After theStorm--Around Hoi An

Written from Quy Nhon, 12 November 2013.  Weather fine (puffy clouds here and there) and quite warm, Stiff southerly breeze during the day.

Actually, we've moved on to Quy Nhon and you'd think that would be the topic of the discussion tonight, but how much can you make out of 300 km of nice road, light traffic, modest to boring (flat) scenery, though that's being a little rough.  A poet could do a lot with all the green fields and the running streams (some of them sparkling clear and others not so much), the growing gardens and young rice, the flights of white egrets (and the egrets hunting bugs and frogs along the road), the occasional small boat paddling through flooded fields and marshland, certainly the lunch could get a brief mention (rice (duh) with little bony chunks of pork rib and tough dried shrimp. . .no, that's really good. . .and stir fried green beans with garlic. . .or maybe that's the other way around).  So okay, it was a nice day riding, which is at least some of what we come for, but there's more to talk about Hoi An after the storm.  Basically it was just like Hoi An before the storm except there are an awful lot of sand bags up on roofs and the poor trees are feeling naked.  Otherwise, the shops are open, the cafes and restaurants are full, ladies from the Czech republic (and Poland and Japan and Korea and UK and France and the USA. . .) okay, ladies from all over are leading their men into dress shops and standing still to be measured and the men are quietly slipping across the street to a beer and a donut.  Where did all the donut sellers come from??  Donuts?  In Viet Nam?  To be fair, they also sell traditional batter fried slices of banana and yam.  I like the bananas.

But this was the first day of my experiment with taking a live archaeologist around to see live boats in use and under construction.  So we covered a lot of ground and took a lot of photos.  She (the archaeologist, not the motorbike) is young, pretty, half Asian and half European and speaks Vietnamese.  I have some expectation that we'll actually do better as a team than I do alone, but there are interesting dynamics here about old bald foreigners hanging around with noticeably Asian pretty young ladies.  Given the context (boat yards and fish docks) we seem to do just fine.  But of course, that was Hoi An, where tourists of every sort are absolutely everywhere.  We'll see how it goes farther south shortly.  Meanwhile, here's a little of what we saw:

Little impromptu markets, fish market in this case, spring up everywhere in Vietnamese cities.  What puzzles me is there hasn't been a boat at sea around here for four days, so where did these come from?  The river?  Could be.

This pretty lady will sell for about $2000 without an engine, or $250 more for a rebuilt Chinese diesel.  It's a 6 something, HP or Kilowatt or. . .but she's 7 meters long and won't go in a 20' container.  H'mm.

These are built by first setting up the upper planks and the ends on stakes in the ground, then working the tin in (somehow, I haven't seen that done yet) and finally adding the timber framing.  Some of these have engines, and for that matter, some of these wood and tin boats are quite good sized.

Ten year old twins.  Interesting that it is important which was born first. . .Anh va Em. . .Older brother and Younger brother, and so it will be all their lives.  

This little gal could not figure out what her dad thought was so great about a bearded bald headed foreigner, but at least she didn't break into tears. . .

A superb model of a trading boat from the last century (in a museum of ceramics. . .perhaps she carried rice bowls?).  These were still largely unmotorized (hence the numerous oars) even in the 1960's.  Now they're gone, trucks carry it all now, no need for sailing freighters.

From the balcony of the museum, actually a precious old wooden house, 300 years old (assuming I was actually listening when I should have been).

View of the interior courtyard of the old house.  Lots of detail!

After four days or more of enforced idleness ashore, every fisherman for miles around was headed to sea.  A deckload of crab pots leans against a fence on one side and will be set from the other.  

This is probably the largest all-basketry basket boat, though even so, it has a lot of wooden framing.  I've seen a very few of these hauled up on a beach before, but never under way.  Five of them were just a small part of the boats putting out to sea after the storm.  

A couple tending trammel nets (long skinny fish traps).  He only needs the one long oar to put that boat anywhere he wants it and with hardly any visible effort.  A pleasure to watch, and I'd love to learn how to do it.

If they were in a hurry she has a paddle she could dig in with, butshe's the one lifting the nets, so let him do it eh?

The old man has been on board helping get ready to sail, but now they're cutting loose and he's come ashore, or almost.

