3 days in Cambodia, May 20-22

One of the great wonders of the world is the Angkor complex built by the Khmer kings between the 9th and 12th centuries . Most famous is Angkor Wat but there are many temples and temples cities in the area which are just as amazing. The closest town is Siem Reap and there are now direct flights from Bangkok. Soon there will also be direct flights from other major cities which may bring so many tourists that the area is somewhat spoiled. Many modern hotels are sprouting everywhere. I commented on a shanty town alongside a construction site and my guide told me that a corrupt minister had sold the land which villagers were living on to a developer and the police evicted everyone one day.

Angkor Wat is surrounded by a moat and wall. It was built as a city for the king and his court and as his tomb.

It was abandoned in the 12th century when the capital was moved to Phnom Penh. Angkor is so close to Thailand, the Thais kept invading and winning. The jungle reclaimed the temples which are about 10km outside of the city and they lay undisturbed until a Frenchman came across them in 1923. French archeologists set about reclaiming them from the jungle.

The carvings are still in relatively good condition although there is much controversy about how to clean and preserve them

The French occupied Cambodia for 90 years. They set up schools, roads, trade and restored the temples. During the war which resulted in 4 brutal years of Khmer Rouge rule, the infrastructure was completely destroyed. The communist Khmer Rouge kicked everyone out of the cities. They told them to go to the country and become an agrarian society. If the people did not leave, they were shot. Intellectuals were tortured and killed – sometimes even wearing reading glasses was enough to sentence someone to death. In 1993, the policy loosened somewhat and international agencies came in to help clean up the minefields. It was permitted to learn English again. These traditional instrument musicians lost their limbs in mine explosions. There are still several agencies trying to clear mines from Cambodia.

In the king’s court, it was important for concubines to be graceful dancers. The dancers were called Apsaras. This room was used to train young girls in the art.

Ta Prom is one of the temples which was left unrestored by the French to show how the jungle had taken over.

These Spont trees can survive on the stone. They wrap around the walls and insinuate themselves until they become an integral part of the structure. Now, if the trees die, the parts they were holding together would collapse.

One of my favorite temples was Angkor Thom. It has an impressive causeway entrance over a moat with head of gods and demons on each side.

The main temple inside has 54 towers with 200 faces. It is a stunning sight which reminded me of the first time I saw Luxor Temple in Egypt.

There are 4 main gates to Angkor Thom each with a 4-faced god and elephant heads.

Banteay Srei about 35km outside of Siem Reap is the temple dedicated to the women. It has the most delicate and best preserved carvings of all the temples. It is believed that the pink and yellow limestone was carved by women.

This relief at Banteay Srei shows a scene from the Ramayana story. At the top, the bad king is stealing the wife of the good king. Below, the lions are running away from an evil demon with 10 heads and 20 arms. In the middle, the monkey king is trying to help.

Cambodia’s infrastructure is slowly being rebuilt. The roads even when paved are in terrible condition. There are street lights on the main road but they are only turned on for festivals. The electricity is needed by all the new hotels being built. This is a local gas station in Siem Reap

Rainy season is about to arrive. Many people will move their “houses” from the riverside where they live from fishing to the mountain. The lake will triple in size during the wet season. Everyone was just packing as we passed. Some put their houses on the back of trucks – others hitched a lift from a boat. In the back are all the worldly possessions of this family.

On the lake itself is a floating village. We stopped at a mini “Noah’s Ark”. They had a catfish farm, storks, pelicans, an enormous python, 2 baby monkeys and numerous children.

There is a fabulous book called The River of Time by Jon Swain who is a journalist and was in Phnom Penh when it fell to the Khmer Rouge. Cambodia’s recent history is brutal and depressing. My guide told me how his family was driven out of Siem Reap to the countryside in 1975. His parents were imprisoned and his father starved to death in prison. I was surprised and saddened to hear him also say that his favorite movies are the violent ones. Fighting, guns and death still thrill him. Perhaps at 29, he is too young to remember the worst atrocities or perhaps he is simply hardened to violence. He seemed like a nice person. He put off marriage so that he could continue to support his mother and 2 younger siblings.

Saturday, May 13, 2000

3 blissful hours in Bangkok airport. I have never been so grateful for a stopover in my life. Geographically from Vientiane to Chiang Mai in northern Thailand is

Mariam reporting on Monday May 1, 2000 (see the photos on the page “Meet Mariam and Jono”)

Hi everybody

Today, Monday 1 May 2000, my dad ( Abdul Aziz Al-Accad) and (husband) Jono (Jonathan Prior)
and mechanic- David Ellison
will have left from Tower Bridge in London on the round the world Rally. We are only doing the first leg which goes from London to Beijing, and for those of you who remember us doing the Peking to Paris rally, this is an entirely different route ! Jonathan goes the first half from London to Samarkand or Tashkent, and I will take over from him and do the second half to Beijing.
This is a rally for classic and vintage cars and we have been preparing the Railton (1936) for it. BUT –
4 days ago, we realized that it would not be ready on time, and rushed around to find another suitable car. This ended up being a rover P5. I am not sure what it looks like, but to me, it will look modern. It is car no 28 and is a sort of brown or silver colour.
Not content with getting another car, we also took out the engine, and put another restored one in. Restored to MOD specs, no less !
Anyway, this is just to let you know, that if you want to look up the rally, or see the progress reports, there is a website… I have a very long winded address so I think computer people should be able to whittle it down a little ?

www.carnet.co.uk/rallyoffice/index.html

I will be posting out an update on their report every couple of days.
How I am going to get to Samarkand from Dubai is another thing. It looks as if my best choice is with
Uzbekistan Airways. Since I am nervous of flying even with Emirates Airlines, this is not a good option.
I was trying Emirates to Teheran and then by train, but Turkmenistan got in the way. ( Foreigners not allowed to cross border) And also, to Ashkabat and then across by train, but think that is worse.
With lots of bribery and bandits etc, a female alone.? Any hints on travel welcome – but have tried Turkish Airline via Istanbul – not good connections, and also can go aeroflot via Moscow. Don’t think so !
Which is why I am not sure if I take over in Samarkand or Tashkent.

Tonight they should reach a chateau hotel north of Paris.

