living in Saigon

So you're living in Saigon. followed by -  Oh, ya, had a friend who visited Vietnam and said it was very beautiful. I respond by saying, ya that's true but mostly I am in a part of Vietnam, Saigon, that's not so beautiful. This leads to the question, why - do you stay.

Funny, it's at this point I'm always a little stumped even after 13 years of fending the question.

There is a line in the movie the "Quiet American" where he says something about how the country gets to you, gaining an unexplainable hold. That goes a long ways toward describing the hold Vietnam (Saigon) has had on me.  

However, as Vietnam rushes to embrace economic growth a lot of

old school Saigon

Saigon's character and mystic is in jeopardy as developers move in, building high rise buildings and new modern shopping complexes housing designer shops and chain stores like Gap, Body Works, Levi and the like. The latest big deal to come along, strategically located on one of Saigon's major roundabouts is the largest Starbucks in the world.  Okay, maybe not in the world but very,very big - selling coffee at four times the cost of Vietnamese ca phe (coffee). For guys like me these new developments, while attractive, seem contrived and artificial, lacking the sole that was Saigon. As the uniqueness of the city center disappears Saigon's hold is loosening on me.

Ben Thanh Market and new Saigon skyline

Of course all this modernization makes a visit to the area much more costly than before and probably why mostly what you see in the city center is foreigners and spiffy looking Vietnamese. A view of this is what probably is at the core of tourists comments exclaiming that communism is dead and capitalism is the new norm in Vietnam and they report seeing an expanding the middle class. 

Though, interesting enough just a few blocks away from this

modern upgrade you'll find the gritty realities of Vietnam populated by mostly Vietnamese workers who live a hand to mouth, day to day existence. Here it's not for show so the only Rolls, Bentley's, BMW or Mercedes you will see are just the ones passing through on their way to or from the Dong Khoi area of city center.  

According to data published by the Vietnamese government the

average Vietnamese worker is between 18 and 40 years old with 58% of these folks earning 2-3 million dong (95.00 - 140.00 US) a month.  At 40 years old many are worn out and sick so if employed, are fired by their employers. The government has an ongoing study to gain an understanding of why these folks are unhappy. Initial results of the study blame the cause of the unhappiness on *Social evils * Government red tape  and Environmental problems.

Anyway, in the eyes of a 13 year veteran of life in Vietnam (Saigon) the city is gaining an unnatural feel, though still interesting. Thailand calls itself "the land of smiles" and up until a few years

ace motorbike driver Vu,  call - 01203724016

ago I thought the title fitted Vietnam even more than Thailand but not now.  People don't smile as much as they used too, maybe due to *Social evils * Government red tape  and Environmental  problems or they are just too tired.

All the changes aside, I'm still looking forward to my return to Saigon but mourn the loss of what it originally held me. Vietnam still has a lot too offer but "the times they are a changin".

Rainy season hits hard

Thailand, Vietnam brace as typhoon batters China

Published: 7:56PM Monday September 30, 2013 Source: Reuters

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  South China braces for typhoon - Source: AP

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  • Typhoon batters China's east coast video
  • Philippines evacuates villages as super typhoon nears

Seventy-four Chinese fishers are missing after a typhoon sunk three fishing boats in the South China Sea, as Thailand and Vietnam braced for torrential rain and flooding.

The ships were hit by Typhoon Wutip on Sunday as they navigated gales near the Paracel Islands, about 330 km from China's island province of Hainan, state news agency Xinhua said, citing sources with the Hainan maritime search and rescue centre.

Rescuers had rescued 14 survivors, the sources said. The boats were sailing from the southern province of Guangdong.

Rains from the storm were expected to reach Vietnam today before hitting Thailand tomorrow.

Thai officials warned that more heavy rains could inundate already flood-hit areas of the northeast. At least 22 people have been killed in this year's flooding.

"We're expecting more floods," Teerat Ratanasevi, a government spokesman, told reporters.

"Soldiers have been asked to help evacuate people trapped in flood zones."

Authorities in central Vietnam have moved children and elderly people to schools and other more solid buildings ahead of the storm.

In the central province of Quang Tri, an estimated 82,000 people would need to be evacuated if Wutip made a direct hit, a government statement said.