Be the first in your neighborhood to see a genuine round basket boat made out of blue barrels. . .and a little bamboo.  It seems to be tougher than nails, as long as the rivets don't pull out of the plastic.

The night after the night of the storm. . .we have fish again, tuna and mackerel, so pretty and they taste so good.

Dinner with Madam Thanh, the Banh Mi Queen (says so right on her push cart).

I think that should give you an idea or two. . .it was a busy day.

TYPHOON--pretty much missed us!

Written from Hoi An, 10 November, 2013.  Weather gusty wind to 30kn but generally less.  Heavy rain.  Internet and electricity both still up.

Fortunately for my vacation plans, the storm has taken a hard right turn and will make landfall (or has just done so) well to the north, somewhere near Vinh. . .where we were last week (Cua Lo is the nearest beach town to Vinh, and also the site of my long-wade-out-of-town in 2010).  It will no doubt be terribly flooded there in the wake of this storm.  Actually, the area around Hoi An will likely flood as well and may yet be a major inconvenience, but if the roads don't flood to the point of stopping me it is relatively dry south of here, and there's higher ground, so at worst we'll hold on here for the day or even two. . .then move south again to Quy Nhon.  All of which ignores the plight of Hanoi, which is apparently going to get thoroughly drowned.  A lot of the city is outside the levees and routinely gets wet feet, this will be wet knees or much worse.  Oh my.

So that's all the big news.  Looking back to the  last day or so in Hue, the trailings from typhoon Krossa got the various small streams around Hue up and lapping at the doorsteps and here and there spreading over the larger roads for a little.  The low causeway on Le Loi street (my normal route to the island) had water running across deep enough and fast enough the authorities closed the road (though it was not nearly so bad as what we rode through in 2010. . .).  There is actually a better route for ease of access and it crosses that water on a fine high bridge, so the detour wasn't even a real inconvenience.  There were some small triumphs in photography,  but nothing earth shaking, and some pleasant visiting.

I spent half an hour watching a neighborhood fight the Blob of water hyacinths from Hell. . . it had apparently cut loose from its usual moorings and gone for a pleasure voyage down the little stream along the road (which is NOT all that little at the moment, nor all that calm).  One way or another, it's plans for a trip to the sea were interrupted by an eddy that set it back and up against a very low bridge over a side channel, which it proposed to occupy en masse.  The local neighborhood improvement society objected and their efforts were remarkable.  They stretched a rope across the main stem of the river and tied it off on a big palm tree, then two tin canoes with 6 people proceeded to try to dislodge the blob, while co-workers (safe, dry co-workers) used poles and rakes to try to pry the blobs engulfing tentacles out from among the bridge pilings.  The exertions were enormous and failed twice. . .the canoes pushing and squeezing between the bridge and the blob (broadside to the considerable current), then positioned like bulldozer blades (hard to think of a canoe that way but try. . .) those who could reach it tailed onto the rope and heaved mightily (in a 30" wide tin canoe)to try to urge the blob on along his way.  He had taken a liking to the bridge and did not readily let go. . .and though the canoes and their rope managed to shove him away from HIS bridge, and got their bit of him out into the main current, he simply pivoted on one foot and swung another bulge of himself back into the side channel, got hold of the bridge and pulled the rest of himself back in.  .  The combatants were obviously tiring (the humans that is), dripping sweat and splashed river water, they had to paddle like mad men (and women) to get back into position but this was a truly epic struggle and they fought on. Third try was the charm.  I think maybe the blob just got tired of toying with the people and rolled on out to the main current while they urged him along.  It was a splendid effort.

