Hiam has the tuk tuk loaded for our last airport trip! 

Nancy & Viseth (Steve Goldman's friend) 

More Angkor 

Viseth and John 

Angkor 

Lunch anyone? 

Killing Fields 

Michael, my motorcycle driver 

Mekong Delta 

Lunch 

This guy is heavy! 

Dinki with our favorite guide, Tony 

A happy traveler 

Traveling on the train was tough! 

Mongolia 

Drinking with the Russian military! 

Gulag (outside Perm) 

Inside the subways (Moscow) 

Suzdal 

Red Square 

Trying on the furs! 

Peterhof 

Inside Catherine's Palace 

At the top of St. Isaac's, looking over St. Petersbury 

Nancy @ Palace Square 

Hermitage 

Making Memories . . .

MEMORABLE MOMENTS (some good, some bad)

Getting robbed
Being chased by the gypsies
Seeing the Catherine Palace
Standing up to the “James Bond” thug who tried to throw me off the bus (Moscow)
Riding the subways
Staying at Lily’s
Walking through the streets of Suzdal
Visiting the gulag
Seeing where the Tsar and his family were murdered
Staying in a ger
Riding horses across the steppe
Seeing the wild horses of Mongolia
Shopping in Beijing!!
A girl of about 5 screaming her lungs out at the sight of 2 big nosed, fair haired, ugly Americans
Going to the hospital in Guilin with Dinki
Getting kicked off the train in the middle of the night at the Chinese border
Staying in the “Rat Hole”
Riding in a tuk tuk with all our luggage to Friendship Pass
Seeing the “Hanoi Hilton”
Seeing Halong Bay
Boat ride on Perfume River, seeing the sampans
Having clothes made in Hoi An
Bike ride to the countryside
The many travelers I met on all the train rides
Local people
Spending money!
Crawling through the Cu Chi Tunnels
Touring the War Museum in Hanoi
Mekong Delta
The Killing Fields
Meeting Ha
Angkor Wat
The orphanage in Siem Reap
Going home!

7-31 (Sunday) We're HOME!

We're home!

Thai Air is WONDERFUL! I thought our route to NY was interesting . . . we took off and headed north towards Vietnam, going over Hanoi, China, Russia as though we were going to the pole. Then we curved down towards Alaska, flew over Canada and on into NY. We went from night (leaving Bangkok) to bright day (when we woke up over wherever) back to night and landed in NY at dawn.

We had a couple hours in NY but we needed it to get out bags, get through customs and get to a different terminal.

We got back into Orlando around 1 p.m. I went to bed at 5 p.m. when I could no longer hold my head up.

I slept until about 2 a.m. and then was up the rest of the night. You know how that goes . . .

7-3 (Wednesday)

Yesterday (Tuesday) I decided I’d better go through my mail. It’s a good thing I did . . . I have jury duty TODAY! I still don’t have my days and nights completely straightened out but I’m doing much better than I have in the past.

Some of you might know that I bought a different condo (at the same complex) right before I left on the trip. It is in bad shape so now I have to gut it and start from scratch. I am living out of one room. I can get to my bed and of course my computer! Other things I have no idea where they are including my checkbook which I found out I’m in desperate need of after opening my mail yesterday!

You may want to check the blog one more time, I’m going to try to put a few pictures on.

Please forgive all the spelling errors and incorrect grammer in the past blogs, I had to write so quickly I hardly had time to think much less correct anything.

7-30 (Saturday) Preparing to leave

We spent the entire morning packing our bags and getting ready to leave this afternoon. Hian took us to another market where Dinki and I had to purchase a few last minute things!

After we ate lunch at La Grand Cafe, one of our favorite places, he took us to the orphanage where he said he grew up. We met and talked to the director, a young Aussie, who has been in charge for about a year. He told us to be very careful of people like Hian who use the Kumer Rouge story to get money out of tourists. His story was that the Kumer Rouge had slit his mother’s throat because she stole a little rice to give to him. (We were actually feeling a little leery of Hian because he was telling his story so often to the other tourists that were staying at the guesthouse.) You hate to doubt people when they tell you something like that but it’s hard to know if they are telling the truth especially when you hear them telling it so often. Anyway, the director was wonderful. He was organized, had excellent goals which were all written out on a white board hanging on the wall and seemed to have only the best interest of the children as his mission. It is a place that I would consider supporting. They have about 145 children of all ages in a very small area but they are making the best of it. The children go to regular school then they study English. They learn their native dances, are fed three meals a day and are trained in job skills. The director is working on opening a small restaurant on the premises. Here the children would learn to prepare, cook and serve food so that they would eventually be able to get a job in the food service business.