Typhoons gather strength from warm sea water and tend to dissipate after making landfall. They frequently hit Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, Hong Kong and southern China during a typhoon season that lasts from early summer to late autumn.Vietnam said heavy rain had been falling in several central provinces while flooding and landslides could strike the region later this week.

lets Talk Cambodian politics and look at some photos of Phnom Penh

A Cambodian kid intent on taking a chicken, over looks a low hanging tree branch .  The story goes, engrossed in snatching the chicken an overhead tree branch poked out one of his eyes and the kid was young Hun Sen, just re elected to his fourth them as Cambodia's Prime Minister.  I liked that version of how Hen Sen came to have one glass eye, told to  

me by a Cambodian/American so I stuck it in. Have no idea how true the story was as his official bio has him losing the eye while participating in the Khmer Rouge offensive against Phnom Penh in April 1975.

Battalion commander - Eastern region of Democratic Cambodia  with the Khmer Rouge and during the purge in 1977 fled to Vietnam with his battalion..   To return as a rebel leader backed by the Vietnamese government as they beat back Pol Pot and took over Cambodia, as the Vietnamese withdrew he was appointed deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister to the Peoples Republic of Kampuchea (the Vietnamese's given name for Cambodia) in 1979.   Giving the bases to Cambodia's Prince Norodom Sihanouk's referring to Hun Sen as  "the one eyed lackey of the Vietnamese".

As of yesterday it was confirmed  by the NEC (Nation Election Committee) and the government that Hun Sen's  party, the CCP (Cambodian Peoples Party) won the majority of the parliament's seats and once again he is Prime Minister.  

Meanwhile there's a strong movement by the CNRP ( Cambodian National Rescue Party) lead by Sam Rainsy protesting the legality of the election results.  However, it appears all will be going on the same as usual in Cambodia, the rich get richer, the poor struggle on in the countryside and for foreigners it's still cheap, interesting and a fun place to visit. 
   

Doug

Pattaya - play safe

Published on eTurboNews (eTN) (http://www.eturbonews.com)

---

Thailand's first tourist court opens tomorrow

By Thomas Steinmetz

Created Sep 3 2013 - 5:36pm

Source: 

nationmultimedia.com

Image via wordpress.com

PATTAYA, Thailand - Thailand's first tourist court will open tomorrow in the popular beach resort city of Pattaya as part of the government's move to reassure travellers of their safety while visiting the country.
From 4.30pm to 8.30pm, foreign tourists can come and lodge complaints, especially over unfair services and personal security. Consideration of cases will be cut to one day for uncomplicated disputes from the usual six months, Wirat Chinwinigkul, secretary-general of the Judiciary, said yesterday.
The specialised court will encourage negotiations between parties. Most of the cases are about consumer protection, so it is easier to reach a compromise. If it's a serious issue, the case will be transferred to the regular court. There will be capable officials speaking foreign languages to help.
Six more night courts are planned - Pathum Wan district for the Silom area and Dusit district for khao san in Bangkok, Krabi, Samui, Chiang Mai and Phuket. Those tourist destinations have faced various problems, especially cheating by operators.
The Pattaya court would be a pilot project. It is expected to take up speedboat services, which is one of the serious issues corroding the country's tourism image. It's also related to criminal cases.
Yesterday, four parties - police, prosecutors, the courts of justice and the Tourism Ministry - signed an agreement to set up the court and work together to help take care of foreign holidaymakers.
The court will also be responsible for looking after Thai tourists and scrutinising the role of tourism operators in providing fair services to tourists.
The ministry should set up a department to handle cases because some tourists have to go home before a ruling is handed down, he said.
In the future, Thailand should enact legislation to regulate the industry, like in France, because tourism is an important industry strengthening the national economy. It has grown rapidly, but existing laws cannot keep up, he added.
Tourism Minister Somsak Pureesrisak said it's a good sign for the country's tourism industry. The night court would help secure the industry's role in the long term, especially in achieving the target of Bt2 trillion in tourism revenue in 2015.
The ministry has made a big effort to standardise the industry, launching measures and regulations to crack down on scams. Especially Phuket needs a clean-up. The resort island is overrun by illegal services and gangsters.

