The Wire

Someone asked me the other day why Baltimore was so violent.  My guess is that they have been watching The Wire as I have the last month.  I didn't think of this at the time.  I told them that Baltimore was like most places, good and bad.  I have cable television here and they have been showing season 3 of show.  Season 3 is probably my favorite.  The Wire for all its grittiness is just beautiful in its honesty.  This show and The Simpsons are the two greatest shows in the history of television.

Click on me- Ending Montage Season 3

Cambodia, Initial Thoughts

Cambodia at first sight is unimpressive in its dust blown flatness.  In under a day I had traveled from the green mountains which surround Dalat to the flooded rice fields of the Vietnamese delta and finally to the dry heart of Cambodia.   I spent seven hours on the bus traveling to Phnom Penh in the early morning.  I was the only westerner on the bus.  I watched the flat plains and stilt houses roll past.  In the front of their homes were water holes that provided a small reprieve for cow and man from heat of the dry season.  Something that stuck out about the bus ride was the ferry crossing.  It made me think I was entering a different world somehow.  When I arrived in Phnom Penh I was greeted by tuk-tuk drivers that were advertising the local tourist spots.  The first thing offered to me was a hotel and a tour of the killing fields.  His selling point was the shooting range at the killing fields.  That turned me off to the idea.  I don't know if one can really fire a gun at the killing fields, but I'm sure I wouldn't want to.  I decided to instead to take a shower and eat a full lunch.  I walked around the city for a little while before stumbling upon the 700 year old stupas of Wat Phnom.  Inside of the largest stupa are the remains of one of the kings of the ancient Khmer empire.  Today it's a park and the center of a surprisingly modern eastern capitol.  What actually excited me about the park was the monkeys jumping from tree to tree and the elephant in he park.  At first they excited me and then they drew my interest and I began to think on them.  The elephant had been reduced by its owner to a beggar in the park.  As I got closer to it, I imagined that its countenance was not a happy one.  Then I also saw a mother monkey holding its dead baby in her arms as she desperately tried to awake it.  This went on for some time before she took him away with her.  In both instances the monkey and the elephant seemed very human in their actions.  I felt for them.  I felt like these animals were suffering some sort of public embarrassment, and then I realized that animals don't suffer all the ills of city life that we do.  I spent the night in some bars by the river and then took the bus up to Siem Reap the next morning.

Vietnam at Night

alleyway in Saigon

traffic and exercisers in the park in Saigon

backstreet in Dalat

karaoke and street in Dalat

flag at night

model boat store

traffic and flower festival in the park

sweet rice stand in Saigon

Disco Buddha overlooking Dalat

turning circle in Dalat

Jason taking his shot at Guava in Nha Trang

Badminton Tournament

Bao Luc vs. Dalat. A regional tournament was held at Dalat University.  So one of my neighbor's daughters, who happens to be one of the best players in Lam Dong province, was playing in the tournament.  I've tried playing her in badminton.  I lose every time, and lose badly.  I mostly end up sweaty, tired, and sore.  My prior badminton experience is limited to high school gym class, but it still doesn't feel good to get destroyed by a 16 year old girl.  Lin won two gold medals and a bronze at this tournament.

After The Leaving

"No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow." -  Lin Yutang

This being Jason's first time out of the country where no one was shooting at him.  We discussed the lull we often feel after returning home from a trip.  We should be happy to be home, but there is a sort of let down.  There should be a happiness to be home, but instead there is often a remorseful reminiscence of the recently ended trip.  It makes me wonder what it will feel like when I am home after Vietnam, this being the longest of my trips.  I imagine it'll be strange and awkward at first and then increasingly comfortable.

Why so Tall?

We probably underestimated the height and steepness of Lang Biang mountain.  We probably started a little too late in the day.  We probably should not have bothered to climb up to both peaks.  Somehow we ended up finishing our climb at dusk and walking back down the mountain in dark.  Jay and Ian rented some motorbikes and we all rode there in the late afternoon.  Most people pay to take one of the jeeps up to the top.  We decided against it.  The walk up to the top was paved but rather steep.  It did provide spectacular views of the surrounding valley.

Buddha on the Hill

I live at the top of a long hill the stretches away from the center of the city.  From where I live I can see most of the city laid out between the hills.  There are two Buddhas within a stone's throw of my apartment.  They watch over the city and its inhabitants.  The larger of the two is the smiling sitting Buddha.  From what I can research and tell from his pose, this Buddha stands for meditation and wisdom.  In particular it is most likely a reference to Buddha flower sermon where he said nothing and simply held a lotus flower in his hand.  It makes me think of the Bible passage I included at the start of this blog, "as for man, his days are like grass, /he flourishes like a flower of the field; /the wind blows over it and it is gone, /and its place remembers it no more."  I suppose that's a good reminder to have sitting at the top of the city.