AUCTION

Please keep half an eye on the blog - the auction site for the photographs by Mark Williamson & Sarah Parish will begin in the next couple of weeks, & the website will be posted up accordingly....

Good evening Vietnam.

Cambodia & Vietnam, to borrow a quote i recently read - 

"..give you space to challenge all of your ideas & assumptions you inherited growing up in the west - not necessarily to reject but explore them, to see whether they are actually valid, or just one alternative way of understanding the world". 

Our final step, on the immense Mekong Delta was intoxicating as we meandered down this tropical river, & it's sunset is best summised by the conclusion above.....assisted by the repugnant snake whisky (see pic.) & on-deck poker rounds..

And so our time in Asia has drawn to a close, & we are a little downcast to leave such an uplifting, sometimes exhausting, often moving, but always inspiring culture behind. It was not on our 'to do' list at the beginning of the year to embark on such an odyssey, but by the end of March we will have travelled the circumference of the globe, & feel clearer, more aware, and richer as a result, as well as forging many friendships. We have Ella-Jayne alone to thank for this, she has been with us every step of the way.

On to LA tomorrow where the blog input will slide like the dollar, as it will be more of a mundane workbased jaunt...keep checking though.

Finally Sarah & i would like to thank all of you for your support, without which this blog would not have happened, huge thanks to Chris Hill at Handsupholidays for creating a masterpiece of an itinerary in 10 days (visit his webite in 'labels' below), & to let you know of a couple of interesting upcoming auctions to continue the fundraising...

I've no doubt that some of you will have heard of photographer Mark R Williamson, whose star is rapidly rising - well he has kindly donated some of his photos from his much publicised tour of South East Asia a few years ago -(to view - copy & paste www.markrwilliamson.com/Personal/EllaJayneAuctionpreview/tabid/71/Default.aspx),which you can buy/bid for framed & signed copies of shortly. Some fantastic photos that Sarah has taken will also be up for auction with them - keep dropping in on the blog page for details to follow.

Sarah & Amanda Holden will also be rounding up telly folk across the board & demanding they donate costumes & trendy clothes for auction too - again, keep an eye on this blog page for details.

Go easy xx

SSSaigon

This is the famous 'reunification' palace, formerly the presidential palace that the VC tank ran through the gates of in 1975, to end the Vietnam/US war for good, sending the American troops packing - sharpish. We then went on to the official war musuem, where we witnessed the most horrific photos/facts of the war, at the same time our guide expertly crammed  a hunded years of Vietnamse history into an hour. Fascinating, but a little comprehensive for the blog - in summary though it culminated in a very avoidable 8 year shambles, & unnecessary death of 4 million Vietnamese (more than half were civilians) & 60,000 UN troops (mostly US), that started with Lyndon Johnson (& argueably JFK before him), then Nixon sending troops in to a country/culture they had little idea about in order to surpress the threat & former day 'terrorism' (which at the time was Soviet Union communism), & create a 'western' style democracy that the people neither understood or particularly wanted. It costs billions, & the Americans eventually had to withdraw from a war that the voting public never wanted in the first place.....ring any bells? Lets hope that history does not repeat itself in the same bungled way in Iraq.

Saigon is largely 'new money', a city mostly demolished & rebuilt in the 80's, it is very concrete, clean & corporate, a symbol of this countries new 'free market', & growing economy that is still under communist rule - this political paradox of ideals does work...for the time being.

  It is fun to enjoy the buzz here for a couple of nights - we're heading 100 kilometers south tomorrow for a night & day on a 'junk' on the meandering Mekong Delta, which will be our last escapade in SE Asia, before we head to Los Angeles on Sunday. Shall report back on Saturday night...

Southbound..

To Saigon, or Ho Chin Minh city (depending on your leanings) - tomorrow am - its meant to be ten times more frantic than Hanoi....happy to only be there for the day - then onto the rivers of the Mekong Delta...more to follow.

Hoi An was very bewitching, & we are sad to be leaving, but contrary to that profound t-shirt ditty of the 1980's -  life is not a beach.

Hoi An

...this is how we've rolled since arriving in this picturesque fishing-cum-tourist town on the coast of central Vietnam. We settled into the resort, very nice, but like most 'classy' resorts - once within the perimeter - the country's idendity gets diluted, & you could be anywhere in the world with a nice beach, pool, & selection of restaurants; not a complaint - but it encourages us to venture out whenever possible, & so we have. Firstly surfing at China beach, where the GI's had their downtime during the war, & Robert Duvall enjoyed his am sniff of napalm. This has unfortunately resulted in some patchwork of heavy sunburn on us both, which is somewhat restrictive to activities - so morning tai chi, reading, watching knock off dvd's, buying vietnamese tat is what we're currently reduced to..& great fun it is too! Hoi an is renowned for its beauty, & its food..there are worse places to be in February..  

Ramble on..

After an interesting night's sleep in a shared cabin on the sleeper - we arrived 1600m high in the hills of Sapa & walked down into the bowels of its enormous valley to a small village - Ban Ho, & our bamboo hut 'homestay',& its hospitable family from one of the 5 hill tribes we visited. To freshen up, our guide, whose name sounded to me a bit like 'Mafanwy', & so that's what she became known as (she didn't seem to mind), then led us to the edge of the jungle & a stunning natural waterfall which engulfed us. A night in the hut - & then a 20k romp up, down, & around humungous peaks, being introduced to the various tribes, then an hours drive out of the mountains to Lao Cai - to embark on the insomniac express back to Hanoi.....we are stiffer than oak today, but feel very proud to have undertaken the trek to raise money for friends of PICU - & spend some time a million miles away from our life/lifestyles to further contemplate & cherish the memories of our little angel.

Short flight to Da Nang in central 'nam, & down to Hoi an - a small fishing village & the victoria beach resort for a bit of a flashpacker's rest....shall keep you posted on what is on offer.. 

edit ; buffalows on the beautifully sculpted rice field terraces, that make the most of the steep slopes

Northbound..

on the overnight sleeper to the Sapa mountains on the Chinese border to begin the 2 day trek. We are relieved to be leaving the sweatbox of Hanoi, it's one & only gear - 'overdrive' - starts to become exhausting. After all that gardening at the friendship village - it will be a nice change to grow blisters on our feet instead of our hands for a bit....no pity needed.

If you, or anyone you know is interested in sponsoring this 18k trek - please follow link www.justgiving.com/jimandsarahtrek (or 'friends of PICU'),  it is not too late! Photos posted upon return..

edit: Good to see the infamous 'Duch' - head of the killing fields prison - S21 - as the first khymer rouge member up for war crimes in international front page news today.