Sheila Goes Ghana 2022

Howdy Partners! Nearing the end of week 2 and I’m grateful to say that all continues rolling smoothly down the roads. Although the first week was pretty gray/moist, the sun is shining brightly again. 😎

If you are reading this via an email and wish to enlarge any photos in order to read what I posted below, don’t forget you can go to the original blog link and click on the title of this post. That will take you right into the post in a more detailed way.

https://sheilagoesghana2022.travel.blog/

OK, back to business. Figured out a nice system for: what does and doesn’t go in and out of the new hotel most every night, mapping routes/activities to my next destination and arranging my Jeep into compartments for driving, snacking, wardrobe and sports equipment. My Jeep can also be an emergency bathroom if I open the passenger’s side front + back doors then sneak in between them 😇 Any port in a storm right? But I do prefer the Rest Areas given the choice.

On the longer driving days (never more than 4 hours/day), I enjoy catching up with family +

friends on my hands-free phone and listening to my favorite podcasts by Esther Perel, Brene Brown and Glennon Doyle. Those Road Sistahs bring me deep into a place of contemplation and self exploration as I take in the views of the land of the Big Sky. I call that Highway Cherokee Church.

The foliage seems to have hit late this year so it is still absolutely beautiful and a highlight of my drives.

My goal remains to visit places that I haven’t seen on previous cross country trips and instead take the roads less traveled. So after that wonderful visit in Detroit, my Jeep turned West toward Ann Arbor for a zip thru the beautiful (and very large) campus of the Univ of Michigan. Go Wolverines!!

Zipped up to Flint to get out of the car for a few hours and hike a Nature Preserve that afternoon. Love the SEEK App to help identify plants. Also love the Merlin App to identify bird calls. Thank you Cheryl and Cathy, my favorite fellow nature lovers, for introducing me to both gems.

The next morning was spent biking on Lake Huron before the big ride to Grand Rapids where I met my new friend Mike, a retired educator who was landing a monster King Salmon on his fly rod … downtown! (Yes, he’s wearing a wedding ring. Bummer!!)

Who could resist a visit to a town with a fun name like Kalamazoo? Not I, so walked a Nature Preserve there and grabbed a few more pics.

But my favorite sight at the nature preserve was this sign! Still haven’t seen any of these little friends in the woods but happy to share the road if it will improve my sighting chances.

After tip toeing around Michigan for a few days, it was finally time to head to Chicago to see my Old Friend Jen! Since training together in the Pedi ICU at the Children’s Floating Hospital in Boston circa 1987, we had only seen each other once about 20 years ago when our kids were tiny. Needless to say, she and I had plenty to catch up on and had a fantastic sleepover at her house. Jen and her new husband John were wonderful hosts. Miraculously, if you squint a little, we still look EXACTLY the same as we did when we were 22!! 😇

After a wonderful breakfast and some great reminiscing, it was time to ease on down the road. Had a fantastic ride along Lake Michigan on bike paths that followed Chicago’s Waterfront Park Systems which included the famous Magnificent Mile.

Next stop, Milwaukee. Moved Northbound along the lake in my Jeep (not on my bike in case you thought I was up for that 93 mile ride- nope) to discover that Laverne & Shirley have long since retired but the Beer Industry is still deeply rooted there. Cheap beer that is … Schlitz and Pabst. But then again, who am I to judge? Boone’s Farm Apple Wine was my aperitif in High School.🤢

Well someone got rich off this cheap beer. Below is Captain Frederick Pabst’s Revival-style mansion in downtown Milwaukee. That guy was laughing all the way to the bank as he brewed his “Premium” Lager!

What I found especially amusing, at least in my own mind, is that the Courthouse in Milwaukee was absolutely massive. It covered several city blocks. Had to cross the highway to get a few blocks away just to get it all in the frame. I couldn’t help but wonder why a city of this moderate size needed such an immense Courthouse??? Perhaps way too many Beer Pong-like problems🤣

Next stop on my way to the Twin Cities was Madison, Wisconsin. It is the State Capitol (that I had honestly forgotten) and home to the University of Wisconsin which both explain why it was unexpectedly so impressive.

The Capitol Building had four large wings, with the massive Dome set in the Center. I drove around it several times because it was so extraordinary. These Westerners sure know how to build a State Capitol Building.

The University of Wisconsin’s Admissions Building, Bascom Hall, seen below looks down a 1 mile greenway right into the Capitol Building. This was absolutely majestic especially because of the Statue of one of my heroes, Abraham Lincoln, sitting at the helm.

Why is Lincoln sitting there you ask when he is not even from Wisconsin? The statue is speculated to be a tribute to Lincoln, in honor of among many things, the Land-Grant University Law he signed in 1862 which made this University and multiple other State Universities in this country possible.

