Not sure where I left off, but doesn't matter who reads this stuff anyways?
HoChiMihn(Siagon) got to me, the intense traffic/pollution/noise so I decided to head to China each made famous by a Vietnam series after the same name. Da Nang in the center hosts China Beach a 30 mile long awesome piece of real estate. Just plop my skinny white American ass down on a sunny beach and dream of nothing.....
Sorry to interupt this blog but cold and rain is being reported for the three days skinny white ass is plopped down on beach.
OK, screw that I bought the ticket so time to head to Hue to hang out with Buddhist monks. Hue is the center of BuddhaWorld, and I got to motorcylce with the Venerable Big Buddha guy. He is running a free hospital for poor people and I wanted to donate some cash to the cause. So I got to tour the hospital and ride on back of motorcycle with Buddhist priests in their robes.
Next I always wanted to see the DMZ so I rented a driver and head to North Vietnam. Across the border was the most bombed piece of realestate on the planet. This village estimated that 40,000 bombs fell on them. Fortunately all 300 people were 60 feet underground in this awesome tunnels, so I think we wasted
40,000*$100,000=whateverwhoiscountingweareatwarbombingpeopleintothestoneagetobeatthecommiesatanycost.
Head back to DaNang for flight home and TADA, sunshine and warmth as I'm heading for the plane! So at night I just started hiking to find China Beach and 7 miles and 4 hours later at
night I FOUND IT. Awesome. Took some pictures in morning. Vietnam war history is now
officially closed.
Fly into Saigon and what should I do? Hmmmm.. Rock Climbing of course so climbed with some cool people on this really cool cement mountain 50 feet high. That was a blast. I got totally toasted in the heat and pollution and crumbled.
Run back to the airport and met this cool PHD guy doing sustainable agriculture building closed systems trying to increase farm incomes in Mekong Delta. Totally inspiring that something like this could save the world by not having the masses migrate into the cities but instead make money on the farms and actually be able to survive. Save The World, there is hope and cool people dedicating their lives trying to ensure we don't smoke the planet. Love it! I'm jazzed. I think Shilpi's dad could do something like this so got his contact info.
Basic Vietnam Trivia:
- no barking dogs
- mellow dogs
- no graffiti
- no/minor crime
- if you die on the job, your family gets $300
- basic sexual service $0.16 (a journalist informed me, nothing else)
- 80 million people - 1 "highway" (two lane country road), 1 railroad track
- no mcdonalds that i saw
- everyone loves americans
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
dreez
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5 comments:
Hey Mike!
Sounds like you're having some great travels so far. I really liked the info you posted on Vietnam.
Make note of any cool honeymoon spots for Josh and me as you're traveling around.
--Sara
Oh...and happy birthday!
Sounds like a great adventure. I know it is not all roses but FYI I'm proud of you for picking up and seeing the world. Main reason I'm sending you this, besides just to say hello, is to let you know I graduated high school in 1975 and also have always felt a pull from Vietnam. I have read a ton of books about what it was like and always wondered why I had the "pull". So anyway, get off the who would read this crap attitude and tell us more. There are people out there that for whatever reason cannot do what you are doing but sure would enjoy doing it. I'm lean right now but when I can afford it I'll Pay-pal you. Write more when you can and give us the details if you have time. It may be more important than you know. Am also interested in your business project, share what you can.
Rob Packard - Entconnect.org
P.S. Happy Birthday
I agree with Rob -- don't under estimate how many of us are vicariously living your adventure. So many "10 * (3|4|5|6)" year olds want to take time to drop everything and go on a big adventure. Few of us 1) make it a priority, 2) have an opportunity, 3) take the time, 4) have the money, 5) have the life situation to "escape."
Make the best of it -- share you thoughts and adventures.
We'll miss you at EntConnect this year.
- Dave Shaver -- That NeoTool guy
PS: Pictures would be nice. :-)
Hmm, "no/minor crime" and "basic sexual service $0.16"?? I suppose whether it's ironic depends on what you mean by "crime"... Anyways, Vietnam sounds like an amazing experience. I'm glad it's going well, aside from your orphanage/swimming trip disappointment. You may not be staying dry, but at least you're staying WARM, unlike us...
We miss you, keep enjoying it all!
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