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March 08, 2005
Kids First Village and on to Hue
Yesterday we bussed down from Dong Ha to Hue, which was the imperial capital of Vietnam in the 19th century.
It was wierd to be moving through the countryside in a big motorbus after being used to cycling. The level of detail and interaction with the landscape and its inhabitants is much lower from the bus.
It's also an adjustment to be with the larger group of travellers - the group of non-bike-riders on the trip, which is about the same as the number of riders, have been off seeing other sites around the country as we've been riding. Those of who rode together developed a very strong sense of camaraderie and are very used to each others' company - I think we're a bit rowdier and louder than the non-riding gang, so we're having to temper that a bit as we re-integrate.
We started off yesterday morning by getting a tour of the Kids First Rehabilitation village, which is under construction in Dong Ha. The facilities are extensive, and I don't think either of us really had any appreciation for the breadth of activities that are going to take place there.
When the village is opened it will have a hotel, a computer learning resource center, medical facilities, a facility for manufacturing artificial limbs, and there are plans to build a wheelchair factory. The idea is to employ young people with disabilities in the self-sustaining activities that will both enable the independent survival of the enterprises and give the people trades. It's a very compelling story when you see it up close and hear Roger explain it.
Both Ed and I feel that the Kids' First story has not been adequately told through their web site, so we spoke with Karalee and Roger about pitching in and helping with that when we return to the States.
Yesterday morning we bid goodbye to the Cuoung, our guide, and the crew of Vietnamese from Buffalo Tours who had accompanied us on the ride. They were a fabulous group of folks, and ever since yesterday morning we've been feeling Cuoung's absence. We've all been trying to imitate his mannerisms, but falling way short.
After having some free time yesterday where we toured the Citadel in the old Imperial City, we visited a Buddhist orphanage here in Hue.
Ed here: Picking up where Oren left off.
Last evening we went to the Duc Son Pagoda Buddhist Orphanage in Hue where Buddhist nuns are raising 195 children. The woman who runs the orphanage is a lovely, dedicated person and met with us briefly to welcome us. She apologized for her sad demeanor saying that a friend had been killed yesterday in a land mine explosion and that the whole orpanage was grieving the loss.
Then we were off to see the children. It was fantastic; they sang songs for us and we sang a song in Vietnamese that we'd been trying to memorize all week. At karalee's suggestion I brought a rubber stamp and ink pad to Vietnam with me and I was completely swamped with kids wanting stamps on their foreheads arms and cheeks. Every kid there was smiling and despite the aura of a feeding frenzy they were all completely polite and well-mannered. It's hard to imagine kids in the States being so excited about something as simple as a rubber stamp.
Last night we said goodbye to our friend and guide Sparky from Across the Divide. He's off to Africa today to lead a group of Irish women on a trek up Mt. Kenya. As is traditional the farewell warrented another visit to a local karaoke bar and and a suitable amount of Tiger beer. I know that Sparky's reading this so I'll just say on behalf of my fellow cyclists, "well done mate! Carry on!"
We fly to Saigon (HCMC) in a couple of hours. We're planning to visit the War Remnents Museum there which tells the history of the Vietnam war from the Vietnamese perspective. They refer to it, not surprisingly, as the American war.
Still not able to post pictures sorry to say but I expect we'll be able to post a few more blogs in Saigon before we leave Friday morning for home.
I just received an email from Marcia that our old Golden Retriever, Beau, died. He was with us for fourteen years. That news, combined with all we've experienced here, is leaving my heart feeling pretty full right now. Oren and I have a few hours to walk around Hue before our flight and this is a beautiful city to let things settle a bit.
More later.
Posted by oren at March 8, 2005 05:47 PM