Saturday, May 6 Mariam reports…

today rest day in Thessaloniki – they arrived very late yesterday in Greece from the boat from Italy, and were driving till midnight. Up through Pindos Mountains – long climb to 6000feet. Katara Pass was by the sounds of it, a rather rough gravel stretch which they were glad to get off. By the sounds of it, Dad was driving until it got dark, which is a scarey thought in itself. Then Jono took over.
Spoke with them this morning, and everything seems fine except guess what ? Fedex has not delivered the parcel that was meant to be there yesterday. This is the third international delivery they have screwed up on me in the last 2 weeks. My passport with all the visas is still lost in London somewhere, and I need it to get to Samarkand in 1.5 weeks ! Now they are saying – sorry – the local offices don’t work at the week-ends. Jono says their shock absorbers are creaking, and they would have liked to have changed them….. if all else fails, they will have to wait till Istanbul – if they go, they go.
Its only one day of driving to Istanbul, where they have another rest day.
There was an article of them in the Gulf news on Friday, which is our local paper. Quite fun.
On Wednesday, dad said that they got missed by lightening by 2 metres in the alps. That same day, someone else went over a mountain and totalled their car. They are ok though.
The next day in Italy, a german couple whom dad had befriended, had their steering break in their jag, and they crashed into a field. They are ok, and David has helped them tie it up with string, by the sounds of it. Will be ok until Istanbul, which is their destination anyway.
Thats all. love, M
Ps – on the flight dilemma – am going Uzbekistan Airways via Tashkent from Sharjah airport. Pray for me ! Apparently they have made it to IATA standards….

Monday May 8, Mariam reports…

they got to Istanbul ok. Fifth car to arrive – what a difference from when we were in the railton.
Jono sounds happy – they seem to be all getting on very well – apparently their car is called ‘the bazaar’ because of the arab headcloths, and my dads endless supplies of everything.
Poor david ate a scallop in in thessaloniki, and didn’t realize, and has had violent food poisoning. But rally doctor says he should be ok today.
dad is coming into his own as negociator and procurer, as he has done talking at the border to get them through quickly, found rover in greece and went there, and sourced the fedex parcel.
I have a photo coming from a Jonathan on the rally of them, and will send to you, but I don’t have it yet myself…
Ps: update on travel – can get to Samarkand but 4 days too early ! am trying to persuade Jonathan and Sue to come with me from Dubai, and do a shopping/culture thing.

Dear all – here is picture of the car – just received on net.
jono says their car has been nicknamed ‘the bazaar’ because it is piled high
with stuff and full of arabs with headdresses ! Cannot remember when last
wrote, so will keep it short. Jono is jealous of a gorgeous 1914 silver
ghost with a straight 12 engine !!! ( Railton is a straight 8 and even that
is big! )
Only other news is that jono says they are all getting on very well –
shouldn’t maybe say these things – tempting fate.
Dad was nearly run over when he got out for a special section – a morgan
lost control on a forest section and he was in the way !
must dash – love m

May 14th, Mariam reports…

they are on a rest day in Tiblisi, Georgia. There was another ‘Gulf News’ special, which was fun – headline as ;
‘National, Abdul Aziz in 6th place’ !!
When I spoke with them in Batumi, they were at a reception, hosted by the governor. Children singing and choirs etc. Today, dad says they are fine – nothing much to report. Tomorrow they head through to Turkmenistan and then across the caspian sea overnight to Baku.
I have a shopping list of things to take with me – one head gasket, 2 carburettor float needles and 2 carb floats – as used on modern landrovers. And a strip of aspirin and a strip of beta blockers for dad.

Have now booked – am flying on Friday to Turkmenistan and if we can get him a visa, will take Basel ( dads personnel manager) with me as body guard. ( !!!) Spoke with my brothers friend who does lots of wierd dealings with that part of the world, and he was not reassuring. He has arranged for some-one to collect me, show me the sights and take me shopping. 100$ per day. sounds good to me – am not arguing. Then Jono gets taken to the airport too.

A little exerpt from one of jonos faxes still in Turkey 11/5/2000 : ‘ hello monster fatty , how are you ? Had a very pleasant day today, first driving along the coast for some way, before turning off up a long river valley and eventually climbing to over 2000m on a timed hill cliimb. The road/track was awful but the scenery was spectacular – we didn’t boil over today either, having filled the radiator with ‘antifriz’ as they call it here. That was good but we still might try to put a new one in in Tblisi as we have a rest day there. otherwise the car is going fine. After that, we came down to the cast and are staying in Trabzon – which turns out to be quite an interesting ancient fortified city, with most of the city walls still standing. There is also a special mosque here, which your dad was pleased to visit. Wwe went for dinner in a restaurant called Kebabistan! It was delicious and the waiter seemed to understand arabic more or less, so as usual your dad sorted everything out.! Most people don’t seem to venture out of the hotel – imagining it to be rather dangerous I suppose. Your dad and I also visited the Hamam tonight before dinner – very pleasant and relaxing after a long day in the car ‘

May 18, Mariam reports…

Last news before I go……..
I leave tomorrow on Uzbekistan Airways for Tashkent. Not very happy about it, but been so busy, that haven’t had time to think about it. Taking Basel – dads personnel manager and have arranged a local female to take me around the shops – and to do the sights.
The boys were sailing through Georgia and had a great time – jono and dad took sulphur baths. Jono says they will do all the baths of every city !

then they arrived in Baku, to take the ship, and were told that it was an awful tub, no food, no cabins, no toilets. This meant that everyone was ferretting around for food. Dad made friends with some lebanese there at the port and they told him about a great place in town to get goodies. so dad and jono set off in the car, and got the goods. On the way back, they got caught up in major traffic, and Jono thought they would never make it on time, but apparently my dad did a really good job on navigating them back.
Then they got on board, and the boat had been revamped since the last year – luxury (of sorts) – dining room with linen tablecloths, cabins etc etc. the boys got a cabin. Only some people didn’t – of that category were the ‘Noors’, whom we had befriended on the Peking to Paris. Not to let that get them down, they went straight up to the captain who was bribed, and let one of his ‘spare’ cabins go !

Since then, the mobile phones haven’t been working anymore.
Yesterday, I had a call from dad from Turkmenistan. He sounded tired, but they were having a rest day.
Jono and David had gone to the car, to see if they could fix up a better cooling system. The car is again heating up too much on hill climbs, and my fears are for the taklamakan desert, which is my shift…
Have not been able to get in touch again with them, and said I would see them in Tashkent. Insh’Allah.
so dear friends, unless Jono keeps up the new letters, which I will explain to him, you will hear from me only when I return to Dubai from Beijing.

