It's Christmas in Vietnam and it has been a day of contrasts. This morning we left Whale Island after celebrating Christmas Eve with the group. We had a special meal that ended with a Buche de Noel. But the real treat was that one of the couples carried a large tin of Christmas cookies baked by the mother of another couple they met up with for this trip. They were delicious and those who know me know how much I love cookies. We ended the evening with a rousing Vietnamese version of Parchessi. The guides Vu and Thai wanted to make it into a drinking game which I guess is traditional but if I had had to drink up every time one of my horses got sent back, they would have had to take me to the nearest hospital!
When we got on the bus for the drive to where we were going to start today's ride, Vu informed us that one of the couples had collected donations from their friends. They had asked Vu to buy as many school,supplies as possible and donate them to a school. They were gracious enough to include the group. We stopped with our huge tour bus next to this small 2-room school and entered the classrooms to meet the students and teachers. School is in two sessions because of overcrowding so the kids either go from 7-11 or 1-5. You can see in the pictures that this is particular school was pretty basic. Vu says school is not free. Neither are the books and supplies. This community of mostly shrimp farmers just does not have the money to improve the school. One little girl of maybe 6 years old got up in front of the class and led them in singing for us. One of the people on the tour was taking pictures with his iPad and showing the kids who were getting a kick out of it. It was really a slice of life you do not get to see on any normal tourist route.
Today's ride was 40 miles in a big loop through rice paddies, shrimp farms, banana trees and villages. Each village has a broadcast system where someone in the community representing the government interests acts like a town crier all day long. He or she supplies news, weather reports and exhortations to continue Father Ho's guiding principles. As we approached one village I heard some music and Thai told me it was just propaganda. But it sounded familiar even from a distance. Turns out, it was Bing Crosby singing White Christmas! That was followed by Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire. Thai had never heard these songs and didn't know what they were. It was surreal riding through these very poor basic farming communities listening to iconic Christmas carols.
The last thing for today is that I will forever have a memory of the hundreds of children rushing out to the street as we rode through yelling "Hello!" and slapping our hands and of the hundreds more who couldn't get the the street quickly enough so called from their front yard or front door.
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