Friends come to visit

In Feb. my two friends, Connie and Robert stopped by Hanoi to visit with me. Greg also arrived while they were here. We took a trip to Ninh Binh to see the sights. We hired a car and driver and first went to Cuc Phong National Park. Along the way we saw this man selling pigs. What a racket they made.
After Cuc Phong we went to Ninh Binh. It was just after Tet holiday and everyone was now going to the pagodas to pray for luck and their ancestors. There were literally no rooms to rent except for the few John was able to find for us.
We all ended up going out for Hot Pot for dinner.
Sunday we took a boat trip at Trang An and boy it was crowded.
But the caves were still beautiful. After that we went to Bai Dinh Pagoda where everyone was offering up prayers for a wealthy new year. The whole complex is almost finished and looks really different from my previous times. Progress.
What a great time. It sure was good to see old friends.

Elephants in Laos

Can you believe this?

Went to Laos for a little holiday with my friend Marilyn. The first thing we did was take Mahout training at the Mahout Elephant Camp outside Luang Prabang. We did a day and a half on the elephants and then a half day kayaking down the river. We also spent an extra night in the lodge beside the Elephant Camp. What an excellent beginning to our holiday.

School Security Guard

Every school has a security guard who looks after the gate and all the property on the school grounds. All schools are a walled-gated affair. The security guard at Le Hong Phong School raises fighting roosters. Unlike Canada, it is quite legal to have these fights and bet on them. The security guard takes very good care of his roosters--in this cold weather he has them inside a cardboard box in his guardhouse to keep them warm.

Duck Street/Pho Vit

One of the streets I have travelled almost everyday I have been here is called "Duck Street" because of all the restaurants that serve duck meat. It also has many businesses, and personal homes. There is even a cow who lives on this street.

There are several embroidery shops that sell framed pictures of local scenes.

There is a new business that is carving wood. Incredible designs of dragons and other animals.

Then there are the street businesses like the lady on the bicycle and the man selling goldfish.

Some local places

I am leaving my home in Ninh Binh on Thursday so I have been taking a few pictures of my regular scene. I have included my local restaurant. Nhan and I eat here every lunch when we teach a workshop. It is 4 blocks from my school. It took a few meals to convince the ladies that we didn't need 2 cups of rice each, but now they bring us just the right amount. My usual meal here is rice, peanuts, boiled vegetable(whatever is available) and one springroll. Sometimes I mix it up with tofu.

Trang An

This Saturday took a trip to Trang An with friends. Trang An is a waterway system in the mountains of Ninh Binh. The trip takes 3 hours and goes through 10 limestone caves, some as long as 350 m. It is the only waterway I have been on in Ninh Binh that goes in a circle. The others just to a distance and come back. We climbed many steps up to a 300 year old Pagoda cut into the rock.

We were not the only ones enjoying the trip. There was a University group of over 300 students on the waters ahead of us. We encountered them in one of the long tunnels coming back. It was so dark that we hit 3 different boats. Fortunately no one fell in!!

Making Flowers

One of the teachers from Wksp(my final one here in Ninh Binh) asked me if I liked flowers. Of course I said yes. Well the next day she invited Nhan and I to visit her house and her mother. Her mother is an award winning "Fimo" flower designer!! She took us to her workshop and showed us how she makes her orchids and cactus. She takes on students and said she could teach us the fundamentals in 4 weeks. Why hadn't Bang been in our first workshop and not our last!!

Bangs' mother insisted we chose a flower arrangement. I chose a beautiful white orchard branch. Bang's mother designs items with yarn--check out her exceptional hat. Can't wait to make one.



We then had a call to meet other teachers at a shoe store. They wanted to buy Nhan and I a pair of shoes. I tried on over 20 pairs of shoes but was unable to find a comfortable pair. I was finally about to convince the teachers I would be happy with a picture of this excellent shopping event.