Tet 2010 year of the tiger

The Vietnamese holiday that is way, big and by that I mean bigger than any holiday I've ever know. I'm no holiday size expert but this is big - how big you say - how about if you rolled our Christmas and New years celebrations together and then gave every one in the country a week off to celebrate, see I'm talking way big.


Tet is based on the Chinese new year which is predicated on the lunar cycle effecting the earth. So the arrival date of Gio thua (new years eve) and the Tet holiday changes from year to year.

Though,while the Tet holiday is a time to spend time with the family enjoy good food and drink or maybe travel to a special, fun place, Vietnamese work really hard in preparing for it. Saving up to buy that special outfit to welcome in the new year, food is put aside, so much that shortages of certain foods occur and then the race to buy special presents to cement ties with family and friends for the up coming new year.

The Tet holiday and the days and weeks leading up to it are filled with the bounty of the tropics, exotic flowers, bushes and trees are on display on the streets, in homes and businesses. Colorful banners are hung proclaiming "chuc Mung Nam Moi" (happy New year) and the streets are lit with colored lights. In Saigon - Nguyen Hue street is turned into a bountiful garden of flowers, trees, bushes and Tet related displays. Lucky money, small denominations of money in red and gold envelops are passed around. Traditional Tet food such as bang chung is readied for the holiday. Hair cuts are got to set off that new outfit, houses are cleaned and spiffed up. The house where I stay even pulled down the front doors and windows and repainted them. Vietnamese believe in household genies, such as the craft creator, the land genie and the kitchen god and out of respect they are allowed to take part in the holiday.

From a foreigners stand point the days leading up to tet and the holiday, officially 3 days but extends for a week or so, can be a frustrating and crazy period of time. I've witnessed first hand at least a half dozen Tet's and have learned to enjoy the holiday as an observer, while my Vietnamese friends try ever so hard to make me part of the goings on. For me, I just don't get a lot of it, as it's more a state of mind and I'm thinking being Vietnamese is required.

So probably at this point, even if you only looked at my photos, you understand that Tet is a interesting and unique part of Vietnamese culture.  However, before you head off for an up close and personal look at Tet 2011, which is the third of February, the following are a few thing to keep in mind.

• During Tet week travel in and around Vietnam is dicey, if you can get transport but its probably over crowded and at a premium price.  Vietnamese love to travel, to visit there family or to a special holiday destination and for some this is there only long holiday for the year. So it seems like every one in the country is on the move.





• In Vietnam along with many other Asian cultures  I've visited the concept of personal space is not understood, it's especially noticeable while traveling during Tet.  Remembering back a few years ago - traveling from Qui Nhon/Die Tri to Hue by train to be awoke by a Vietnamese family perched on the outer edge of my bed with me in it. Also you would find it's common practice to add stools down the isle of train cars and buses to seat more people or seats designed for two crammed with an undetermined number of folks and there luggage.





• Many businesses close, including bars and restaurants for the official 3 day holiday and some stay closed all week.  5 or 6 years ago it could be hard to find an open restaurant but the influx of tourists has held a few open. Tet being a family holiday most people stay home or with there relatives so in place like Saigon the streets are actually peaceful and quiet, well quieter than normal. 

• In Saigon, on Gio thua the New Year is welcomed in with a fantastic display of fireworks.  Seems to me all of Saigon turns out on Nguyen Hue for the event.  This last Tet I got spooked by the crowds and headed home to my room, on my way back I decided to stop for a beer at one of my hang outs Quoc Bao, an old style open air coffee shop, located on the traffic circle at 1 Le Thi Rieng and Le Loi. Turned out to be perfect spot not only for a beer but looking down Le Loi the fireworks were framed by the buildings, as if by design and it was fantastic. 

Yes, Tet is a uniquly Vietnamese event but if your time is limited for your visit to Vietnam you might want to plan around it and read my blog.

images of the past

It's Summer in Thailand, the rainy season but not so much rain this year but hot and to hot for war games.  So things are getting back to the old normal, not that the folks in the red shirts are happy but they are back to there normal lives. 

