artviet travel diaries

Where is the Love you promised me

Mon, 14 Feb 2011 20:34:57 -0500

Color has a lot of meaning in love as in life - for the thing we give and receive: specially on St Valentine's day. But do we all perceive color in the same way? Perception goes with the personal growth, with the social environment but also with the culture. If color psychology is an endless topic for debate, things we give or we receive could lead to many interpretations too.

St Valentine falls on February 14 in 2011 as it does every year, exactly one day after February 13th, and everything sent out and given away, of course is red and bears the shape of love.
The Chinese favor the color Red madly, for superstition reason and for tradition. St Valentine's day this year, luckily does not coincide with the Lunar Calendar New Year, sparing Cupid to wear a red Chinese hat! I was given a black kitten a day before our Vietnamese New Year's eve, and the best thing I can give on this Valentine's day is the care i devote to Simba, a character in the Lion King movie, name which was given after to my kitten.
Love is figurative, but Love could be non figurative too. Give it anytime you can, to one of those twelve zodiac animals of your preference. For the Year of the Cat or Rabbit (as the Chinese used to call it), don't shy yourself with unjustified superstition, raise a cat with love and conviction:"Just do your share".

Other Links: Cairo's Cats Forgotten As Its Humans Rebel

Labor of Love

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 13:23:12 -0500

People are coming to Vietnam for many reasons. Some are visiting the country or vacationing in 'Nam for its historical sites, its people with peaceful rural scenery, beautiful beaches overlooked by grand mountains populated by valley hill tribes. As to business opportunities, the diversities of the fields required to rebuild the country have let others consider Vietnam as a potential place to invest. Vietnamese expatriates and veterans of foreign nationalities also are returning to Vietnam as part of the healing process to make peace with the past and to contribute.

Photo: Satin made stuffed heart pillow and hanging ornaments manufactured by the center. Orders could be placed for different colors and sizes directly from maison-chance.

Aline Rebeaud came to Vietnam from Switzerland as a young artist, in late 1992. Any traveler of Ms Rebeaud's age with a strong passion in art, certainly would seize the occasion to establish oneself as an emerging contemporary foreign artist in Vietnam: the country has so much to offer for inspiration in art creation. Aline sold her first painting, but the proceeds went straight into the aid relief initiative of her own for the street kids, the orphans and the handicapped. And that was a turning point in Aline's life for what was simply a venture to promote her art and painting vocation, now has become a personal mission to help the needy. They called her, Mother TIM (TIM for Heart in Vietnamese), sort of Mother Teresa of Bình Tân district, a Saigon outskirt where she founded the House of Luck (Maison de la chance or Maison-Chance for short) in 1993. It was then a small orphanage / Vocational Training Center which concept has now been expanded into the building of a Village with many facilities to accommodate more than 150 members. The Village of Luck soon will be inaugurated by the end of March 2010.
If Vietnam is your next travel destination, please take a chance to drop by Aline's Maison-Chance and see how your contribution can make a difference. You can also visit the center online at maison-chance.org for more details.

Please Come Home for Christmas

Thu, 24 Dec 2009 23:41:16 -0500

It was almost the end of the day and I was watching my cat sunbathing in the snow. Until she decided to get into the house, I stayed at the window side wondering when will I have the time to post this entry. It's been quite a while since January of this year that I have not fed my blog.

Though a few entries have been drafted, none was carefully finalized to get published. Indeed, they were still not published: there is entry about the beauty and the naivety of the goats of Ninh Binh that I've commenced to write and the parallelism I wanted to draw when comparing them with Mr. Seguin's Goat, a story by Alphonse Daudet. The post needed in fact a candid photo of the goat which I tried to restore from a corrupted scan disk I brought back from my last trip to Vietnam. Then there is a great story of a spectacular escape to the west from a friend of mine, a Vietnamese contract worker in East Berlin, during the early days which preceded the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989. As Khoa has now moved to Calgary and could not be reached for his approval, the post could not be published right on time on the 20th anniversary of the collapse of the infamous wall ...
As I started to wrap up on a finite set of subjects to prioritize, the sky was gradually getting darker. I felt suddenly worried about the whereabouts of my cat which was only visible by fresh traces of her footprints. After many attempts to locate her in the snow, I had to come to terms with the hope that soon she will find her way back as usual before the last kitchen lights were switched off. No need of course to be stressed out on a single incidence of little importance specially on a Christmas eve. After all, it was just a matter of patience and confidence, since the cat finally showed up on the window edge, waiving his right pawn to signal her presence. It was exactly a few minutes before midnight as I opened the kitchen door to let her in. With the heart filled both with joy and tears I said to my cat: "Please Come Home for Christmas!".