The last time, I don’t remember what I felt.Trepidation because of Mike, (our mechanic) when he gave us the last warnings about driving safely and the risk of serious accident etc. In the event, the railton took us little over 50 per hour……
This time, it is Uzbekistan Airways, that I will be praying for. we will talk about the driving, when we get there ! Must cut my finger nails for my usual job of spark-plug cleaning, and hopefully not necessary – oil sump cleaner. And wheeler dealer for plastic buckets, lorries and pipes.
lots love, Mariam !

Sunday, May 28, Jono reports…

Hello folks, trying to take over where mariam left off- quality of copy may not be so good am afraid.
.Unfortunately, as we lost phone contact after Baku I fear she was unable to fill in the finer details of our last few days.We stayed in some fine establishments, including a disused infirmary in turkmenistan with the unpromising name of “sanitorium Profilaktica”.This was opened especially for our benefit and accomodation consisted of springless beds and dubious bedding-many chose to sl
eep in the garden! There was one working loo in the whole place and this was to finest french cafe standard.The only prophylactic against all this was large quantities of beer and vodka(all warm) that had been conveniently shipped in for the night, however we were prodded out of bed at 6am by russian looking soldiers!.In Uzbekistan we had a run in with the police when we evaded our police escort to visit Bokhara(the city was supposed to be closed due to a visit by Vladimir Putin)we were eventually recaptured by some irate police cars but not before we had seen the main city sights!Samarkand highly recommended, though restaurants pretty dangerous.several rallyers taken ill in situ before completing meals,though our team made of sterner stuff.
Crossed in the night with mariam in Tashkent, she survived the trip on Uzbek airways but had to make up for it by a heavy shopping spree, the fruits of which I had to lug back to Dubai.

As I write, our car, fresh from the Newbury gazette(toast and envy of all-most spent fortunes on preparation!) is still going strong and lying in 3rd pos in class, having made it over the 3800m pass in the Pamir range. This last effort was too much for her though, a couple of days ago the spare wheel carrier collapsed , damagingg the diff housing. This was fixed with gunk and duct tape(this or super glue always does the trick!) however secondary problems led to failure of the crown wheel. Not many Rover crown wheels in China, esp in Taklamakan desert, but luckily the Carlton TV camera crew(filming two alchoholics in an Alvis) came by in their Landrover and agreed to dismantle an axle to help out(rally spirit etc).The Landie is now 2 wheel drive(although it’s fridge full of champagne and gentleman’s relish is still intact) and it was reported on the Rally website that ours now had blinding acceleration but a top speed of only 50mph -having spoken (finally) to mariam today she tells me this is entirely untrue and the ratio is just perfect.

Accomodation appears to have gone down hill compared to my previous description.In one hotel a couple of nights ago rally organisers were called by a perticipant whose room was slowly filling with sewage. Mariam tells me that although they were aware of this fatal flaw in the system, since they were billeted on the top floort, the physicists amongst them deciided that the matter in question could only flow downwards and a good night’s sllep was had by all. Mariam is also cursing me as I forgot to pack her boots and woolley underwear in the car and she spent a couple of very cold nights in a yurt-its always my fault……..
more to follow soon,
Jono

June 1

Herewith latest action shot from, I believe, the Turfan Oasis somewhere between the Taklamakan and Gobi deserts.As can be seen Mariam is conducting the housework operations(squashed fly removal) whilst the others look on!………….

June 15

HI everybody – we’re back ! Got into the Great wall entrance, and heard Maya shouting out from the crowds ! -had to carry on driving as we were in convoy, and when we got back, jono was also there, with cold beers and champagne !! Great ! We farmed our bags out to the film crew, so they could ride into beijing in the rrrrover !
Spent three days on air in the 5 * hotel in Beijing – I cannot tell you how good a marble bathroom or CNN seems when you have been cut off from any form of civilization for three weeks ! The two weeks of pure China were mud, dust, desert, blank empty desert scapes, coal scapes, shingle scapes. Punctuated by grim and gloomy hotels with chinese special rally buffets – pickled shredded cabbage, roast cold meat shredded and oily peanuts for breakfast. With alternate sweet but boring dumplings, hot water with last nights rice and sugar inside, and well – that was it !

The fun bit was cold beers with the boys at the end of those days. We had crazy ‘special sections’ which I never dreamt of experiencing – David at the wheel with his crazy racer drivers grin – dad bouncing around in the front as if nothing was happening – was I the only one who was terrified. Where everyone was minutes late, we were up to 9 minutes early………..these special sections were almost always reserved for the ‘special’ terrains – super dips at which we were expected to do 2kms in one minute, and had 48kms to cover, or screaming through villages with surprise holes and wonky bridges, villagers rushing out to see us – dads foot permanently on the horn – memories of snaking mountain roads where we had 17 mins to do 37 kms ???
And then, just for contrast, we had days and days of endless boredom – straight stretches of nothing

We would always be between one and two hours early, and waited at the time controls with others, swopping oranges for peanuts,stories and advice. During this time, I discovered that I had taken a nail file with me for other emergencies, and did my nails for hours on end. I had beautiful long and perfect nails like never before. That is, about 5 days after david changed the differential, and I had black nails for a while. My main job was as window cleaner – dad was petrol negociator and payer – and we sort of took turns to drive. Except when dad took offence to my back seat comments and stormed off. ( Out of the car, that is. ) He and david both suffered me graciously, otherwise. David said my driving was interesting, as I would follow outside movements readily – ‘oh look at that goat’ etc – and forget about the road. Easily done, as it deserved not much more attention, the state that it was in.
The day we had 300kms off road of road works was noteworthy not only for our suffering – and the funny part when at the beginning dad thought there was a fire when infact, it was dust coming through the front of the car in sudden clouds – no – it was interesting only because at the end of the day, we streamed past other rally cars who had found chinese jet water cleaners – and found an aircompressing machine !! At a tire shop. Opened the doors either side, and blew the dust from one side out the other side. Same to the engine. The radiator was cleaned from all angles , this helped over heating the next day, and the petrol stutterings we had temporarily improved.

There were so many silly things. dad and I got the giggles when we had the worst room one night. The chinese have no toilets in their houses, and use a general toilet. There was one in the ground floor corridor – right opposite our room. Impossible stench – not only a womens but the mens too. Air freshner was pulled out and lasted 5 minutes. Dad shut the door and he ordered me not to open the cases, and to sleep as we were – no undressing. Easy, as our window gave out onto the general car park where everyone was tinkering on their cars, but hundreds of chinese at any given time were gawping at the cars and mostly at us, cameras clicking at every single car.

We got used to being dragged by the elbow to the side of any rally car, ours or not, and be photographed with each family member in turn – from granny to the sceaming baby whom I was given. And then discovered that this one, like most others, had the bum of his trousers open, so creating an easy toilet. On my arm.