Though the state of emergency, which sounds to me like a nice way of saying marshal law or lets have a totalitarian mandate, has been lifted in one Provence to the north, Lampang and two smaller provinces in Issan - Sakon Nakon and Roi-et.  While Bangkok and the the bulk of the kingdom are still under thumb of prime minister Abhisit and the military under the "State of Emergency powers".

A date to watch is August the 18 th when the Thai Supreme Court rules on the the legality of the seizure of Mr. Thaksin's 46 billion baht assets.

As I've told many, even when the protests were in full swing, Bangkok is a big city and it's possible to visit and not even see all this craziness that was going on.  So go and visit a girly bar off of Sukumvit or take in the historic palace grounds, take a ride on the river, visit one of the markets or malls and shop or just hang out in one of the worlds most interesting and fun places.

However, remember the government is trying to discourage elephants in the city so have leveed a fine of 10,000 baht on visitors caught feeding bananas to them purchased from their manhout.

Thailand from a political upset to a down right dangerous situation

                                                                     

Yesterday the UK closed it Embassy in Bangkok but still has it's hot line open.  Tomorrow, Friday 5/14 the US will closes its facility due to the potential of serious violence between the govenment forces and the protestors. 

I am back in the states now, so if you have any first hand knowledge of this situation please send it along and I'll post it for you.

So how about those red shirts in Bangkok -Stickman gets up close and personal and the latest from the BBC

Stickman writes a blog, mostly on Bangkok's night but, as in this piece, gets out on the streets to offer his first hand look at what the red shirts are about.   click on  following link
 http://www.stickmanbangkok.com/BangkokRedShirtProtest/BangkokRedShirtProtest5.htm 


A very complete look at Thailand's present political goings on. This piece lends credence to the idea that new talks may be forth coming. As the government and the red shirts seek a peaceful solution in resolving the present situation.
Click this for the latest from the BBC - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8633893.stm

Eighteen killed in Bangkok protest clashes

Looks as though our worst fears are now reality as Thai protesters go up against the Thai army in there quest for democracy.

The military coup in 2006 forcing Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawata from power and then a rewrite the the Thai Constitution, dis banding his political party is what is to blame for this mess in what was know as the land of smiles.

The present situation wouldn't have happened if the promises the military made after the coup were kept or better yet if they hadn't pulled the coup at all.

The following is a link to Reuters on the current situation as of Sunday 11/4/2010:

Eighteen killed in Bangkok protest clashes

Thai government becomes impatient with disruption cased by protesters

What to do next, government ponders it options as protesters continue there demonstrations.

For four hour the red shirted protesters lay siege to the Election Committee headquarters.  Demanding the an inquiry be made into the legality of Abhisit Vwjjahiva party.   Once reassured that it was being investigated they withdrew.

Last week a series of talks between the two sides lead no where so it seems more chaos in the streets of Bangkok is the order of the day.   Army spokesman Samscern Kaewkamned told "The Nation" newspaper in Bangkok if they pushed the Red Shit leaders to hard violence would ensue.

The government announce 11 major intersection where protesters were banned from demonstrating.  In response the demonstrators designated 9 major intersection where they were to establish mobile demonstrations at today.  While Pm's office minister, Satit Wongnong stated - "the government will attempt to enforce restrictions on all (highway) routes",  and that seems to mean that a state of emergency has been declared today after a protest at the Parliament.

With all the pushing and shoving going on now in Bangkok it is easy to loose scope as what this is all about.  So here is a Doug quick moment in history-

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawata was elected to office with the highest number of votes on record in 2001.  Though most of his following is in the countryside of Thailand, workers/ red shirts.  While major cities like Bangkok are home to fewer people than in the countryside they have the money guys and societies movers and shakers who run the show, while the country side has mostly workers.  So with in this lays fertile ground for political problems. 

Thaksin was one of the only politicians to court the vote of the workers outside Bangkok.  Once in office he passed legislation for health care covering the poorest of the poor, created mini grants to help create new income opportunities for the poor and along with those social changes balanced the countries budget. 

In 2003 he attached Thailand's drug problem with gusto , maybe with a bit too much gusto according to some accounts, as in 8 months it was reported up to 2000 drug guys were killed and 51,000 arrested. 

