Notes and musings

I'm back in the Tokyo's Admiral's Club waiting for my flight in a few hours. I've come a full circle because this was where I launched this blog.

So, a few notes and/or musings:

1. I feel very lucky weather-wise because as humid and hot as the weather has been, we lost only part of 1 day due to rain in Hoi An. Currently, Hanoi is flooded with between 1 - 2 feet of water. Bangkok got immense rains while I was in Chiang Mai but was fine when I returned.
   
2. While Hanoi is a big city, it also has 18 lakes within the city limits which offer great tranquility and beauty. I don't know how many were there before the war started but now there are 18.
   
3. Hanoi is becoming a major center for art. There are stunning galleries everywhere and I actually bought some landscape photographs because they were so beautiful.
4. I really don't like Saigon. The traffic is horrendous and the mood is capitalism. Throw the family on the scooter and go find a way to make tons of money. I think Ho Chi Minh would be appalled by how the country has turned out and it makes our reasoning for the war even more insane.
5. But, the best food I had the entire trip was in Saigon. This restaurant served a 7-course French Vietnamese meal (vegetarian for Jacqui and me) that was the most delightful food I may have ever had. We sat across from a business dinner of about 30 people. Americans meeting their new Asian partners. Very IBM looking.
   
6. As you land in Danang and Saigon, old American quonset huts stretch across the landscape. Creepy.
   
7. Thais believe that soft mattresses are a sign of being poor so you sleep on hard mattresses which could easily serve as floors.
8. Cambodia is a stunning country which is facing a lot of challenges. The people are lovely - sweet, kind and vastly undereducated. Tourism is great for the economy but they aren't developing the infrastructure or setting limits necessary for long term success. Siem Reap is allowing resorts to be built as fast as possible but they're endangering the water table by overtaxing it. And the roads are narrow and under-maintained. When it rains, the streets are flooded and drainage takes days.
9. I always thought Angkor Wat was the name for the entire ruins. Not so. Angkor Wat is just one of the Angkors. There are many Angkors and they are still finding them.
   
10. I'm glad I came to Angkor now because they are finally coming to the realization that the ruins are being eroded and damaged by all the traffic through them so I expect that railings will be built soon which will detract from photography but will hopefully save them.
11. Those monks who built Angkor were seriously warped. They built these steps that are about 4 inches wide but 24 inches high.
12. I adore Thailand and especially Bangkok. There's an energy that's exciting and there are a million things to do. And it's all cheap for us.
13. Getting something massaged every day is a lovely way to live.
14. I miss all of you and am ready to see you.