Lhasa Fun in Tibet! (Day 2 Part 2)

AFter a little rest when I got to skype my parents, we were back adventuring.

We drove the few blocks to the Palace where the Dali Lama used to live.  It was another place I have seen in so many pictures and movies and now I was there!  Our guide put it as, "You have seen this in the movies and in the pictures, but those were just dreams.  Today, dreams come true."  :0)

I unfortunately wasn't able to go up in the palace because there were 500 steps between me and the top.  I was barely able to sit so hiking up steps wasn't an option. 

Stylin'!

 I got some pictures from the courtyard before heading back to the bus to lay down and wait for the group to get back.  I had my kindle with me to keep me company.  

I also had some time to watch the pilgrims as they circled the Palace.  It is tradition to walk around the sacred space at least once before entering.  Our guide said that most people in Lhasa do it twice every day!  There were many people from all over Tibet as well.  Sometimes it would take them over two years to get here because they prayed the whole way.  The praying was accompanied by spinning the prayer wheels, clapping blocks together, and bowing toward the sacred object.  I can't imagine doing that for hundreds of miles!  The devotion the pilgrims showed was very humbling.  I can't think of anything I would be so committed to in my life.  

Lunch was much the same as the other meals had been.  Good but not great.

  I snapped a picture of this phrase painted on the window because I think it is so true.  

On the way to the bathroom, I saw this sign and took a pic of that too.  I was so fed up with rules at that point that I looked around, saw no one was looking and toughed the door.  Boo-yaa!  Fight the power!

AFter lunch we stopped at a temple for a tour.  

I wish I could have taken photos inside because it was amazing!  I have never seen any room so beautifully decorated!  There were quite a few golden Buddha statues including what many consider the most important one.  There are three main categories of Buddhas that all other kinds fit into; the past, present, and future.  I believe we saw the present compassionate Buddha.  I couldn't bring my wheelchair inside, so I crawled on the ground around the temple.  I really hope that it wasn't disrespectful.  I got many strange looks, but no one said anything.  I couldn't hear what the guide was saying from my spot on the ground, so my mind wandered and it was very peaceful.  I had plenty of time to absorb myself with taking in the many details and the spiritual feeling of the place.  One thing I did stand up for was a grapefruit sized hole in a rock that was jutting out from the wall.  Supposedly there was un underground lake and if you put your ear to the hole, you could hear the ducks flapping their wings.  I don't know about ducks, but there was something down there.  EVeryone in the group who put their head next to the hole to listen got an instant intense headache.  Maybe a gas leak?  

Outside the temple was a bazaar which is a type of market.  We had about an hour to shop before we had to meet back with the group.  I think I would have needed ten hours to see everything!  I only got to the second row before I had to rush back!  The people selling things were SO nice!  Pushy, as is common in markets, but really nice.  Two women appreciated me paying close to the original quoted price for a few items and gave me extra charms or bracelets as gifts.  :0)  I really enjoyed talking with them in addition to looking at the beautiful handicrafts.  I found something really cool for my brother at the second to last booth which I unfortunately won't describe at this time because I don't want to ruin the surprise.  

Then it was just dinner and resting for the rest of the day.  I discovered a humidifier in my room which also helped the breathing issue at least while I was in the room.  :0)

Vietnam (Last Day)

My last day in Vietnam was really intense.  I spent the morning at the big city market and the afternoon at the War Remnants Museum.  Both were intense in very different ways though.  The market was busy and fun and it was quite a challenge to navigate the narrow spaces in between booths with my wheelchair.  The War Museum was so tragic it was hard for me to get my head around the pictures I was seeing.

First, the market.  I went to an ATM first thing to get some money and the machine was a little dodgy.  I'm definitely going to have to keep checking my bank account to make sure all the money (all like hundred dollars of it haha) is still there.  I went off on my own in my wheelchair which was an adventure.  People at the market were really curious about me.  They would find one of their friends who spoke English and ask me questions about why I used the chair.  Once I had a whole row of people completely captivated at my silly attempts to explain a stroke using really simple english words.  I don't know if I fully got the point across, but it was still fun/uncomfortable.  :0)  I was able to get lots of birthday and Christmakkah presents for people at the market in between awkwardly squeezing through the isles.  I met a guy who was my age and we talked for a bit about TV shows and school.  It was really fun!  