I thought at the beginning, that the wealthier rallyists were being wet and had no sense of adventure, when they attacked Philip Young and exodus in Kashgar about hotel conditions. I agree, that the shit coming up from some-ones bathroom gutter was a little unpleasant but other wise they seemed rather pathetic. At the end of those two weeks, there was not a soul amongst us who was not miserable and desperate to get out of there. And I felt like the worst of them.
Arriving in Bankok for our two day rest at the oriental was like heaven – and arriving in Dubai early yesterday morning, was just like stepping into the first world. I just hope that the saying about not knowing what you are missing if you have never had it, goes for all of those people we saw along the way. how lucky we are.

and yet – its so easy to be grumpy and ratty. On getting back, my garage opener has mysteriously ‘disappeared’ from my car. I really need to get a life.

Thanks for reading always, and sorry if my stories are not as good as Jonos – something to do with the way I drive I think….

love, Mariam! Ps – did I tell you about the shopping ? Oh wow !

Tuesday, May 9, Vientiane

I arrived in Vientiane, the capital of Laos this afternoon and fell in love with the country immediately. As I write, I am sitting by the banks of the “mighty” Mekong River as all the guide books like to describe it. The sun is just setting throwing a shimmer over the water. A wooden long boat below is being poled by man balancing on the back of the low sitting boat. Children are cavorting in the muddy brown water and a woman in a cone hat is wading waist high to fix her fishing nets. I sit on a precarious terrace caf

Wednesday, May 03-Sunday, May 7, Hanoi

My first impression of Hanoi is of a crowded city with narrow streets and life spilling out onto the sidewalks forcing everyone to walk in the streets contributing to the chaos of the traffic. To cross the street, you boldly step into the middle of the traffic and let it flow around you. Once when I was hesitating at the edge of the traffic, an old lady grabbed my arm and pulled me into the melee with her escorting me to the other side with a big grin on her face. My hotel is located in the old quarter. I expected it to be more gracious with the same boulevards as Saigon but more colonial. Most of the French colonial buildings I have seen are now ministers homes or government buildings.

Notable by their absence are the American fast food chains. Vietnam has not yet succumbed to McDonalds, Burger King etc. 10 years ago, the only tourists were Russian. It wasn’t until after the self-imposed isolation was lifted with the Open Door policy in the late 1980’s and when Clinton lifted the embargo in 1993 that the rest of the world came back. First into town were Coca-Cola and Pepsi, of course. As tourism standards improve and word gets around, I am sure visitors will flood in.

The villages around Hanoi are famous for their water puppet shows usually produced during festivals in the village lake. In Hanoi you can see them nightly. There are wonderful marionettes- dragons, ducks, people, boats etc who are controlled by a team of people waist deep in the water.

In the old quarter, every street is named after what it sells. There is a street with just shoes called Shoe Street, Paper Street, Silk Street etc. I even found a street which just sells plaques for tombs. I think they are the 2nd tombs which contain bones dug up after 3 years. Here a stone carver is chiseling someone’s picture into the stone.

I am constantly amazed by the artistic skill people have. And they are paid so little for it. Everyone from the girls in the villages who embroider to the stone or wood carvers. In the west, we are used to paying for original “handmade” items. Here it is almost like a factory. There is a fabulous museum here called the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology. It is a window on the different customs and lives of the 54 different ethnic groups of Vietnam. Each group has different skills and different patterns for clothes or ceremonies. Many of the clothes are wonderfully designed with bright colors and should be the inspiration for any of the famous designer collections.

Many of the hill tribes and mountain villages have little access to clean water, health care etc. Their education is only rudimentary and yet they have these rich cultural lives. I also get the feeling that education is very highly valued in Vietnam. It has one of the highest literacy rates in the world – almost 90% – despite the fact that many children out of the big cities can’t go to secondary school. There are also a number of communities which live on the water and are difficult to keep track of due to their itinerant lifestyles. Some of the river families have 8-13 children due to lack of information about birth control. This is the Temple of Literature in Hanoi which was built in the 11th century as the first university.

There are some wonderful old French colonial buildings in Hanoi. One of them which is carefully tended is the palace where Ho Chi Minh used to govern from.

I have been quite impressed by what I have learned and seen of “Uncle Ho” as he is affectionately known. He seemed a genuinely simple and caring man but it’s difficult to tell. The Ho tour consists of seeing his embalmed body in a great marble mausoleum which the Russians helped them build (despite the fact that he asked to be cremated in his will), the presidential palace, a simple hut which is a copy of one in the hills where he actually slept and worked. Every year, poor Uncle Ho goes to Moscow for 3 months of “restoration” work. These children are entranced by the fish in a pond while on a field trip of his home.

In the center of town, there is a lake with a pagoda in the middle. Most people’s homes are very small and stuffy so they flock to the lakeside in the evenings to stroll, have a snack, whisper to their lovers, play Chinese chess. Chess involves the 2 players plus all their friends who have bet on the game. It becomes very noisy at times as each side taunts the other.

Also noisy are the loudspeakers in the streets every few lampposts which broadcast “news, current events and music” courtesy of the Communist Party. It is loud and unavoidable.

I love the way trash is collected here. Usually women on tricycles with big bins come by banging on a gong to notify everyone of their presence. People then bring their rubbish out and the women work their way up and down the narrow streets finally meeting up with a big trash truck at the edges of the neighborhood.

I visited the town, Thay about 30km from Hanoi, where water puppetry originated. It has a lovely lake and a series of pagodas and temples from the 11th century.

One afternoon I sat in the window of a French Pattiserie in front of the Hanoi Opera sipping a caf

Thursday, April 27, 2000

A 6 hour drive to Dalat 5000ft above sea-level in the mountains. For the 1st time since leaving China, I am not hot. It is blissfully cool here in the valley some 1000 metres above sea level. Dalat is the center of fruit and vegetable growing for Southern Vietnam. We also passed many tea and coffee plantations. The average speed was about 40 kph partly because the roads are so full of bikes, scooters, buffalo, etc and partly because the roads are not in very good condition. On the way, we stopped to visit the village of a hillltribe minority. They farm and the women weave. They produce lovely silk scarves, tablecloths, bags etc. They have a very effective selling technique which is to say “please buy something from us – it will help a minority”.