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© 2001-2013 eTurboNews, Inc. All rights Reserved

A leg up and a way

Sorry about the lack of Southeast asia posts, I'm still in the states but do have things to write about Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia but it's been a full time job coping with the hip I damaged while working out and running at 9-13 park in Saigon the middle of February.   While in Saigon I tried using traditional western doctors, the a course of acupuncture through a traditionally trained Chinese doctor.   Hobbled back to the USA, first diagnoses was a hip flexor problem, couple weeks of therapy with no results, then an MRI. diagnosed  it's cause as Avascular Necrosis  ,irreparable other than cutting out the hip and transplanting a new man made one in it's place.  THe surgery was done on 7/31/2013 and now I'm in the nist of recovery and relearning to walk on my left leg.


Now it's Sunday, August 18, and things are improving, stopped the pain meds yesterday and the pain in tolerable but my stomach is queasy, guess it misses the narcotics. Making a couple trips a day up and down from my second floor apartment with minimal drama but very slowly.. Still using a walker, you know one of those things that mostly older people (hate to think of it but guess I'm one also) hang on too and push around but working on replacing it with a cane (Got this cool old antique cane that my great, grandfather brought with him from Europe) though hope be walking unassisted soon.

Still fighting the anxiety of knowing my hip repair was done by cutting into my butt to reach inside and disassemble my left hip, then cutting off the ball on my femur and installing a metal and ceramic replacement, (drill and force fit) reassembling the hip and sewing me up, Good to go, yikes!


Wish me luck and I'll do my damndest to get us from beyond but back to Southeast asia. 

Thanks for your interest -   Doug

Double decker tourist bus on route from Roi Et from Bangkok crashes, killing 19 and another 20 injured.

This style of bus was involved in the crash.

BANGKOK: Nineteen people were killed and 20 hurt Tuesday when a double decker coach collided with a truck in central Thailand and burst into flames, authorities said.

"Altogether there are 19 dead -- 18 died at the scene and another one died at the hospital," said an official from the national institute for emergency medicine in Bangkok, who asked not to be named.

She added that 20 people were injured in the early morning crash in central Saraburi province.

The inter-province bus, which was travelling from Bangkok to Roi Et in the northeast of the country, caught fire after the crash.

Images from Thai television news showed the extent of the damage to the vehicle, which appeared to have been completely incinerated and reduced to its metal shell.

Authorities said the crash was a head-on collision involving three vehicles.

Police have arrested the driver of the cement truck, who they said appeared to have lost control of his vehicle just before the incident.

"The truck crossed from the opposite lane of traffic and hit the bus," said local police officer Lieutenant Colonel Assavathep Janthanari, adding that a pickup truck behind the bus had also been involved in the crash.

He said the dead and injured were from the coach and the pickup truck.

It was not immediately clear how many people had been travelling in the coach.

Witthichart Kallayanamitr, director of the company under the ministry of transport which owns the bus, said its normal capacity would have been 32 people.

Safety standards are often poor in Thailand and transport accidents are relatively common.

Earlier this month an overnight sleeper train travelling from Bangkok to the northern city of Chiang Mai derailed injuring 23 people, including 18 foreign tourists.

In April, at least five people were killed, including a seven-month-old baby and a Belgian woman, and 53 were injured when a Thai tour bus plummeted off a hillside in northern Phitsanulok province after its brakes failed. (AFP)

  

Founded by: Mir Khalil-ur-Rahman

  

 

 

Crutches are evil -

Looks like I'll really will be  in the states longer than my original plan.  Got through the heart pre check up with my cardiologist and received his clearance for surgery to get my hip replaced. Though I'm also going to have a nuclear test on the effectiveness of my heart arteries but guess they think all is ok because they've scheduled for the surgery on the 31 of this month (July).  Guess a total hip replacement is the only way to deal with AVN (avascular necrosis) the problem that causing all this trouble and pain

Decided on dr Paul Sasaura of Summit Otho to do the job.. He seems like a pretty sharp cookie, using the new, up today, minimal invasive technique.  A small incision about 2 inches square and then once inside he works to minimize the trauma induced to the tissue surrounding the bone with the help of a computer map.    

Still working on some new Vietnam stuff along with Cambodia and it's national election next week.

Anyway,folks if you're anything like me (over 65) don't push too hard on those work outs. 

