Stuff That Matters In Life

Continuing on with recollections of our trip to Taiwan – Monday 7/11 – Friday 5/15

Monday 7/11 – tour begins

After researching various tour options, I settled on booking with Edison Travel Services, mainly based on comments on Tripadvisor. If you have a business with negative comments on the internet, you’re in trouble. The itinerary seems  to be the same among the tour groups, so base on price, feedback, and website appeal and email responsiveness, I went with Edison.

Promptly at 7:30am, the bus came to pick us up. We were the first to be picked up out of a total of 37 people. I chose the front seat to avoid motion sickness. However, after we picked up the rest of the group, the tour guide Alan announced that to be fair we will rotate seats daily. Not everyone was a rule abiding citizen, leaving me without a seat on the last day. I will tell that story later.

We signed up for the 5-Day 4-Night Round Taiwan Island Excursion, the option without the bullet train (cheaper) which meant a lot of time on the bus. Today we drove to Sun Moon Lake. Every 1 1/2 hour we stopped for the “toilet”. We saw a bunch of Shrines and Temples along the way, which I did not find particularly interesting. They are neither fantastic in architecture nor historical significance. The weather was rainy and foggy, so we did not get the best views of Sun Moon Lake. In fact, when we stopped there for lunch, it was pouring.  It was the only day that I left my umbrella in the luggage stored away, which was no use to us there. (I borrowed an umbrellas from the bus driver.) But I love tropical rain because it’s not cold. So it was a fun adventure splashing around.

To be honest, if you’ve been to Canada’s Lake Louise and other nice lakes in Banff where we were last summer, you don’t need to see Sun Moon Lake. But since we’re here to see Taiwan, Sun Moon Lake is part of the cultural experience. I don’t recommend you put it on your bucket list if you haven’t been here. ( Lake Louise is worth being on your bucket list; it’s fantastic.)

We had lunch with a couple of men on our tour group who are from Copenhagen. Their wives are teachers leading a group of students in some kind of academic competition in Taipei while they tour the island. We didn’t develop a friendship with them, not even FB friendship, but it was a nice cultural exchange.

When we arrived at the Fleur de Chine Hotel at Sun Moon Lake, we were thoroughly impressed. The view of the Lake was beautiful, the hotel rooms included cookies and fruit, and each room had a hot springs tub in addition to the general hot springs pool. If you are ever in the Fleur de Chine and want to enjoy the hot springs, make sure you bring a swimming cap or you’ll be forced to buy one there for $100TWD. The pools were beautiful but the ones in the Japan hotels were better. And no caps were required.

For dinner, we ate at one of the restaurants in the hotel, and ordered fried shrimp, thinking it would be battered and fried tempura style. It turned out to be a plate of small shrimps with the heads on. We didn’t eat much of it.

In spite of the amenities of the hotel, I had the worst sleepless night of the entire trip. I broke out in a rash (was it the shrimp?), even the Benydryl didn’t seem to work. But I thank God it didn’t get worst.

Tuesday 7/12 –

After waving good-bye to the hotel workers who lined up to bid us farewell, we were on our way to Tainan city, making several stops for more shrines. Along with describing the sights, the tour guide Alan gave us an informative history lesson. I know nothing of Taiwan. I didn’t even know that Taiwan was occupied by the Japanese, and only in recent history gaining rights to be a country on its own.

I was hoping to have some time in Kaoshiung to depart from the tour and see a bit of the city on our own and to visit an orphanage there. But we arrived in Kaohsiung late in the afternoon and didn’t have time to do so. We walked around the Love River, and had dinner in the Liuho Night Market. The market covered only 2 streets, nothing compared to Shilin Night Market. But then nothing can compare to Shilin. Alan suggested an eel noodle place for food, and we were disappointed that the stand wasn’t there. We did enjoy a papaya milkshake, breaking my vow not to drink anything with ice from the street. Lo and behold, nothing bad happened to me from that milkshake.

Wednesday 7/13 –

I may have to fill in the details another time as I don’t remember much from this day. It’s lost in the blur of my memory cells.

In the evening at the Formosan Naruwan Hotel in Taitung where we stayed, there was a little band that performed with mediocre proficiency. We left before they finished but went back later to give them a tip because we felt sorry for them. 🙂  We also won the raffle they had, a small stuff animal tiger which we gave to the boy in our tour group.

We had some time to walk around the town, small, not much to see. I imagine it’s like a tour coming to Rowland Heights near where we live in the US. I see tour buses there and wonder why a tour group would come to this small town. Well, now I know. It’s a convenient stop and it’s a way to see life with the locals.

Thursday 7/14

Today’s tour is a long bus ride up the eastern coast facing the Pacific Ocean. Alan jokingly said the North Americans in our group can swim home from here.

We stopped by several beaches, one was pebble beach that was full of nice smooth rocks suitable for my yard’s landscape. Too bad I couldn’t take home a few bagfuls. We stopped at another beach that required a hike of a trillion steps. In a hot humid day, I was quite proud of myself for making it without having to call an ambulance.

The ocean water is warm on this side of the Pacific, and if we were here a while, it would be fun to swim here.

