Winnie Post 3: Viet Nam

Please feel free to share these emails w/ Bill or whomever - I just like to 
write to you all and keep you informed - plus it acts like a journal for me.  
Today it is warm but foggy or smoggy - we were picked up by the husband of one 
of the women we were w/ in the past few days.  He drove us to his father's home.  
His father is a famous artist - the Van Gogh of Viet Nam - they live in a 5 
story home and it is filled w/ his oil paintings.  It is common for the son to 
bring his wife to the home of his parents to live - and we got to see 4 of the 5 
stories.  The home had a central stair case so you could look up and see all 5 
stories.  There was no wall space free as every possible wall was adorned w/ his 
oil paintings and they are large ones.  His son mixes music for a living and has 
a studio across the stair case from his father's art studio.  In the art studio 
are literally hundreds of canvases.  Beaver was really impressed w/ the son's 
music studio for recording artists.  
> 

> 
> When we arrived, we all took off our shoes and were given flip flops. 

Then we were taken to the living room which had 6 chairs and ever 

so much art work, including bronze sculptures, stone sculptures, 

and tremendous art work.  Then we were given tea.  After tea, we 

were given an art tour and saw their bedrooms and kitchen. 

Fascinating. Bedrooms were large 25' square and all open. 

In it were their beds, armoires,

child's toys and crib, dressing table etc.  
> 
> 
> At the end of the visit, the artist wanted to give me a gift and 

pulled out a large art 

book of all of his art work.  He wanted to know how to write my name 

so he could inscribe it for 

me, which he did and then presented it to me!  It pays to be an elder! 

Now of course you must want 

to know his name...the book is in Linh's room as she is going to pack it 

so my suitcase won't be so heavy...so you will be held in anticipation 

for a day or so! [His name is Van Tho.]
> 

http://vantho.vxartgallery.com/About/

> 
> Duy Man sat me down this AM and wanted to tell me about the party tonight.  
Since I had seen the wedding at the hotel a couple of nights ago, he said that 
would give me an idea of how tonight will go.  There will be about 100 people in 
attendance.  Beav and Ha My will be introduced, Duy Man will speak, and there 
will be a slide show of the wedding ongoing.  They will play Beav's music from 
his CDs and then there will be a receiving line that will last about 45 minutes.  
A meal will be served.  I can speak and Andy will translate for me but I think I 
will be silent, for once.  The entire event will last about 2 hours and then it 
is over.  Duy Man said that is how they do it here, not long like our wedding 
receptions.
> 
> 
> My 'dress' arrived.  I have red silk pants, rather wide legs and the top is 
mandarin collar.  The fabric is red and black brocade-like.  The bodice is lined 
while the remainder of the tunic and sleeves are same fabric but w/o lining, 
they are more see through.  The tunic length is below my knees and the slit in 
the sides of the tunic begin around the hips, I think.  I have not tried it on 
so who knows.  
> 
> 
> Well it is time for me to begin my dressing process!  Wish me luck in not 
making any major gaffs! 

Winnie Post 4: Viet Nam

The outfits: I was wrong about where the slit in the sides began...not at the hip but above the waist - right where the rolls are!  Sweet!  I loved the concept of mine better than the look but I was told that I looked nice.  Ha My's was perfect.  Her dress was shades of pink, going from light pink to a deeper rose.  She looked radiant and I do mean radiant.  Thanh Ha's dress was elegant!  Her material was navy brocade and the length of the tunic was long - very elegant and regal.  Duy Man was still not feeling 100% but he was a fine speaker and seemed very happy to be introducing William to his friends and family.

I still cannot tell you my impression of first walking into the room without crying!  And as tears roll down my cheeks it is tough to type.  The room was huge, long and rectangular w/ a stage at the far end.  The entire room was white with tables of 8 on both sides of a center aisle.  The tables were white table cloths, red table runners, chairs of white slip covers and large red sashes tied on the backs.  Every table had floral bouquets that were fake but you had to touch them to believe it. It was stunning and simply beautiful.  I was totally stunned and of course burst into tears, which I could not stop (and still cannot...why oh why?)

Friends and family arrived - each woman in lovely dresses like ours - altho I clearly noted that their fabric was much more elegant than my NY purchase and they are all long instead of knee length.  It was a fashion show of beauty.  Hiep, the father of the two sisters I have referred to in my emails took me under his wing, as did his wife Duc.  She speaks less English but they and the two daughters (one of whose home we went to yesterday = artist and 5 stories) have just been super to me.  They are by far my favorites, perhaps because I can speak more easily w/ them.