Bribing the Kitchen God

Mon, 26 Jan 2009 18:02:11 -0500

According to a Chinese legend, a week before the New Lunar Year begins, the Kitchen God returns to heaven to report on a family's behavior during the past year. A negative report brings bad luck for the family during the year to come.

In order to ensure a favorable report from the Kitchen God, it has always been a custom to feed him with Rice Cake. Either it was intended as a bribe, or it was just simply a means to have the Kitchen God's mouth full, too full to pass on an unfavorable report...

Patience is a Virtue

Mon, 26 Jan 2009 11:48:15 -0500

If the Rat had been a year of turmoils and destruction, the year of the Ox is the time for reconstructions. The Ox belongs to the earth element, it brings harmony, peace and relaxation.

"It is a time for rebuilding and reconstructions from the damage brought by war and natural disasters, and the financial tsunami of 2008, and also a time to seek peace settlement and to narrow the differences between different culture, religious". But the "Yin Earth" could not be considered strong earth since the hidden elements as water and metal are exhausting the earth. Therefore there is still hidden instability and disasters. Take nothing for granted but to rely on your force to build and create and let's Welcome the Year of the Ox with hope and patience cause "He that can have patience, can have what he will".

Selected quotes about Patience :

"Never run after a bus or a man. There will be another one".
"Patience and fortitude conquer all things".
"Patience is something you admire in the driver behind you,
but not in one ahead".
"When the student is ready, the teacher will appear".
"If we are facing in the right direction,
all we have to do is keep on walking".

Vincent Mother's Sewing Machine

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 21:55:25 -0500

I've bought a sewing machine on the internet for a fair price.Unlike previous online transactions, this one was finalized on site, at the seller's house, up north of the island. Vincent is the name of the chap who sold me the machine which includes some spare needles, a couple of thimbles, a screwdriver and a tiny refillable oil tube with no cap and little thread left over after a demo was given. It is a used machine, from his mother who has just moved to a senior residence. The sale was concluded short and sweet as the machine still is in good condition despite the number of years...

The sewing machine didn't escape the attention of curious street's passerby, mostly women. On a few occasions, I had to pretend that it was my mother's sewing machine for it is a true antique one!. As the trip back home seemed to take longer than expected, memories of my mother's sewing machine came back to me in a most intrusive manner: we had a couple of sewing machines too, in Vietnam: a Singer with a big pedal, and an electric one similar to Vincent Mother's sewing machine. That was with the electric one that Mother stayed late to shorten a pair of jeans and other stuff the night before I left the family home to go abroad. The machines still stayed with my mother as far as I remembered from my last trip, at our family house, thousand miles away. I doubt she has sold them, for they have a long history which goes with the house and our family. It has always been a problem to organize a trip abroad for my mother to visit us, even for a short while. It was quite contradictory since she had always shown her desire to join us, but the weight of nostalgia seemed to cloud her mind before any preparation could be made...

Vincent sold me his mother's machine but refused to give away the little metal box to contain the sewing accessories. On the carry case, one can even see his name meticulously hand engraved. There is no doubt that Vincent had sold the sewing machine against his heart , the sewing machine of his childhood. As far as I am concerned, I was buying it to bring back some long lost memories.

As the train almost came to a stop, there was favorite song of my sister which I still remember the lyrics, songs she used to hum every time she sat at the sewing table to shorten her mini skirt which my mother never let her wear:

"On ne jette pas un vieux jean usé
On recolle un livre abîmé
Par amour ou par pitié..."

"We don't throw away a worn out jean
We tape up a damaged book...
for Love or Pity ."

Both Vincent Mother's sewing machine and the song date from the mid 60s and everything in life as in love, we did it for Love or Pity, according to my sister's song.

Sand of Phan Rang

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 08:09:57 -0500

"Nothing is built on stone; all is built on sand ,
but we must build as if the sand were stone".
Jorge Luis Borges.

In Memory of Tuduy, Artist Painter

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 11:10:52 -0500

TUDUY Artist Painter, Hoian .---- Photo Els Ternest

I would like to dedicate this post to Tuduy, an artist painter from Hoian whom I first met in 2003. We quickly become friends for the same taste in arts we have and for other simple things in the old town we have learned to share and to live through. Needless to say, it was Tuduy who walked me into Hoian's lifestyle, and the more I learn about its history, the more I feel like coming back to town on every single occasion I flew home...Tuduy passed away in May 2008. The Email didn't reach me until this morning, when I suddenly feel obliged to check my mail as early as 5.30AM. My deepest sympathy to his wife and his children and my sincere apology for leaning the sad new too, too late... May you rest in Peace Tuduy, your friendship and your talent will never die.