Friday, April 28, Dalat to Nha Trang

Before leaving Dalat, we drove through the neighborhood with elegant old French villas quietly crumbling into a sad state of decay. It used to be the holiday resort for the rich who came for relief from the heat of the rest of the country. We visited a monk who lives in a lovely temple and is an artist. He is incredibly prolific with thousands of paintings hanging everywhere. He paints some mediocre oils but mainly does scroll type paintings with poems in Vietnamese, French or English all reflecting beauty, peace and happiness. Apparently he has had shows in the US as well. I bought a little scroll for the princely sum of $5. He had a lovely sense of humour ? making a show of primping his shorn head before I took a Poloroid photo for him. I regret not having spent more time talking with him

Dalat also seems to have a strange sense of kitsch. Crazy Horse is a hotel constructed to look like the rooms are in treetops. Each room has a theme – the tiger room has a life size tiger prowling around with red light bulbs in each eye. The beds are curvy and fitted into the “tree” with special cut mattresses. It’s the fantasy of a Vietnamese woman architect who studied in East Germany. Scenic spots are also filled with cutesy little animals fashioned out of concrete or men dressed as cowboys to take you on pony rides.

The scenic road to Nha Trang goes through a mountain pass with numerous stomach turning switchbacks in the road and no barrier. Occasionally there are warning signs showing a car falling off the edge – not very reassuring. Below you can see the lush green patchwork of the coffee, tea, tobacco fields and other produce. Every now and then an extinct volcano pops up in the middle of the field. This part of the country is incredibly hot – there is no breeze to speak of and we reckoned the temperature must be about 38-40 degrees Celsius with 80% humidity

We stopped at a very pretty temple but I was rather shocked to see that many little swastikas were used as a pattern. My guide informed me that swastikas were originally Buddhist symbols symbolizing goodness and the pattern goes the opposite direction to a swastika. This dragon is made of small Buddhist symbols painted on ceramic mosaics

Nha Trang is a seaside resort full of Vietnamese on vacation as well as the handful of Western tourists. Once again, I found a cyclo to give me a tour of town. It?s such a pleasant way to get your bearings. They often say you should pay them whatever you think appropriate. I feel so guilty about having this guy pedal me around for an hour that I always overpay. He looked absolutely delighted at the $6 I gave him. I hope I?m not corrupting the economy! I had a fabulous Italian meal at the ?Sailing Club? on the beach

One of the things that constantly surprises me is that no one seems to resent Americans here. Despite the impending celebrations on Sunday for the 25th anniversary of the end of the “American War” as they call it and the Liberation of Southern Vietnam, no one seems to harbor resentment. Senator John McCain is currently visiting Hanoi and from the press reports, he has been saying that the wrong side won and that he cannot forgive his captors. I wonder what he is trying to accomplish.

Route 1 is the main highway between Saigon and Hanoi. Highway is perhaps an overstatement. Everything is on it – we stopped for herds of goat and cattle crossing the road, there are ladies with piglets in their bicycle panniers, water buffalo pulling loads of hay, scooters carrying families of 4 or even 5, school girls in white dresses on bicycles, etc. I even saw an elaborate gold and red coffin being towed by a motorcycle although there was no indication if it was occupied or not.

Saturday, April 29 Nha Trang

It was too hot to be outdoors at 1pm when my day?s sightseeing ended. I retreated to the blissful cool of a cyber caf

Monday, April 24, 2000

I arrived in Saigon or Ho Chi Minh City to a thunderstorm but by the time I checked into my hotel, the sun had come out and it was swelteringly hot ? the water had created a sauna effect. My guide took me to visit the Museum of Vietnamese History where the similarities between Chinese and Vietnamese art was quite striking. I was interested to learn that the Vietnamese used to write with Chinese characters until a missionary in the 17th century converted them to using a Roman alphabet so that reading materials were more accessible. Once again there is the emphasis on balance ? yin/yang, the dragon for the king and the phoenix for the queen, spicy with sweet etc. There is a room in the museum showing different costumes and houses from the mountain people. Most interesting was that the rich in the village, put their dead in coffins that they hang from the jungle trees. They stay for 3 months performing rituals and then leave the coffin hanging there. Apparently there can be quite a stench! Also many have houses on stilts. I thought perhaps they had flooding but he said it was for protection from tigers and leopards.

The market sells everything. Like the Chinese, Vietnamese eat anything – there were piles of tasty roasted sparrow and apparently porcupine, dog, frog are all on the menu. When my guide looks at a live animal, first thought is what it would taste like.

Saigon has a few lovely French colonial buildings like the Post Office and Town Hall. The women here are beautifully sylphlike wearing flowing outfits consisting of loose trousers and a fitted top which drapes to the ground with 2 free-flowing panels in the front and back. When they ride bicycles, they hold the front panel with the handlebars and the back panel flutters in the wind. Many young women wear gloves to their elbows to protect their skin from getting too dark. We drove past the US compound where the last helicopters took off 25 years ago. At the end of the week is the actual anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War. Many street corners have placards celebrating the ?Liberation of Southern Vietnam? as they call it. They are also starting to decorate the streets with flags.

I thought traffic in Bangkok was chaotic but on reflection, I think it was relatively sane – just too packed. In Saigon, there is complete disregard for any laws. The cyclos – chair for 1 person powered by a guy on a bike in the back (unlike Chinese rickshaws where the cyclist is in the front with a 2 seater behind him) simply stick to the middle of the road forcing cars, bicycles and the millions of motorcycles around him. Motorcyclists never wear helmets and children as young as a few months are taken on them. Vehicles don’t stop or slow for each other– they simply go around regardless of the side of the road. However, I felt safer in a cyclo than a tuk tuk because it goes slower and doesn’t fight the traffic. It’s also a very pleasant way to see the city – faster than walking but slow enough to look around.

There are also government placards everywhere which educate people about HIV and condoms. One has a cartoon of a smiling condom. They seem quite open about sexual topics here. My guide pointed out an old stone sculpture in the museum and said it represented ?sflaskjas aslfkajf? – not understanding him, I asked him to repeat himself which he did 3 times, each time a bit louder. I finally realized he was saying ?sexual organs? by which time I was quite pink. You pour water over the statue and pray for fertility. There are also many decorative motifs based on breasts, which represent abundance. It was a contrast to China where when I asked about birth control, the local lady got very flustered and didn?t want to go into too many details ? strange for a country which enforces a one-child policy. Vietnam allows 2 children. If you have more, you lose your job. The hilltribes or minorities in the countryside are allowed more.