The Chateau de Chine Hotel has a fancier name than the actual facilities. However, if my memory serves me correctly, there was an entire floor of entertainment – an exercise room with machines and Kinect, and a room with pool tables and ping pong tables, and an arcade.

We went into the exercise room in our sandals to play Kinect and was asked to leave because we were not wearing shoes, for safety reasons. We didn’t think Kinect was that intense, but ok, we complied. Then we went to play ping pong in our sandals and there were no rules about that, which was ironic considering there was much more footwork and potential for injury playing ping pong than Kinect.

Friday 7/15

So here’s what happened with the seat rotation on the bus. Everyone was suppose to move clockwise 2 seats each day. On this last day, by the time our family got on the bus, there were no empty seats, only a seat here and there to share with others in the group. Now, I don’t mind sharing a seat with someone other than my own family member, but some people did  not abide by the rotation system or this wouldn’t have happened. After standing there with awkward silence for a few moments, a couple of nice Australians traveling by themselves offered their seats so our family could sort of sit together. Apparently some people didn’t want to move as they were suppose to which of course defeats the whole purpose. I didn’t want to move from my initial front seat but I did so to accommodate. Alan later apologized to me, but of course it’s not his fault, and it wasn’t a big deal. The system is only as good as the people’s willingness to cooperate voluntarily. If some don’t play by the rules, it’s no fun.

We made friends on both our China tour and our Japan tour with everyone sharing and talking. This is our first experience with a tour that had rather unfriendly and uncooperative people. Unlike the other tours comprised only of Americans, this group had only us and another man from Georgia from US. Perhaps there’s some kind of cultural dynamics going on here. We found the Australians and Canadians most friendly. I won’t say anymore than that.

Other than that incident, we had a full day of wonderful weather and lots of walking in Taroko Gorge and Swallow Caves, seeing the marble mountains, and walking up to the Eternal Spring Shrine.  The ride down from the mountain was winding and long, and I seriously prayed that I wouldn’t get sick. For the sake of those on the bus I’m sure, God answered my prayer. When we got off for a “toilet” break, Alan saw my plight and offered me his seat in the front with the driver. The rest of the way down was much better for me. We went through the Su Hwa Highway tunnel that was said to be an engineering feat to construct through the mountain.

We were the last ones to be dropped off at our hotel, it was sad to say good bye to Alan. He was an excellent tour guide, and I hoped everyone tipped him well.

It was pouring rain when we got off the bus. Alan also took his luggage and said his motorbike is parked close by and will be driving home. He’s Taiwanese and used to driving in a rain storm I’m sure.

Our hotel was the Royal Inn in Taipei that took up the 7th, 8th and 9th floors of a building. It was the first time I saw a hotel with the lobby not on ground floor, with other businesses occupying the other floors. We were less than a block from the MRT station, in a busy area with food and stores close by, an excellent location for tourists. It worked out well for us staying here both Friday and Saturday nights.

I like mysteries and whodunnit types of books. Life Everlasting by Robert Whitlow held my interest combining murder, romance, and a bit of humor, all within the context of the Christian faith.

Alexia Lindale is a successful attorney who takes on a case that turns out to be more than she can handle. She finds friendship, which turns out to be more than friendship, with a music minister Ted Morgan who shows her the way to God.

The book is a page-turner, and I was anxious to solve the intricate mystery that was cleverly woven. But the ending fell a bit flat. While all the pieces fitted together in the ending, it was done abruptly. I wished a little more was explained in the ending.

Still, I would recommend this book with a good plot, likable characters, and some Christian inspiration.

Disclosure:  Thomas Nelson provided me with a complimentary copy of this book for this review. Opinions are entirely my own.

Saturday, 7/16

Sent off a birthday wish to Au. I don’t remember when we haven’t been together to celebrate her birthday. She’s in Germany while we are in Taiwan, and that doesn’t happen very often…actually never, and will probably never happen again.

We spent the day with T, first going to Danshui, known for shopping, ice cream, and nice atmosphere by the river. The MRT conveniently took us there, and were met by T’s aunt greeting us with milk tea boba for us – what service! It was the best I’ve ever had, or maybe it was just the power of suggestion because I know that boba originated in Taiwan. Either case, it was good. A typical Taiwanese lunch of rice with preserved veggies and pork chops and egg followed. I don’t love the Taiwanese pork chop rice in the US, but here it was delicious! Maybe because at home, I don’t normally love Chinese food, but when in Rome, do as the Romans do, so I am enjoying Chinese food.

Again, the weather was sunny one minute and raining the next. Umbrellas are sold everywhere for about $3USD (unlike Vietnam where we didn’t see any umbrellas being sold). We made the rounds of the marketplace, bought a few little things, and decided to go back to the hotel to take a rest. The magic of the MRT took us back easily, and Amy and I shopped for over an hour at the store of cute things next to our hotel.

For dinner, T took us to his friend’s restaurant. The menu is simple – noodle soup with gizzards and steamed mochi thing.  My appetite was a bit dampened when I caught a glimpse of the “work area” behind closed doors…Dishes were being washed in a tub in the alleyway…I know, when in Rome…and there are no food sanitation inspections here…it would’ve better if I just closed my eyes and eat.

