November 16 - Vietnam

For the past week Lyle and I have been on a cruise ship sailing down the east coast of Vietnam. The ship had three ports of call - Halong Bay (a UNESCO heritage site), Da Nang (a coastal city), and Phu My (a port and little over an hour from Ho Chi Minh City better know to us as Saigon). Of these, my favourite stop was Da Nang.

At Da Nang we took a four-hour land excursion. This was absolutely great and well worth the time and the money. We left the port on a comfortable bus with a guide. The guide explained the points of interest until we reached the Cham Museum. It was here that our adventure really began. We took a rickshaw ride for half an hour around the centre of the city.

Each rickshaw had a single passenger seat on the front. There was space for me to put my white cane beside me. The men who pedalled the bikes must have had extremely strong leg muscles, and also nerves of steel. With seemingly casual nonchalance we weaved our way through heavy traffic of thousands of scooters, some cars, buses, and occasional trucks. We were in a line of some fifty or sixty rickshaws.  The street intersections were most interesting as we turned corners with little regard for any traffic coming from every which way possible. The traffic seemed to flow seamlessly around us, although at times was very close our rickshaw. I found it exhilarating, and loved it all. 

Back at the museum our guide gave us a brief history lesson and then left us free to roam around various statues and displays. Because of my limited sight, I did not find this part as quite as interesting, but we did discover clean restrooms. That is always a plus!

Back on the bus we drove on to China Beach. This is the beach where American GI’s would often spend their R & R time during the time of the Vietnam war.  By the way, this conflict is referred to here as the American War. The beach was a long expanse of white powdery sand. We could see the tall white Buddha on a mountain in the distance. That was final stop of our tour. The bus dropped us at the Pagoda at the base of the Buddha statue.

By the end of the tour we felt we had had a glimpse of the various aspects of Da Nang. Still, for me, the best of the day was our rickshaw ride.

There are three pictures with this post. The first picture shows Lyle and I in our rickshaws at the beginning of the ride. The second picture shows me en route with the traffic in the street. The third picture shows the two of us on China Beach.

 

 

Sue and Lyle on their rickshaws

En route in the rickshaws amid traffic

 

Sue and Lyle at China Beach

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

November 14 - Hong Kong

Hong Kong was a new destination for us.  Because we didn’t know the layout of the city, by chance we booked a hotel smack dab in the middle of the old city markets.  The hotel entrance opened quite literally, to street vendors selling meat, pastries, flowers, fruit, vegetables, and fish.  The smell of the fish was almost overwhelming.  In a way this was good.  Once when we became disoriented (slightly lost!) it was the smell of the fish that led us back to our hotel.

While the stalls occupied one side of the street, down the centre of the street were tram tracks.  Every so often, a Ding Ding (a tram) would scatter the local shoppers with their bags and wagons as they scampered out of the way.  We were surprised when on the day of our departure our taxi was able to make its way through the chaos to pick us up at the hotel door.

Taxis were plentiful and relatively cheap.  We were surprised the taxis we took only accepted cash for payment, not credit cards.  The Metro or subway, was easy to navigate.  Our major tourist activity was taking a tram to The Peak.  Every first time visitor to Hong Kong should do this at least once. The tram ride was both good and disappointing.  The steep incline of the ascent made the high towers along side look as if the were leaning at a forty-five degree angle.  The view from the summit was spectacular.

The disappointing part were the constant references to Disney and Mickey Mouse.  There was even a statue of Mickey at the summit.  In the background, Disney music played over the speaker system.  I found the number of up and down escalators in order to reach the summit was quite daunting.  They were steep and moved quite quickly.

 

Our night time excursions with our friend John were super relaxing.  We took a ferry across the harbour, followed by a harbour cruise to view the nightly 8:00 p.m. laser show.  Next we walked through the lobby of the famous Peninsula Hotel and finished up with a meal at an Irish pub.

All in all, we very much enjoyed our few days in Hong Kong.  

View of city markets with tram tracks

City view from The Peak

Sue with Mickey and Minnie at The Peak

November 10 - Good Friends

Old friends are like diamonds -

Treasures and rare.

Those two lines are from a poem I know.  I was recalling these when Lyle and I reconnected with an old friend.  We met John nearly thirty years ago when he came to Canada as in Australian exchange teacher.  What a great year that was as we watched John exploring and enjoying the vagaries  of his first cold Alberta winter.

When John returned to Australia we kept in touch.  We stayed in sporadic contact when he moved to Hong Kong.  In fact, our son even flew to Hong Kong and spent a week with John.  From there, we almost lost touch as we went our separate ways - but the best thing about really good friends is that you can pick up again at any time.  That’s what happened this past week when Lyle and I finally made it to Hong Kong.

Our stay in the city was brief but John made it memorable.  In spite of his own busy schedule as an artist and teacher, he made time for us.  He opened his heart and showed us a glimpse of this bustling city.  It was if the intervening years hadn’t existed.  That’s what it is like to be “good friends” with someone.

Now, because I am writing this post to White Cane Connections, I want to add in addition to being an excellent tourist guide, John was also an excellent sighted guide.  He seemed to know by instinct not to push me or try to steer me.  Instead he allowed me to hold his arm as he led the way.  He alerted me to the beginnings of steps and escalators, of which there were many, and guided me around obstacles on the footpath, of which there also seemed to be many.

John, thanks for your generosity, your hospitality, and for being such a good friend.

There is a picture with this post of Lyle, John, and myself. I am holding my white cane.

 

Lyle, Sue, and John