I was sitting by the door watching people come in when an elder was assisted in and sat next to me.  Linh sat with us and the elder lady dressed in a lovely brocade jacket began touching my arm.  She squeezed it from bicep down to wrist as if testing for fat or strength.  Then she said to me:  How old are you?  67  "I am 82.  Where is your husband?"  Dead. "Mine is too.  How long he been dead?"  22 years  "Mine dead 6 years.  I want you to come to dinner at my house."  Linh explained that we were leaving tomorrow but I was very flattered that she would invite me.  The lady proceeded to tell me she had been to Russia but never to US - and all the while squeezing my arm up and down. Of course I adored her!  

Then we were shown our tables.  The first table was for the elder family.  We were at the second table and B and HM on one side, Linh and I one the end facing the stage, Andy and Hiep across from B and HM and facing our end was Duc and a woman whose name I did not get.  She was at our table because she spoke English well.  Unfortunately the tables were so long that you couldn't really converse easily.  There were several dishes - a wonderful thick egg soup and another vegetable soup, shrimp, brown and white rice, salad, a long white fish that they came out w/ scissors to cut and it was full of vegetables, a chicken bowl...very lovely displayed.

Duy Man spoke to all and Linh translated for me.  He welcomed everyone and told them about William and Ha My - told them about their jobs and how they met. There was a slide show of all of the wedding pictures ongoing as well. During the dinner several men and one woman came to the table to toast us all.  Had that gone on longer, I could have been crocked!  William was drinking green tea in his wine glass so it passed for wine.   After the dinner, people got up and the crowd began to leave.  

There was no receiving line per se that I saw but a heap of pictures.  Many people came up to me and bowed.  It was really an incredible party.  As people were leaving, Hiep pulled me aside to show me something.  In the park across the road was an outdoor concert going on w/ traditional VN music instruments.  I took a video of it as I could not begin to describe the scene.  The instrument was an ornately carved wooden dragon w/ a string across the top and a black stick like thing on the top.  The black thing was flexible and the man played the string w/ a toothpick like thing while moving the black stick to change the tones.  The tone was a very high pitch that actually hurt my ears up close.  Soon B and HM and others joined us for a bit and then we walked back to our hotel.  A fine party indeed!

One final note on the dress = impossible to get into or out of alone!  And I have no idea how to clean it!

Hope you all are surviving the wicked snow -  today we leave Hanoi and fly to Da Nang!

Winnie Post 2: Viet Nam

Up at 6 and checked email - that was fun to be connected to you all!  This afternoon Ha My and I spent time together - we went to Hanoi Hilton Prison where John McCain was held.  Interesting that the part of the prison open was staged about the French invasion of Viet Nam, little about the 'Viet Nam war.  The prison was built by the French but used by the Vietnamese from 1964-1973.  As Ha My stated, there wouldn't be much on the war as it might put the country in a bad light.  

We spent the morning looking at Hoan Kiem Lake and an old temple there in.  Lots of history but one temple begins to look like another...yet in the afternoon we went thru the Temple of Literature which dates back to 1300!  Now I hope we can be templed out!

Then we went to the Dong Xuan Market which is amazing...it is a market place that is packed w/ stalls of everything you can imagine from suitcases to purses to foods to kids clothing to fabric.  Unbelievably packed w/ merchandise - so packed that it is hard to move.  Bought nothing but fun to putter.

Duy Man sick all day so never saw him at all - so dinner was just Ha My, Beav, and me - went to a great restaurant where we sat at low tables on on lower benches.  Food delicious and the bill for the three of us was $10.00!!!  Tomorrow we get our new outfits - w/out trying them on (scary) - and the party for Ha My and Beav is tomorrow night.  

We walked miles and I am ready for bed!

