Nam in a Nutshell

Nam In a Nutshell

I spent about 10 days in Vietnam with Helen. Then we went to be with the Eles in Thailand. After that I went to Malaysia to meet more of her family. I loved Vietnam so much that I decided I would end my trip there. Of course I had to buy another Visa, but it was worth every rush ordered 2 week only dollars.

So I bought another Visa and spent my last 2 weeks of my trip there. (Thanks to all the Lims' help!)

Basically Helen & I started in the South and did a little southern loop. We rode on motos, went scuba diving, and had some dresses made.

Right before I took this picture I was super frustrated with this travel agent giving us the run around. Seriously, I was about to get angry. I turned around to take a deep breath and saw the banana man right outside our office. If there is one thing Helen & I learned together is how much food or a little humor can solve just about any situation.

So we walked right outside of the office, ate a couple of naners, and bought our own cheaper flights!

We were packed in these cubbies like sardines. The measurements of these "beds" were definitely only considered for Asian people. These were probably the most unenjoyable overnight transportation if only for the lack of space... Other than that they took plenty of stops, and always told you what city you were in. (Which made it easy to know if you were supposed to get off the bus or not.) Plus they would even pick you up from your hotel!

I could always see just about anything on the streets in Vietnam. There was always someone trying to sell you something (though you hardly ever felt hassled.) The Vietnamese were always sleeping too. Although I never got a picture, my favorite was the way the Vietnamese could use a moto as a minivan, truck, and A LAZY BOY. There would be some hard core reclining and napping all day long all over every street.

I am not kidding they can look this comfortable on a moto.

these next few pictures occurred during 4 day motorcycle trip. I took this photo off of the reflection from my guides helmet.

Helen & I traveled for 4 full days on the back of motorcycles all through all different areas of Vietnam to see the Mekong River Valley. Now I have so much more respect for motorcyclers. It was seriously taxing on our bodies.

Vietnamese coffee is beyond delicious! It's super strong, filtered through the container on top, and usually mixed with condensed milk. (I had some pretty intense headaches when I first returned back to the States because I was not drinking it any more!)

After seeing these people's working conditions, I doubt I will ever complain about the expensive prices of cashews. It was so hot and humid at this point it felt like I was wading through later. 

Every job is paid extremely low in Vietnam. Manual labor jobs are excessively low & most of these people work everyday of every week all day long.

These trees produce a sticky, gummy like substance that is the main ingredient in rubber & latex. We saw them all over Vietnam & Malaysia. I had never really wondered where or how those products are produced but it was pretty cool to see all the trees in rows with bags & coconuts lined up collecting every drip of stickiness.

Our whole "goal" of the journey was to go to the Mekong Delta River Valley. I learned so much more on the journey than the actual destination we were excited to see. In every situation I can think in my life, the journey was way more fun and exciting than any ending point point we may have been eager to see or have. When I was a little girl, I was always more excited about the road trip and the mixed tapes than wherever we actually went. The open road was always the adventure where most of us Griswolds had our most exciting tales. The open road....

We went through this tour called Easy Riders. It was a bit pricey. Actually REALLY pricey for Vietnam. In the end it was worth every penny because it is where I felt like I understood & fell in love with Vietnam. We were as close to being locals as possible. We ate at all the local & cheap restaurants, and stayed off the beaten path. Plus I learned more from them with complete freedom. I think my favorite reoccurring activity was our siesta in the mid afternoon.

Most locals that had transportation would do the same as well. The trucker stops in Vietnam were far different than the ones back home. First of all there were hammocks. They were right off the highway, plenty of delicious fresh juices, food, toilets, and did I mention hammocks - for resting your sore buttie?

My favorite pedicure place in Ho Chi Minh city. Yeah that is right we had pedicures for $5.00. Two of these women also gave me an hour massage for $9.00

I am going to miss my Asian massages. There was stretching, popping, crunching, pulling, bending, pushing, and rubbing involved. I definitely did get used to it!

Here is Fuki- our favorite seamstress who we could hardly say no to. (In Vietnam they can make just about anything you could possibly want. Anything. In hours. With your exact measurements. Anything like: Dresses, shoes, suits, jackets, or boots.)

In the past, I would have gone crazy. I lived for the dress. (I still do, but given my nomadic tendencies I am really not buying like I used to.)   

Helen & I could be food connoisseurs. This was one of our favorites that we found on the street. Bananas wrapped in sticky rice, drizzled with coconut milk, and peanuts sprinkled on top. (I ended up going back to this spot at the very end of my trip and this dessert might have been one of the main reasons why! Yep It is that good.)

After we left Vietnam we went to be with the Eles. Then we went to Malaysia to be with Helen's family. After that, I flew into northern Vietnam, checked out some cool bay Islands and quickly headed South. I am not sure where & how long ago I came to my senses about Southern Superiority, but Vietnam definitely reconfirmed that everything was, is, and always will be a little bit better down south. 

Basically in the North people were ruder & prices were higher.

Crossing an intersection in Vietnam

is to

Diving with the fish down in the ocean.

Yeah there is a man with 4 children on this moto. (Vietnam has a 2 child only policy in cities. It is a little more loosely regulated than China's 1 child only policy.)