Walking around at night on crowded streets and riding on the MRT are my favorite activities in Taiwan. It reminds of me of Disneyland…but not as clean as Disneyland…and it’s a lot bigger…and no turkey legs and Dole pineapple whip…otherwise the feeling is the same.

Rewinding backwards, I am now going to recall the fun we had in Taiwan, starting from the last day we were there.

Monday, 7/18

On Sunday night we stayed at City Suites Gateway hotel near Taoyuan airport. Our flight was about 10am, so we woke early and took a taxi to the airport (100TWD). The Taoyoan airport has got to be one of the best. Wifi, massage chairs, prayer rooms, an eLibrary with eReaders you can use, and chairs with plugs for recharging you own devices, all free. Then there’s the Hello Kitty store and play area, lots of shops and displays. The layover could have been longer and I wouldn’t mind. We arrived in Vietnam, got our landing visa with no problems and took a taxi to E’s house, with lunch ready for us. (Story forward continues here.)

Sunday, 7/17

Today’s our last full day in Taiwan and we managed to squeeze in a few interesting sights.

I wanted to worship at a Presbyterian church that was referred by a Christian missionary couple that I know. But we had not seen the National Palace Museum, and everyone seems to say “you’ve GOT to see the National Palace Museum.” So we woke up early, got the MRT and a bus and join the huge crowd in seeing some pretty neat artifacts from China. It was worth the trip, though we were rushed (lunch appt with T’s friends) and probably didn’t do it justice in 2 1/2 hours. And I did miss going to church.

We made it back to the hotel to check out, and T’s friends picked us up for a fantastic lunch – the dishes kept coming and coming and coming…I wish I had a bigger stomach. The restaurant was known for Peking duck served with a thin tortilla-like skin. E must’ve had 4-5 servings.

When we first entered the restaurant at lunch time, it was bright and sunny. When we left, it was pouring rain. Half hour later it was sunny again. I am liking this sudden weather changes. The only thing that does not change is the temperature. Day or night, it’s hot.

T’s friend asked what we wanted to do next. I, being a real estate agent at heart, wanted to go see some model homes. They took us to an expensive flat with highly upgraded materials, spacious design, and stylish decor. Two features I noted: 1) On either side of the front door are shelves of shoe racks hidden behind sliding doors. Interesting place to put your shoes, but convenient considering you put your shoes on and off right at the front door when you enter and leave. You would never find that feature here. 2) The kitchen is not given space priority as it is here. It’s relatively small and not open. A tiny space for the maid is attached to the kitchen, which explains it.

Then I had my first shaved ice in Taiwan. I didn’t want to eat any from night markets and street vendors, but this was a little shop that looked clean. Everything they say about shaved ice in Taiwan is true, it was very good. And I didn’t get sick from it.

We relaxed at T’s friend’s flat after that, a walk to Family Mart, and before our lunch was digested, it was time for dinner. T’s friends took us to a place where everything was home grown – free range chicken and vegetables just picked from the garden. But to tell the truth, I didn’t think the food particularly good.

The dinner time was rather awkward for me. T’s friends entertained us almost all day, and now they are treating us to yet another meal. In the meantime, I don’t even know how to talk to them to get to know them better. I found myself shy and inhibited, like a kid who is forced to meet relatives from China, everyone is talking and laughing and drinking while I sit there with a stiff smile drinking water.  Well, they are not from China, and not my relatives…but it made me wished my parents were there so I can hide behind them. I felt like I was crashing their party. I appreciate their hospitality and kindness, especially when they went way out of their way to take us to the hotel after dinner. We can see the airport from our hotel room. I felt sad that half of our vacation has passed.

No vacation is complete without special regional foods. To be honest, I probably missed out some of the best stuff because I played it safe and didn’t eat street foods or uncooked vegetables. But still, there was plenty to enjoy.

Best in Vietnam are the fruits and fruit smoothies. We even had a durian smoothie – don’t recommend.

My first time eating a mangosteen – highly recommend. Custard apple – delicious, surprisingly it does have the creamy texture of custard! Mangoes, lichees, logons, little bananas, guavas, jackfruits, dragon fruits, all kinds of tropical fruits are sold up and down the street and so sweet. I didn’t see any apples or oranges, but I didn’t miss them.

We ate at a restaurant that looked like a treehouse with steps to the second floor as steep as a ladder. It wouldn’t make it through safety inspection in the US.  It is the former residence of the architect who designed the house. The fruit drinks were delicious, the food was nothing too spectacular. They were out of sweet potato fries and brown rice that we wanted.

Another restaurant, the Nha Hang Ogon is known for the food cooked at tables all around the restaurant. They were making spring rolls, crepes, escargot (I didn’t try). . . that’s all I can remember.  You can walk around and see just about everything they had on the menu being cooked all around you. You can watch them making the food, and you can just point to what they are making and say, “I’ll order one of those.” We had a seafood hotpot, a “omelet” that was a like a crepe, and some other foods that didn’t make a big impression, but nevertheless delicious.