Doug

A few photos of Angkor Wat, hometown of the Khmer empire, built around 900 AD - Siem Reap, Cambodia

Always thinking of you
Doug

                 

From the needle in Saigon to California on crutches

Okay, acupuncture, physical therapy, stretching regimen, light exercise and don't even think of moving were all things recommended by Doctors to repair my damaged leg I hurt while working out in Saigon. Meanwhile, I've been in pain and barely able to walk for going on four months.  Also to my consternation doctors look at me and my white hair then seem to lose interest in doctoring, relegating me to the group of over the hill guys not worth their time. They don't really say that but since my injury the traditional Chinese herbal and acupuncture doc was the only one that came up with a treatment plan except for the crutches which Dr Shea sports medicine specialist at Mercy Medical Group prescribed to keep my weight off the leg in the hope it would heal itself.

Though it’s interesting that Dr Shea's strategy came to pass as a result of my complaints about the failure of physical therapy to improve my condition and was more of a shot from the hip (no pun intended) than a real plan. Waiting in one of those little exam rooms for an hour as they looked for the results of my MRI report, once found, minutes pass, he mumbles about the sad state of my hip and something about a hip replacement to fix it. I add that I had been running/walking 2 – 3 miles a day for as long as I can remember and this is my first problem but I add I'm still in pain but not as bad as it was. So the injury seems to be slowly improving but it’s so slow I'm getting depressed. All this as he is trying to slip out the door and over his shoulder he tells to keep my weight off of it and use crutches and would leave a note with the receptionist referring me to a surgeon and he was gone. His referrals first opening was months away but after I made a scene in the reception area they found another doc with a sooner opening but still a couple weeks away, not good but better.

Meanwhile, I'm conflicted over this whole deal, they are talking hip replacement and as I said I had never experienced any problem before until this latest injury. Even then the pain wasn't really in the hip but generally in the upper part of my leg. Nobody wants to hear my explanation of where it hurt when I injured it so have had an MRI and ex-ray of the hip and from this they all say my hip is warn, arthritis they say. They are probably correct about a warn hip and arthritis but up until the injury I had no problems with it. Doctors I fear have become just parts changers like auto mechanics and feel doctoring just takes too much time and time is money.

Meanwhile, I'm here in California but have a lot of stuff to write about on Vietnam. So please follow me and become a member.

Doug

Get your motorbike on

motorbike salesman

                                                 

highway patrol Vietnamese style

take a nap

Saigon is crowded, a little grimy around the edges, air is chocked full of exhaust fumes and the noise of motorbikes, truck and bus horns along with the ambient sound of 11 million or so people going about their lives.  At any one given time you'll see Rolls Royce’s, Bentley's, big, high end 
Mercedes and BMW's along with push carts, bicycles and so many motorbikes that they overflow onto the sidewalks.  Most piloted by steely eyed,expressionless drivers moving at such a sedate speed that it’s not uncommon to see motorbike drivers chatting with each other between bikes. Adding to the crazy, surreal traffic scene - pillion riders (passengers) holding large panes of glass, plumbing pipe, animals, fish tanks including water and fish, plants and trees, televisions and assorted computer components. Often you will see solo motorbike guys balances all sorts of cargo on the bike, propane gas tanks, bottled water, cases of beer, gallon containers of cooking oil, bunches of bananas, of course refrigerators, fans and air-conditioning units, mega bunches of empty plastic bottles for recycling, pigs

get  your motor running

boutique motorbike shop

and chickens and just pretty much anything that has to be transported.

An example of this was at one of the places I stayed, they had a new refrigerator delivered and it arrived riding pillion, the driver steadying it with one hand and operating the bike with the other.  As I've mentioned this is a common way of delivery but what I hope isn't common is that when the driver got the frig inside he lost his grip, recovered but ended up setting it down on his toe and I'm sure those standard issue flip flops weren't much help against the impact. However, those Vietnamese are a tough folk, saw him wince but no sound was uttered, just lifted it off his toe, pulled out the old frig, slid the new one in, carried out the old one out and positioned it on the back of the seat on 

modern motorbike food vendor

old style food vendor

his bike, slid in front of it, all the time steadying it with one hand and his free hand to drive off.

No matter how many times I see some of these events I'm never failed to be amazed.  The number one example is the bike carrying a large sheet of glass or mirror steadied by the pillion rider and I'm talking large, like three foot wide by four foot or so high. The sheet sitting on the passenger's lap with his outstretched, bare hands holding the edges of the pane.  