Meanwhile, he was accused of corruption in his own business dealings and after the coup pulled him from office was convicted in absenteeism for corruption while in office.

He was over thrown by a military in a bloodless coup in 2006 while out of the country on state business and the military took control.  After a period of time elections were held for a new government but before the election Thaksin's party was forced to disband.  Resulting in the opposition party of Abhisit Vwjjahiva, backed by the military and the King winning the election and gaining control of the government. 

Which brings us to the reason the Red Shirts are protesting for a new election as they believe that the election that put Abhisit Vwjjahiva's party in power was illegal. 

US to spend millions to help Muslims in the south of Thailand

Since 2004 4000 have died at the hands of Muslim in the south of Thailand, bombings, beheading, ambushes and drive by shooting.  There primary targets are teachers and Buddhists in there war against Thai society.  You see A little over a century ago Thailand annexed this area and now the Muslim have decided they want it to once again to be Muslim for Muslim.

Now the US is coming in with a program to help the improve the young Muslin's self image and with the idea that then they will see the error in there ways and stop killing people.

OK, maybe this is a good investment of time and money but I'm thinking we shouldn't be messing in another country's problems and hey, couldn't we put that money to use at home.  After all, maybe I'm the only one to notice but the US isn't doing so hot in dealing with Muslim's in Iraq and Afghanistan and Iran so what the hell are we doing messing around in the south of Thailand.

Probably won't know for a long while how this program will work out, maybe then extend it to the Philippians, Somalia and parts of Europe.  American's really don't need Social Security, Medicare or the country's deteriorating infrastructure fixed.

Meanwhile, Muslim terrorists are bombing, kidnapping and pretty much doing what ever they please.  America's money that could have went to finance Social Security and Medicare, and hey how about New Orleans we still haven't got that fixed, will be used to help a group of terrorists with there anger issues. 

I'm thinking they won and the US goverment just don't know it yet.

http://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/04/thailand-jihadists-ambush-murder-six-buddhist-villagers.html

Mui Ne, Vietnam

That's our bus parked at one of the rest stops on the way to Mui Ne

It's between a 5 and 6 hour trip from Saigon to Mui NE.   They say it used to be a 3 hours trip but due to safety concerns the bus drivers take it slower now. OK , that works for me.

Several non government bus and tour companies offer service to Mui Ne and on ward bound, departing from the Pham Nu Lao / backpackers area of Saigon.  Sinh cafe or now Sinh Travel is probably the most popular with foreign backpackers.  So I decided to try one of bus lines popular with the Vietnamese, Phuong Trang.

All went fine, OK bus though better looking on the outside than on the inside. Seeing they cater to Vietnamese, no one seemed to speak English and it made it a confusing trying to figure out what was going on, especially at rest stops. I make a mental note of somebody that easy to identify and shadow them. 

The bus fare seems to be the same cheap price for what ever bus company you use.  To Mui Ne the fare each way was 90,000 dong or around 5.00 US.  They offer a choice of three morning buses 7:30. 8:30 and 9:00 while the other guys mostly offer about the same with one evening bus leaving at 4:30 PM.  

Probably the smart thing to do, especially if traveling alone, is to reserve two seats and it's still a damn cheap ride. You get a little extra room and can carry your bags on board.

       fisherman's basket boat                    Canary Beach Resort, about $ 45.00 and up per night

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- Beach side boat repair - 

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Not much going on in Mui Ne, just a lovely beach.  My thinking is that to really enjoy it you need to get a hotel on beach.  You see there is really only one road here, one side is the beach and ocean and the other it's inexpensive guest houses and tourist services, like restaurants, small shops selling pop beer and water and rental motorbikes. 

Note: As an option to concider is that if your on a tight budget, you might stay in a inexpensive guest house like the Duy An (200,000 dong a night)  nhanghiduyan@yahoo.com.vn across the street from where I stayed and  buy a $3.50 day pass to use the pool and beach. You can probably do this at most of the resorts.

I was going to rent a motorbike but as I'm talking with the rental lady a series of jumbo buses and trucks roared past, my question about insurance drew a blank with her, as I'm thinking of the distance to medical facility.  So I swallowed my pride, plunked done 10,000 dong, (about 50 cents) for a rentail on the ladies, pink, girls style bike.   Oh ya, just for reference, lots of folks rent bikes and walk away unscaved, it's not expensive, somewhere between $6 - 10.00 US dollars. 

