We have had a break, went to Nha Trang and Mui Ne. Nha Trang was cool, no ray of sunshine and windy at first, then it rained. Mui Ne was sunny, Uli picked a nice resort where we were able to relax in the sun.
B A C K - G L A N C E . . .
Now back in Tp HCM - or Sai Gon. Arrived Thursday night, a lot of traffic in the late afternoon. Our bus was using every little space to get ahead, used 3 out of four lanes on the 2 lane road plus 2 motor bike lanes. Amazing how it all works, overtaking is no problem regardless of oncoming traffic. It just works ... by using the motor bike lanes and the motorbikes simply have to find a space to escape.
Friday, 20th of January we had to go to our favourite bank (CBA) to withdraw $ 1000 for Ngoc Hong, the cancer patient from Ba Ton, Mekong delta. We were lucky to get the money when we did. During TET holiday (lunar new year) all the banks are closed for a W E E K !!! Unbelievable, TET holiday starts on the 23rd, which is today and goes for seven days.
On TET everyone goes home to spend time with the family. We were told Sai Gon will be deserted ... seeing is believing. One thing we already noticed, some shops have already closed.
From the bank we caught a cab to the Eden Cafe / church in Tu Duc district. We met with Sang and distributed rice, cooking oil, sugar, instant noodles and VND 100.000 to poor people in the area, as well as to 50 poor families who were listed by the local government.
Some people came to the Eden centre to pick up the goods, later on Sang drove us around to visit some poor people in the area, so we had a good look at their living conditions. We dropped off 10 packages at another church on the way back to the city.
Back at the hotel by 5:30 - a long and tiring day.
Saturday, 21st of Jan - Visit of Ngoc Hong in Ba Ton
7:30 we got picked up, it was a two hour drive to My Tho, then another half hours to Ba Ton. The roads were shockers with motor bikes, and most of them overloaded, up to two adults and 3 kids plus flowers, cartons of soft drinks and beer plus bags full of presents for the family. We had to leave the main road to avoid TET traffic jams.
On the way we stopped to buy some traditional TET gifts, two yellow flower pots and a yellow melon. Red and yellow are the TET colours. Finally we arrived, but the house looked pretty posh. This was as far as the car could go, next 2 k's on the honda. Then a short walk and we met the family and one of Ngoc Hong's teachers.
Click on photo to ENLARGE and to view slide show !!!
Bying the flowers and the melons all in one place
Lots of people bought flowers ...
On the way carrying the flowers and the melon
When we saw Ngoc Hong we were surprised because her hair is growing again, which is a good sign.
We met the whole family, her mother, little sister and her father who is working in Sai Gon as a bricklayer, he only comes home once every fortnight. The flowers and the melon were very much appreciated by all.
Happy parents ...
Happy and a lot healthier Ngoc Hong
Uli watching the unwrapping of the flowers
The house, only one side has bricks ...
As is tradition in Vietnam we had a Vietnamese green tea. Then Ngoc Hong's mother gave us an update of Ngoc Hong's health. She now only has to go to Sai Gon once a month. To pay for all the aditional cost the parents had we handed over $ 1000. Happy faces all round. The family does not even have a mobile phone. We had a couple of second hand phones which we organised for them, including a mobiphone sim card which costs less than $5. Took some photos and then back to the car.
Group photo ... all smiles ...
Overloaded motor bike ...
... another one, and there were plenty ...
To be continued ... in next post