Oh!! And another thing that makes the University of Wisconsin-Madison so special is that it is the site of 38 sacred Native American burial mounds called effigy mounds that were created by the original settlers in this area as many as ~12,000 years ago. These effigy mounds are in the shapes of animals, humans and spirits. The one below is in the shape of a bird. It is located behind the Wellness Center in the middle of Campus.

After this very moving experience, it was time to head to Minneapolis / Saint Paul. Twin Cities, here we come!! (Me, Tonto and my loyal bloggers that is!!)

Got in around 7p so headed straight to the Mall of America for a bite to eat and to put a few steps on my step counter. I’m not really a big shopper but wanted to put my eyes on this massive landmark and stretch my legs after a few hours in the car. One lap around one level of this monstrous Mall is approximately 1.1 miles … and there are 4 levels!!

The following morning it was time to get back outside and enjoy the 65° sunny day. Spent the morning biking the Riverfront trails along the Mississippi River in downtown Minneapolis, down to Minnehaha Falls.

Then crossed the river in the afternoon and biked up more trails on the other bank of the Mississippi but this time in Saint Paul😍

Since I would be leaving the following morning, spent the rest of the afternoon/evening driving around both cities taking in some more beautiful sights.

Minneapolis:

Then Saint Paul aka the State Capitol of Minnesota:

Had dinner that night in Minneapolis at a restaurant called “Owamni the Sioux Chef” that serves Native American cuisine. Chef / Co-Owner Sean Sherman is from the Lakota Tribe, he was raised on a reservation. His dream was to reintroduce the food of his Ancestors to our country by staying true to the ingredients that the natives would have used pre-Colonization. Therefore no dairy, cane sugar, wheat-flour, beef, pork or chicken. (Yes, many of the ingredients that so many people are already removing from their diets to improve their health). I had roasted sweet potatoes infused with chili peppers along with a Bison+grains meatloaf which I washed down with a local craft beer. It was SO yummy! They had roasted crickets on the menu but I chickened out.

The woman next to me at the bar was also traveling in Minnesota and had come to this restaurant intentionally because of a segment she had heard on NPR where this Sioux Chef (Sean Sherman) was interviewed about his Native American culinary endeavors / philosophies as well as his thoughts on what we are all taught about Thanksgiving vs what actually happened back then which culminated in the Genocide, Relocation, Re-education of his People.

I wish Sean was at the restaurant last night but instead I listened to those interviews today on my drive to Sioux Falls. Informative, heartbreaking and thought-provoking time that was. It reminded Me that his history was similar to the International Slave Trade history in Africa. These are examples of important cultural history that is lost, transformed or incomplete when written by or from only the perspective of the White Man.

Here are those NPR links if you are interested:

https://www.npr.org/2022/10/24/1130505141/sioux-chef-sean-sherman-owamni-native-american-indigenous-food

https://theworld.org/stories/2018-11-22/indigenous-chef-sean-sherman-wants-you-know-truth-behind-thanksgiving

On a much lighter note, after that delicious indigenous dinner, I had some fun treats for dessert in Saint Paul.

This morning it was time to leave Minneapolis. But in the spirit of cultural immersion, had breakfast at a Dutch restaurant Pannenkoeken (translation pancake).

President Lincoln’s Homestead Act of 1862 (love that guy) created a mass of Scandinavian and Dutch settlers on the East Coast, to head West to purchase affordable farmland. Many of these such settlers landed in Minnesota.

As you can see, I made great sacrifices to educate my bloggers by eating this Granny apple/cinnamon sugar pancake … um pannekoeken (pronounced pan-eh-koo-ken). You are welcome my friends!! And truth be told, it was a fantastic change from my Mon-Fri oatmeal breakfasts at my hotels.

This afternoon I found myself in Sioux City. Noticed there were some Disc Golf courses here so headed to one and played 18 holes with a couple from France that are also traveling in the United States. They suggested I go see Sioux Falls before I leave town. So just before sunset, headed that way.

My plan for tomorrow is to head to Mount Rushmore. I have always wanted to see that monument. Although we toured a lot of the West back in the late 80’s / early 90’s when we lived in Denver, never did make it there … so tomorrow it is!