For breakfast one day, we walked half a block from E’s house to a random eating place, and ordered “beefsteek” on the menu. We didn’t know what to expect, but it turned out to be cubes of beef stir fried with onions, served with a french roll. They also charged us 10 cents USD for each wet wipe. Apparently, it’s standard practice for them to leave wet wipes on the table and you are charged if you use them. If you don’t, they don’t charge you.

At a food court at a mall, we ate at Pizza Hut just for the heck of it. They serve pasta – I would not call it Italian pasta, and they had some rice dishes and soup – very Asian. The pizza was about the same as American pizza but with much less cheese (cheese is rare and expensive).

We ate at Al Fresco in District 7 where foreigners live. The menu had everything from fish and chips (I had that) to lasagna to BBQ ribs and steak. I don’t recommend the “Italian” or “Mexican” food. It seems to me that Vietnam is not the place to have foods from other cultures.

A had an avocado smoothie from a street vendor and I got a taste of it. It was good and I survived. Actually, my stomach was fine throughout the trip and now it’s having a harder time adjusting to the food at home.

Ang surprised us with special fried buns at dinner the last night we were there. There is a quail egg inside each bun – very delicious.

8/18 Monday – 8/21 Thursday

At the baggage claim area at the Saigon airport, I saw a worker very enthusiastically helping travelers with their luggage. He climbed onto the baggage carousel to take luggage off for people. What good service, I thought. Is the airport providing this service? Then I realized he’s an independent contractor working for tips. Very entrepreneurial and I guess the airport allows him to do this. We got our own bags though.

E’s house only has air conditioning units in the bedrooms and office, not in the living room or dining room. So whenever we are in the house, we stay in our bedroom with the AC blasting. We actually spent quite a lot of time relaxing in the room, especially in the afternoon when it’s too hot to go out. If you want to lose weight, Vietnam is the place to be. Eat your meals without air conditioning or a fan, and you are guaranteed to eat much less. I lose about 5 pounds on this trip.

E’s house in on a busy commercial corner, lots of traffic, a Lotteria across the street, a Family Mart around the corner, an open marketplace down a block. The building next door was  gutted and workers were there day and night, literally, doing construction work. Due to the heat, their best time to work is probably nighttime, which explains why at midnight I hear them jack-hammering. With earplugs on, I slept just the same.

Here are some of the things we did:

We went to the Bitexco Financial Tower, the tallest building in Vietnam that recently opened for visitors. It gave us a nice city lights view in the evening. We walked from there to the Notre Dame and the central post office, both were very nice historical buildings. When I go out in the evening in So Cal, I always carry a light sweater. But here in Saigon, the evenings are warm in the 80’s. No worries about getting cold late at night. We passed by the park full of people sitting around, chatting, picnicking, families out having fun, couples on dates, groups of women laughing. And this is at almost 11pm. Someone offered us newspaper, which is presumably for us to sit on as that’s what everyone else was doing.

The next day we went to the ben thanh, an open shopping center, which is one massive flee market type of set up with hundreds, if not thousands of vendors so packed together that even I, a 100-lb lightweight, had to walk sideways down some aisles. We saw many foreigners here, a trap for souvenirs apparently, and we fell for it by buying some weasel coffee for friends. The most stressful part for me was the bargaining. You never pay the price they quote you, but I never know what price I should be satisfied with. E is very good at bargaining, so we let him do all the talking. Since our vacation last year in Vancouver, I’ve noticed that E and I have reversed roles – he’s the adult, I am the follower. This has made vacationing a lot more fun for me not to have to take care of my kids; they take care of me, and though it makes me feel old, I like it.

The following day we went to Saigon Square 1 where again, hundreds of vendors are there selling mostly clothes. Brands such as North Face, Forever 21, and all the popular women’s brands are represented.  With no dressing rooms and not having caught on to the bargaining tactics, I did not buy anything. But then, I’ve never been a shopper, so it’s more an attraction than actual shopping for us.

The most enjoyable activity for me was the Bible study we attended with E on Thursday night.  The host lived in a nice apartment with a great view of the city, and they are currently studying Tim Keller’s series on the character of God. Since everyone there spoke English, they all had a unique story of how they landed in Vietnam. One woman is on contract working at the US embassy. A husband chose to work here for an American law firm while his wife is working with an NGO; they plan to stay in Vietnam long term. A Vietnamese woman lived for a time in Israel and awaiting a visa to go to the US to see her boyfriend. Another Vietnamese woman seems to be a new believer – it was her birthday and I didn’t get her story.

A highlight of any trip we take is to meet up with believers and seeing God at work.

8/22 Friday

Our friend T is arriving in Saigon today, so we thought we’d save one tourist sight to go with him. Unfortunately, it was the most disappointing place of our whole trip, and we didn’t even meet up with T.

The Reunification Palace is NOT recommended. Now, I usually love museums and historical places, but this “palace”, to use the term loosely, has nothing special in it. The conference room, the dining room, the meeting room….it doesn’t get any better. There were very few pictures, a map, plain architecture, plain walls, no portraits, no artwork. On a hot afternoon with no air conditioning in the building, I barely made it through the 4 stories of the building. I couldn’t wait to get back into the taxi to take us home. When we got to the front door at home, T called looking for us. “Don’t go to the palace, it’s a waste of time,” I warned him. But it was too late. He was there looking for us inside.
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Before going to the Reunification Palace, we went shopping at Saigon Square 2. The shopping is not as good as Saigon Square 1, but it was nevertheless fun to walk around all the vendors. But after the 10th stall, they all look alike selling pretty much the same ware.

