Spring Flowers

Well spring is just around the corner! The daffodils are in bloom. We have gotten back into a routine. Hubby off to work everyday, kids off to school and me making my rounds; KWC, CHIC, ikebana class, brush painting class, Japanese lessons, school activities, cleaning, shopping, dog care, laundry and the list goes on and on. Its a bright sunny day and I'm going to go out and enjoy it.

Ja Mata.

PS I'm trying out a new template for the blog. What do you think?

Cutest Dog in Japan

Now that the trip photos are done, I finally get a chance to show the cutest dog in Japan, at Christmas! He is shown here, opening a gift, modelling his new room wear (with sequins) and coat. Alas the coat is a bit too snug! You can see in the photo that he is popping the velcro. Also modelling his candy cane antlers!

Cu Chi Tunnels

These are the last of the Vietnam photos. Went to Cu Chi to view the section there of the tunnels used by the VC during the war. They were started during the french occupation and enlarged during the time the Americans were there. They cover about 200 km. They are very tight. I don't know the order of how they will come up but the photos show the boy going into one of the tunnels. After going in he would pull the lid covered with leaves over the top and it was invisible. There is also a photo of one of the many traps set to capture and/or kill the 'American Imperialists'. A photo of their under ground kitchen and where the smoke would come out about 20 yards away. They would only cook in the early morning hours so the smoke would mix with fog or mist and go undetected from the air. Also a photo of a ventilation shaft, made in a termite mound that you wouldn't notice unless you knew to look for it. And finally the boy shooting an M16. And thus ends my vacation photos. Finally!

Here are few photos from Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) I don't know what order they will be in when I publish the post, so I'll just describe each briefly and you'll have to match the description to the photo. Traffic. They pay no attention to the lines and they just jam pack the streets and spend alot of time honking their horns. It takes longer longer to drive some places than walk because of the traffic. And get this---no seat belts! We saw 2 wrecks on the first day! This is how the wires in the sides of the street look. All over the city. Here's where they buy meat! Sitting next to her was a guy using a regular men's shaver to shave some bristly hairs from a severed pig's leg! Someone eating lunch near the market. And a helicopter from the war museum which told all about the horrible american imperialists's war crimes. Needless to say, this part of the trip was not our favorite!

More from the Mekong River area

A few more shots from the Mekong River, an island we visited and a canal we floated down to get back to the river.

Vietnam/Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

The second part of our trip was in Ho CHi Minh City, formerly Saigon. We were there for 3 days, about 1 day too long. There were not as many nice things to see and I must say I enjoyed Cambodia alot more. HCM City was over-crowded (I think she said 8 million people?), filthy, nasty, dirty and the people were not as likeable as the Cambodians. I just don't like it when someone in the market thinks they can touch me and get me to buy their crap! Lay off !! There were 2 interesting sidetrips however. The first was a boat trip down the Mekong river (pictured here) and the second was the trip to the Cu Chi Tunnels which will be shown later,( so stay tuned!) Look closely at the one photo to see a guy fishing. His hat barely sticks up out of the water. Note the other guy bathing. Other photos include a buddhist temple and a rice field.

Cambodian people

Just a few photos of the locals from some of the areas we visited. We liked the Cambodian people very much. They seemed very pleasant and kind. Sure the children and some adults tried to get us to buy their wares, but they weren't crude or pushy or offensive. They semed a very gentle and beautiful bunch of folks. And so clorful!

More From Cambodia

The photos are from Ta Prohm inside Angkor Thom. This place is fascinating because it has been preserved mostly as it was when the french first stumbled upon it. The entire area had been swallowed by the jungle and only this monument was not cleared and was left as they found it. You may recognize it from some scenes in the Angelina Jolie movie 'Tomb Raider'. It really is cool!

Happy New Year/Cambodia

Happy New Year to all. We spent new year's eve in an airplane coming back from a short trip to Cambodia and Vietnam. We had a good time and saw some fascinating things. I'll put as many photos a I can on here, beginning with Cambodia, which was our first stop.

These first few photos came from just inside Angkor Thom (meaning great city) which was built in 1181. This particular structure is called Bayon. I'll show more of it next time. I can only put on 5 photos at a time. I don't know why.