Running out of gas is no problem in Vietnam. I actually did! There are gas stations everywhere. You can seriously buy it at every street corner from mom & pop shops or a proper gas station like this one. When we ran out of gas we just pushed our moto a couple steps and were at someone's house who sold gas. 

I went to Ha Long Bay for 3 days in Northern Vietnam.

When I was there I ran into some of the cutest girls from Coffee Bay which of course made me freak out. (Yeah they remembered me as the curly haired dancer girl from Coffee Bay!)

While I was there I got to sleep on a boat, karaoke in a great bar with my friend Chi who out did Whitney Houston, checked out the coolest disco lit cave, kayaked, hiked, swam, and of course there was a lot of great food.

The disco-lit cave

These were all the people that were constantly outside eating. Most "cafes" consist of tiny kindergarten-like chairs, a table, crunchy paper that were supposed to be napkins and utensils. This particular meal was chicken, a fried egg, noodles, and some greens. I had soy milk to drink and all together it cost me $1.75. 

I am definitely going to miss the street food flavor & the prices.

All the locals use these circular mini sphere baskets to take them out to their boats.

Did I mention Vietnamese were always sleeping somewhere?

There was no such thing as a soccer driving carpool mom in Vietnam. But here were all the parents picking up their children after school in motos or bicycles.

Here were the oldest sibling who took care of the younger ones. I will really miss Vietnameses efficiency. When you travel, there was no such thing as not enough space.

Schools out for the summer!!! (Or in my case kinda all year long...)

Ele Bele

About 2 years ago I reconnected with a good highschool friend of mine, Lauren. She had just come back from an incredible experience of helping out with the elephants in Thailand. There have been many important times in my life where people talk about their travels or experiences with such strong convictions & then recommend that I do the same. Needless to say this was one of them. And I am so grateful to have had this experience also. So basically Helen and I paid to volunteer for a week & do a lot of manual labor. But in our free time we got to roam, feed, bath, & play with the elephants.

The lady who created this elephant reserve grew up in Thailand as the granddaughter of a Shaman. She always had this strong connection with elephants and wanted to do something to protect them from all the abuse. Elephants were used heavily during the logging days of Thailand. Now due to deforestation logging is illegal & there is no need for the elephants. So their owners have resorted to street begging & tourist rides to make money.

Even though elephants are considered sacred animals with Thai's Buddhist beliefs they are not treated as such. The main problem is the way the elephants are "broken into" their lives of tourism. They are tortured for days in tiny chambers. (We got to see plenty of footage.) Lek, the owner of this reserve has opened up this space for the Mahouts, or elephant owners to come & live with their families & bring their elephants so long as they do not abuse the elephants anymore.

They are also in the process of opening another reserve, working with the Thai government, providing free medical aide to local villages, and educating the new mahout generations on trying to change hundreds of years of abuse. It is beyond inspiring: http://www.elephantnaturefoundation.org/

I think my single most favorite thing about elephants is their soulful eyes. This ele is crazy for some bananas. But after spending just a week with them you really pick up on their language & expressions. They really are some of the most gentle, special, loving creatures.

I also loved the way they were constantly scratching. Elephants have surprisingly sensitive skin.

The reserve has 33 elephants, 3 pigs, tons of dogs, water buffalo, and plenty of mice & rats too.

Here is Michele in all her food preparation glory. She is an Aussie who came to help out for a couple weeks 6 years ago & has not left! It was fun helping her out, plus she always had great tunes playing.

I like this photo because you can really see the indentions right behind May Kum Geaws eyes. It is easy to tell a general age of elephants by looking at their forehead. The deeper the indentions the older the elephant.

About half way into our week we got to take an overnight excursion with the ele's to Elephant Heaven. We hiked about 2 hours with the elephants up into jungle paradise. We lucked out because they had just built a bridge back that had collapsed and we just missed the rain that cancelled the next groups trip.

The elephants were pretty wiped out after our hike. When we arrived to our camp they spent at least 45 minutes enjoying their mud bath.

These garments were blessed by monks. Every group that goes to Elephant Heaven wraps them around trees to protect them from the loggers that are trying to destroy the surrounding areas.

Here is a perfect example of what should not be happening. Many of these elephants had blood marks from beatings. If you ever go to Thailand please do not ride the elephants or give money to street elephants.

Another day we got to go to the local school & play with all the kiddos. Obviously I was in paradise. There always is a group of children outside of school that cook treats to raise money. They were totally delish.

Oh yeah- for all those Eanes & Mystic people we taught the kindergarteners how to "GO BANANAS!"

Dr. Rob & nurse Jeannette pretty much adopted all the "youngsters" in the group. They were a lovely Australian couple who were going to go to Europe but after hearing about the reserve decided to cancel & come work with the ELE'S in Thailand.

Heres, Number 1, our guard dog.

Nat our "volunteer coordinator"

Dam is the mahout for May Kum Geaw (my favorite elephant!) Everyone made fun of him because he used to be the mahout for Hope (a naughtier elephant) & since he has switched he had put on some pounds since he does not have to run around chasing Hope anymore.

Meadow (on the right) broke her back in a poorly run breeding camp. When we humans break our back we are totally incapacitated. Seeing Meadow and her friend & they way they care for & protect each other makes me melt.

Yep- I caught Jungle Boy in action!

Helen & I with the British card playing boys Ben & Greg.