Thierry.
Event Related Link(s): In Hoian, I discovered the Artist., Tuduy ArtSpace

From Venlo, Netherlands: Feel very sorry about the news I received from you about the death of Mr Tuduy. Thanks to my pleasant visit to Vietnam, I am the owner of a beautiful painting from Mr. Tuduy. Through his painting he still remains in my mind as a very creative person. I am wishing his family lots of strength in this difficult period.

Best regards
Jeroen Pennarts

From Boston, USA: I am very sad to hear this. His painting hangs in my room and truly brightens my mood even in the darkest parts of our Boston winters. The day that I spent with him and his assistant was a favorite story about my trip to Vietnam. His concern for me after the tsunami was touching as well. My sincere condolences go to his family and to you as well. He was a wonderful person to have known.

Sincerely,
Kathy Walter

From Toronto, Canada: I like to send my deepest condolence.... Tuduy was a very great man and artist and also a good friend... I hope his spirit and love for art will remain among us.... .

Krisztian Ersek

Rain in SoCal, Snow in Sapa

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 13:06:11 -0500

Who says it doesn't rain in California? It rained on and off during the month of February and many had considered this an omen, since it rarely gets wet in Southern California. And worse, the Nationwide Series race at the Auto Club Speedway was postponed, as the rain had caused California to weep... I saw on the news that it snowed in Vietnam! That, of course, caught everyone off guard. Though it may never snowed in Vietnam, the temperature had dropped to -2°C, and sometimes -15°C in Sapa over a three week period during the month of February 2008.
Sapa a frontier town and district in the Lao Cai province in northwest Vietnam, is one of the main market towns in the area, home of many local trades such as H'mong, Dao and Tay. While its hotels and restaurants were full of tourists who traveled to Sapa to enjoy the unusual scene, happiness for some was already paid for by the misery of others since freezing temperatures had killed a record number of cattle: "families and farmers, draped blankets over water buffalos and lit fires for newborn calves to keep their animals alive for not facing the hardship from the loss of even a single cow. The cold spell, which began early February, was one of the longest running and most-severe to hit northern Vietnam". So far foreigners and locals alike generally remained in good spirits, but not all seemed to appreciate the irony of the situation -- especially for those who had come to Southeast Asia to escape the snow back in the North and Midwest, and yet to their amazement found themselves looking at white-capped peaks in a region of the world known for hot weather and tropical beaches...

Sapa Trekking season has already begun as we are entering the last week of March. Although the weather is still foggy and wet, tourists are too excited to explore the region in the mud and in the rain, of course with a lots of ups and downs. There are so many beautiful mountain valleys to walk down, amazing sceneries to witness and unforgettable experiences with many hill tribe villages to live through, that tourists almost forgot the pain, cause for them, that's the best opportunity to really soak in the true feeling of the town, the surrounding countryside and it's beautiful people. Everyday there are always things to love about it up there and believe me, travelers like you and me, we certainly all left our hearts in Sapa, one way or another!

A Trip of Their Own

Sun, 17 Feb 2008 20:00:31 -0500

Hanneke Van Nistelrooij.
Letter from Holland.
February 17, 2007 (8:16 AM) Hello T. and family,

Thank you for your email and the nice pictures! We have been back to Holland for almost two weeks now, and although the weather is less cold than in Canada, we miss the nice weather in Vietnam. We had a great trip altogether with a lot of highlights: beautiful Halong Bay, Perfume Pagoda, the tombs and citadel in Hue, the waterfalls in Buon Ma Thuot, the buzzing beehive that is Saigon and the tranquility of tropical beaches at Phu Quoc Island. When collegues and friends ask about the trip, it takes us a lot of time to explain about everything.