The ride down from Hue to Hoi An was really quite lovely.  The rain held off, the wind blew but not enough to really bother the little bike (I think maybe I really hold her down) and traffic was reasonable.  Actually, I went by way of the island road. . .adds perhaps 30 km or so to the day, which is of no consequence on such a short run, and it's something I'd do just for peace and pleasure any time.  What a lovely little road. . .very rural but very settled.   It's actually labeled QL49B, that is "National Highway 49B" but it is a narrow quiet lane for over 45 km. The houses and shops along much of the road make it seem very close and village like, but the longer open stretches of fields, gardens, tombs and family shrines give it a unique flavor.  But after the island comes a long run through the narrow coastal plain, with hills close by on your right and a couple of miles of booze to choose from.  No kidding, it's a major household industry locally and the bottles sit on chairs and table tops with little signs stating the obvious ("booze for sale" in effect), but you can ride right by if you like.  Thence over an outlying ridge of the hills that runs right to the water, and on a bit further (charming riding obviously) back down into low ground and finally up to the summit north of Lang Co.  Lang Co is certainly the name of the town and its bridges, and I think also of the gorgeous shallow lagoon behind its barrier sandbar.  You need to plan your passage so that you arrive at lunch or supper time, or simply declare it lunch time when you arrive.  This is seafood paradise and the restaurants along the shore are lovely.  Mountains all around a bay, fish, crab, shrimp and boats to study.  What more would you want in a lunch stop?  Fried noodles with onions, garlic, shrimp and squid, with a big chunk of ice and a bottle of sparkling water.  That should do it!

What do you know of Hoi An?  It was once a major entry port for this part of the world and entertained sailors and traders from much of the world. . .for over a thousand years there was steady traffic along this coast running from as far away as Arabia and India on one hand and China and Japan on the other.  The river mouth is a relatively easy approach, and the town prospered.  Many of its visitors then were dependent on the changing of the monsoons to get here and home again, so, having to spend a year on a voyage anyway, they did the obvious thing and built houses, temples and warehouses here.  That architecture, some of it quite ancient, combined with the shoaling of the river and the increase in size of ships. . .all together spelled ruination for the city's status as a major port.  Fortunately, that left the charming architecture and pleasant town with no real tactical value for the combatants of the last century's wars, so nobody bothered to bomb the place or blow it up with artillery.  Perhaps the Viet Cong liked to party here as much as the US Army.  Whatever, it survived the war largely intact. . .only to be overwhelmed by tourism the past ten years.

I won't belabor the point.  It's simply a matter of the collision between too many eager shoppers and too many dedicated sellers in too small an area.  The streets are narrow (and picturesque) and filled to overflowing with tourists from every corner of the world looking for silk pajamas or a new wool suit, or just dinner.  Whatever, for every tourist there is an abundant supply of sellers, and not enough roadway to let them all pass.

Nonetheless, here in Hoi An I managed a trip to the river-island "carpentry village" Kim Bong, where they produce gorgeous furniture, mother of pearl inlay, odd furniture (roots and trunks and so on stuck together), dragons and Buddhas (both laughing and serious) and all sorts of carved knick knacks. . .not my sort of thing really. . .but on the water's edge there are boat yards.  Active boatyards, producing splendid little double ended boats held together with wooden pegs.  I spent a long while and came away with what was needed.

Yesterday all day the town was starting to pull into its shell though.  The old town tourist district is also the lowest lying ground, and even before the present typhoon, the river was high enough that high tide put a foot of water over the streets along the water (and left a sandy goo when the tide went out).  All around town trees were getting drastic haircuts and people were putting sandbags on tin and corrugated cement roofs (note to self, red tile roofs apparently will stay put in wind).  The lovely old "Norfolk Pine" outside the hotel is now bare for 30 feet above the ground, it only has a tuft of green at the top.  By evening the shops were mostly shuttered and nailed shut, sheets of tin tacked over many windows and merchandise all up on high counters or hauled upstairs.  I met friends (sunken archaeologists. . .fun people) for dinner.  We closed the restaurant (the last place open in old town) and  walked home through the occasional raindrop, all alone in empty streets at 8:00 in the evening.  Eerie!  My hotel room had been secured sometime during the day, windows barred and wired shut or shutters locked.  I laid in a supply of Ritz crackers and Laughing Cow (gosh it's awful) and we're ready.  Now the sun is up (or at least the gray is much lighter), we're all dressed up and nowhere to dance.  I don't think I'll mind that it missed us. That's just fine

They've nearly won now, the blob is well away from the bridge and can't seem to tuck back into the eddy!

The toothless tailor's daughter. . .er. . .the tailor's toothless daughter. . .well. . .anyway, her mom sells stuff  and umbrellas (thank goodness!!)

