A vacation from our vacation

Midori and I with our friends Hiromi and Atsushi Ozaki.  Atsushi is managing a plant down there and Hiromi and Midori thought it would be fun to pop down there and see him.  It was!

As noted in the previous post, Midori and I took a side trip to Vietnam in the middle of this year's annual trip to Tokyo.  It almost didn't happen for me due to some diplomatic snafus but we made it for a few days to Ho Chi Minh City (previously known as Saigon, and still very much referred to as Saigon by the locals.) 

In preparing to go I went online to find the official way of getting a visa to enter the country and found the official Vietnamese Embassy's website.  I followed all the instructions and they sent me an email with a confirmation number in very simple text saying that this was the number I would need for the next step.  They didn't tell me what the next step was and I never heard back from them.  They also don't leave any way of getting back in touch with them, so that was that.  I went online again to find out what other people had been doing about this and saw that many of them were saying that you can just get a visa at the airport.  OK.  I decided I would do that.

The problem is, it turns out, the Airlines won't let you on the plane without the visa, so chicken meet egg.  All of the drama was taking place in the Terminal building of Narita International Airport (Tokyo) while Midori and her friend, as Japanese citizens, didn't even need a visa so they were good to go.  I was getting ready to unpack my stuff from our suitcase and head back to my mother in law's place and let Midori and Hiromi just get on the plane and go, but the Vietnamese Airlines guy helping us out had an idea.  He knew of some services who could, for a fee, do the visa processing for me.  No guarantee but they might be able to do it for me within 30 mins.  (About the amount of time it was going to be before the plane took off.)  It cost us another couple of hundred dollars, but they were able to do it pretty quickly and sent me a PDF of the stamped letter I needed.  We squeaked on the plane and were off.  They sent me, via email a bunch of instructions on what to do and WHAT NOT TO DO as soon as I got off the plane which made this whole thing seem a little shady, but in the end it looks like this is a very common way to get into Vietnam for many people.  It has turned into its own little industry. 

Vietnam is a very fast growing economy with wages going up rapidly.  This has caused some inflation so the largest bill of the Vietnamese currency is 500,000 Dong.  This equals about $22 US.  To put it in perspective you can get a BBQ pork bahn mi sandwich (a baguette with meat, cilantro, chilies, and other condiments) for about 19,000 Dong.  (84 cents)  

So the dollar can go quite far in Vietnam if you eat the street food.  Also, everything in all the little markets is negotiable.  For some people this is great, but I am just not a good haggler.  I don't like doing it, and I find it very stressful.  Lucky for me Midori is good at it and seems to enjoy it.  I find the whole thing irritating. 

The contrast between the naked capitalism and the symbols of communism (like the Vietnamese flagged military cap) was a constant source of amusement to me.

That would be one thing, but they also roam the streets trying to sell you stuff as you are just walking around taking in the sights and they gravitate toward me.  It reminded me of when we were in Italy at the leaning tower of Pisa when the street peddlers from all over the globe would be standing there as you got off the tour bus pushing their obviously fake Ray Bans.  In fact, it was exactly like that and even though I had sunglasses on my face these guys were continuously trying to sell me more sunglasses.  It became a joke with us as I grew more and more impatient with these guys to the point where I just looked at them, pointed at my face and said in English, "I already have some on my face," and walked away.

According to our host, this is light traffic

In Saigon the thing that really made an impression was the traffic.  About 60% of the traffic on the streets there is motorbike/scooters.  And the traffic management such as signals and signs seem more like suggestions.  A lot of intersections don't even have that.  And crosswalks?  Sure, there are lots of them.  But don't expect anybody to stop.  To cross the street you have to wait for a relatively light period of traffic and just start walking.  Don't stop, don't run, just pick a casual speed and walk.  The bikes and cars will just avoid hitting you.  They will pass right in front or right behind your path.  The first few times it is scary as Hell.  As you become accustomed to it, it just becomes scary as heck.

This photo was take from the 2nd floor of a Pho noodle shop.  It looks like traffic is moving from all directions as the same time because it is.  If you are wondering why nobody died, me too, and this isn't even an extreme example.

One night our host organized a water puppet show and dinner cruise.  We were told that we would be picked up at our hotel so we should wait in the lobby.  We waited quite a long time and it seemed like nobody was going to show, but then they finally found us and took us to what I thought was going to be a van or taxi cab, but turned out to be pedal driven rickshaws.  Basically an inverted tricycle with a seat on the front giving us an unobstructed view of everything right in front of us.  The first thing they did was pull right out into the middle of the busiest part of the traffic on one of the main roads.  That was insane.  We went through one of those intersections where you wonder why nobody died.  But the lasting impression was the auto fumes.  We sucked in way more than our share of carbon monoxide on that little excursion and I would suggest to anyone who is planning to go to Saigon, take the ride.  But bring a mask to filter out the exhaust fumes.