It is so hard to describe the impact of what we have seen and done in a few words. Fortunately we didn't encounter any ghosts in Buon Ma Thuot (or may be we did, and didn't recognize them). It was a very beautiful place, nice to visit because there were not many tourists. In fact, I don't think I have seen any other foreign tourists at all. We were quite a sight, we noticed this when a couple who just got married, stopped and waved enthusiastically at us! We also met some of the Ede-people, a mountain tribe originating from Malaysia and Indonesia. We couldn't communicate in words with them, they didn't even speak Vietnamese. But it was already great to look at each other, wave and shake hands with the little children who were after a while brave enough to come towards us. We have read your blog about Sapa, it sounds wonderful! We recognize a few of the entertaining stories you told us on the way up and down to the perfume pagoda. Pho Hien sounds like a nice place to visit and meet with local people. We look forward reading more details about it on your blog! Best regards to you and your family, Hanneke en Marijn

March 5, 2007 (8:58 PM) - Reply from Thierry

Good to know that you both enjoyed the trip and were not troubled by the legend of "Ma lai" ghosts. As a matter of fact, the american named Buon Ma Thuot (Kontum and Pleiku) as "Ghost cities" during the Vietnam war, for being too "mystic" dull and gloomy especially when the wet seasons arrived not mentioning uncountable stories about "Ghosts". Ma Lai ghosts borrowed the form of human being during day time(that is why you didn't recognize them), but turned into ghost / vampire at night to go out and feed themselves with human feces!. Ma lai used to disguise as a beautiful woman, married ordinary man, but at bedtime, departed from the headless body to fly out of the house, half a meter above the ground with the internal organs dangling to its head... Will have a post about this story in a coming future. FYI, as of March the 1st, a post entry about Phố Hiến was made available. Hope you find the pleasure to discover it at least through my writings. Of course with photos!. Until next time...

Year of the Rat

Wed, 06 Feb 2008 20:17:58 -0500

The year of the Rat is coming. Like it or not, we all have to embrace it as another new year. As for the prospects, "the Year of the Rat is ruled by the cold of winter and the darkness of night. It will be marked by speculation and fluctuations in the prices of commodities and the stock market; the world economy in general will be affected one way or another starting with a weakening US economy followed by stock markets plunging into turmoils after shares nosedive in Asia". But what is exactly the Rat, in the Chinese Zodiac?. Honestly speaking, after browsing through many websites, I become more confused about the "Virtues" of the Rat. And for what it brings for the Year to come, little specifics are highlighted but a whole lot of generalities are presented with vague exceptions and "mise en garde". For those who were born under the sign of the Rat, it's wise to look for the right Fengshui Master who can predict the future, but for a practical person like me, I have my own way to look at things...

Year of the Rat, Raise a Cat!. By the end of summer 2007, I suddenly felt obliged to shelter three kittens found abandoned under the deck of my veranda. I have kept them ever since to give them a home, but it was all part of my strategy: to scare away squirls which managed to sneak into our house through the kitchen window. And it works. No more squirls wandering in the back yard, but the cats got bored. As the winter was approaching, I almost refused the idea of having three cats in the house, not for the place is too small, but It was almost a full time job maintaining the kitchen clean. Rumors of Rats invading the kitchen of our neighbor's house recently had made me reconsider that decision.

Love Letter, Not mine

Sat, 05 Jan 2008 02:32:56 -0500

This post is about a love letter , but it's not mine. Exactly one year ago, today, I was standing in the hall of Vinh Hung Resort with all the luggages well packed. As the cab was late for the airport, I sat at the bar on the riverside, just killing a few cups of tea. The waiter who served me looks very familiar. He identified himself as the eldest son of Thành and Xuân, whom I met a couple of years ago.Indeed, Thành used to work for an art gallery but was laid off at the height of the SARS crisis. Xuân, Thành's wife worked from home as a hair dresser: she was detected with an ovarius cancer, the year I came to Hoian but has recovered marvelously well ever since.

Trung is his name, and he remembered well the day, I first stepped into his house. He sadly told me that soon the whole family will be relocated due to Hoian new urban development program. Basically, streets will be widened, and Trung's house might be torn down in exchange for a modest compensation. Knowing that I was about to depart, Trung showed me a letter with both hands. At first, I thought that he was seeking for some financial help, but as I glanced throught the letter, I quickly grasped his intentions.

The writing was all in english and started with "Dear Sweetie"...Trung never learned how to read nor to write in english and what he showed me was just an e-mail print out. In the letter, the girl said that she missed him a lot since her return to Canada as she was living with memories of their trip to Nha Trang and all the places where Trung had been with her. She worried a lot as she got no news from him despite sending so many E-mails. But she hoped that he is doing well, and must be very busy coping with his day to day life. At the end of the letter, she said that "she will pursue and complete her studies in Medicine and looks forward coming back to Vietnam"...

Trung thanked me for the quick translation he had been waiting for months, or years perhaps. I asked him if he needed help to compose a draft in english for a reply.

Click the button on the bottom-left
of the video (Love Letters).

