda”ed out by the end of the tour. One pagoda was in a lake in the center of town. The story goes that the emperor won a great battle and gave his sword to a Golden Turtle who lived in the lake. If, in the future, Vietnam is pressed by it’s enemies, the Turtle will return the sword to save the nation. In light of the history of the nation, either the turtle has fallen asleep on the job or the legend rings hollow. 
 
The second tour was a day trip to the Perfume Pagoda. We rode on the bus for an hour and a half through flat land where there were endless rice fields being harvested by (mostly) women bent over cutting the rice at the ground. Back-breaking work. Much like picking cotton. All the land is ovened by the State but it is leased to families for a period of 15 years. The rice is often spread across the road. Our bus drove over many piles of rice. This is the manner they use to separate the rice from the shaft.
 
We arrived at the Perfume River just as it began to mist. We bought flimsy ponchos that were offered. They were about as sturdy as the plastic bag you get to carry groceries home from the store. We were inundated with women trying to sell us things. They tried to “give” us bracelets and said ,”My name is Moon. Remember me when you come back.”  I figured if you took a “free” bracelet, you wer somehow obligated to buy something from them when you came back. We got in metal, flat-bottomed john boats, four tourist and one female rower to each, and set off. It began to rain hard. We all got soaked, even the thinks in my backpack got wet. Luckily, I was able to keep my camera dry. The rain was wet but warm. The wind slowed our progress and it took over an hour to get up river. We got off at the base of a mountain. Here we all bought sturdy ponchos and threw the others away. We were given the choice of walking, make that climbing, the trail up to the Perfume Pagoda or taking a gondola. I chose the gondola. Even the climb up to the gondola was slippery and treacherous due to the rain.
 
The Perfume Pagoda is actually an enormous cave. Did I mention enormous? There is a huge stalagmite right in the middle of the entrance which is called the tongue of the dragon. There is a big iron bell at the entrance which I hit three times with a large mallet which was supposed to bring me luck. It hasn’t worked so far. The cave is like any other cave, with stalagtites and stalagmites, just larger than most. In the back there is the necessary paraphernalia which make it a pagoda. The buddha with the thousand eyes and thousand arms, lots of gold statues, etc. There seems to always be three layers of icons with the most sacred in the back on the highest tier. I’ll have to read more about the religion to understand.
 
Due to the rain, there were very few tourists that day. We had lunch in a large quonset hut on long banquet style tables. The meal was family style. Lots of food. Not always sure what it was but it was good and filling. Lots of rice always. And spring rolls. I have been quite pleased with the food. Think I am beginning to lose some weight.