The last five days...Hoi An, Hue

Alright true believers this account has to be quick and only mildly verbose.

Gee willikers, so alot has gone down since I took inventory and exited Saigon. I landed in Hoi An for my first stop and it was just a gem of a city. The whole old quater is designated as a UNESCO world heritage sight seeing as it has been a focal point of trade and conquest for the last 2 or 3 thousand years or so. Everyone has had a hand into Hoi An, and even before the sea faring people made it a thriving pot of call it and surrounding areas were part of the Champa Kingdom, a pre- Angkorian civilisation.  Hoi An is a study of beauty and the enduring qualities that make a place ever and always peaceful. Flowers bloom on ancient bows and hang over foot paths. The buildings are stone and dark, ornamented wood. At night Chinese lanterns cast subtle light. I spent 4 days in ease, well nearly ease, it was Hot, no I mean HOT.  On my third day I rented a motor bike and drove myself 35 miles out of Hoi An at 5:30am. The city was marching to the market and the sun was still lingering in the palms patiently. I soared past endless greens of rice paddies and hunched figures getting to it before the sun was too much. Water buffalo grazed and ox waded deep into the mire. Just green. Palm, and banana, paddy after paddy. The scenes of rural Vietnam  are incomparaible in gentle peace. I got turned around a few times but with the aid of friendly locals finally made it to My Son where the Champa Ruins are. I pulled my bike up to a young man before the entrance to the world heritage site and he said he would look after my bike, no charge. His family has a small shop and since I have had nothing to eat they were delighted to bring me water, coffee, and a steaming bowl of pho.

The Ruins are nothing special, I mean nice, but after Angkor they were more like lincoln logs. Only two major sites had anything to really see, but I managed to trapse through some dog paths and find a few other piles of jutting brick amond the tall grasses and dragon flies. At the end of the trial a man a girl asks me my name. I have been going by Joe for a few weeks. My name is Joe and I'm a boxer. Whatever it's my fantasy. She is with a young man and four boys. She stutters; "My family house to go ten kilometers...very happy for us for you to come to my family home. Ok?"

Delighted.

We march out of the park, the boys looking at me with joy and suspect that this might all be to good to be true. I follow them down the road, they are piled on two motor bikes and we turn onto a narrow lane flanked by cotton and corn. This is the country.

"Everybody gone in the cotton 'n the corn, didn't leave nobody but the babe."

They live simple, beautiful lives. We drank tea and they brought out plates of fruit and we ate mounds of jack fruit and others I can't name. The house was simple, the beds were simple and darn near everything was simple. Mother and aunt and Grandma just beamin at me, self conscious, astounded, glad. I got the full tour in strangled english; puppies, pigs, corn, cotton, bananas, chickens and chicks, coconut, peppers, jack fruit, and acres of sun drenched palm.

You can see the family on the last few pages of our my photos page.

From Hoi An to Hue. Arriving at Hue I tumble out of the bus and and in a lobby, just chill for a second to let all the touts gathered to become dissintersted. An English bloke sits in one of the chairs and says to another; "Well, it's good enough, 8 dollars and it has three beds." They look at me and without them either party really asking we make introductions and throw our packs on the stiff matrasses. This is the easy, assured manner in which travelers meet and I am certainly glad for the company. There is a mutual trust and bond that is unamable and pure. After so many months on the road we on certain mlevels already know and understand each other. That night over 5 big mugs of beer I talk with authority on Spiderman and the end of the Universe. the Tall one is Baz, the well, shorter one is Luke. They are good guys.

Hue is home to the old Imperial City which was the residence for the Nguyen dynasty, the last of the kings to rule Vietnam, until 1945. After '75 the Peoples Commitee found the intricate palacial structures to be politically incorrect so they lefy whatever had managed to survive the war to rack and ruin. Only in the '90's did they get their act together to restore what could be saved. It is quite an amazing sight. I wandered about the grounds for 4 hours engulfed in the history. I love the swept away feeling of strolling about where the energy of human triumph and drama is so thick you can taste it.

In 2 hours we bus 14 hours to the capitol city of Ha Noi, 2 or 3 days there and I will be making a border run into Laos. I need to assemble a party in Ha Noi to rent transport to the border.

wish me luck