Music Man

The great trumpet valve oil hunt was concluded this week when Lulli and Gumps came back from Bangkok with some. We had found this trumpet for Silas about three weeks ago, when we’d gone to the music store to get my guitar fixed (played it outside; came back inside; tuned it, broke the nut — presumably its glue a victim of the extraordinary climate variance). Anyway, we saw this trumpet and figured, why not? But no valve oil. And so began the great valve oil hunt. There doesn’t appear to be any in the entire city of Saigon. We solicited several recommendations re. substitutes; they all agreed (even the crazy guy from Wilmington, N.C. whom Scott and I met after watching some Fulham match at the Bhudda Bar) that vegetable oil would work so long as we cleaned the entire instrument out with soap and water each week. We seemed poised to try this a few times but never got around to it… Besides, Silas picked up a new musical obsession last week in Cambodia: a two-stringed instrument, a trol, which he bought from a vendor outside Ta Prohm. You play it with a bow (there's a picture of a fellow playing one in the Angkor Wat gallery) and some Chinese dude gave Silas a lesson in the Siem Reap airport while were waiting for our flight out. Cool moment actually. Silas screeching away on the thing with Lulli looking on, offering some advice from the somewhat relevant perspective of the cellist she is, and this old codger comes shuffling over and just stands in front of the boy watching him. Finally Lulli asks him if he knows how to play, and the guy nods and reaches for the trol. He sits down and starts in on it, a bit rustily, but he gets it down quickly and tunes it and shows Silas how to hold the bow. Played Frere Jacques, then reveals he hadn’t played one of these in 60 years! He had a great time. We had to get to our gate but I think he’d have gone for hours… In an case, the trol was broken when we got back to HCMC, coming through the final security check, the smushed victim of two oversized bags belonging to a less-than-attentive, Gucci-bedecked Viet Kieu family. So we’re off the music story again today to get it fixed. Remains to be seen what we’ll come home with.

Personal Training

So Sharon is way modest to blog about it, but during our 10 weeks in HCMC she has solidified and built on the weight she dropped last fall. She’s working out nearly every day, in the fitness room downstairs here at the Ava, in the pool here doing laps. She’s been obliged to take in a bunch of pants and looks great, i.e. better even than usual. Ironic because she, and we, as a unit, are not eating nearly so responsibly, or macrobiotically, as she (and by extension we) ate during the fall when she embarked on a healthy eating and exercise kick and dropped the weight. We eat out a lot here cuz it’s convenient and cheap, and for some reason we seem to keep a lot more soda and chocolate in the apartment. Like we deserve it somehow? Maybe it’s because despite all the work and school, it does sorta feels like we’re in vacation mode. Or maybe it’s because Sharon and I have been working out so much, and the kids are so active, biking around in the heat and swimming every day. Maybe we have earned it. I know I have. I’ve been working out like a fiend and have definitely lost some weight, and I’m as fit as I’ve been during any winter period since god knows when. We went to a sorta dressy dinner last night and Sharon stepped out in a killer new black&white dress that is suited to her new svelte shape. Obviously, I like the dress — and I’ve been warned that I had better like it: Because the other one she has on this trip doesn’t fit. Too big. And the dresses for sale here in Vietnam are mainly designed for women WAY smaller than her, or so she says. So everything’s relative.

Clara: All In

So Clara came home from her school concert Thursday night and despite a triumphant turn alongside her classmates, performing a traditional North Vietnamese folk dance, she was bummed. We had watched her palling around with her friend Phuong Anh and others; she was totally at home and in the moment. And yet: “I can’t do this…” Do what? “I can’t believe I have to leave all my friends.” This was exactly what she had moaned about in December before leaving for Vietnam, only she had referred to her New Gloucester friends, and how she’d miss them, and why did we have to be away for FOUR months? Well, that’s one of the reasons we love Clara: She’s all in, all the time. We’re very proud of her, and Silas, for the way they’ve adapted to life here, made new friends, traveled around, tried new things. But we were more worried about Clara because, well, she’s 10 and she’s not so computer literate that she can stay in good touch with Louisa, with Melody, with Suzie and Clementine — or not so well as her big brother does with his friends. But she has done pretty well ramping up her computer skills, and she has done better than that making new friends here. After the concert, when we’d had a chance to snuggle and talk about all this, she left me with this admonishment (without the slightest irony): “We have to come back. And we have to stay for more than four months.”

I take it back...

I just read this article in the NYT online: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/09/business/09dollar.html which leads me to believe the lack of visible NGO aid trucks in Cambodia is more likely due to a decrease in aid as opposed to a rising economy...yep, more doom and gloom even on the adventure blog...

Siem Reap, Kampuchea...

...now known as the Kingdom of Cambodia. The faint tinkling of the gamalon greets you as you arrive at the airport and permeates the air wherever you happen to be. It is the weekend and as in Vietnam, the distinct acrid odor of burning trash mingles with the perfumed blossoms adorning every plant.

Hal's parents are traveling with us and we have made the beautiful Sofitel Angkor our haven from the heat and the dust of the day.

Angkor Wat has the least shade so at 8:00 a.m. Saturday we headed there first. It is a single complex built by King Suryavarman II in the 12th century and originally dedicated to the Hindu God Vishnu - the protector of creation. The layout is "of sacred Hindu cosmos design". I love my DK Eyewitness Travel Guidebook. The lotus-shaped temples in the middle stand for the center of the universe, the outer walls are the outer edges of the world, and the moat represents the cosmic ocean. As in the other temples, the architecture is amazing along with the bas relief carvings in the hallways of the outer walls.

Nearby Ta Prohm is a temple complex overgrown by and glued together with the roots of kapok trees. You meander down a shaded lane to reach it, serenaded by a group of land-mine victims playing local instruments. Once there it is an amalgamation of ruins and roots. It was much smaller than Hal remembered it and we're not sure if that is because more of it has collapsed and been shut off, or if we wandered the grounds in a different way last time. You exit down another shaded path at the opposite end where you are again serenaded by land-mine victims playing regional instruments.

Angkor Thom differs in that it is a complex of buildings in a very large walled area - you cannot see the walls as you wander about. It was built by King Jayavarman VII late in the 12th century. We entered through the south gate (do they spec the van to fit the gate?) and started at the Bayon - a large complex of 54 towers with over 200 carved stone heads! This was Clara's favorite - there were a lot of places to climb around. The slight breeze and overcast day made for a more comfortable experience. After moving down the road a bit and wandering through Baphoun we decided temples that start with "B" were enough for one day and a swim and lunch were in order. You must understand this is an extremely warm climate. To avoid heat exhaustion you must constantly drink copious quantities of water. You must also pack plenty of clothing because once you are done sightseeing you will be soaked in sweat. Those of you who know Clara know how happy she was about that!

Silas and Lulli wrapped up the day by returning to Angkor Wat for sunset. Looks like it was a pretty mellow scene, and from their account it sounds like even the desperate merchandise hawkers took a break to end the day. We're having a good time with Gumps and Lulli and it was fun to explore the temples with them.

Hal and I were here in August of 2007 and feel things have changed. More tourists, less accessability at the temple sites, fewer signs indicating the country restoring the site, and the absence of militarily escorted foreign aid delivery trucks. The streets too seem less congested and there is an order to be found in the traffic along with a marked lack of oxen drawn carts. Chickens and dogs are still prevalent, hotels and food are still inexpensive but it feels like the local economy is benefiting and moving forward from the promotion of their national treasure - the ancient temples.

If you click on the temple pictures they should open for you in another window with captions underneath.