Shrimp pots and a bamboo canoe in more ordinary duty. . .midway on the island

The mouth of the lagoon at Lang Co, rough seas on the beach, but just passable for the canoes with kayak paddles

The very end of the sandspit at Lang Co, a gorgeous place, you're just starting up Hai Van Pass, the main divider between the gloomy  wet north and the sunny south. . .er. . .barring typhoons that is.

The modern variant of the traditional central Vietnamese fishing vessel. . .it's still a lovely hull, but imagine it with its bow dagger board, two big lug sails (no pilot house) and half the crew hiked out on a spar on the high side, just to make her fly.  Engines are good things I suppose.

River front in Hoi An, the night before the night before the storm.

The ferry boat from Kim Bong island (ten minutes away).  You count the people, then I'll tell you how many life jackets are on board.  

Maybe you can count better from this angle.  No, you'll miss the people in the passenger cabin.

Offloading on Kim Bong.  The order is always the same, first bike on, last bike off.  Oh well.

One of the traditional boats (all there is here really) well along under construction.  They're entirely fastened with wooden pegs wedged on the inside. . .they don't rust!!

And they look nicer once they're trimmed off.  Really lovely little boats.

There's a Buddha in there, you just have to keep trimming away the other stuff.

A lovely Quan Yen statue, with rough seas AND a dragon.  In a lot of places she's particularly responsible for the safety of fishermen and sailors.  Not sure about the dragons.

I've tried a couple of these and they actually ARE fairly comfortable, I mean, not like an easy chair of course, but, you have to give some points for originality anyway.

She started off six feet away, and after a few moments I had to start backing up.  Six years old.  They sure do move quickly at that age though!  As usual, her grandma asked her if she wanted to go back to America with me.  She's too young for that and told us definitely not. . .then smiled at the camera some more.  Not worried.

On into Hue. . .dry. . .for a while!

Written from Hue, 6 November 2013.  Weather-intermittent rain squalls, strong gusty onshore wind.
Actually, it's been gusty wind and squalls quite a lot lately, but the typhoon (Krosa) I was told I should worry about when I left Dong Hoi in such haste a few days back. . .has finally made landfall well south of here and we're just getting the generalized bad weather from its skirt tails.

If you're planning a trip through this part of the country you should make a note that in Dong Hoi there are lot of hotels, including right along the highway through the middle of town.  They may be perfectly nice (the one I picked at random was a little tacky but not bad, and it had excellent wifi) HOWEVER, if you ride on through to the south end of town and turn left right at the bridge over the river, go slowly through the market area (you'll want to come back after you check in, it's a fun market) then continue along the river and check out the hotels there.  They will be MUCH QUIETER than the ones on the highway!!  I always take a balcony room if it's offered, but a balcony opening out onto the equal of Interstate 5 is not going to include a quiet night's sleep.  Sigh.  I think I deliberately pushed on past Dong Hoi for years, but really, it's a pretty sweet little city with an interesting river port and a long ride available along the coast to the North. . .don't be so quick to rush on by.  Oh, and there's a dandy little bakery. . .but I can't tell you everything.  Actually, maybe a little.  They have their baguettes coming out of the oven fresh at 0600 and a bright and cheerful crowd of 20-somethings tending the counter with all the makings for an egg baguette all lined up in a long display case (Subway could take lessons).  Usually I buy my egg baguettes from ladies with pushcarts on the street (the ones with both bread and eggs visible in the glass case are a good bet, some of the pate otherwise is a little dubious).  Such ladies always fry the egg quickly while they slice the bread and sliver the cucumber and so forth. . .these kids had that display case set up for instant delivery, including nicely rubberized eggs ready to go in a bowl.  From order to walking away with a 2-egg baguette (tomatoes, yes, cucumber yes, red pepper sauce, no, nuoc mam yes. . .cilantro yes. . .was that mayo or what?  Oh, never mind, boy that was quick, and all for 50 cents, and 50 cents more for a can of milky sweet coffee from Japan??  Oh well, this is 2013 after all.  But wait, I was only halfway down the block when I heard the flap-flap of running sandals and a sweet young voice shouting "Oh Uncle, Oh Uncle!!" (Di Bac Oi!!).  Oops.  somebody at the end of the assembly line only charged me for a one-egg baguette and I definitely had two. . .Would I please pay another 25 cents??  I would, and even had the right change. . .Big Smile. . .Oh thank you, See You Again. . .Big Smile (just to be sure).  That was the prettiest girl that's chased me breathlessly down the street in. . .er. . .well, a long time.  But I left town anyway and had a really easy run south into Hue.  The road was good, there was another cup of coffee when I wanted it, the scenery was passable (actually pretty nice in the sand hills before Dong Ha), the gusty wind, enough to shake the little horse around a bit, wasn't enough to cause real problems.  And it didn't rain.  Not bad.