Winnie Post 1: Viet Nam

Safe arrival - Asiana Airlines is great - Korean flight attendants w/ china 
doll faces and graceful flowing moving bodies.  They all looked alike and it was 
a great flight in spite of about 13+ hours!  Arrived in Seoul, Korea (immaculate 
airport) and flew to Hanoi, another 4+ hours. Arrived in Hanoi at 10:30 PM 
although that was 10:30 AM on Christmas day NY time.  Ha My's parents met us - 
Linh had flown in from Saigon and had terrible food poisoning and was terribly 
sick.  We all took a van to our hotel, Blue Paradise.  I have a very compact 
room with a bed, armoire and bathroom.  The shower is really a hand held job but 
it has done the trick.  My room is next to Ha My's family's room.  
> Christmas day we came downstairs to our breakfast in the 'dining' room - they 
have a Christmas tree in the lobby all decorate with balloons and ornaments.  
They had a huge spread of foods but I was very shy about eating them.  Beaver 
has eaten everything in sight!  He is brushing his teeth w/ tap water even.  Not 
me.,,yet.
> We took cabs to the place to get our outfits made.  Went to two of 
them...Laurie, they can't make your tunic w/ that model you sent as it is 
stretch material.  Can you email me some measurements like bust, shoulder to arm 
and length of tunic you want?
> Let me tell you about Hanoi...they beep horns all the time - traffic is 
totally chaotic with a zillion mopeds flying around.  Regular sized mopeds often 
carry a full family, including little tots!  Unbelievable.  There is tons of 
construction and povery and filth.  The air is so polluted that the riders wear 
these neat colored face masks - hope to find some and bring them home for the 
kids to play w/!  Shops are very narrow and full of stuff and full of dust.  The 
nicer ones have glass and doors protecting them from the dust.  In the afternoon 
we met Ha My's cousins (2 lovely women younger than Beaver!) and they took us to 
a wonderful linen shop where they bought Ha My very elegant sheets and a 
matching duvet cover.  All beautifully designed and definitely not permanent 
press.
> Looking at the streets I have seen many people riding bikes full of their 
wares, flowers, TV's, foods - hopefully my pics will show some of 
these...baskets on heads, poles across shoulders carrying trays of food.
> After lunch we came back to the hotel for a nap and I did sleep.  then Beaver, 
Ha My, Andy, Linh all went to visit the 'evil grandmother'.  I didn't hear too 
many stories about that yet.  I dressed and went w/ Duy Man and Thanh Ha to 
Thaing Joi (means victory) hotel - It is a Cuban built elegant hotel on a lake -  
our purpose was to attend Duy Man's family reunion.  There were 18 of us for a 
very elegant meal.  I was presented w/ the menu and all who attended signed it 
for me.  Pretty neat!
> We got there earlier than the other attendees so Duy Man and Ha showed me 
around the hotel and told of its history.  Interesting but I forgot most of it 
as I began to look at a wedding taking place in one of the rooms...there were 
500 people in attendance!  The bride, groom and the families spent the entire 
time in a reception line!  The outfits on the mothers were to die for!  I took 
photos of them.
> Today we had to be at breakfast at 7 and on the road by 7:30 AM.  There were 
13 of us in a van and we drove for over 3 hours to see the Middle School that is 
in honor of his grandfather, and Duy Man funds a foundation of scholarship $$ 
for 10 students.  It is like a giant motel w/ small classrooms.  I took pics of 
that - then on to their family burial plot and temple.  The ritual for burial is 
that the deceased is buried in a large field for 3 years.  After 3 years, the 
tomb opened and the remains taken out and put into a very small ornate box. Then 
the box is taken to the family temple where it is laid to rest and the spirits 
can finally rest.  We took food, fake money, incense to decorate the pile of 
dirt.  All the family members who came w/ us participated in the ritual.  Then 
we went to the fancy ornate spot where the bodies are buried and also went to 
the Buddist Monastery Temple under the rocks that is next to the Vu burial spot.  
Very ornate and lots of altars, all of which had to be decorated w/ food etc.
> We ate lunch there but one set of family did not like the food so refused to 
eat!  So on the way to the Pagodas, we stopped to eat again. Finally got to this 
incredible set o gigantic Pagodas.  We had to rub all these sculptures for 
luck...Jeff, your OCD would have been out of control there!  And washing hands 
is not the norm!  Oh we peed outside in the back of the monastery!!! and then in 
the men's room at the Pagodas!  
> We walked along rice paddies and I nearly caused an accident as a biker was 
coming along w/ bushels of vegetables and they all yelled for me to get out of 
the way...and I jumped right in front of him,  He swerved and nearly lost his 
balance  and he was followed by a huge oxen so I get out of his way fast!  We 
got back to the hotel about 8 PM.  
> The poverty is hard to take - as is the dust!  We all have dry coughs - Beaver 
is unbelievable.  He eats everything in sight, is very funny, and is lovely to 
me.  Everyone has been lovely to me...think I am the oldest!  
> Best get to bed as have a busy day tomorrow.