TonyT
is one Smokin' Farker
- Joined
- Apr 8, 2012
- Location
- California
Day 5
Starting the day with the traditional hotel breakfast buffet oddities. There's no such thing as a breakfast, lunch, or dinner food here.
One of the things I've confirmed the last few days is that Vietnam is such an amalgamation of things. In the same areas of a city I can find different religions, things of enormous wealth/beauty, as well as things in shambles. There are so few people in the middle class, majority is poor and the very few wealthy. In 90% humidity, 98 deg temps I've seen 70 year old women on the freeway breaking up concrete with hoes, elderly men in a deep squat cleaning miles and miles of railroad tracks with a twig brush, vendors on a bicycle in rolling hills for literally 30 miles each way. In the midst of this, I sometimes catch a smile here and there.
From the locals I talked to, the majority (the poor) desperately hope that their religion will make things right in the end for them. They barely have the means to survive and whatever time and money left over, they give to their beliefs. This isn't a statement for, or against religion. It's simply a statement about what I've been told about the religious system in Vietnam. It's what gives them hope. This belief and investment, have made some amazingly beautiful and inspiring pieces of "hope".
The Catholic church here was made during the french occupation. They brought in dynamite to blow up parts of a mountain to build this on top of. The large Buddha here is 75m, ~250ft tall. Walking into these places, is almost like walking into another world. A refuge from the rest of life.
My guide for this leg of the tour told me she made it her goal to show me what was important to her local family: the strength of their belief and the amazing local food her family eats when they celebrate. In this meal you'll notice the variety of sauces, the fresh and pickled veggies, a new type of rice "com nieu" indicative of this region (cooked in a play pot so you get both crunchy and soft rice), light tasting steamed food, heavy sauced others, etc. Basically it's a family meal that lets the person choose exactly how much of what flavor they want.
Starting the day with the traditional hotel breakfast buffet oddities. There's no such thing as a breakfast, lunch, or dinner food here.
One of the things I've confirmed the last few days is that Vietnam is such an amalgamation of things. In the same areas of a city I can find different religions, things of enormous wealth/beauty, as well as things in shambles. There are so few people in the middle class, majority is poor and the very few wealthy. In 90% humidity, 98 deg temps I've seen 70 year old women on the freeway breaking up concrete with hoes, elderly men in a deep squat cleaning miles and miles of railroad tracks with a twig brush, vendors on a bicycle in rolling hills for literally 30 miles each way. In the midst of this, I sometimes catch a smile here and there.
From the locals I talked to, the majority (the poor) desperately hope that their religion will make things right in the end for them. They barely have the means to survive and whatever time and money left over, they give to their beliefs. This isn't a statement for, or against religion. It's simply a statement about what I've been told about the religious system in Vietnam. It's what gives them hope. This belief and investment, have made some amazingly beautiful and inspiring pieces of "hope".
The Catholic church here was made during the french occupation. They brought in dynamite to blow up parts of a mountain to build this on top of. The large Buddha here is 75m, ~250ft tall. Walking into these places, is almost like walking into another world. A refuge from the rest of life.
My guide for this leg of the tour told me she made it her goal to show me what was important to her local family: the strength of their belief and the amazing local food her family eats when they celebrate. In this meal you'll notice the variety of sauces, the fresh and pickled veggies, a new type of rice "com nieu" indicative of this region (cooked in a play pot so you get both crunchy and soft rice), light tasting steamed food, heavy sauced others, etc. Basically it's a family meal that lets the person choose exactly how much of what flavor they want.