At the moment, I am not able to update my website due to technical difficulties. But I have noticed that there are no internet shops in Saigon. Hotel business centers offer internet access here but it is not like Bangkok which has internet stations everywhere

On the plane this morning, I met the Senior Asia Correspondent for the Chicago Tribune. We had such a good time chatting that we agreed to meet for dinner in Saigon. We took a dinner boat up the river and had a delightful time. He is here writing on the 25th anniversary of the War. It was mesmerizing listening to the tales of the many countries he has lived in or reported on. The life of a journalist seems so romantic, but as he admitted, there are a lot of personal sacrifices.

Tuesday, April 25, 2000

Today I was taken by a driver and guide out of Saigon into the countryside. We drove through picturesque rice fields and little towns on a rough road. They have 3 harvests a year for rice grown in the south. This is due to there only having 2 seasons ? wet and hot or dry and hot. Vietnam is now the 2nd largest rice exporter after Thailand. I have never seen so many different kinds of rice.

I thought I was in the middle of nowhere far from any tourists when we pulled into a parking lot and joined a dozen tour busses. We had come to visit the Cu Chi tunnels which were used by the Viet Cong in the Vietnam War. I saw the vicious booby traps which were set in the jungle and crawled down into one of the cleaned up tunnels to see what it was like. Some of the fighters lived 11 years underground with limited stale air, coconut oil lamps, tight tunnels to prevent the larger Americans getting through if they found any of the camouflaged entrances. The Viet Cong were very clever about their guerilla tactics. I see why we lost. What a horrible senseless war.

This is the war room in the basement of the presidential palace where we had our advisors.

We then drove on to Tay Ninh near the Cambodian border which is the center of a religion that only exists in Southern Vietnam. The religion is called Cao Dai and is a mixture of Christianity, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucius and Islam. There are services 4 times a day. We arrived in time for the midday service. Priest in colored robes sat at the front – red for Confucius, yellow for Buddhists, blue for Taoists. Behind them were rows of lay worshipers- men on the right and women on the left all in white robes sitting on the floor and occasionally bowing their heads to the ground. The temple is painted in bright colours and has representations of Christ, Buddha, mythological creatures as well as the “divine” eye in the middle of a triangle representing heaven, earth and water. On the upper level where visitors can watch from, there is an orchestra of interesting instruments and a chanting female choir.

Rubber trees are tapped twice a day for the sticky latex-like sap that drips from the slashed bark into a bowl. Vietnam exports a lot of rubber.

Foot reflexology and body massage are very common in Thailand and Vietnam. There are shops everywhere ?there were even massage beds set up on the beaches in Thailand. Here massage is considered to be connected to religion ? one of most famous massage training universities is in the Wat Pho temple in Bangkok. There you find ancient paintings showing the body pressure points. In the evening, I had a foot massage. It was alternately blissful, painful and ticklish. It?s based on foot reflexology and extends from your toes to your knees using eucalyptus oil.

Wednesday, April 26

I bought a few souvenirs and decided to box and send them back to the States. I thought it would take about 10 minutes at the post office. My guide and I spent 1.5 hours and waited in line at 10 stations, filled out 6 forms etc. I have never seen such bureaucracy. My guide said they know it?s inefficient but they need to employ people somehow. The government is more or less bankrupt and have taken away benefits like free health care, education after 12 years old, help with housing costs etc. It?s hard to see why they bother calling themselves communists. The center of Saigon is full of neon lights and upmarket tourist shops. However, you notice that there are few banks and no ATM cash machines anywhere. Apparently, the banks do not have a good reputation as a few of them went bankrupt and did not pay back depositors. As far as I can gather, many Vietnamese keep their assets in gold or under the mattress. Mortgages are difficult to obtain. Now everyone gets everywhere by motorcycle. There are a few cars and bicycles but very little in the way of public transportation. My guide told me public busses are too expensive. I can?t quite figure out how people get to work if they can?t afford a scooter. Riding around in a cyclo at night, I did notice that a number of people sleep stretched out on mats on the street by the market.

We took a day trip from Saigon to the Mekong Delta about 70km away. There we took a boat ride past a series of islands to a village down a stream. After feasting on some of the fruits which grow locally – jackfruit, starfruit, papaya, mango, baby bananas, sour sop, custard apple, pineapple, etc, we walked past a few homes made of bamboo posts and bamboo leaves. They got electricity 4 years ago which of course brought television. This has enabled them to improve knowledge of farming techniques. The woman we spoke with had 5 children. They were all incredibly friendly. The oldest girl said she had to leave school at 12 because they didn’t have enough money for her to continue. They live from the many fruits that grow around their house and from embroidery. They posed for photos and were delighted when I gave them a few Polaroids

Wednesday, April 19, 2000

Western culture has penetrated Bangkok with a vengeance. Everything from Blockbuster videos to Boots the chemist is here (Ernst in Phuket said he was so grateful when Boots arrived because he could finally buy bubble bath). I confess that I was ecstatic to see a Starbucks and immediately went in to have a Latte. Despite the influx of everything Western, you cannot forget for long that you are not at home. It is a constant struggle to communicate. When I want to go somewhere by taxi, someone writes the name in Thai for me. The Thai alphabet is indecipherable to me and even though many people speak basic English (much more common than in China), it is often not sufficient to prevent both parties getting frustrated at simple tasks like trying to change a plane ticket over the phone. I am always so grateful to find people who speak English well enough that we are not both straining to make ourselves understood. Yes, the ugly American who doesn’t speak any Asian languages and expects everyone to accommodate her. Anyway, most taxi drivers speak enough English to ask the standard questions – do they all go to the Taxi driver school of English? “Where do you come from? How long you stay in Bangkok? How long you been in Bangkok? Where you stay? You look Thai. You no Thai? You look Thai.” That’s their side of the conversation. I have started varying my side because the questions are always the same.

I thought I?d be able to walk most places, but the map is not to scale and the city is huge with large distances between areas of interest. So I?ve taken the public boat down the river, 3 wheel open-aired Tuk Tuks (life endangering due to pollution and driving methods and hard on the bones as they have no suspension), taxis, and buses. I have yet to take the skyway, but I?ve finally figured out what stop my hotel is at so I guess I?ll try that too. I discovered that the Tuk Tuks and government are in cahoots. They charge you an incredibly cheap rate and you have to buy something at an ?official? store. They then get gas coupons according to how much you spend and how long you stay. One driver dropped me off at the ruby and sapphire store saying ?You just look. No have to buy. Stay as long as you want. I wait.? When I emerged 5 minutes later empty handed, I was accused of not staying long enough. Had I only stayed 10 minutes he would have received more coupons and suddenly I wasn?t his best friend anymore. Well, the ride was good fun anyway. You brace your feet against the front and hold on for dear life while he merrily careens around the traffic sometimes boldly (stupidly) driving right down the wrong side of the street in heavy traffic. Here is a view from the Chao Phraya River showing a modern block on the left next to the old poorer buildings.