We walked from there through some construction areas to the riverfront. Construction workers were having their lunch break with food delivered to them on a motorbike. Ice was delivered too, and I wonder in this heat, how much ice the driver started with.

There wasn’t too much to see at the river. From there we walked to the area of nice hotels and found a respite from the heat in a little french cafe for lunch and a cold drink (the coconut milkshake was the best.) We found a market that sells “American” food such as Lindora chocolates, Jiffy peanut butter, Special K cereal, etc., at expensive prices. In our walk, we crossed some major streets with lots of traffic. It’s do or die, and we made it across without incident. We’re getting pretty good at it now.

I have to say, I would never do this much walking at home. Here, we walk several blocks at a time and think nothing of it. And I’m walking in my sandals. At home, I drive across the parking lot to get from one store to another. If I walk, I made sure I wear my padded walking shoes. You don’t know what you can live through till you travel. I think I’m braver and stronger after Vietnam.

8/22 Friday evening – 8/24 Sunday

The main reason for coming to Vietnam is to experience what life is like for E and to meet his friends and coworkers. It was perfect that his company planned a retreat this weekend at Mui Ne so that we can both see a new place and get to know his coworkers.

Friday evening 9pm, 16 of us in the group boarded a sleeper bus for a 5 hour trip eastbound to the beach resort of Mui Ne. The bus sleeps about 35 people in a top-and-bottom bunk style. It was [probably purposely] overbooked and several people [probably paying discounted prices] slept on the floor of the bus with bed rolls that were provided. It’s not as bad as it sounds because everyone was required to remove street shoes before entering the bus (they thoughtfully provided plastic bags for us), so the floor was [relatively] clean.

I didn’t know if I could sleep, but I did. It was a very pleasant ride. Before I knew it, it was time to disembark at 2am. After checking in our room that came equipped with a mosquito net over the bed, I fell asleep again, woke up at 7:30am in the morning to start our day with a continental breakfast that was included.

The hotel is right on the beach, my room had a view of the Pacific Ocean, quite nice. The water on this side of the Pacific is much warmer than in SoCal. But definitely not as clean. I didn’t go in the water because it stank of fish. In retrospect, I regret not going in to enjoy the warm water. There’ll probably be no next time for me to be in Mui Ne again, but I would like to come back to Vietnam to another beach resort and swim in the warm water there. Or I can go to Hawaii….

I did join our group swimming in the pool, where the water was VERY warm. I’m very glad I did that.

In the afternoon, while E and coworkers had a meeting, I lived my dream life.

For years I’ve been [jokingly] telling my hubby to work harder so I can afford a condo by the beach with open views of the ocean and sky where I can watch the clouds and waves. Here in Mui Ne, I experienced it. It was exactly as I hoped it would be. I sat in the balcony of my room, reading with the ocean breeze on my face. The winds started to pick up and I can see the dark storm clouds roll in. Under the safety of the balcony, I enjoyed the ocean roar and wind whipping through palm trees. I’m putting in my reservation with Jesus for my mansion in the sky to have this view.

After seeing the traffic in Saigon, I wanted to experience driving a motorbike, and thought I could try it in the light traffic here in Mui Ne. But when I sat on the machine, it felt too intimidating for me to maneuver. In the end, I got a ride on the back of the bike, which even at 30 miles an hour, was a thrill.

Saturday evening we walked to Fanny’s ice cream shop, but we suspected it’s an unauthorized shop because it did not have the fancy items that Fanny is famous for. We’ll have to go to Fanny’s in Saigon to experience a real Fanny’s.

Sunday, our bus is scheduled to leave at 1:30pm. We have the morning for an adventure to Fairy Stream. I would say this was the most unique experience I’ve ever had.

This is not my video, but it’s exactly what it looks like, and to be there is more fun than it looks. We walked barefooted on the stream of red, white, and black soft sand through a small canyon of red sand dunes. It’s squishy and refreshing on a hot day. I fell knee deep in a quicksand hole but came out unscathed, rescued by T. We got to the end with a small waterfall, went up the hill through a small path between tall grass, and found there a small house with a family that probably lived there, a small rice field (first time I touched a rice stalk), and some people there having a BBQ.

I know it doesn’t sound thrilling like skydiving, but having never lived in the country, I could not imagine I would walk barefooted on a river of soft red sand.

When we got back to the hotel, our friend A bought Dooner kebabs for lunch. We later found out that Au also ate Dooner kebabs in Germany. Seems that the little kebab stand is quite an international company. The bus back to Saigon was 2 hours late, again overbooked and crowded. This return trip was not at all pleasant. I could smell the smoke from the driver’s cigarette smoking. He turned on the radio really loud until someone asked him to turn it off. My bed cushion kept slipping off that I nearly fell off the bed on the upper level. The window was not water tight and the rain was leaking inside. When we made it back to Saigon at 9pm, I was starving.