We went back to the guesthouse to take showers and dress for the trip. Hian got all of our luggage into a tuk tuk and even found a place for us to sit! I wish you could have seen us traveling to the airport with all that stuff.

In Siem Reap I checked two bags all the way to NY and Dinki checked three. The bad thing was when we got to Bangkok we found out we were only allowed two bags each so Dinki had to pay $120 for her third bag! We tried to get the bag back to carry on but there was no way. To relieve her stress over having to spend money on the fine she shopped and got a massage! The Bangkok airport is like a huge shopping mall with the finest stores. A great place to get rid of any of that foreign currency you have left over!!

We took off on Thai Air for NY at 1:oo a.m.

7-29 (Friday) Angkor

I got the name of a guide in Siem Reap from my friend, Steve Goldman, in Calif. I had been emailing the guide along the way to set up something for Angkor Wat. I didn't have his phone number and hadn't heard from him in for several days. I was at the internet when I found a message from him with his phone number. I wrote it down and took it to the girl by the door who collects the money. I told her I wanted to make a phone call. Some guy was standing right outside the door, he said to me, ""Are you Nancy?" I kinda looked at him and he said, "I'm Steven Goldman's friend!" I couldn't believe it! What are the chances that he would show up at the same internet where I was and at the same time?? Amazing. It's a God thing! We arranged for him to pick us up at 7:30 in the morning to take us to Angkor.

We rode out there on our usual means of transportation, the motorcycle. The complex is mammoth! We only saw a small portion of it. We must have gone to 6-8 temples plus Angkor Wat itself. It was amazing that people that long ago were able to build something with stones as large as they used and not use machinery. I guess it must be similar to Manchu Pichu.

I feel like I have really accomplished something seeing Angkor Wat. I have wanted to see it for so long.

When we got back to town we bought our tickets to Bangkok. We leave here at 8:00 tomorrow night, fly to Bangkok, board Thai Air at midnight and take off for NY. Pray for us to arrive safely.

7-28 (Thursday) Killing Fields

We got up at 6:00 and had breakfast at the Capital Tours Restaurant.

Our drivers, Michael and Simth were there to pick us up at 7:15. They drove us a long way, down paved roads and unpaved dusty, pothole roads. We arrived at the Killing Fields Museum a little after 8 a.m. before all the tourists got there. We hired a guide, Sal to show us around. The first thing we saw looked like a pagoda filled with skulls. Underneath the skulls was a pile of clothing belonging to the victims. You could see the holes and broken skulls when the victims were hit in the head with hoes etc.

We walked around the grounds where we saw the holes that contained the mass graves. You could still see, after all these years (about 25 years clothes and bones that are still being released from the earth!)
We gave our guide $4. We had hired our motorcycle drivers for$5 to bring us and take us back to Phnom Penh, now we asked if for another $2 they would take us to Tuol Sleng, the genocide museum in Phnom Penh which in the time of the Khmer Rouge was known as S-21. This was originally a high school where the classrooms were converted into prison cells. All the windows were covered with bars and barbed wire after being closed. The victims were brought from different parts of the country. They were the intellectuals . . . doctors, lawyers, teachers, engineers. They were also different nationalities including Brits, Indians, NZ, and Americans but most were Cambodians. In 178 there were 5765 prisoners detained at that location. As a rule they were only kept there 24 months and tortured twice a day until they were killed. Political prisoners were sometimes tortured 6 months before being killed. It wasn't just men that were killed but women and children also. Seeing all the "mug shots"of the deceased and the torture instruments was gruesome. Many of those committing these crimes were between the ages of 10-15.

We got back to the hotel just in time to catch the bus to Siem Reap. We hired our drivers to bring our luggage downstairs for $1.

The bus was FULL, unlike the bus from Vietnam to Cambodia. Dinki and I had to sit next to each other the entire trip! We made two "potty breaks" along the way. At the first stop when I got off the bus I saw some black things crawling around over leaves in a dishpan. As I was trying to see what they were a young girl reached in and pulled out a tarantula!! She let it crawl on her arm and the front of her shirt. The woman next to dishpan was cooking them for selling. I asked a guy if you ate the entire thing. He said, "yes, do you want to try it?"" I kindly declined. At each potty stop I went to the bushes instead of going into one of the stinky squats.