I can’t figure out the deal at the smaller temples. I walked into a few non-touristy temples and was greeted by English speaking men who were not monks. They spent time with me explaining about the temple and asking me the usual questions. But they didn’t seem to want any money – or maybe they’re just too subtle and I haven’t picked up on it. The Thais take their religion very seriously. They go to the temple daily and when they can’t make it, they pray at one of the mini shrines which is outside just about every shop, house or building. Even the hotels have one. Apparently, it is supposed to bring good luck to give money for new temples. So there are so many new temples, they can’t find enough monks to live in them – some 15% are empty. Monks receive food from the local community. Each morning and noon, they have meals. It seems about 90% of Thai men become monks for at least 3 months, usually before they get married. They believe this ensures that they will be good men and that they will not be re-incarnated as an animal.

Friday, April 21, 2000

Last night I was invited to dine with a friend of a friend from London. Michael is a tall handsome ex-police colonel who used to specialize in drug enforcement. He now concentrates on training and racing his 30 horses. He has 3 bodyguards who trail him everywhere. I asked if he was in constant danger from his previous job but he said they are all policemen who still want to show respect by escorting him around. Well I didn’t know what to think but we had a great time. He took me to a trendy Vietnamese/Thai restaurant with lots of beautiful people and then we wandered around the night markets of Patpong (all 5 of us!).

The temples are elaborate and gaudy affairs. Many people try to attach gold leaf to some of the smaller buddhas so they look like they are flaking. The bright bits of gold, glass and porcelain bits glitter in the sunshine. The scent of jasmine pervades the temples thanks to many gifts from worshipers. Monks in saffron robes glide about or sit muttering their texts beneath their breath unfazed by the tourist traffic.

Dress code is very strict to visit the sights in Bangkok? no shorts, no short sleeves, no sandals etc. However, you can borrow clothing at the entrance. Just about everyone ends up borrowing something. This means that badly dressed tourists look even more ridiculous in their borrowed, mis-matching garb ? men wrap sarongs around their shorts, women clomp around in someone else?s shoes. I think every hotel in Bangkok must have donated their lost and found clothing from the past 50 years. In the Grand Palace is the most sacred object of Buddhist Thailand ? the Emerald Buddha. He sits high up on a series of gold platforms. He is only about 1ft tall and carved from jade. He has 3 sets of gold costumes ? for the winter, summer and rainy season. The king himself presides over the changing of his clothes.

Friday/Saturday, April 14/15

I was equally sorry to leave the group and looking forward to having some time on my own and a break from constant sight-seeing and Chinese food. Everyone says you meet people when you travel alone. I hope this is true because otherwise it’s going to be a lonely couple of months. On the plane to Bankok, I sat next to a Chinese woman who spoke no English. She was badly and heavily made up, had not very chic clothes on and sparkly pink nail polish. However, on each hand was an ENORMOUS diamond ring. On one hand, was a round diamond in between the size of a US dime and nickel. On the other hand, was a baguette diamond the size of a kidney bean surrounded by smaller ones. I would have loved to have heard her story but we had no common language and only exchanged a few polite smiles.

When I arrived in Bankok it was hot and steamy – quite a shock after China was consistently in the 50s and 60s. I spent the night at the airport hotel before continuing on to Phuket – a 1 hour flight. In the morning, it was raining but when I arrived in Phuket, the sun came out. By the time I had checked in and gotten to the pool, clouds were gathering again and we had an enormous thunderstorm. Phuket seems so much more prosperous than China – except Shanghai of course. The cars are more expensive, there is no smog (well it is an island after all), they have an abundance of flowers which they use to decorate everything. It is a very delicate place. I suppose the Chinese are struggling so hard to eek a living, there is not time for beauty and nature and contemplation.

I had a massage in the afternoon as it was still raining. The spa has little open-air huts with bamboo fences and sheer silk curtains. Each room is beautifully furnished with a modern shower that pours water out of a bamboo spout, lacquered black floor and flowers everywhere – even on the floor under the massage table so when you look through the hole for your head, you see flowers. It was blissful. In the meantime, they had brought a complimentary fruit basket to my room which was full of fruits I had never seen before. Fortunately, they also included a pamphlet with photos and descriptions. The rose apple was delicious! It may be raining in paradise, but it’s still paradise!

Monday, April 17, 2000

The water has calmed down a little today so I ventured back in and found jumping the waves a very therapeutic occupation. In the afternoon, I took the bus to Phuket town. Driving is a happy-go-lucky affair in Thailand. At one point our bus was trying to pass a car. In the oncoming lane was another car and in our lane there was now a dog. All the (Western) passengers gasped in horror but somehow no one was hurt and the driver just laughed at us. Phuket has little to recommend it. Lots of stalls selling junk. I followed my guide book to a temple which was a Sino-Portuguese temple. There I met a tuk tuk driver who offered to show me the whole town for $2. He actually spoke some English and drove me to all the main sights. Now, that’s bargain!

We went to the top of the hill behind Phuket and from there you can see the town of about 250,000 people as well as the nearby islands.

There are some wonderful old colonial houses on enormous plots right in the middle of the town. Apparently they are mostly owned by Chinese businessmen who own some of the hotels. I wondered if that was resented by the Thais. There are also a few streets of colonial town houses which are rather charming.

In the evening, I met up with Ernst and his girlfriend Ba (sp?). He is an Austrian who has lived in Phuket for 11 years. He was one of the first members of my friend, John Harris’ fitness club in Vienna. John recommended that I look him up and we actually recognized each other from 13 years ago. Ernst was incredibly kind and drove 25km each way to collect me from the hotel, treat me to dinner and show me the sights of Patong. We had a fantastic Thai meal in a local restaurant next to the beach. Afterwards, we wandered around the city. Once again there are tons of stalls selling the same stuff and bar after bar after bar. Patong is the party district of Phuket. Within a block you probably have about 30 bars each with 10 pretty girls waiting to “entertain” the punters. Mixed in with all this are men with pythons, a large bird of prey and a baby elephant who all make a living by having their photographs taken. The baby elephant loved bananas and peeled them deftly with this trunk. He also was trained to take money and pop it into the mahout’s bag.