We walked a block to have pho, and it was delicious! I love pho in the US, and I love pho in Vietnam even more. You can get a hot bowl of pho for 40,000VND, = $2.00USD. That’s better than a hamburger.

8/25 Monday in Vietnam

E said people say District 7 of Saigon is like Southern California, so I wanted to get a taste of home, not that I was missing it.

Similarities to SoCal – streets are wide with little traffic, minimum honking, tree-lined streets, individual houses with dogs barking when we walked past, Pizza Hut, Carl’s Jr., Dominoes, Subway (no Starbucks or McDonald’s in Vietnam.)

Not similar to SoCal – sudden rain storm, haircuts for 60,000VND (=$3USD), boba for 15,000 (=$0.75USD), nachos made with what tasted like fried wonton skins, lasagne with one thin piece of noodle, and a giant Lottemart department store with a bowling alley, arcade, market, and a 3-D motion simulator ride.

I realized today that traveling for me is not about the places I see, but the people I’m with that makes it fun and special. In the company of fun people that I love, an ordinary place becomes a place of lasting memories.

Each of the special people with me contributed to the experience with their unique personalities. I wanted to see what an apartment/condo looks like in District 7, so E directed our course to the new Crescent [apartments]. His enthusiasm to walk encouraged me to walk more than I would’ve attempted on my own (about 4-6K). Just when we sighted the Crescent, we saw storm clouds rolling towards us. It was a sight to watch the open sky of [fast] moving dark clouds as we felt huge gusts of wind and the beginning rain drops. I would’ve ducked for cover, but A loved it, so we continued walking/running in a futile attempt to outrun the storm. T is a good sport, always positive and keeps us laughing. I know dear hubby would rather be home watching TV but he comes along for the ride without complaining, and keeps us practical like “It’s getting late, time for dinner.” Me? I am the one with opinions of what I want to do, and depend on others to fuel the adventure. Our individual personalities made it a fun day in the storm.

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We had lunch with E’s pastor at Al Fresco. He’s an American who has pastored in Africa for 25 years, back teaching in the US for 2, and now in Vietnam pastoring an international church this past year. What I liked about Pastor J: After being in Vietnam for 3 months, he started driving a motorbike. That takes guts. His kids were/are homeschooled. I believe in homeschooling as the best option when possible. His older son is a medical doctor, considering coming to Vietnam, his second son is getting an advance degree in psychology, his youngest son is being homeschooled in Vietnam, I think he’s 14 years old, studying Mandarin first, and will take up Vietnamese this coming semester. I love how they are internationally focused.

Also with us at lunch was E’s friend V from Russia. They met in language class, he lived in the US for about 12 years, been in Vietnam for a year, and he had just returned from Russia. What I liked about V: He has a cute accent, good stories to tell, and friendly overall. Got some insight from him as a Russian, that Russia is not a nice place to live. He was happy to be back in Vietnam.

There were still 2 things we needed to do in Vietnam – get an avocado smoothy and have ice cream at Fanny’s. We got both in and got home past 11pm.

This was one of the best days of the vacation. We didn’t do anything exciting in particular, and I liked how we weren’t doing “touristy” things. Being with friends, walking around new places, looking at things in stores, no time limit, no agenda, no hurry.

I wish I can live here and do more of this.

I’ve gained new respect for travel bloggers.

It seems like fun to blog while you travel to keep the memories alive while sharing with others, but it’s much harder than it looks.

I was planning on blogging during my trip, and it didn’t happen. So here I will try to recreate some of my thoughts, starting with the most recent and working my way backwards and see how much I can remember.

—

8/26  The trip is finally coming to an end. As with most anything, the beginning started slow and I thought I had all the time in the world. And now suddenly we are leaving for the Saigon airport. The heat and humidity no longer bothers me, in fact, I will miss it. The food did not disagree with me; I loved it. The traffic of Saigon, the 24/7 activity on the streets, the abounding cheap food and taxis are antithesis of the sleepy suburb of Walnut, CA.

Our last taxi ride cost us 76,000VND. The plane ride back to LAX via Taipei gave me time to watch yet another movie on the plane. Oh, wait, edit that. The monitors did not work at our row of seats. After multiple attempts to reset it, the flight attendant gave us some magazines, and 2 decks of cards to amuse ourselves. But we weren’t bored. We generally like plane rides.

From Taipei to LAX was an 11+ hour flight. Would the techies please hurry up and make that transporter? Only 3 hours into the flight and my back was aching, my stomach felt queasy. I said to myself, “I can’t last another 8 hours. I’ll never do this again.” But a Tylenol and a nap later, I was dreaming about my next trip to Asia or Europe.

Back to LAX parking lot, our car battery was dead. I was glad for a little extra time to sit around the airport and pretend we were still on vacation.

Thanks to my dear husband for waiting for the roadside assistance while I enjoyed myself in the airport, and hugs to him for getting right back to work while I….slept till 10:30am today.

All the pictures and vids you see of the traffic in Saigon are all true. I am experiencing it for myself this week, and I love it.