He wisely folded the letter with his head down and preciously put it into his pocket. Trung went on explaining how he met the girl on a sunny day, as she was looking for direction in the old town. Trung never worked as a tour guide but was offered to keep her company as a pathfinder. Througout the trip he managed to use sign language and broken english and as the trip ended, their relationship has turned into love. Trung has been married for more than a year and has his first child with a Vietnamese local. He kept all of her E-mails unanswered for he is not capable to read english. For Trung, "every trip has its end, he is happy to know that she was still fond of him after all these years".

Editor's Year-End Note

Sat, 29 Dec 2007 23:01:21 -0500

As the Year-End nearly unfolds, fresh memories of last year celebration in Phan Thiết, vividly come back to me. It was Exactly ONE YEAR ago Today, I was on the unspoilt romantic beach of Mủi Né. Images of those good moments are so alive as I can still hear the sound of waves rushing to shore... There has been a lot of snow in Montreal, comparing to last year's same period of time. Walking in the snow is as fun as walking in the sands of Mủi Né, but the feeling is quite different, and shoveling snow is more a duty than pleasure during these days when snowstorms are very frequent.

While snow brings both leisure and miseries to us, storms and flooding in the Southeast of Asia and in Vietnam killed hundreds of people, ruined many houses and facilities. It is almost unthinkable to hear that people were mauled to death by a tiger in a San Francisco Zoo , whereas in Vietnam, villagers and tourists ran for their life after hundreds of crocodiles had escaped from the farms which were inundated. And again, sarcastically speaking, while automatic assault weapon AK47s was used in a shooting spree in Omaha Mall, US, killing dozen of innocent people, in Khánh Hòa, Vietnam, Soldiers, militiamen and forest rangers armed themselves with the same type of rifle(AK47s) to hunt down almost 5000 crocodiles that flooding had washed away from a state-owned farm...

As the year wraps up, It is good to learn from friends in 'Nam, that recovery and reconstruction effort are under completion to restore normal life: after all it is reassuring to know that they all have survived the flooding and none of them was bitten by crocs. Thanks Wendy and Jack from New Zealand for worrying about my safety. No I didn't fly home this year. Wish I could be there, to join the rescue team or at least to hunt down for the escaped crocs. Thanks Els Ternest from Jersey, Channel Islands who just sent in her Email of Sympathy to the folks in Hội an where flooding has caused serious damage: "many relics of Hội An town, a world cultural heritage, could fall at any time due to being submerged in floods".

On a more positive note, I was pretty excited after being informed by Ken, that the last group of 140 stateless Vietnamese refugees still remaining in the Philippines are soon leaving for Canada. Stella Nhung Davis, a Vietnamese-Canadian Vancouver-based immigration consultant and Ken's sister has been working actively there ever since to help administer the funds raised by the Vietnamese-Canadian community to meet December 31 2007 Canada Dead Line set for the Project Freedom at last, closing the chapter on the boat people.

Last but not least, thanks to friends and fans who have supported me, thanks to all of my readers for visiting my blog, leaving comments (but not spam messages), subscribing to my feed, special thanks to Rina Vardi , the Poet, Artist and Painter from Aussie for her valuable advices about life and love, for sending me beautiful photos of Vietnam before it was destroyed by flooding, and Dank u wel Els Ternest for your Email of sympathy(*) and your story about trekking experiences in Sapa.

Chúc mừng năm mới, Happy New Year, Bonne et heureuse année, Gute newen yar, Gelukkig Nieuwjaar ...

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(*) Hi T!. First of all a very Happy New Year for 2008 to you and your family!!! Gelukkig Nieuwjaar!!!. I read about the heavy rains and severe flooding in Vietnam. My deepest sympathy to everyone in Hoi An and its surrounding areas who have been caught up in these very difficult circumstances. Is Tu Duy ok? Please let your friends know I'm thinking of them and wish them strength in this difficult time!. Your Belgian friend, E. Greetings from Jersey, Channel Islands.

So this is Christmas

Wed, 26 Dec 2007 21:40:09 -0500

PEACE on Earth ...

Cats and Dogs, Pet or Meat

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 21:17:19 -0500

Stray Cats: Lillie, Pipie, Mimie

In this post, Thierry reveals his most recent experiences with those 3 stray cats (kittens), his deepest reflexions about animal's gratitude towards his decision to shelter them. He also presents a dark outlook of pets mistreat in Vietnam and in Asia where domestic animals generally do not receive the kind of protection and care found in most of civilized countries. Cats and dogs, Pet or Meat? Coming soon to Artviet Travel Blog.