 

You'd be surprised what can be accessible when you are incredibly stubborn.  haha

I was getting hungry so I decided to get some street food.  I had heard about the popular street food item that was a sandwich made from a french roll and Vietnamese recipe filling.  A little combination left over from French colonialism.  I bough the large sandwich for only $1 and couldn't wait to try it.  It was fairly good, but had a strange gritty texture.  I still continued to munch on it.  Then my guide came over and I hesitantly asked what was in the sandwich.  Turns out it was pig skin.  Ewe.  I still ate a few more bites, but I wasn't nearly as enthused after that.  

Luckily, we got to eat at a restaurant soon after that.  The food was pretty ok, but better than pig skin.  :0P  There was some interesting fruit as well.  I don't really know what any of these were called, but they all tasted good.  

Those citrus fruit slices may look just like an orange but they were about three times bigger than any orange slice I have ever seen.

The short bus ride to the War Remnants Museum was rather somber.  I think many of us were scared of what we were about to see.  It was uncomfortable because the museum was made to focus on what the Vietnamese civilians had to go through because of the war.  

The ground floor kind of eased us into the really sad stuff.  It was mostly focusing on all the different countries who opposed the war (including protestors in the U.S.  There were lots of picketing sign pictures as well as draft burning pictures and anti-war propaganda posters.  

The second and third floor had photo collections reflecting different aspects of the war.  In the interest of time because I am so far behind from the blog I'm going to quote directly from wikipedia, "Other exhibits include graphic photographs, accompanied by short copy in English, Vietnamese and Japanese, covering the effects of Agent Orange and other chemical defoliant sprays, the use of napalmand phosphorus bombs, and atrocities such as the My Lai massacre. Curiosities include a guillotine used by the French and the South Vietnamese to execute prisoners, last in 1960, and three jars of preserved human fetuses deformed by exposure to dioxin."  I know, your opinion of me just decreased by at least 30%.  But if you saw my to do list you would understand.  :0P

Before and after agent orange and bombing.  

   The pictures were incredibly graphic and horrifying.  I had a hard time comprehending that humans did this to each other.  And I was only seeing one side of the war.  There were pictures of hysterical children, bodies in several pieces, and medics futilely trying to revive fallen soldiers.  One particularly chilling photo explained in the captain that the photographer died just seconds after it was taken due to a bomb dropping right behind him.  There was a whole other group of people who also suffered greatly and a whole other side of the war not shown in the museum (for obvious reasons).  I can't imagine anyone could walk through that museum and come out being pro-war.  I won't soon forget what I saw and learned there.

   I saved one exhibit on the ground floor for last because I knew I would need to end with some hope after being thoroughly depressed.  The section was a room full of paintings done by schoolchildren showing what they thought represented peace.  :0)  

   BAck on the ship I met up with some friends and we spent our last dong on some trinkets being sold right off the ship.  

The ship put on a spectacular BBQ for us so we could enjoy the Ho Chi Minh skyline as we cruised out of the port.

Vietnam (Day 4) Part 3

  

It was really fun traveling through the canals on the small boat.  We would get right up close to the banks where I could see little fish darting in and out of holes in the mud and even climbing the roots and trees.

Also it provided the perfect setting for stereotypical tourist in Vietnam photos.

We then arrived at a coconut candy making factory.  Unfortunately, it was more of a tourist trap than educational, but it was still somewhat interesting.  It looked like the process of making the candy was similar to making taffy.  The result was a caramel like candy that had coconut flavoring.

Coconut meat extraction.

Heating the milk.

Stirring and thickening.

Poured out into strips to cool.

Finally it is cut into squares and wrapped.

Lunch was quite an adventure!  There were many courses including spring rolls that were made at the table as part of a demonstration.  

The delicious food attracted a little friend who I happily fed table scraps to.  

I also used the antenna from the shrimp to play with the kitty.  haha

After lunch, we had an hour to nap which I thought was a fantastic idea!  Then we made our way back out of the delta canals to the bus.  I took lots of pictures on the drive back while listening to travel tunes on my neglected iPod.  

One of the neat things about this time of year is that the rice harvest are going on.  As we drove, we saw the different stages of rice growth, harvesting, and replanting.  

Another interesting thing I saw was the graves that often were placed in the middle of the fields.  It is a common practice for people to ask to be buried on their land that they spent their life working.  This has a whole host of significant meanings.  The choice to be buried on their land shows the pride they took in their work, ensures that their kids and grandkids won't sell the land, and gives the kids and grandkids piece of mind that their ancestors spirit is protecting their land.  I thought that was kind of beautiful.