  

OK, you got the fisherman's, clamers, boat builders, cows and not so many people on the beach as you see in these photos taken around the hotels beach.

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Canary Beach Resort - cheap but very good

My room, hotel pool area and views from my balcony

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          sunset off Mui Ne beach

Thai stress test - relax - it's only politics

The Thai Department of Mental health published the following advise to help  Thai's in these times of political turmoil.

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BANGKOK (NNT) -- The Department of Mental Health has encouraged all Thais to check their mental health via an easy test of five questions and find ways for stress reduction accordingly upon the ongoing political tension.

Mental Health Department Director-General, MD Chatri Banchuen, stated that Thai people should beware of their own minds and not fall as victims of stress and tension.

He then recommended all Thais to take a mini-test to see if they are prone to stress leading to violent expressions or not.

The questions ask respondents to see if they are certain with five statements or not. The statements are as follows:
             1) I am always frustrated upon political discussion. 
             2) I must argue with those having different political opinions.

   3) I am engrossed in political issues more than personal ones.

    4) I am always afraid of potential violent incidents in Thailand.

           5) I always try to persuade others to agree with my political opinions.

Respondents will receive every two points for answering ‘yes’, one point for answering ‘uncertain’, and zero point for answering ‘no’.

Respondents scoring a total of 0-2 points can be interpreted as having normal political emotion and eligible to learn information from all sides.

Respondents with 3-5 points can be interpreted as having a moderate level of political emotion with own political stance, and able to accept different opinions.

However, they are prone to stress if they are too engrossed in politics, and so are advised to relax more.

Respondents with 6-10 points can be interpreted as having a strong level of political emotion and are at risk to high levels of stress. They are suggested to avoid any provoking situation or people and relax more.

The director-general stressed that mental health must be given priority during both normal and crisis periods. He said good mental health, serenity, and peace could be created if mental health is well managed.

MD Chatri said any people feeling uncomfortable or requiring mental health assistance can dial 1323 hotline around the clock.

Note from Doug: Considering all the political stuff going on the USA it might be recommended for us to also follow these guide lines also..  Na probably not!

-- NNT 2010-03-26

2 more blasts hit Thailand

2 more blasts hit Thailand

Hydrofoil - Saigon to the beach at Vung Tau for the day

Note: all photos are clickable for best viewing

Your in Saigon, tired of dodging motor bikes and the constant hum of activity the city generates.  So hop on down to the Saigon river, plunk down 160,000 dong and in a flash, OK, an hour and a half and your in Vung Tau.  A pleasant little town on the sea with beaches and lovely ocean views. A cheaper option would be to get a bus at the station across from Ben Thanh Market but it takes around three and a half hours.  I've never taken the bus over there but know that from other experiences, its a good way to get a look at life in Vietnam but can be very uncomfortable.

A couple weeks ago a Vietnamese friend and her niece made a trip out there with me on the Hydrofoil.  I really enjoyed the ride, while you can't see much from inside, as its enclosed and air-conditioned but there are a couple areas mid ship where you can poke your head out.  Gives you a up close look at the goings on of the harbor, tugs, ocean going container ships, strange little motorized barges, ferries, small and large fishing boats along with all the shore side activities.   While my excitement wasn't shared with my Vietnamese friend, she said she felt sick the whole way.  While her nice, unaffected by my exuberance and her aunts ills, slept. 

The boats are pretty ratty looking when you see them up close, thinking there probably Russian built in the 1970's. It's pretty obvious not much has been invested in maintaining there appearance.  You see that a lot here in Vietnam.

There are two boat company's Vina and Petro Express but the boats and fares are the same.   Though there schedules are a little different with about 6 departures a day.

  

Yup, lovely ocean views to be had, just don't look to close as the beaches are awash with trash.   Really sad as it wouldn't take much to make em great but the visiting Vietnamese don't seem effected by it.  There are bath houses where you can change and shower off the after your swim for a nominal fee.   They also offer liquid to clean the tar off you feet .