Georgetown Preparatory School Vietnam Trip 1999DAYS Four-Six (March 25-27) |
I have seen many one legged and one armed, old men begging for money. I have seen many small children with completely rotten teeth and many people have incredible medical condtion, but they all seem so happy. Every child smiles at me, waves, and says "hello!" Even remote people on river banks with absolutely no schooling or extensive exposure to English speaking people can still say "Hello." People are amazed with my retainers and that I am only sixteen.
Martin Brown
Last three days in Mekong Delta, 250 kilometers south of Saigon, taking busses and boats. Far out of touch with internet hookups, staying in small dusty cities surrounded by vast rice paddies. The people of Vietnam - we are meeting them. The exciting thing is we are learning to communicate in their language and it is opening up our minds to the culture here.
We rode on many small boats on muddy rivers and irrigation canals. It was striking to see so many people in unmotorized craft going from place to place, paddling their beautiful traditional boats. We explored areas deep in the south where the Vietcong had their hideouts. We saw old holes in the ground with wooden covers still on them - now tourist attractions. Generally, we are participating in Vietnamese culture by not only lighting incense in the Buddhist temples, but going to incense "factories" (tiny cottage industries) and making incense ourselves; not only eating our clear rice noodles with chopsticks but, again, going to the cottage industry and seeing how it is made.. Same is true for the fruits, flowers, birds, and fish of the region - we experience them in daily use and also see the places where they are grown or raised and then sent to market. Yesterday we watched a cockfight (this one ended in a draw when both roosters seemed to lose interest).
In many countryside cafes there's a big python in a cage, or sometimes not in a cage. That's right - sometimes you're free to drape the constrictor around your....neck. More later. Today, back in Saigon, where a big breakfast now awaits us. Love to all.