Ruby was our tour guide in Saigon. She is standing in front of a cooking house. We are still in the Cu Chi region known for its tunnel system. The tunnels were actually built during the time of the French inhabitation. This day was the most sobering of the entire trip. I chose not to put any pictures of the war museum on the blog. I did tour the museum but could not complete it. War is never pleasant no matter who provides the interpretation. It is always ugly, brutal and senseless!  

Here I stand in a dugout area of one of the original tunnels. Behind me is the entry to the top level of the tunnel network. There are actually 3 levels of tunnels at differing depths. The first level contains small rooms for eating and sleeping. The second level is used for travelling underground to the outer edges of the area. The third level is used mostly for escape routes and usually end up at the Saigon River where the men could swim out into the river.  

Our last day in Vietnam and in the city of Saigon. We visited the tunnels used by the Cu Chi people of Vietnam during the Vietnamese/American war. This young man is demonstrating the size of the tunnel. He is holding the stone that would normally cover the entrance. He slides done vertically and then kneels to crawl through the tunnel. Note the sand hill in front of him. It is an air hole that goes down into the tunnel.  

This is another shot from our 3rd floor room. A family home is at the bottom left hand corner. Rice paddies are just above it.  

This picture is taken from our 3rd floor hotel room. It is a home and is typical of the amount of space for each family. This family is fortunate to have land surrounding their home. 

And, in the very heart of Saigon is the Notre Dame Cathedral. The French played a very important and influential part in the development of language and culture in Vietnam during the 1700 and 1800's...A French priest is responsible for giving the language a written form - using Roman characters for letters. Though heavily influenced also by the Chinese, the Vietnamese have a written language that looks very European. However, it does not sound European and has five tones for many of its words.  

This is a Buddhist temple in Saigon. However the statue is Confucius. Obvious example of how belief systems become mixed. Buddhism is followed by 90% of the people in Vietnam. We found that the beliefs of the people are mixed with many variations of Buddhism, Hinduism, Daoism and Catholicism.

This is a statue in the temple of King Tu Duc near Hoian in central Vietnam . The bird symbolizes dignity and the turtle supporting the bird symbolizes stability.  

Hue is the old capital of Vietnam. It served as the capital for the Nguyen dynasty up until 1945. Ho Chi Mingh who had been actively involved in developing a communist philosophy and followers since 1932 managed to overthrow the French. The French had close working relationships with the Nguyen dynasty for over 100 years. That relationship collapsed in 1945. The French desparately tried to regain its place in Vietnam until 1954 when they finally quit. That is when the U.S. became involved in the politics of this region.  

Our hotel in Hue was nestled within a very small shopping area. I love this picture for its color and sense of place. The French influence is seen in the buildings with lots of yellow paint on the buildings. The cycles are used to take tourists around the narrow streets. Cars are not present! People either walk or ride bicycles.  

Our next stop in Vietnam was Hue and Hoian. We travelled the Perfume River and saw many sanpans along the way.  

We saw many small boats in the bay drifting and fishing. Note the way the boat is stirred and maneuvered. The rudder is in the hand of the person standing!  

Our destination for the boat ride was a beautiful island. Inside were enormous caves of incredible beauty - stalagmites and stalagtites in rooms with ceilings at least 300 feet above us. It was breathtaking!  

This is the inside of our boat and its crew. They were most amiable though could not speak English. We had a wonderful meal that was prepared in a small room behind the captain and his crew. Yes, we had fish!  

This is a tourist boat large enough to take people out overnight. It sits quite high in the water and can power itself with the lone masthead if necessary. 

This is a typical fishing boat. The net is draped out over the front of the boat and the boat is pulling the net along the bottom hoping to bring in a full net of fish.  

The dock is extremely crowded and the boats jockey for position. It is quite an experience to see how they maneuver the boats when approaching the dock. 

We spent our first morning in Vietnam on a small boat in Halong Bay - considered one of the seven natural wonders of the world. It is recognized and supported by UNESCO.  

This is a burial headstone for five members of a family. Bodies are buried underground for a period of approximately 3 years and then exhumed for consolidation into smaller spaces. This practice apparently is only true in northern Vietnam.  

Here is the result of harvest loaded into a wagon. This wagon is often moved by human power. We saw many piles of rice along the roadside waiting to be picked up. The rice is now removed in a mechanical thrashing-type machine and is shared by the people in the village.  

We walked down from the road to get a closer look of the fields and the work being done. The children eagerly ran toward us...new faces and new expectations. Note the variations in dress. The Vietnamese like many Asians cover themselves from head to foot. They do not like dark skin and thus wear hats, long sleeves and often scarves to cover all skin. And, this all takes place in a country of hot, humid weather.  

Our first day in Vietnam. We drove to the east coast and found ourselves in the fullness of harvest time. All people, adults and children, were out working in the fields. This picture illustrates the lushness of the fields and the different types of crops. Rice is the main crop. However, the people are being encouraged to diversify and are growing other types of vegetables to support their livelihood. Each family is given a certain amount of land to farm. Yes, it is a communist country and operates under a very structured, socialistic regime.  

6th grade boys in the library...Each one a gift of God and each one with different talents. They have so much potential. Please pray that Grace International School can continue to thrive and provide an exceptional learning environment for these young people. They have so much potential!!!  

Chris joined me in my return trip to Chiang Mai. On the way, we stopped in California to see Uncle Chris who turned 94 in May. I could not resist sharing this picture with all of you - of two of my most favorite people in my life. Can you not see the love for each other in this picture and of course the nobleness of age. I continue to give thanks to God for Uncle Chris as a strong influence in my son's life!  

Back at last!

Dear ones,

My laptop is back home finally. It is not completely fixed. However we have jerry-rigged a standalone monitor to it and I can now see the data. It works! We finished our 1st quarter of school today and leave tomorrow morning for Vietnam. We will be gone for six days and will stop in Hanoi, Hue (capital till 1945), Hoian, and Ho Chi Minh. When I get back I will resume with photos. Thanks for your patience! For those of you who are on my newsletter list, that also has been delayed. Hopefully, when I return from this trip, I will send out an update.
Blessings! Judy