Vietnam 10 - Saigon

Met with a teacher from my kids' old school. She moved to Vietnam over the summer to teach at an International school for two years. Did a lot of walking around the city, shopping, and soaking in the culture.

My name is Kim Cuong (which means Diamond), so naturally this is my store.

Their pineapples were much smaller than what we have in the states. 

Met one of my Aunt's sisters who lives in Vietnam.

Kid napping on a bike.

Bottle feeding.

Going to school.

Outdoor pop up restaurant serving fresh seafood.

Sweet sticky rice.

Most of the streets are lined with litter. Late in the night or very early morning, people come by with a trash can and broom and sweep it up.

My Uncle's sister.

Vietnam 10 - Vung Tau

A day at the beach in Vung Tau. It was off season even though the weather was perfect. Hardly anyone likes to be in the sun, so I had the beach mostly to myself. People go to eat and spend time under shade.

These teeny crabs made tiny balls of sand all over the beach, you could see them scatter as you walked through the sand.

Fresh coconut water and Banh Khot in Vung Tau.

My Aunt and Uncle who were the hosts for the bus, to take 30 family members to the beach.

Making coconut shells into kindling.

Vietnam 9 - Saigon

Back to Saigon, enjoyed more bike rides, seeing the city, great food, and meeting some of my Uncle's good friends.

Vietnam 8 - Hue

Visits to King Khai Dinh's Imperial Tomb and Tu Hieu Pagoda.

This imperial tomb took 11 years and over 1,000 artisans to complete.
The intricate mosaics were amazing.

They ask that you not sleep or draw here.

With King Khai Dinh's army.

The tomb is in this building.

---

This is the monastery where Thich Nhat Hanh trained in Hue. He is a Buddhist monk, poet and peace activist. He now lives in France. I have a few of his writings on beautiful art by Katie Daisy in my home.

Vietnam 7 - Hue, Dragon Boat

Some of our tour group went on the evening Dragon Boat ride on the perfume river. We listened to traditional Hue folk music, and released our paper lanterns while making wishes into the Perfume River.

Our Dragon boat's anchor got stuck when we tried to head back to the dock, and our boat collided with the Dragon boat next to us multiple times before they decided to just cut the anchor free. It was very exciting.

Vietnam 6 - Hue

The first day in Hue we visited  the Imperial City and the Pagoda of the Celestial Lady.

At the Citadel.

Entrance to the Imperial City.

 Street vendor. 

Tour group outside the Imperial City.

Feeding Koi.

Leaving the Imperial City.

The Pagoda of the Celestial Lady.

The Austin that drove Thich Quang Duc (the monk who burned himself) to the busy intersection in Saigon in 1963 to protest discriminatory laws of the regimes leader.