I rode up to the hotel (the same hotel all these years, they know me too well) just in time for lunch with the owners, and thus began another of my very busy stays in Hue.  Let's see, that was the fourth and this is the sixth and I'm sure I've gotten four or five days into it.  I've been out to the island twice. There's not a single new boat building in any one of the three yards, darn. . .and all the surf boats are hauled WAY up on the crest of the beach in honor of the quite rough sea outside.  There's nothing moving offshore from horizon to horizon, but there's the forward section of a large freighter up in the shallow surf a few km south of Thuan An itself.  Somebody had a really really bad day. . .and you have to wonder where the engine room and bridge ended up.  I think that's fairly common though, the aft section breaking loose and leaving the bow to go on alone.  

Life on the island goes on otherwise though. . .the lady who sold me the umbrella years ago (and whose kid's portrait I've done every year since) is pregnant again, there'll be another daughter to photograph soon, and I finally met her husband the tailor and her ten year old son (how did I miss him before?).  The young man (in the coffee shop on top of the sand dune) with the bristly mustache and the pretty young sister has a bad new scar on his eyebrow and another on his calf. . .motorbike wreck. . .the fellow with the handsome young son in red soccer shorts last year wanted his own portrait made this year.  The old mother of the mother-daughter 80-40 year old portrait in 2010. . .is 82 now and will not see 83 I think.  But she waved to me from her bed, and you never know. . .but she was frail at 80 after all.  The little blind girl isn't so little any more, she's eleven now, and maybe doing a little better.  Complete blindness and autism is a pretty desperate combination though.  Her mom thinks she'll never speak or learn a great deal. . .but it seems to me there's a young child inside there that can't get out--breaks my heart. . . anyway, her kid sister is five and in school for goodness sake, so I didn't get to see her, and they have a brand new motorbike now (the old one was a rolling wreck but ran fine. . .Honda).  They fed me another delightful lunch. . .my timing was impeccable, they'd just brought the food out onto the mat to eat, and somehow, there's always enough for a guest it seems.  And so forth and so on.  I rode down to the south end of the island, 55 km or so from home. . .and finally cracked the code to get into the street network in the little village there.  There's only one actual lane opening from the road outside. . .but once off the road and into the village the maze begins. . .it's amazing. . .but I now, finally, have found my way to the little mountain (big rock?) there.  I've seen photos of the beach at the base of the rock and really have believed it existed. . .and now I've been there.  It's through the village on the biggest street, 8 or 9 feet wide and concrete. . .ignore the smaller lanes and just follow along the S turns.  Through the Buddhist and Catholic cemeteries and turn right at the T.  It's maybe another kilometer wandering along with the hill on your left before you come to the beach.  Drink a Red Bull (or a Huda beer!). . .and then it'll be time to head home. I guess we'll find the inner harbor moorage another time.  Nearly drownded in the dark on the way into town.  Goodness it can rain here. . .and hasn't let up much the last day or two.

The fishing harbors are stuffed full, the sea is empty of boats.  The typhoon went south of us but it's still really rough outside.  This is an inner channel in Ron.

Sunday morning in the boat yard at Cua Lo. . .lots of kids in the way.  The yellow shirt says "lovely" on the front, and she is. . .but my what a livewire. . .sneak up behind you, poke you in the ribs and run away shrieking.  Great Fun.  His hat says "Boy". . .'nuff said.

I almost missed this one. . .a sand dredge somewhere along the way. . .didn't see a name for the stream.

