Just a brief introduction on money in SE asia, in case you care to know: begin in Thailand and you have 30 baht to equal one dollar. That was pretty easy. If something cost 90 baht, I could do a simple conversion and realize it was a $3 snack. As we moved into Cambodia, the numbers increased and 4,000 riel would equal $1.00 US. So I had to regroup my thinking and start re-computing 100,000 riel is what? OK, take off 3 zero’s and divide by 4 and you have $25 US. So far, so good. Now we are in Vietnam where 20,000 dong (that’s a lot of dongs!) are $1 US. My quick conversion has been to take off the last 4 digits from the right and divide by 2. So here I’m posting a photo of $10 US. Needless to say. we’ve been handling a lot of money here. If you have 5,000 dong ($.25 US) in your pocket, it’s not even a tip.
Take off 4 0's and divide by 2. 200,000 dong is $10 US!
So, if you are still awake, how about food? We all love that commodity! I told John I’m glad we arrived in Thailand first because I think they are more attuned to European palates, and thus an easier entry for us. We have ample opportunities for Thai food in the Northwest, and as I discovered, some Bellingham restaurants are fairly close to the source. Also, in Thailand, written communication is in Thai, repeated in English, and not only on restaurant menus.
So as we moved through Thailand and Cambodia, between the European boutique hotel upstarts, the commerce and the food, it was a pretty easy landing into Asia. Let’s talk about Cambodia and Laos later–although we did not go to Laos, some of our traveling companions did–a new, inviting, frontier.
Back to food, i.e, Viet Nam. All fresh, what you see is what you get. Snails, pig’s feet, chicken beaks, or flank steak (eat your heart out, Smokin’ Joe). All pretty much cooked the same and comes out looking the same. I had been living on spring rolls (what’s not to like) until we decided to go out for pho, the famous Vietnamese dish in Saigon. Two days and 4 antibiotics later (I’m sure it was not the restaurant, just my western palate), I’m back in the saddle. Tonight in Dalat, where they have COWS and CHEESE, I ordered a delicious pizza! I think I might be ready for dim sum tomorrow again.
Market stall in Dalat--they make artichoke tea!
(The local wine is also very good–that helps!) In Thailand, we couldn’t buy beer, wine or anything before 5:00 pm because that’s when the kids were coming home from school (also the heat of the day when you REALLY wanted a cold beer!). So we’d wait patiently in our room at 4:00, and pick up our stash an hour later.
I’m not super religious, but I do enjoy learning about humanities’ yearning for a higher power, or a “role model” to follow. In Thailand, Buddha is the central icon. Everywhere, religious pagotas and temples anywhere you turn. Actually, kind of comforting and predictable, and loved the incense!. Cambodia was a little different, maybe more convoluted because of some of the early Hindu infusion from India a very long time ago. But Hinduism and Buddhism seem to reside side by side in a not uncomfortable relationship. The Ankor Temple we visited had a huge statue of Vishna, the Hindu deity, and positioned right behind him was a lovely relic of the Buddha. Viet Nam seems to import the best of all worlds.
Monastery grounds in Dalat
The French occupation is very evident here in Dalat and elsewhere ( visitors are encouraged to visit the European inspired cathedrals) while the quiet monasteries of the Choaist (I’m not sure what that is) and Buddhist temples draw visitors (including us). I think this would be a good country to be a Unitarian!
Traffic is controlled chaos. We have learned to cross streets, with the onslaught of motorbikes, judging the space, one lane at a time, and making our move. Unlike Argentina, where they are out for blood, these guys and gals actually drive slowly and move around you if you are in the middle of the street. We took a motorbike back from a monastery today and it was a blast. If not raining tomorrow, we’ll do another.
I have to insert another Asian quirk. Spas. We both had a “fish massage” yesterday, which is basically little fish eating skin off your feet (they are prevalent in all 3 countries!). So now John can rub his silky smooth feet against me at night!:>))
No wonder we're nervous about eating the fish here!
Teresa Van Haalen Ventures 