You can see the guy in the red shirt is pedaling a bike type of contraption with our friend Atsushi sitting the seat just in front.  That is what we were riding on.

Midori and I getting ready to go face first into the Saigon traffic tangle.

One of the things I wanted to do was to go through the Buddhist, Hindu or Taoist temples.  So while we were there we went to one of the oldest Buddhist pagodas in Vietnam, a local Hindu Temple, a Catholic Church and even a Muslim Mosque.  The Buddhist temple was not quite what we are used to from our experiences in Japan.  

It was old, as most of them are, but it looked like it needed to be better maintained.  Also, ironically, the Vietnamese temples had a tendency toward the tacky with neon being used for certain things.  For example, many statues of Buddha or bodhisattva have what look like haloes around their heads representing enlightenment and we see these in Japan as well, but in Vietnam the halo is accentuated with a neon light. 

Back-lit bodhisattva  

    

Another fun thing we did while we were in Saigon was to take a boat tour on the Mekong Delta.  The river itself is pretty filthy with lots of floating debris, but it provides a way of life for a great many Vietnamese.  The first stop on our tour was a market where locals were selling fruit, vegetables, meat, fish and an assortment of other things.  A few of the items were aimed at tourists but mostly it was a market by the locals for the locals.  

A majority of the things for sale we would not have been able to buy or carry with us because they would have required refrigeration or would have needed to be cooked or prepared in some way.  Or it was tourist crap we didn't need.

We also went on smaller boats that looked like dugout canoes.  This was just a quick side trip up one of the mangrove covered tributaries.  

Following that was lunch on some local fruit, fish and relaxing hour laying in a hammock. 

  

If I go back to Saigon, I will spend more time eating the street food.  What I had of it was delicious and cheap. 

Osampo

This year's holiday trip

Each year we go to Japan to celebrate New Years with Midori's family.  Since it's a long flight we usually end up going there before Christmas as well and spend a couple of weeks.  This year Midori went over extra early and has been there since Thanksgiving.  Emili left last week and I will leave tomorrow. 

I will post more pictures here on this thread from the trip, but also this time Midori and I will be taking a side trip to Vietnam.  We are looking forward to that right after Christmas and I'll be posting pics of that trip as well.  In the meantime I will be packing for the trip.

Some representitive pics from the last couple of years

Here are some pictures that I have taken since the last post a couple of years ago.

We have been trying to spend as much time as we can with our friends Ben and Debbie.  They moved to Orcas Island a few years ago, so that means we don't spend as much time with them as we used to, but it become a get away for us.  Orcas Island is a beautiful place and they have a beautiful view that we never get tired of.

Orcas

A view from the deck of Ben and Debbie's house

We went up there for the 4th of July in 2015 and here are some pictures.

Ben, Debbie and Shannon have been friends of our since the girls were in montesori pre-school together.  We started going on vacations together to the Oregon Coast, we have taken Shannon with us to California and Florida (Disneyland and Disney World) and they have taken Emili with them to Hawaii and various other excursions.

A few years ago they moved away from Redmond to "retire" on Orcas Island in the San Juan Islands.  I put retire in quotes because Ben is still doing quite a lot of work as a consultant in the aerospace industry.  But they also bought a 50 foot sail boat and needed to keep it in a deep marina.  This is a great place for them and they are more than thriving on the island.  So whenever we get some time we like to go up there and unwind with them.

The first thing Ben and I did when we arrived on the island was head to a bar.  Naturally.

Obviously Ben and I love to hang out in pubs and drink beer or polish off a few "wee drams" of scotch back at the house.  On this weekend Ben and Debbie invited us to attend one of thier get togethers with the Orcas Island Yacht Club which they were newly members.  It was a nice afternoon BBQ and potluck.  

Emili photo bombs us.  (OK, it was planned)  Here we are at the Orcas Island Yacht Club.

Midori the guitarist

One of Ben's friends decided he wanted to have a guitar to play when he came over to Ben and Debbie's house so he gave Ben an acoustic guitar.  Of late I have also started playing guitar again but at the time of this visit we only had his gifted acoustic to play.  In the picture above Midori is seen picking one of the songs she learned as a kid. 