Now that's a seriously long and skinny boat with a tall stern. . .Dong Hoi

A splendid big MFV (Modern Motor Fishing Vessel) about 80% complete, and a pretty little rowing basket, Dong Hoi

They wanted their picture taken.  Dong Hoi

A good looking old lady with a brand new paint job, getting some serious putty work on a couple of dings where she bit something harder than she should have.

Give us a day or two then check out www.BoatsAndRice.com for a full explication.  Sailing canoe in Hue

Quiet front yard out on the island, Tu Hien (near the bridge)

Traffic jam on the island near Thuan An

Pretty good temple ornaments. . .a dragon and a . . .h'mm, what is that one.?  There was a phoenix at the other end.

Just a nice garden and a pleasant little house, about midway up the island from Thuan An

Little Horse on the Loose (first 2 days run)

Written from Cua Lo, near Vinh, Northern Viet Nam, the 2nd of November 2013.
The little horse was basically ready to go as soon as I got here, it was I who was not!  But we're on the road now if not really up to speed yet.  The Horse is the same bike I've ridden three years running now, she sleeps during the off season in a lean to off one side of my mechanic's house out in the country, and an oil change, a new tire, and some oil on the chain and she was ready to go again.  She's a Chinese copy (interchangeable parts!) of a 1970's Honda 100 cc motorbike. . .and once you sort out the electronics and wiring and a few rubber pieces that were a little too de-engineered, she's a remarkable little bike. . .very light and powerful enough for this environment. . .gets me and my luggage over hill and dale without complaint, and has been known to go up and down really rough rock roads that had me scared half to. . .er  anyway. . .she's a good machine for the job, hence the affectionate name.

We left Hanoi with a detour by the old hotel to drop off some flowers for the grandma there.  I'd spent most of an hour standing on a street corner watching every possible OTHER sort of vendor roll past, corn, melons, pottery, roast duck, half of a pig on a trolley, everything you could imagine except not a single flower lady.  Jeeminy.  I gave up, packed, signed out and we hit the road and. . .coming out of the alley were run over by a flower lady with a load of roses and glads.  We took the gladioli, shoved the stems under the bungees that hold on the luggage and made the detour.  For years I've brought her flowers and she's tried to bury me under fruit.  But she's getting very old now and forgetful. . .though she knows exactly what flowers mean, so it was a sweet good bye.

I only wanted to get to Sam Son for the night (170 km, half a normal day), but early enough in the day to do some serious looking.  I've been hoping for a large traditional style boat (a Sam Son specialty) in very-early stages of construction (last year I know that 5 were built there in 3 months time, but I never got the very earliest stages. . .or, for that matter, the crucial hoisting of the sides).  Not to be.  Nothing doing on the beach at all except for sailing rafts. Sigh.  (sailing rafts?  sailing?  and I'm griping?? oh my)  Okay then, how about at the Port in the river mouth??  That's one of those mythical places that disappear and you can't find again for a while, but I got lucky and we rode almost straight there this time. . .but the boatyard is gone.  No kidding that's over doing the "mythical" thing!  It was a major boat building facility. . .and it's been bulkheaded off,  filled level and graded out.  Nothing there.  I had to look twice to be sure I hadn't missed the right river. . .but no it's true.  Wow.  Ah, but down the road (make that down the trail. . .it'll be a road some day maybe) they're back in business and there's lots of good activity, including a MID sized traditional boat in earliest days of construction. . .and her twin sister almost complete...not exactly what was needed, but close enough to answer some big questions. . .so I have lots of photos.

Day two (today) was on to Cua Lo, a really easy day, not too bad traffic, weather getting positively nice (blue sky??  cool morning, hot afternoon?  what's not to like??)  Dust.  Oh.  Well, it would be mud if it were raining eh, take your pick.

With a quick return to the disappearing boat yard to start, we made a really late start, but under normal conditions it's only 3 hours running or thereabouts, so, not unreasonably late.  There was nothing whatever to report as it started out but at a Red Bull and Water stop in mid afternoon I became a grandfather.  It was really abrupt, but. . .I mean, I was minding my own business, standing up behind a chair to slurp the caffeine and the water back (think "C&C with water back". . .but use Red Bull) and the daughter of the coffee shop (Gee I hope I can remember where it is. . .) the daughter, as I was saying, was finishing up feeding lunch to her two-year old and, I kid you not, brought the little lady over and handed her to me. . .and she (the grand daughter) was absolutely delighted.  Patted my beard.  Stroked my bald spot.  Leaned against my cheek and held on with an arm around my neck.  O'migosh.  I almost sold the bike and rented a house.  What a sweet heart.  I'd make a great grampa I would.

