Halong and Hue

What is a trip to Vietnam without a junk cruise on beautiful Halong Bay? The 1,600 odd shaped island mountains poking out of the water appear like inflated floating player's pieces in a giant's game of concentration. A delightful lunch was served by the crew, and as luck would have it, a guitar hiding in a corner was given to Ariento, the guide from Indonesia who was shadowing our (mentor) guide Sinh. Ariento studied classical guitar and held court with any request. We, all being about the same age enjoyed singing our "boomer" songs together. Only missing was a camp bonfire with roasted marshmallows. As a part of this world heritage site we dropped anchor to explore a huge grotto cave with many extraordinary cavernous rooms. Ariento was again a font of information as he is a geologist also. The group retired to cabins while the crew slept in the dining area. In the morning we were treated to a demo by the chef on the magic art of fashioning edible flowers from vegetables.

Hue is a former imperial Capitol of Vietnam. The fortress, built with help from the French is a moated citadel with an extensive former forbidden city. It is being slowly reconstructed with meticulous gold leaf applications and red paint.

A dragon boat ride on the Perfume River brought us to the Thien Mu Pagoda, the unofficial symbol of Hue. The religious order where the famous self immolated monk came from.

Buddhist nuns

An extradinory group of young women live and work at at the small Dieu Thanh Pagoda. To help their coffers they make lunch for OAT travelers. We arrived as they started cooking for us, all the while chatting and joking with our guide Sinh. The lunch was the best so far, and included a vegetable tempura. A 24 year old nun was available for a question and answer session. She explained how the order operates and frankly answered all questions.

Orphanage

When possible Sinh takes his travelers to an orphanage run by another order of nuns. These women are saints. The clean, orderly buildings are run with efficiency and huge amounts of love. These young, very capable nuns, like beloved camp counsellors, judging from the positive contacts with all, oozed their fun loving attitude. The level of respect shown to them and by them wrapped around the oldest teens to the infants. The newest charge was ten days old, the oldest, a slightly mentally challenged nineteen year old who was a steady, friendly fixture in the compound. The children leave to go to local schools, take after school lessons and sports, then return to their "dorm" to eat and sleep. Older children are involved in helping the younger ones, and graduates return to volunteer.

This place is one of many that OAT supports through its charities in the countries it gives tours. Some of the students learn skills to help them in future employment. A well equipped sewing studio was my favorite. We were informed ahead of time and brought school supplies. A group of children around age ten met us and tried out their English, and were most polite and appreciative when receiving the gifts.