Comfortably Numb

This is Midori, Debbie and I after the visit to Orcas at Chateau St. Michelle where we went to see Brit Floyd (A Pink Floyd tribute band that put on a great show)

Of course, Ben was there too rocking out to Brit Floyd

For quite a while Ben and Debbie have been members of the Chataeu St. Michelle wine club which gives them advanced ticket purchasing options for thier summer concert series.  We have been invited to see Santana and a few other shows with them, and have gotten tickets through them for Chris Issak.  (Last summer)  In the pictures above we are with them to see a Pink Floyd tribute band called Brit Floyed.  Really, there were many times if you just closed your eyes and listened you would think you were listenting to the actual Pink Floyd band.  It was so close at times I found myself listening to make sure they weren't just playing the albums on full blast and lip synching.  (They weren't)

A Sort of Home Coming

Midori and I in front of Inlow Hall, La Grande, OR

That same summer we went back to La Grande for my 30 year reunion and posed outside of Inlow Hall on the campus of what will always be EOSC to us.  We got married in that building.  The reunion was ok, but the highlights of the trip were just going around to see how much the place has changed in the last 25 years.  There were some disappointments, like the steps behind Inlow being closed due to it falling apart.  But we also had a chance to have lunch with our old proffessor Lyle Schwartz, which was great.  The rest of it was just a road trip.

We stopped by the Gorge on the way back to Seattle and I got this photo thanks to all the smoke in the air from all the fires in the Okanagan area. (And a little digital enhancement)

Ooops We Did it Again

After working for Disney for 4 years we have quite a few family pictures from the two US parks.  Also, each year Midori goes down to Orlando for training in the late October early November time period.  2015 was no exception and this was the end of my time with the Mouse.  So one last family trip!

So selfie time again in front of The Tower of Terror at Disney's Hollywood Studios in Orlando.

Emili nominated herself for "Best Daughter" award.  She won!  But we had to leave the statue in the gift shop.

More selfies in front of the castle in The Magic Kingdom.  We never grow out of it.

My friend Jesus was living down there to be close to his mom and dad, so we met in our favorite Cuban restaurant in Celebration, FL.  Sangria on a hot November night.  Only in good old FLA

.

Of course even as I was leaving Disney's employment I had to do some market research at our main competition: Universal Studios Orlando.

Emili couldn't decide if she wanted to use the Knight Bus or the Hogwarts Express to get to over to Hogsmead.  Truth is you can only really use one. 

The Knight Bus is just for show.

My Women from Tokyo

Each year we try to go back to Japan for Christmas and New Year.  Last year I didn't go because of work, but Midori and Emili went.  Two years ago, I went as usual and here are some pictures from that trip.

Midori's mom always wanted to go to see Kabuki.  Midori decided to take her so we all went.  It was fun.  I had gone once when I was a student at Waseda, and it was fun to go again.  

Eating dinner in the Ginza area of Tokyo.  I can't remember if this was before or after the Kubiki show, but it's part of the package.

You can't get these things in America.  First of all, you can't get my mother in law's Gyoza here.  And no place serves Kirin Lager Beer.  You can get all different kinds of Kirin beer, but for some reason they don't sell this and I can only get it when I go back to Japan.

Midori's dad's grave is near Kyose where her mom and sister Hiroko lives.  We try to go back there at least once each year.

Getting ready to board the world famous Yamanote Line.  It travels in both directions in a circle around Tokyo.  So if you fall asleep on the train you can just go in circles until you wake up.  It's happened. 

Emili making mochii.  This is a sticky rice that gets pounded into a paste.  It's really good stuff and we have friends who make it each year when we are in town.

This is a typical meal for New Year's Day in Japan.  They make the meals in the days before Jan.1 so that they don't have to do anything on that day but eat, watch TV, and go to the shrine.  So this was the beginning of 2016.

This year we are going back.  The girls are there now and I will be joining them on Wed.

More pics

A few more pictures from the year.  (And I ran out of song titles for the section headlines)

I don't even know what's going on here.  Ask Midori and Chris

So also in early 2016 Mayu-chan got added to our family.  She is the daughter of one of Midori's friends who came to the US to study.  We sort of adopted her.  But not really.  Her mom is paying for her school.  We just buy her dinners and let her come over to our house on the weekends.

She has to stand on her tip toes to see where we're going.  Piloting Ben's sailboat, Dunvegan

Dunvegan

One of our favorite places to take people is Snoqualmie Falls.  We love the restaurants in the lodge and who doesn't love a waterfall?

For our 25th Anniversary I took Midori to stay at the Salish Lodge at Snoqualmie Falls.  

Emili got dressed up and put on makeup so we all rushed for our cameras.  She's beautiful but sometimes she needs a little convincing

Summertime means BBQ!  Nobody complains about the food that comes out of that thing.

While Hiromi (a friend from Japan who we've known since our girls were being born) was in town visiting we took her downtown to Pike Place Market.  Pike brewery is there too.  She likes beer, I like beer, so hey, lets get some beer!

Mayu-chan's mom, Keiko came to visit and so naturally, we took her to the Falls as well.

After this, Midori and I went to Italy and Switzerland. I have a post on Medium here for Italy and here for Switzerland.

More pictures from the last couple of years.