I was in Vancouver, BC last week and came across this alley in skid row that caught my eye.  Incredible art!

Clipped this out of a Delhi, India newspaper during my visit in 2001.  I would really like to go but it’s a very LARGE pilgramige and in 2001 it was the largest recorded religious gathering in history.  70 million!!  A little intimidating considering it’s 99% men and how the hell would a blond woman fit in?  The next one is 2013 and I would consider going now that I am a bit more….ahem….mature.   The whole experience would be amazing!  Hindus from all over the world come for this alignment of the planets and to bathe in the sacred Ganges River every 12 years.  I love to photograph Sadhus, only with their permission of course.  They are some of the most fascinating people in the world to me!   

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumbh_Mela

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sadhu

One of my more wordy posts for sure but I guess I have lots to say…..Ho Chi Minh city in 1999 was an amazing place!  It was still not a battered tourist path.  Communism was rule and just after 1999 they closed the borders to tourists for a short time and had all the computers gathered up and burned in the city square of HCMC.   So much for Internet cafes!  Along the outskirts of the city they had the grim reaper billboards everywhere!  Warning us all of the dangers of drugs, sex, gambling, liquor etc.  Picking up hitch hikers was illegal at the time and trains were off limits to tourists.  

The war memorabilia was everywhere and I suppose if there were a war in my country where approximately 1 million people died it would be entrenched in my mind and history as well.  I did see many sites right up to the DMZ (demilitarized zone) but looking at the photos they seem sensitive to post.  Just my opinion of course.

Vietnam has a very poignant history.  When I was in HCMC I even thought that’s enough about the war!  It’s history is everywhere and in your face….. I have very few photos here in Mexico with me but here is a couple of my favorites.

The best cyclo in all of HCMC!  All chrome, he was the envy of the neighborhood and he was my ride.  He was such a nice man and a pleasure to spend time with!  Every morning bright and early he was there waiting.  He was from S. Vietnam and was a pilot along side the USA military.  He was reluctant to talk about this as he worried someone would overhear which was totally understandable.  Not sure what the consequences would be for him.  Back to the camp possibly?

After Vietnam fell to the Viet Cong he was captured and sent to a re-education camp for 20 years (prison) and then let out to do what?  They can’t own a business or land in Vietnam which makes life difficult.  At least in 1999 they couldn’t.  Maybe things have changed for them today?  I sure hope so! 

Lets not even discuss the Amerasians (con lai) left behind believed to be 45,000 in 1975!  Granted many Amerasians were brought to the USA but plenty left behind as well.  Amerasians are the children of US soldiers still in Vietnam called “dust of life”.  A common saying in Vietnam “I would rather have the child of a dog than the enemy”.  Birth certificates burned….Amerasian children were sent to rural areas and forced to do farming and manual labor.  The government called it re-settlement.   

Anyways……My cyclo driver did manage to tell some stories and they are forever etched in my memory!    He had some very fond memories of the US soldiers he worked and flew with and of course the hopes that Vietnam would be free from communism at the time.  Not sure why but I have covered his face with my face and deleted the license plate on the cyclo.   

The picture below has been taken by the Viet Cong.  The S. Vietnamese soldiers who were fighting along side the USA against communism were of course left behind.  The fear of being killed or captured by the Viet Cong lead them to strip naked and flee into the jungles in an attempt to hide.  Most were eventually captured including my cyclo driver and sent to the re-education camp.

Living in a cyclo………

The Cuchi tunnels in HCMC.  This is a network of tunnels that extends 200+ kms.  I will refrain from posting pictures of myself climbing in there but yes….I did it!  It’s creepy and kinda scary in these tunnels! I don’t really think it’s a perfect tourist attraction unless you are into war history because these tunnels were all about the WAR! 

Inside these tunnels were hospitals, sleeping quarters, kitchens and war rooms.  The tunnels have been recorded at 15 – 20 meters deep and were built long before the Americans arrived.  The tunnel are so disguised they made ventilation holes look like termite piles.

TheViet Cong knew them like the back of their hands and they knew where to enter to eat, sleep or get medical attention.  More than 16,000 perished in the Cuchi tunnels.  If they didn’t die from the opponent then it was from snakes, bugs and disease.  It took the Americans sometime to figure out that the Viet Cong were waging war beneath them.  

The American military signed up and trained experts to tether themselves and go down into the tunnels when they found one.  These guys called themselves tunnel rats.  They were thin enough to fit in the tunnels and resistant to claustrophobia and were only called upon to do this job specifically.  I have read several books about the rats and they were an elite bunch to say the least.  

The Cuchi tunnels are located about 30 kms from HCMC and nothing to this day grows in the earth besides eucalyptus trees.  A true testament to the B52 bombers attempt to destroy the tunnels which was all in vain!   Agent orange was used in great quantities in this area which is the reason nothing will grow.      

Yeah…Girls gotta have some fun…..Shooting off  AK47’s and M16’s  A buck a bullet!

http://www.postsecret.com/

An amazing city but communist none the less.  Hard to get a smile from people and the pollution was memorable but nothing like other places I have visited….. Hanoi has changed immensely since I last visited so I will post old and new pictures…..A familiar place but yet unknown.  I think you could travel in Vietnam many, many times and still not truly be familiar with it!

An economical way to cut the grass?

Bye, bye Bali….Good morning Vietnam.  I have to admit it felt really great to be back in Vietnam and the first thing I wanted to do was have a bowl of pho’.  This is the best soup in the entire world!   Alright, I’ll admit that I also needed a side of Vietnamese spring rolls pronto!

We decided to treat ourselves so we checked into the most fantastic hotel in all of Hanoi, the Sofitel Legend Metropole. Built in 1901 it’s a legendary place for the luxurious world class traveler.  Of course the French architecture, food and history all come along with it.  It truly was one of the biggest treats in all my travel days but I have to admit it was a bit up tight for me.  I honestly would have rather stayed in a 1/2 assed place and had more fun with the other guests and staff.   The Sofitel is situated in one of the best locations for discovering all Hanoi has to offer within walking distance.  What a beautiful city!

For over 1000 years the Balinese have considered Pura Titra one of the most sacred temples.  The water springs are very beautiful and believed to have healing and cleansing merit.  If you need to cleanse your soul this is the place to go.

A very old and sacred Hindu shrine in Bali with 1000’s of bats.  The stench of the bats is actually all I remember as it’s overwhelming!  

A bird sanctuary in Ubud, Bali.  First time I have ever seen a bird of paradise!

Komodo Dragon