Monthly Archives: November 2009

Buddhist Festival Invitation

Reply

[httpv://youtu.be/rTPvCT_ZMb4/]

“Wait! Bob, stop: there’s another temple and it looks like there must be something going on.” I’ll just dash in and take a quick photo. Soon, I was talking to Winnie, an English teacher, while Bob was surrounded by curious men. We’d happened upon a Buddhist celebration revering mothers. How appropriate that I’ve been hearing my mother’s voice telling me about Saigon before I was born. We listened to the chants and gongs and were soon invited to the feast to follow. I watched Winnie tenderly feed her animated 90-year-old grandmother. I told Winnie how lucky she was to still have her mother and grandmother. We tried, unsuccessfully, to fend off the large quantities of food that were being packed for us to ride away with. After meeting with the head monk and making conversation, Bob was able to give our translator the gift of a pair of reading glasses, which he evidently needed.

First Impressions of The Mekong Delta

1
No Cars or Trucks in this part of the Mekong Delta

No Cars or Trucks in this part of the Mekong Delta

Mid Afternoon Shade Hammock and Soda Break (check out the 7UP bottle)

Mid Afternoon Shade Hammock and Soda Break (check out the 7UP bottle

We are enjoying our first day in the Mekong delta; the ferry crossings, river views, the traditional, and rapidly changing ways of life. We hope to post some videos as we cycle upriver on what we think is a riverside tiny road. We’ll give it a go tomorrow.

Ferry Crossing in the Mekong Delta

Ferry Crossing in the Mekong Delta

Pretty Girls Everywhere!

Pretty Girls Everywhere!

Man Praying in a Temple

Man Praying in a Temple

Zippy: 40,000th mile.

7

Give or take 100 miles, Zippy has carried us 40,000 miles around the world. He was allowed his wish, and said he wanted to play in Saigon traffic. We gave him his wish. Claire is amazed at how many near misses Zippy had; she could fee the heat from the motorcycle mufflers. Imagine what this would be like if all these motorcycles were cars! I would have liked to have been here when they were all bicycles. Well, on second thought, maybe not.

We could have never dreamed of this day when we rode away from our home in Dungeness, Washington. We are thankful for the adventures, the new friends, and the direction our lives have taken. It is amazingly appropriate that we reached this milepost in the city where Claire was born, 45 years ago.

We have a date with the mighty Mekong tomorrow. We first saw the muddy waters of the Mekong in Yunnan province China, still high in the mountains. It will be a very different river in the delta as it nears the sea.

Read the rest of this article...