And here in Cua Lo, things are changing too. . .the harbor is being dredged by the little dredge that could, he just hasn't finished yet (and won't any time soon).  The harbor has been shallow since I started coming here and now. . .it's almost usable for corn and potatoes. . .and there are some sort of fish pens set up all over the inner harbor. . .will have to see if I can figure out what that's all about.  The fleet looks fine, and oh my goodness, there are three, count 'em three new mid-sized draggers under construction in one of the boat yards...and they're spaced out like beads on a string a week or two apart.  To make it better, I had three really good portraits to drop off here. . .the owner's wife, daughter and grand daughter. . .from last year.  So I've gotten an automatic upgrade from pesky white guy to great photographer all at once.  Not bad!

The connection here is too slow to upload photos.. .check back in a day or two. . .

We've landed in Dong Hoi, in the path of typhoon Krosa, due to hit sometime tomorrow between here and where I'm trying to get (Hue) so this will be a short stop and a quick run to the south to see if I can outrun the beast.  I'll load a few photos from the past couple of days. . .

Okay, this is a very unusual school bus, even here.  I mean, the cyclo is typical enough, but the cargo??  

Just a glance at Viet Nam. . .quiet little neighborhood.  I was on a RR over crossing.

Diesel Powered Sailing Rafts.  Pretty rare creatures, but really effective on a shallow sandy surf beach. There are about 54 of them active at the moment.

The wedding photos get done a month ahead of time. . .and obviously the sit in the sand and the romp in the surf are at the end of a long day of being bossed around by an expensive photographer.  I think they burn the dress after this.

Okay. . .here's what I come for (other than riding the Horse). . .this is brand new, just finishing up now, mid-sized traditional boat typical of Cua Lo and also found here in Sam Son and rarely up in Halong Bay.  I knew that.

Ah. . .but here's how you start one.  I didn't know that!!!  

Several fish boats had an almost too good trip. . .one is in a near sinking condition alongside the dock while the ladies keep offloading fish into dump trucks. . .about ten pounds at a time in plastic baskets, over the scales and into the truck.  They'll be fish sauce in a while.  Please note that fish to be eaten fresh is handled a bit differently.

And this is the new grand daughter.  Don't I wish!!

Some of you are no doubt aware of the myth of the pig truck with my name on the front bumper (sort of like the headless horseman. . .but different). The notion is that if I see him coming he'll miss me.  So I watch closely!   This is a very uncommonly nice and new pig truck, and no name on the bumper.  Besides, he was stopped at a RR crossing.

More of what I came for. . .in Cua Lo now, and a very near sister of the boats in Sam Son, at a different stage. . .about ten days into the project actually.  She'll be two months to launch day.

Safe on the ground in Hanoi. . .again

The flight is over and I lived through it again.  I had to run to make the transfer in Seoul after head winds held us back an hour or more (out of my supposed hour and a half for connections).  The first day or two after I arrive here are always very odd and I'm not at my best I don't suppose, but things get done somehow anyway.  This trip my home hotel is not available since key people are in America visiting their new grandson and thus there's nobody here with authority for the hotel to submit the police report of visitors. . .so my room in the very back of the hotel where I've been "at home" in Hanoi for the past eight years. . .is empty. . .and I'm living in expensive luxury 7 floors up in the heart of the tourist zone.  Very odd.  There's nothing earth shaking to report, but I'll run down the list.  Since I arrived on the night of the 28th at midnight:

• dropped by Mr. Dung's (say it Zoong) mechanic shop to let him know I'm here and turn over the bottle of perfume.  
• Ate breakfast with an economist from Australia who lived in Laos during the revolution.  Interesting!
• Changed $300 usd for dong at 21,100 vnd to $1, so the dong hasn't lost much at all against the usd.
• Bought a new sim card for my phone, so I'm back in touch.
• Visited with the grandma (91 now) at the Home Hotel (I can visit of course, just not stay)
• Made an appointment for my teeth. . .also in the hotel (Grandma was a dentist, her kids are a professor, two doctors and (critical to this discussion) two dentists.  The two dentist daughters, a bit younger than I, have offices in the front of the hotel where reception ought to be. . .)
• Went on the back of Mr. Dung's bike home in the evening 28 km out in the country for dinner (including final delivery of the bottle of perfume) and to pick up my bike from the lean to next to the house.  