Cars, vans, motorbikes, scooters, bicycles, pedestrians, vendors balancing 2 heavy baskets on a bamboo stick, hand-pedaled carts driven by old ladies (I don’t know how else to describe them), and large tour buses, all co-exist on crowded streets with no externally enforced rules. Young teens, I’ve seen mostly girls in school uniforms riding their bicycles to school; a family of 4 on a motorbike with the baby between the 2 adults; minivan taxis with aggressive drivers; a 3-wheeled bicycle street vendor selling fruits; and me, a foreign pedestrian – everyone works in cooperation with all the various modes of transportation. No matter what you are, your place on the street is respected.  Everyone knows what to expect and how to react. The key is to keep moving without sudden unexpected movements, and everyone weaves in and out around each other. I love this system that is practical, relies on mutual understanding, and surprisingly safe.

In America, I’ve often been frustrated at being stuck in traffic behind cars when my destination is only a few hundred feet away and I can get there easily if I can just break a few traffic laws. Here in Saigon, you can drive on the sidewalk if need be, or you can drive on the opposite side of the street is there is no oncoming traffic. And if cars come at you, simply merge back into the other side. No one gives you the finger, there is no yelling or road rage, and honking of the horn (which is constant and a way of life) is not out of anger but as a warning as it is meant to be used.

In America, going straight has the right of way while making turns has to wait. Why? Here in Saigon (and in Taipei too, and probably in other countries as well), everyone just keeps moving, weaving in turns and u-turns any way that works. Pedestrians have to do the same. Just keep walking and cars will weave in and out around you. It all works. Even as an unfamiliar tourist, I’ve crossed major intersections and live to tell it.

I shall miss this when we leave.

I’m not an adventurous traveler.

I grew up with a mother who told us to never eat street food when we were growing up in Hong Kong. She hated crowds, taught me that you can contract horrible diseases from public bathrooms, held her breath when she walked passed beggars on the street, and always wore closed-toed shoes so as not to get contaminated by dirt.

During our trip in Taiwan the past week, I thought of my mother a lot.  What would she say seeing me walk on the street with sandals? I ate at a friend’s restaurant that she would consider a street vendor. I walked in the rain through dirty puddles.

And nothing bad happened.

I’m a little more brave now that I know I can survive in the world that my mother protected us from. In fact, I liked it.

———–

In Taiwan, we’ve had hotels in very good locations with easy access to the MRT. I love cities with a good MRT and bus system. You can go anywhere independently and safely without getting lost.

A few highlights of Taiwan –

*torrent rain at Sun Moon Lake. On the one day we left our umbrellas in the suitcase is the day it rains hard. It was fun with the rain though.

*Taroko Gorge was beautiful. The day was perfect with a light breeze, not too hot. There are not too many camp grounds available in Taiwan, so I appreciate the national parks in the US.

*shopping at a store just a few steps from our hotel that had all the cute things we liked – pens, stickers, notebooks, etc. etc.  We stopped there multiple times. Once we had a basketful while the lady behind us in line had only one item. I didn’t see her until we were almost checked out, otherwise I would’ve let her go first.

*bus ride. As I said, I love an efficient public transport system. We took the MRT and bus to the National Palace Musuem and the bus ride was a nice way to see a bit of the city.

*Lunch with T’s aunt at a local eatery of pork chops and rice. She also bought us really good boba milk tea. Now I understand what Taiwanese cafes in the US are suppose to be like, but this is much better, and much cheaper. We were in DanShui and the place and weather was perfect for walking around.

*met interesting people on our tour group from all over the world. One woman we got to talk to was traveling by herself, from Brisbane, Australia and a seasoned traveler around Asia. Two men from Denmark took the tour to see the island while their wives were at a conference in Taipei. A boy with his dad and cousin from Canada. A couple with a cute son from Sydney.

*attended a large church Grace Baptist with an English service of over 400 people. A poster advertising their VBS said the capacity was 500 and registration was closed.

A few things not as good as expected –

*Shilin Night Market – it’s so big and crowded it was a little intimidating. Lost my appetite for the food with all the people around. Couldn’t really shop with people pushing on all sides. It was exciting because I like crowds, but the shopping was not as good as expected.

*didn’t have too many interesting fruits – mostly watermelon, guava, and lichee.

Next time if I come to Taiwan again, I would go see Kaoshuing the second biggest city of Taiwan, and spend a little more time on the buses in Taipei to look around.

I couldn’t put down this book. A Place Called Blessing by John Trent is both heartwarming and inspirational. The story is engaging from beginning to end.

The story follows a boy growing up in the foster care system, starting life with two strikes against him. Then an accident occurred that scarred him, until he meets a family who blessed him more than he imagined.

Though it’s fictional, the characters showed such honor and compassion that they inspired me to be more open and loving to people, despite their background. When committed love is shown, even the hardest hearts can melt.

My only complain about the book is the abrupt ending. Other than that, I highly recommend this book. I have not read The Blessing, also by John Trent that outlines the principles illustrated in the story. I imagine it would be pretty good as well.

Disclosure:  Thomas Nelson provided me with a complimentary copy of this book for this review. Opinions are entirely my own.

Read this on Family Life today. We pray for revival, and it starts with us, each cleaning up our own house.