We also stopped in to see a cabaret type show of lip synching with elaborate costumes. The warm-up to the show was a series of girls in teeny weenie bikinis dancing on a platform. Ernst swears that most of them were men. Well, they were the best looking wo-men I’ve seen! And then we passed by a Thai boxing ring where a European was being beaten by a Thai to the cheers of the audience who were both Thai and foreign.

Patong was about the least relaxing holiday I can imagine. It was great for a quick visit but I’m glad I’m staying on the lagoons at the beach

It is nice to see that there are very few people having to carry things on their shoulders like in China. The main methods of transportation are tuk tuks and scooters. Children get tucked between the legs of adults and some scooters carry 2 adults and 2 children or 3 adults. Helmets are legally required but the Thais seem to treat them as optional. I guess it’s too hot.

Tuesday, April 18

I woke up to the scent of jasmine. Ernst and Pa had bought me a garland of jasmine blossoms and rose petals. I hung it over the bed and the perfume infused the whole room. Today I went snorkeling on a long tail boat. It was wonderful for the first hour – the fish come up and eat bananas out of your hand. Sometimes they miss and nibble at you too! Then I got seasick from all the bobbing around in the water. I guess I’m just not a water kind of girl and I was very glad to get back to land. I think I’m only just turning back to a normal color after being rather green… Tomorrow I’m back to sightseeing mode as I fly to Bangkok.

Wed-Fri, April 12-14

As we leave the ship for the flight to Shanghai which is the tour\’s last stop, I notice everyone starting to make the mental switch for going home. I am looking forward to the beach in Thailand and some time to myself. People are talking about flights home, when they will next eat Chinese food and how many emails will be waiting for them. I worry about having to manage my own luggage and where I will stay. A tour makes everything so easy. I have really enjoyed the company of my fellow Oberlin alumni and their friends/spouses despite being the youngest on the tour.

Shanghai is the most amazing sight. I have never seen so many brand new skyscrapers before – not even in Hong Kong. Apparently 9 years ago, Shanghai had 20 buildings over 20 stories tall. Now, there are over 900. The ride into the city passes the first really interesting new architecture I’ve seen in China. The skyscrapers have interesting twists to them instead of the usual rectangular blocks you see all over China. The shorter buildings still use bamboo scaffolding. There are new multi-story freeways everywhere. Shanghai compares to Beijing like New York City to Washington DC. You can feel the pulse of a commercial center. The pace is faster, the shops glitzier.

Our hotel, the Peace Hotel is on the Bund river facing the newest part of town, Pudong. Across the water we have a great view of Pudong and the new TV tower which has futuristic 3 spheres that glow in the night. The Peace Hotel is a 1920’s art deco hotel which has been renovated. It used to be the playground of former owner Victor Sassoon. It has enormous rooms with wonderful art deco features. It is so elegant, we feel like hicks from the country in our traveling clothes. They have a jazz bar with a band which used to play in the hotel before the cultural revolution – average age is about 80!

At breakfast, an obnoxious American lady sashayed up to the man making omelets and demanded a 4-egg white omelet cooked without oil. This was obviously not the standard request and the resulting pantomime between the increasingly huffy woman and poor cook was most amusing. Once again breakfast was a mix between Chinese congee, dumplings, fried noodles, various odd looking pickle condiments and what they consider to be Western breakfast – which included Spaghetti Bolognese, Chicken wings in orange sauce as well as fruit, toast and eggs.

One of the interesting things about the Chinese language is the tones. There are 4 tones. While we can barely distinguish them, the differences are crucial. Chinese say that sometimes you can only tell which word is meant by the context it is used in. The example that everyone uses is the sound “ma”. It can mean mother, linen, horse or to curse depending on the tone. There are about 50,000 written characters. Ordinary people probably know 10-20,000

We visited a garden in the center of Shanghai called Yuyuan. It occupies 5 square km, but seems to have limitless paths and views. A pond full of orange carp runs through the property and there are little pagodas, bridges and walkways from which to admire the Suzhou style rock and tree gardens built in the 1500s. The roofs of the various buildings have elaborate statues of warriors and gods. You would not think you were in the middle of a bustling city.

The next morning, we visited the new Shanghai museum opened only 4 years ago. It is built in the shape of a bronze urn and the top is round, signifying heaven while the bottom is square, representing earth. It has the most important collection of Chinese bronzes in the world as well as paintings, calligraphy, coins, jade, furniture, and sculpture. In particular they have wonderful bronzes from the Shang dynasty – around 12th century BC. They have installed state-of-the-art lighting – the paintings have movement sensitive dimmer lights which gradually go on as you approach each display and fade when you move away. There is a light and airy central atrium where you can retreat to after each exhibition. It is truly a world class museum. In the same complex they have built a modern opera house and municipal center which would make any city proud.

In the evening, we walked along the Bund waterfront. The buildings facing the river, including our hotel, are built in grandiose European style. The promenade is teeming with people out for an evening stroll. Despite being a buzzing late night city, we were amazed to see the lights on the skyscrapers in Pudong across the water, blip out promptly at 10:30pm. That left the red and white flashing signals for airplanes which twinkled on top of invisible buildings. They were invisible partly because the lights went out and partly because the sky was rather hazy.

Hazy skies are common in China. Pollution has thrown a murky cover over the whole country. Shanghai was better than most cities. In Xian, one fellow traveler who has asthma thought she might even have to abandon the trip.

Friday morning we visited a typical neighborhood. It was arranged for us to visit a kindergarten, medical clinic and family home. The children performed a few songs and dances for us and even sang the ABC song. They were adorable. At the clinic, we saw an acupuncture ward and a doctor treating aches with heated cups. I think this used to be done many years ago. The family we visited had 2 bedrooms, living room, small kitchen and bathroom. The couple living there are now retired and have their granddaughter living with them from Mon-Fri. This is very common. He enjoys ballroom dancing and she likes Tai Chi in the morning. They both enjoy mahjong with their friends. They were full of smiles and very welcoming.

I was interested in an article from the China Post about freedom of speech on the Internet. Apparently, a man bought a laptop from a Chinese company for the equivalent of $1700 – not an insignificant amount in China. Within the 1-year guaranty period, the monitor failed. He sent it back for repair and they wanted to charge him $880. He then wrote an article on the Internet about how the company had ripped him off. Apparently consumer rights are non-existent and the company was well known for faulty parts. The Internet site was picked up by 2 PC magazines and articles were printed by them. The company then decided to sue both magazines and the purchaser for damaging its reputation. The computer maker won the case as the judge said it wasn’t fair to use the Internet to defame them. It’s going to appeal.