Everyday People

Giving Dennis a break, Cindy writes (don't moan and groan it won't have as much humor but he does agree):
Ho Chi Minh City and Vung Tau--
Encounters with everyday people:

The XO Tour staff are fantastic young people who shared their lives and perspectives with us. Housing is very expensive so many generations live together and privacy is limited. Along the Saigon River there is a section that has lounge chairs, umbrellas, and much foliage where young people can go to have some privacy, not as we were assured, for very intimate acts, but for everyday things like, "give me a big kiss," (you know a little necking but without the benefit of the back seat of a car) "your mother is driving me crazy," etc. With an average monthly income of between $130.00 - $250.00 and housing costs high, it's difficult to move out. We saw many upscale housing high rise apartments with darkened windows because inflation is so high (23%) the wealthy invest in property but the property remains vacant.

XO Tour Staff cooking for us

A man selling cold coconut milk, helping us to find the War Remnants Museum: He walked us across the street, let Dennis hold his load so that he could see how heavy it was, took us to the corner and showed us the museum. We bought two drinks.

Delicious!

A man in Vung Tau who bought us a couple of beers: retired from Toronto, Canada returning home once or twice a year. He understood immediately that Dennis had been here before as a soldier and wanted us to enjoy Vietnam. Amazing.

A man who worked for the embassy of Australia in the early 70's returning as we are--met he and his wife on a tour for returning vets, though these were primarily from Australia. We visited a pagoda that was a memorial to Vietnamese veterans who fought in the area. We also spent a bit of time at a memorial for the Australians who fought in this area. Glen, our tour guide had many stories from the veterans of Australia who have come back to the area to remember fallen comrades. And he has his own story--he met his wife here, they married, they have a business and in addition to sharing the story of Australia's involvement with the USA in Vietnam, he shared a bit of the story of the expats from Australia.

A memorial to the fallen Vietnamese

A memorial to the fallen Australians

The grocery store owner who saved the grapes that we bought but didn't take with us yesterday--he tried to catch us but we got into the taxi too quickly. When we went back today for more groceries, he had them for us.

At our favorite grocery store

Laura's Cafe: we ordered gin and tonics. The young lady brought us two iced teas. Dennis went to investigate, not like a Terry Bradshaw clone but politely. The teas were complimentary to drink while we waited for the gin and tonics to be made and brought to us. How incredible is that?

This is what makes our traveling so compelling, this is why we love it: getting to know the world through the people. What wonderful opportunities we've had and how fortunate we are. We are so grateful.