It seems so long since we were in Hong Kong…..The last week we have been in Vietnam and it has certainly been a different experience from visiting via airplane. On top of that, it has been rather cold for Vietnam and the air is amazingly polluted as the people are burning whatever to stay warm. We visited several areas that are heavy coal producers, so the air was grey and in some ports felt full of particulate matter. My eyes smarted just stepping outside. It smelled charred.
On top of that Carter and the infirmary were in overload. Most of the passengers who have breathing problems were very stressed – even their oxygen concentrators were not enough to overcome the pollution. Several passengers should have been sent off, but it was decided to keep them on until Singapore – if nothing else but for the better air quality. And that is added to the fact that many of the passengers have now reached the point that they have used up most of their reserve and they are starting to have very difficult problems to manage. The main problem for the medical team is to try to stay healthy themselves and not get overtaxed due to lack of sleep.
Vietnam itself was interesting to see thru the eyes of veterans. Once we entered the waters and saw the land, many of them had a visceral reaction to the place. They became subdued and saddened. Many just plain couldn’t get off the ship. They looked off onto the pier and saw the men squatting, smoking cigarettes; then they looked at the topography, the flat, lush landscape and felt the humidity. It all came back and most of it was painful. I can only imagine what the response to deserts scenery will do to the present group of soldiers serving in Iraq. Very sobering and sad.
Due to the medical situation on the ship, as well as the fact that we had been here before and the others had not, we stayed on the ship in HaLong and Da Nang. When we got to the south, near Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City), we took the shuttle into the port town. It was about an hour bus ride into this town – and we were still an hour away from Saigon. There are many more Catholic churches in the south than the north. They were very visible and grandiose. There were also some interesting sites. The little roadside restaurants were funny and I wish I could have had someone explain them to me. Most of them were open-air establishments with their little plastic chairs on a dirt floor. The corrugated roves were supported by poles and then strung between the poles were hammocks. It looked as though you would come into the restaurant, eat lunch and then have a nap. How convenient!
We had our first rather scary experience here and were disappointed. We were dropped off in town at the local fancy hotel and decided to go for a walk around town. Of course, we gravitated toward the park, overlooking the Saigon River. I suppose we should have taken note that we were the only white people in the park, but we figured it was because of the intense sun. While we were walking a young man came up to us and really started to crowd Carter. He was trying to get to his fanny pack. Carter was polite at first, but the kid kept crowding. In frustration, Carter pushed him aside. At this point, the kid called to someone else in the park and I could see that we were going to get double-teamed. So we started out of the park, back to the area where all the hawkers were. Before we reached there, this guy returned and began to get rather aggressive. Again, Carter pushed him away and luckily we were able to leave the park………..Once we got back on the ship, we spoke with other passengers who said they had similar unsettling experiences while in this town. It sad to have our visit left with a sour taste.
March 7, 2008
We have been traveling west and just had to put our clocks forward an hour for going to Singapore. This made no sense, until we looked at the map and figured that Singapore and Malaysia all wanted to be on the same time zone, so even though they are in the area that should be one hour back, they chose to go forward to be with the rest of Borneo and Brunei. Take a look at the map. It defies reason.
The social obligations of Carter’s job are probably the hardest part for me. We spend many evenings attending cocktail parties (something our generation rarely does) and fancy dinners. Women spend most of the day preparing their clothes and jewelry for these evenings. This isn’t exactly in my repertoire – and lucky Carter just has to wear his uniform. I have found that if I go to the gym right before and get rid of much of my excess energy, I do much better being social.
Funny story right before we left Saigon. Carter had sent a woman off to be evaluated at a local hospital, probably to have surgery. The hospital called and said they could only communicate in French. Was there someone who spoke French? Carter volunteers – a mistake!! Neither of us knows any medical French. There were many, “Je ne comprends pas.” statements. Poor Carter! Finally, he made them understand that he wanted to speak with the patient. That worked and he then got most of the scoop.
Two people we have become close to are leaving in Singapore. But they live in Sacramento, CA and are already planning to come up to Ashland, OR to meet when we go to the Shakespeare Festival. Should be fun.
Kit got hit by a car while riding his bike. Luckily, there is no head injury, but he separated his shoulder and my need surgery. Nate and Alemitu are there being supportive, thank goodness.
Labels: Personal
posted by Hills @ 10:02 PM
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