A Christian leader told me about boarding a small commuter plane for a short flight out of Nashville. Moments after he settled in, a flight attendant’s voice came on the loudspeaker and said, “When the pilot steps onto the plane, I want you to clap for him. He just found out his fiancée is expecting twins.” When the captain appeared, the passengers erupted into a raucous ovation. My friend sat there thinking, I can’t believe it. We’re applauding immorality.

This is in a country where reliable research tells us that nearly 85 percent profess to have some kind of religious convictions, and 90 percent believe there is a God. But it’s also a country where a solid majority personalize religion with little regard for the need to submit themselves to any kind of accountability or authority. In essence, everyone does what is right in their eyes (see Judges 17:6).

We’ve become a nation made up of very small humans playing God.

As a result, many people treat religion more like a hobby. It’s a free-flowing, do-as-you-please, spiritual smorgasbord where they pick and choose what they want, when they want it. A little dab of truth here, a little dab there. But never too much truth. As someone has said, “God created man in His own image; then man returned the favor.”

It is time for us as Christians to clean up our own house, to let the Bible’s truth become not just our standard for belief but also our standard of behavior, both personally and in our families. Then we must take it a step further, calling those around us to the good news of Jesus Christ and exhorting those who know Him to internalize, apply and proclaim His life-giving message.

The future of your family and our nation depends on it.

Traveling across the world used to be a big thing.  Well, it still is, if you think about the amazing airplane that not only defy gravity, but holds 200+ people and tons of luggage with it.

But most people nowadays take for granted our ability to travel thousands of miles in a relatively short time.

I will be going halfway across the world for our vacation – in a mere 13 hours. And during that time on the plane, I could probably finish reading a couple of good books.

I grew up with my dad encouraging us and giving us the opportunity to travel. I went to Taiwan, Japan, and Hong Kong by myself after college. It would’ve been really fun if I was mature enough to enjoy it, and if I had a companion. That experience did not instill in me the travel bug.  I can take it or leave it.

However, my children love to travel. They are adventurous and global-minded. And from them I am once again encouraged to travel. How fortunate I am to have so many chances to do fun things in this life.

And when I am finished in this life, there’s the one to come where it would be a greater adventure.

John Maxwell is one of my favorite authors. His writings are practical and inspirational  Put Your Dream to the Test is a book appropriate for those want to make the most our of their life; that hopefully means everyone.

Maxwell outlines ten questions to define our dream and put a plan to our dream. He uses a lot of examples to illustrate, which makes the book particularly easy to read and understand.

The end of the book gives a Dream Map, summarizes the ten questions along with more questions for you to evaluate yourself, as well as action steps to take. While some of the points in the book may be obvious, they are good reminders nevertheless.

Disclosure:  Thomas Nelson provided me with a complimentary copy of this book for this review. Opinions are entirely my own.

Due to shoulder pains when I sit at the computer, I’ve not posted.

With age comes aches and pains, and I don’t like it.

A friend said that when she keeps busy, she forgets about the pain.

I think it is a true principle that when we do things to serve others, a lot of our own pain doesn’t seem to hurt as much.

The way we live may be considered “the good life” – prosperous and doing whatever we please, having  a good time. We think the “gray areas” are not so bad; the ends justify the means and the means justify the ends. We are accountable to no one.

But God sees all. From God’s perspective, sin is always sin. His standards are high.

Woe to those who call evil good
and good evil,
who put darkness for light
and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter.

Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes
and clever in their own sight. ~Isaiah 5:20-21

Guest written by our friend Gladys Fuentes

I didn’t realize it was going to be such a big adjustment to move out of my parents’ house and into my own place. First of all, I didn’t even think about the fact that I didn’t have any furniture and I would have to buy some – until I save up enough I’m still going to be living on this beanbag chair! I also didn’t think about the fact that I’d need to call the utility providers and have things like cable and electric hooked up before I got there…woops. At least I already had wireless from www.wirelessinternetproviders.net so I didn’t have to worry about being offline. So far, so good in the new digs but paying rent and even doing laundry has been much harder without my mom around to nag me and tell me how it’s done! I’m lucky to have had such supportive parents but since I’m almost 23 it just made sense that it was time I moved out and got a place to call my own, you know?

As much as I like to change things up once in a while, like repainting a wall color or moving the furniture, there is comfort in the familiar.

Take for example our church’s annual Memorial Day picnic. We knew what would be served, because it’s the same every year. In the car on the way there, we joke about the ghetto way we serve corn every year, directly from the can. Sure enough, we were not disappointed. There is the usual spicy noodles, tea eggs, hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken wings. And for dessert, various kinds of sweet bean soups, apple pie, and cake. And of course watermelon. No surprises, except one. Lo and behold, there was a new item this year – yam.

I am trying to separate what is for me true spiritually growing experience and what is merely familiar and comfortable about our church. And when I visit other churches, I cannot make my opinions about the church based on the lack of familiarity. I have to focus in on what is the core of a vibrant church that matches what God calls us to.  Since we have been at the same church for 20 years, all other churches will seem strange, uncomfortable, unfamiliar. It’s like that feeling of moving into a new house. It’s exciting to be in a new home, but you don’t know where everything is.