Then you have the one where a pillion passenger sitting in the seat backwards holding the handle of a two wheeler, like used in warehouses to move freight, and strapped on it is tank filled with welding gas as they move through traffic. Then there is the friend helping his buddy with a non running motor bike by driving his bike and pushing the other with his outstretched, flip flop sheathed foot and keeping up with traffic.

motorbike pickup

Yes,  its mind boggling the kind of stuff motorbikes transport but even crazier is the way they have been modified to do special things, adding a trailer hitch to carry additional cargo in cargo trailer, the addition of two wheels in the back for handicapped drivers, racks built over the back part of the seat to hold bottled water or propane gas and only the imagination limits the modifications and uses of the commonly motorbike that is the USA are called scooters.    

Thanks for stopping by 
Doug

                                              

  

Doug's back in California - reedited

Here I stand, once again, in my apartment in California.   Five busy weeks have passed since my return, jury duty on an arson case (they didn't get a conviction) and there was that monstrous pile of mail to paw through.  Last but not least the most enjoyable part of my return is re acquainting me with my friends and family.

Being away for months and months allows for a lot of things to happen.   In the gross category was the death of my refrigerator. While most of its contents in the lower part were cleaned out before I left, but the freezer, which had as you know has frozen stuff - fish, meat and an assortment of frozen dinners that are fine if they stay frozen but don't do so well when  exposed to room temperatures for days or maybe weeks on end.  Lucky enough for me, my son stopped by to the replenish basics foodstuffs to ease my transition into life here and found the mess (more to the point smelled the mess) and in keeping with his wonderful guy persona, cleaned up the rotten mess and aired the place out before my arrival. New frig. up and running and re stocked now and life goes on as normal.

The leg I injured while exercising at 9-23 park in Saigon has complicated getting all the things that need to be taking care off cleared away.  After the injured I visited a couple doctors with most giving me the poor old guy look while blaming the cause of my problem not on my over zealous exercising but on arthritis.  Thought one, Dr Pedro at the Family Medical clinic was very kind and ordered up an ultrasound of my upper leg which came up negative so he referred me on to an ortho guy. Who looked at me and said arthritis  After that I had a go at traditional Chinese medicine using acupuncture, herbal oils and cupping but still no real success in getting me walking without pain.

Back in California now and I'm giving a sports medicine doc. at Mercy General Hospitals clinic a try.  On examination he gave me a diagnosis of a hip flexor strain, four session of physical therapy offering little relief to the pain of walking. So he revised his original diagnosis and scheduled me and my hip for an MRI.  This is all confusing to me as the originally injury and pain was my thigh but every doctor I see except for the Chinese medicine one poo pooed my thoughts of it being my upper leg and says arthritis of the hip.  So at my wits end I gave in and later this month I'll get the MRI of my hip..  Meanwhile, two months will have passed by here in California  and  in total close to four months of me hobbling around in pain.

Some facts comparing medical treatment in Saigon compared to here in California.   Appointments wait time in Saigon - a few hours to a few days and in California a week to a month or so. Appointment cost with no insurance at a primo expat clinic in Saigon $35.00 - $40.00, my insurance deductible cost in California $20.00 - $30.00 per appointment.   Also my experience shows that a big difference in dealing with doctors in Vietnam as well as Thailand is that over there they take the time to talk to you and are respectful and treat you in a kindly manner.   

I'm on my way back to regularly posting about issues effecting us who hang out in Saigon and beyond and will be headed back in September, so lets stay in touch.

  

As always, I'm here for you.
Doug

  

Saigons War Remnants Museum

War Remnants Museum  

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism

                                                 

Believe this was originally named the War Crimes Museum.  Whatever, the museum's name is just that  a name, once inside the common theme is the portrayal of the USA as invaders and war criminals bent on conquering Vietnam  and the Vietnamese Communists as the benevolent saviors of South Vietnamese people. 

Interesting to note the US military is the focus in all the displays,  There is little mention of the many free world countries who supplied troops and aid to the South Vietnamese.  Nor did I see a mention of the ARVN  (Army of the republic of Vietnam) who the US and coalition forces were supporting in their fight against the communist insurgents of North Vietnam.

One of the two American friends,  Gary.

The day I visited, two of my American friends were with me, half way through the museum they had had enough and were gone.

Museum  - 28 Vo Van Tan street, district 3,  Saigon
          hours  7:30 - 12:00 AM
                     1:30 - 5:00 PM
      entrance fee - 15,000 dong  (.75 us)

I will admit the photos and displays of weaponry was interesting.   If you can keep in mind the displays were designed as tools of propaganda so you focus on items not the message.  