We arrived in Siem Reap around 5:00. I got off the bus to make sure no one ran off with our bags. I was surrounded by guys begging me to take their cab or tuk tuk. I could hardly move for them being around me so closely. There was a guy on the bus who worked for Capital Tours. He got us a tuk tuk and a car (we needed both for all our luggage.) We went to one of the Capital Tour properties. I went in to see if we were going to stay. It was lovely, very clean, A/C and a large room. The only bad thing was the bathroom was not air conditioned and it was about the size of a refrigerator box! The shower, toilet and sink were within arms distance of each other. We decided to stay at least one night.

We had the guy who brought us there take us into town so we could eat dinner. He came back and picked us up a couple hours later.

7-27 (Wednesday) in a hurry

I don't have time to write about the border crossing from Vietnam to Cambodia. I'll try to do it tomorrow or the next day.

Am in Cambodia. Tomorrow we go to the killing fields and at noon we take off on another 7 hour bus trip to Angkor Wat. This will cost $3.50. Should arrive around 7:00 tomorrow night.

7-26 (Tuesday) Mekong Delta

Tony took us to the Mekong Delta this morning. It was about an hour and a half drive. When we got in the car I told him we put on our nicest clothes just for him. Of course they were the same ones we were wearing yesterday but they were clean.

At the Delta we got on our own boat and went to Turtle Island where we walked around and then were served some of the local fruit. While we were eating it some singers entertained us. I could have done without that but we were very gracious clapping at the end of each song.

We went to another island where we saw them making candy out of coconut. At the third island we posed with a giant boa constrictor around our necks. When Dinki saw it she said, "I think you're supposed to go in ahead of me." I put it right around my neck. It was really heavy!!! At this place, which was a bee farm, they served us some wonderful sweet coconut, sweet peanuts, sweet ginger and tea with honey in it. That was my favorite place for sampling the food.

Lastly we went to a local farmer's house and had lunch. First they brought out a fish, head tail and all. That wasn't unusual, it was the way they had the fish propped up as though it were swimming through the water instead of being flat on a plate. Next they brought out something like eggrolls. We thought that was it but they came with two GIANT shrimp. We were sure that was it but, no, now they came with the main meal!! This was rice, green beans, some sort of meat, soup and it seems like there was something else I can't remember. I hardly ate any of that course mainly because I was already full. Finally came dessert which was watermelon. I can't believe they would think we could eat all that food.

After that we were anxious to get back to Saigon. Tony keeps trying to teach us how to say different Vietnamese words. If we get it right he will say, "good job" if we mess up he will say, "I'll check you again in a little bit." The bad thing is he keeps checking us! This guy is really funny not only the way he talks but when he keeps telling us to dress nicely and that he is going to "check us again" on our pronunciation! We have had a good time with him.

When we got back to Saigon we had Tony stop at a booking office and we bought bus tickets to go to Cambodia in the morning. The trip is going to take seven hours. We were hoping to get there early enough to see the Killing Fields Museum the same day but it is beginning to look like we'll have to do that the next day.

We had Tony take us to a noodle shop that was very famous during the war. It was here that the VC worked undercover as waiters and waitresses. Tony said, "That used to be a good place but now it's no good. You'll see no one will be inside." Sure enough he was right, it was empty! We took pictures and left.

We walked around a little before it got too dark to take pictures. We went over to the former Presidential Palace and took photos. If you remember this is where we saw the VC tank breaking down the gate and moving onto the grounds. The tank is still there on the grounds. We walked down to where the former US Embassy had been. I stopped some western guy on the street and asked him if he lived in HCMC. He said he did. I asked him where the old embassy was. We were about 50 feet from it. He said there is nothing left of the original except two gun turrets. We walked down to see it.

Tonight we walked down to the exchange so Dinki could get some more money. We had already planned to find Ha and give her $10 to buy her school uniform for next year. We wrote her a note and put it in an envelope with the money. When we gave it to her we just told her we had written her a little note to let her know how much we enjoyed meeting her.

On our way to the internet we stopped by the Sheraton and went to the 23rd floor where the bar was. Tony had told us we had to do this. Well he was right, the view of the city was breathtaking. Hopefully I can get Dinki off the net and on the way home we'll stop at another hotel he told us about and see the view from there.

Tomorrow . . . seven hours on the bus to Cambodia! I can't believe this trip is almost over!!!

7-25 (Monday) Saigon

Today was a pretty emotional day.