All of this on about 4.5 hours sleep on the 29th.  I wish you could have come with me to Dung's house, which is actually a small mini mart in one room, with a narrow hallway behind with a toilet, a sink and a flat for a small cooker. . . and (I think) a sleeping loft over head.  The merchandise for the shop is racked up on the walls all around and in the counter across the front and a steady stream of customers comes by in the evening, buying soap, milk, noodles, tea, candy. . .whatever.  Dung and his lady have three kids, two lovely well-mannered and very bright little girls, perhaps 8 and 6 years old. . .and a very precocious two year old spoiled son. . .h'mm.  The girls handled most of the customers as they came, (got what was wanted from the shelf, added up the purchases on a calculator, took the payment and made change. . .at 8 and 6). . .while Mom finished up the tofu with tomatoes (one of my favorites) and chicken with pickled cabbage and soup. . .a grand meal. . .and Dung tried to keep the young son from climbing the walls.  That kid can use a wrench or a screwdriver (loosened the valve cover screws on my bike for example) or a sharp knife (hacked a hard pear sort of fruit to pieces for exercise) or. . .but you can imagine!  HE doesn't mind the camera but his delightful sisters won't stand for it.  Darn.

Two years old, runs screw drivers and wrenches, carves (hard!) fruit with a sharp knife. . .and knows what he wants!

But this is the best photo of his sisters. . .The stock  for the shop covers all the walls and shelves in the front room, and the furniture consists of the green hammock, a small black easy chair and the mat on the floor for eating on.  Oh, and a large flat screen TV that apparently gets ignored 24 hours a day.  Nobody noticed it but me.

 Anyway, it was a glorious first night's dinner followed by the return to the city.  I was afraid I'd end up anywhere but in the hotel, but Dung and all three kids climbed on his bike and lead me through the countryside to the freeway and, truly, from there it wasn't hard. . .23 km or so, very straight and directly through the city to the northern edge. . .thence by a prominent (if very narrow) road I already knew back to the Old Town and home.  But on 4.5 hours sleep?? Oof.

Yesterday, in anticipation of getting the dental work done in the evening, I got out and ordered a new pair of bifocals and found a really nice set of long-armed mirrors for the bike.  The bifocals were easy but the mirrors took some doing.  Last year I was lopsided, with a short mirror on the right and a wobbly long one on the left.  I never did get run over by my right shoulder, but I saw it coming a lot.  For whatever reason the long stem mirrors were out off stock all over Viet Nam last year. This should be better!

You can tell you've been hanging around Hanoi too long or too often when half the Tee shirt vendors, all the one-legged tour guides and several neighborhood watch volunteers all come out to stop you on the street and shake your hand (or sell you a T-shirt or. . .) and welcome you back to Hanoi.  H'mm.  On the other hand, when the T-shirt vendor forgets that she told you LAST YEAR that today was the first day for her new shop under the awning. . .and she hopes you'll be her FIRST customer.  Ha!

Rebuilding bearings on the sidewalk. . .life in the Old Town is like this.

How many people do you know who rebuild ceiling fans for a living?  Eat lots of sugar cookies? Ride an electric bike??  He's cleaned and repainted the blades and their mounting brackets (note gold painted trifids on the bench) and overhauled motors hang in rows from the ceiling.  

Your choice. . .smile at the young lady grilling the chicken skewers, admire the neat old Honda Cub (not so old really, this is a fairly current model) or just stand and sniff the chicken.  Lovely.

Seven floors up. . .a lot to see, but not the ground!

So. . .here's a first-ever video clip for you. . .easy early afternoon traffic a block or two from my home hotel.  You can tell it's not rush hour, everything is moving smoothly.  This takes up a lot of space so I may have to delete it eventually, but smile for now.