Dragon Fruit

Dragon Fruit is a fruit grown in Binh Thuan Provence. It is so interesting. The above photo shows what the outside looks like. The Vietnamese grow it in groves within feet of their homes.
If the outside is not interesting enough the inside is as interesting. Who would think when you cut dragon fruit open that it would be white with black seeds.

The taste of dragon fruit is mild and can be compared to nothing we have. Just peel away the outside skin and enjoy. When in Vietnam you must try dragon fruit.

Dragon fruit being sold in the market.

Local grocery store.

Back to reality.........

Depending on how you look at things I am back to reality. That is my reality. Vietnam puts everything in to perspective. I love Vietnam, I love the people, the culture and the adventure. However Vietnam puts things in perspective. We take for granted so many everyday things like clean drinking water, refrigeration, a drive in a comfortable vehicle, grocery stores. Yet the Vietnamese have access to very little of these things and yet they have smiles on their faces and live life to it's fullest. It is a hard life especially for women who do much of the labor. But yet they continue on with their lives and are happy.

It turned out I didn't have access to the Internet as I had planned so I didn't get to post as much as I like. In Saigon we had great access to the Internet in our rooms. The problem was we were not in our rooms very much and our stay was very short. In Ben Tré the only Internet is at the post office and it is hard to find time to get there. I had high hopes for the Internet at the resort in Phan Thiet but that too was disappointing. The resort had one computer and it was very slow. When I did have blogging time during naps the problem was down loading it to my thumb drive and transferring it to the resort computer after naps. It would crash the computer every time I would try. So I gave up (not wanting to buy the resort a new computer) and will post from the comforts of my home. The flip side of the Internet access was the time. The girls and I were so busy going to the beach, the pool and enjoying the day it was hard to find time to get to the computer and it was not fair for the girls to sit and watch me type. So my blogging will be after the fact.

Now that I am home I hope to share with you the adventures of our journey and boy was it an adventure. I have hundreds of photos of the country to give you a snapshot of what Vietnam is really like.

An update on our referral status. As of today we do not have a referral. We are hoping that once the orphanage in Binh Thuan opens referrals will flow and we will be one of them. M

YES, This is someone's home......

Ferry on the Mekong Delta

Ben Tre Day 1

After arriving in Ben Tre and unloading our luggage except for mine, it is floating somewhere around the world. We had a little time to freshen up and off to the orphanage we went. The nannies were expecting us and had all the children dressed in new outfits. They were so cute. We gently entered the room that the children live in. It is very clean but things are worn. There are 20 children who live in this part of the orphanage. A room in size about 40X40. They range in age form 19 mos. to 4 weeks old. The oldest 4 children have been referred to families in the US and will be traveling home soon.
The first day we just wanted the children to get use to us being there. Many of the children warmed up to us immediately others needed a little time. It was so fun to recognize the children from photos other families have shared with me. We stayed at the center for 2 hours and then headed back to the hotel for a wonderful 7 course Vietnamese meal. The food was wonderful and it seems to never end.

Huston we have Internet!!!!!!!!

We are back in HCMC now. It is great to have a long hot shower. Ben Tre was wonderful it is like stepping back in time, except of course for the scooters. Travel took 3 hours on the narrow roughly paved roads. M encouraged me to take a Dramamine before we left and I am glad I did. The last portion of the trip was a ferry ride across the Mekong River. The city of Ben Tre is the point of entrance to the Provence. After a short trip down the streets we reached our hotel looking out on the Mekong Delta. M

Life Is Good!

After arriving yesterday we loaded up in a van and headed to the office of our agency. There we were so warmly welcomed by the staff and H. We immediately were served water and fruit. One was a grapefruit but much more delicious than in the US. I am not a grapefruit fan but this was good. After the brief stop at the office we headed through the streets of HCMC to our hotel. I usually keep my eyes focused out the front window because I get car sick easily but not here. If you look out the front window your heart will stop beating several times because you are afraid you will get hit. Just like the luggage in the airport there is no organization to traffic. ACK. After checking in at the hotel and a good hot shower we headed for the famous Ben Thuan market just a few minutes walk down the streets of HCMC. Oh and when I say a walk down the streets. It is actually down the street. The side walks are to full of venders and scooters for people to walk on the side walks. At the Ben Thuan market we grabbed a bit to eat and did a little shopping for the girls and headed back to the hotel for a short rest before supper. The short little nap turned into a 3 hour rest. A well needed 3 hour rest. At 6:30 we headed down stairs and off to see the sites.

Today we will leave for Ben Tre to visit the orphanage there. It will be a 4 hour journey, part of which will be on a fairy. I will write again as soon as I can. I’m not sure how the internet service will be in Ben Tre but I will do my best.
Always M

I Made It and........

I’m in love with Vietnam!

I have only been in the country for less then 6 hours and I’m in love!
We arrived after a long 36 hour airport to airport journey. I started out in CR flew to Chicago then to LAX headed from there to Hong Kong then Hong Kong to HCMC. My flight starting out in CR was delayed by 1 hour so by the time the plane landed in Chicago the plain to LA was boarding. So I ran through the Chicago airport as fast as I could carry a back pack that was way too heavy and pulling my carry on. I made it with out any time to spare. The flight to LA was typical long national flight. When I reached LA I was to meet the family I was to be traveling with. It was a great reunion. The flight to Hong Kong was over 14 hours and time slowly ticked by. I would sleep thinking 3 or 4 hours had passed only to awake to have only an hour or two pass. I was so pleased when we landed only to find out flight to Hong Kong was boarding. So we hit the ground hustling to make our next flight. The flight to Hong Kong was a piece of cake only two hours and nine minutes. We finally made it to HCMC and where thrilled to be in Vietnam. Going through customs was relatively easy which was good because the girls where ready to be set free. Luggage pick up was an interesting adventure. Not any organization to any of it. Luggage luggage everywhere. Except mine. M found all her pieces but my two where missing. We headed to the lost luggage desk and sure enough my luggage did not make it to VN. I’m in love with Vietnam! M