First of all we slept late, until almost 7:00. I think it was because the air was so cold that we snuggled in our covers and didn't want to get up.

Breakfast came with the room but it wasn't a buffet like at the other place in Hoi An so I didn't like it all that much.

Tony picked us up at 8:00 to to the the Cu Chi Tunnels about two hours from Saigon (the people in the north, Hanoi, call it HCMC but the people here still refer to it as Saigon.)

These are the actual tunnels that the Viet Cong used during the war. Of course the entrances have been expanded so that fat Americans can get into them. We walked down a long path through the jungle to get to the location. The guide asked if we could find the secret opening - NOT! It just had leaves and dirt over it but you couldn't tell it from any other part of the jungle floor. There were three levels. The first level was for the injured. It was their field hospital and surgery room and recovery room. They also had their waterwells here and did their cooking. This level was 3 meters deep and 10-20 m long. The second level was for meetings with the commander, where they slept and went to the toilet. It was 6-8 meters deep and 30-100 m long. The third level was where the vice commander worked. The was 8-10 m deep and 100-150 m long. There were air holes every 15 - 25 meters. The tunnel system stretched from Saigon all the way to the Cambodian border. There were more than 259 km of tunnels.
They allowed the VC to mount surprise attacks wherever the tunnels went and to disappear into hidden trapdoors without a trace. Many of the trapdoors were bobby-trapped. The VC guerrillas serving in the tunnels lived in extremely difficult conditions. To cook, they used kitchens which exhausted the smoke through vents many meters away from the cooking site. They also were able to "collect" the smoke in containers and dispose of it later. Trapdoors were installed throughout the network to prevent tear gas, smoke or water from moving from one part of the system to another.

It was hard climbing down into them because the stone steps were so steep. The first "room" we came to was the well or water room. The tunnels were very narrow and to go through and we had to bend way over. This was the first level. When we came up the Cu Chi guide asked if we wanted to try to go through the second level. We said, "yes." Needless to say this was more difficult. It was deeper and there were times when we had to crawl on our hands and knees. Something hit me in the head and I had a terrible fear that it was a bat! It took a long time to get through this part because it was so narrow and so low. When we came up I said we wanted to go through the third level. They wouldn't let Dinki go because they didn't think she would make it but agreed to give me a try. This part was 150 km long. That may not sound like much but when you are in stooped position without any light (the guide did have a small flashlight) it is a long way. We went along for a good distance and then he opened a door in the floor. This one was NOT expanded for Americans and it was pitch black. Of course the whole complex was pitch black. We shinnied further down into the earth. As we were going through this part I could hear the bat's wings and it scared me to death. Once in a while one would bump my head. I was almost in a panic, I would scream out and the guide would say, "It's okay, it's okay." I was surprised as to how hot it was down there. I thought underground it would be cool but I was dripping wet. Once again I was on my knees going through. I was really happy when we finally came to the surface. I was filthy and probably had bat poop all over my hands and legs. There was a place where you could wash off when you got to the top. My tunnel guide told my tour guide all about how I was screaming about the bats BUT he said I did a good job. He was surprised how well I did.

We got back to HCMC around 12:45. Tony said we could change clothes and eat lunch before he picked us up at 2:00 sharp! We had to wash all our clothes right down to scrubbing our shoes. When we finished laundry and cleaning ourselves we only had 30 minutes left for lunch. We knew we wouldn't have time to eat in a decent restaurant so we headed over to KFC for some FAST food. This was the first KFC we had seen in Vietnam.

Tony was waiting for us when we got back to the hotel to take us to the War Museum. This was a pretty overwhelming experience even though it was one sided. There were two buildings filled with photos of soldiers, top brass and fighting scenes from both sides. There were photos of innocent civilians and the horror war inflicts upon them. Some of the pictures were almost to grisly to look at. There was a section set up to show what the "tiger cages" were like. These were the punishment cells used by the south Vietnamese on the VC prisoners. When I came out I felt like being very quiet and almost like I had been punched in the stomach. The bottom line is that there are no winners in war. It doesn't matter what side you're on, war is hell.

Tony told us to wear our nice clothes in the morning when we go to the Mekong Delta! I said, "Tony, you don't understand. we are wearing our best clothes!"

After getting back to the hotel we went out in search of a grocery store. We also were both having problems with our digital cards so we took them to a photo place and had them transferred to a disk. It was here that we met Ha, a 16 year street girl selling postcards and books. I got to taking to her and she said she had been selling for 12 years. Her English was perfect. I asked where she learned it and she said from the tourists. I was very impressed with her. She trying to earn enough money to buy her school uniform for this coming year.