That's all I got for now, but always thinking of you... Doug

l I got for now, but always thinking of you...  Doug

Don't give up on me, just off my game for a bit..

Arrived back in the States last week, probably hang around for 3 or 4 months staring reality straight in the face.

That would include doing my taxes, as this time I had missed the due date other years but when I send in my taxes I include a little note saying "sorry I wanted to get them in on time but was out of the country".

This past five months in Vietnam was pretty hard on me physically and I couldn't seem to get what I needed to get me right in Saigon along with the all the cost coming out of my pocket because my insurance dosn't cover me outside the USA.  So we will see how well I do withthe medical stuff here, Firstly I'm finding that even though I have insurance coverage here, the deductibles I'm paying would pay a good part of my medical costs in Saigon.  My apartment here in California is small but ever so comfortable and quit compared to my room on Le Thi Rieng St

A step back in time

Hut bar-b-que Phu Cat Phu cat Air Base 1968

Qui Nhon, Tet 2001 Once again I'm out at the train station queuing up with bazillions of  Tet holiday travellers  all of us with the same goal of booking a seat on the next train heading north. The concept of first come first serve, orderly lined up is lost on many of my fellow travellers.  As I'm elbows out of the way by a little lady, a third older than me, six inches shorter and half my girth.  I claw my way through the throng to have the ticket window folks tell me “no seat, come back tomorrow.” Three days in a row this has been repeated. I walk away making a silent vow that by hook or crook I'll get me a seat on tomorrows outbound train. I'm not sure how to do crook so that leaves hook.  Hook it is and on my return to Qui Nhon I quickly hook the night security guard for a early morning (really early,5:00 am) train station trip on the back of his motorbike and for for him to be my stand in for a ticket on that mornings train.  Anyway, I hope that is what we agree too as my Vietnamese is zilch, and his English is only slightly better.  Success. Three hours later I'm stretched out on my hard sleeper bunk chugging on to Hue. The train is packed,.The conductor and his helpers line up little plastic stools down the isles to seat the over flow, within an hour I've gained three or four people seating against me on my bunk, as I pretend to sleep. The bunks were laid out, three on each side of the cabin, with the top one at least six foot off the floor.  So it’s understandable why everyone got so attached to my lower bunk.  It’s interesting how intuitive some Vietnamese are, not one person with in my eye sight speaks any English, all the station announcements crackle out in Vietnamese and I'm worried I'll miss my stop.  Not to worry, just before the train arrived at the stop, there is frenzy of movement as my backpack is pulled out of its storage spot and my pack and I are guided to the train door as it rolls to a stop in Hue.  The window of my car is lined with smiling, waving Vietnamese as the train pulls away. I've made several trips over the Tet holiday and it’s always crazy, especially for foreigners. While my Vietnamese friends seem to thrive on the craziness.   This is the biggest holiday in Vietnam, Vietnamese living over seas come home for the holiday.  Many businesses close and the employees head to the countryside to spend the holiday week with family or just travel.  What looks like chaos to foreigners like me, is part of Tet’s fun for the Vietnamese. Reduced hours or closed restaurants and stores,  everything at premium prices is all ok “it’s Tet!”   Finely getting away from Qui Nhon felt good, not that it’s a bad place and I had a nice room in a hotel on the beach where the friendly managing director gave me a special rate after I told her my story and that I had been a way for 33 years.  Funny as time passes, some memories get out of focus so I was there, not for the beach but to re visit my old duty station at Phu Cat Air Base.  Not surprising but disappointing nevertheless, as it was hardly recognizable, except for the remnants of the revetments on the flight line. Of course, the gun towers, F100’s, Caribou cargo planes and the assortment of helicopters I remembered were long gone. The barracks (huts really) we lived in, the gun tower at gate by the end of my hut, all the make shift beer bars constructed of bamboo and tin, with beaded entryways off base by the main gate, of course gone also..  The makeshift  road that ran by my hut where on many a morning  I would a wake to the rumbling of tanks is now a paved and well maintained motor way taking you directly to Qui Nhon. Maybe memories like I have of my time are are meant to fade, so the experiences doesn't drag us down.  Anyway, it was good to be on my way again.