Dinki and I went to have dinner next door to the photo place. I ordered pizza then I got the idea that I would invite Ha to share it with me since I wasn't really that hungry. I went out to look for her but she was gone. I told some of the street sellers if they saw her to tell her to come to the restaurant. It wasn't too long before she showed but but unfortunately she didn't like pizza. Dinki bought her some sort of moon cake that she said she liked.

We went to do email. I got so tired I couldn't stand it so I left Dinki there doing it by herself.

Dave the Mailman

Dave,

If you're still reading these blogs please start delivering my mail on August 1st. Thanks.

Joyce, if you happen to see Dave and he isn't getting the blogs please tell him when to start the mail delivery. Thanks.

7-24 (Sunday) Hoi An to Ho Chi Minh City

We were supposed to leave Hoi An at 9 a.m. but had a call from our guide saying we weren't leaving until 11:15. We had our bags downstairs and were ready to go when we got this news.

We were outside ready to walk down to the river and take pictures when Dinki got the ickies. She decided she'd better stay at the hotel. I walked for almost two hours. I crossed the bridge and wandered down some remote dirt streets taking pictures. Many of the people held out their hands and wanted to be paid. I just laughed at them.

When I got back to the hotel the guide and new driver were there. Our driver was Mr. Chin's brother because Mr. Chin had to drive back to Hue to pay his speeding ticket. On the way to the airport we stopped at the Museum of Cham Sculpture. The artifacts date back to the 7th century.

When we checked in at the airport, the girl weighed our luggage separately while on the last flight the agent weighed them together. Dinki's weighed 97 lbs and mine 68 lbs. Dinki had to pay $8 for being overweight. The weight did not include what we were carrying on just what we were checking. We carried on my balalaika, some Chinese paintings, two rolling backpacks, the backs on our backs, a bag Dinki had breakables in, our "fanny packs" and two "coolie" hats!

We were met at the HCMC (Saigon) airport by our guide, Tony. This guy is a hoot. He talks as fast as a machine gun can fire. I don't think he took a breath all the way to the hotel. When the Vietnamese talk their speech in tonal - highs and lows. When he speaks to us in English his voice goes up and down and it sounds so funny. It's all we can do to keep from laughing. He had the driver show us a little of the city, pointing out various sites. Before dropping us off at our hotel, The Asian, Tony told us we were going to the Cu Chi Tunnels in the morning and to dress nice! I about fell out of the car when he said that. I hated to tell him but we were wearing our finest!!

The hotel room is VERY small but the air works great and it's in a fabulous location.

After getting our luggage to the room we walked around for a couple hours to get our bearings. We walked down to the Saigon River stopping along the way to go into some of the 5 star hotels to have a look.

We ate dinner at a French restaurant. My meal, seabass, was fabulous. Dinki was still feeling a little icky.

7-23 (Saturday) Still in Hoi An

We had another lovely breakfast this morning. We sure will miss this hotel when we get to Ho Chi Minh City.

This morning when I was picking up some of the clothes I had made yesterday I ran into a couple of guys from the states who have been teaching English in Ho Chi Minh City for the last year. They were telling me that the prices there are much cheaper than in Hanoi. I got really excited when I heard this!

Today has been a pretty low key day. Dinki went off to the bank and as far as I knew never came back. I waited for her for two hours (I wasn't just sitting there!) anyway I decided to heck with her I was going to go eat and pick up clothes from another place from yesterday. I was walking down a street I rarely travel and here she comes toward me! Neither one of us could believe we ran into each other like that. She had been back to the hotel looking for me and someone told her I had gone to town so she had been looking all over for me! She and I each had one more outfit made today. We can't pick them up until 5:00 but that's okay.

Actually at 5:00 we are going bicycle riding in the country side. We will either pick up before we go or when we get back. I was talking to the girl who sold the outfit. I was asking her how many days she gets off a week, the answer . . . none! She works from 7 in the morning until 7 at night a gets three days off a year during Tet (the New Year Celebration.) I asked her if she was married. She said, "no" she doesn't have time to meet anyone. She is so tired she falls in bed at night and then starts the whole process over the next day.

At lunch we met two girls from Norway. One had gone to school in Miami for a year. They love to travel especially South America. They take off every time they get a little money.

I need to get to the room and cool down before the bicycle trip. Tomorrow we leave for Ho Chi Minh City.