But for tonight, it is getting late so I best follow the good advice on my VERY smart TV …

Sweet Dreams Y’all ❤️Sheila

Day 6 and so far so good. Hoping you are well too❤️

Just like the trips overseas, it takes Me several days to move through the jitters in order to get settled in and comfortable in the new routine. But it is markedly easier traveling in the US and Canada because, well actually I’m pretty sure that’s obvious, because everything is familiar… language, culture/customs, timezone, currency, SIM card AND most importantly, you are all just a quick call or text away at any moment!!! (but no texty / drivey 😇)

I’m starting to get my feet under me and figure out the flow for this trip. Packing my Jeep Tonto+bike was the first important step to be sure I brought everything I needed but not so much that I couldn’t see out the windows.

Don’t plan to drive more than 4 hours in any single day, sometimes less but always getting in an hour of exercise or more by biking/hiking on the nice days and Pilates at the hotel on the rainy days- brought my purple yoga mat but hope to spend far more time outdoors than in.

It gets dark by 7:00p now so each night I spend about 2 hours in the hotel figuring out where I’m going the next day based upon what there is to do along the way and of course based upon the weather. Then I plot the driving route. It’s almost comical to think of how astronomically easier this trip is with a smartphone in hand than it was back in the’80s + ’90s driving cross country to Denver with a stack of AAA Trip Tic Books in hand!!

Did the big launch this past Mon morning and had a nice bike ride along a river trail in Peterborough, NH.

Drove over to the campus at Keene State College, strolled around there for a while. It’s a lot nicer now than when I was in high school but then again most schools do upgrade over the course of 40 years right?

Wrapped up that day in Bennington, Vermont. Who knew that our hometown hero General John Stark from Manchester, NH was the hero of the Battle of Bennington? As a kid, I knew he did something important because we had a beautiful Park in Manchester named after him where he is buried. If we had smartphones + Google back then, I’m sure I would have looked him up when I was there on our Saint Catherine’s Elementary School Field Days each spring. Never did think to pull out one of those Encyclopedia Britannica’s from the shelf when I got home but I’m sure he was in there too!

In Aug, 1777 Gen. Stark led a group of rebel forces from New Hampshire and Massachusetts to win this pivotal battle in Vermont which got the attention of not only Gen. George Washington but also the British army. The Red Coats finally began to recognize the American soldiers as reputable fighters as a result of that battle.

A few decades after the Revolutionary War, General Stark coined the phrase, “Live Free or Die” which went on to become the New Hampshire state motto.

Snoozed in Brattleboro, VT that night (cute town- I wish it were closer to Portland, Maine but then again if it were, it would probably be really crowded and hence not so quaint).

Syracuse New York was the stop on day two before heading to Toronto. The students at Syracuse University must have some serious calf muscles because that campus is on one steep hill! So skipped that walk but hiked in Green Lakes State Park around some meromictic glacial lakes. A meromictic lake is a very deep glacial lake made up of a few layers of water that do not mix like a typical lake’s layers would a few times a year. These Green Lakes have a layer of calcium sediment which when reflecting in the sunlight, give it a beautiful turquoise color. It was cloudy that day so the colors were not as brilliant as they could have been (although this picture sure makes it look like they were?)

From Syracuse it was off to Toronto. It is the 4th largest city in North America, behind New York, LA and Mexico City.

Spent the afternoon biking around this beautiful/friendly/clean city and along the shores of Lake Ontario via their fantastic bike path system. It was absolutely beautiful!

Oh, at one point, I seriously nearly fell off my bike when a jet-black squirrel ran in front of me! I have never in my life seen a black squirrel. Thought I was witnessing some kind of rare genetic mutation … until I looked around further and saw about 100 more of them gathering acorns and bounding through the trees! Had a good laugh BUT then later, got a picture of this rare genetic mutation …. black squirrel with a brown tail! (I only saw one of these). Black squirrels seem even more skittish than gray squirrels so I could never get close enough for a really snazzy pic.

But the best surprise in Toronto is that it is an extremely Multicultural city! I expected a Canadian city to be filled with mostly caucasians but they are actually the minority. Check out the demographic breakdown below. People from India are the largest group of the minority classifications.

The second day in Toronto was spent in the woods. Hiked some trails in Rattlesnake Point Nature Conservation Area. Much as I think those Lil’ Critters are fascinating, didn’t see any rattlesnakes. I think the Park gets its name from the shape of the hiking trail not it’s residents.

This day was especially nice because the sun finally came out in full force. Hadn’t really seen much of that big orange ball all week. The woods were just beautiful. Made it out as far as Crawford Lake, another meromictic glacial lake. I don’t think this one had as much calcium sediment in it because the color was not as vibrant turquoise as the Green Lakes were but the views were still wonderful.

^ Looks a tad bit like Maine ‘Eh’? (Eh as the locals say along with SewRey aka Sorry)

Woke up the following day full of excitement heading to Detroit!!!! Detroit???? Yes Detroit!!!

As some of you know, I had sponsored an Iraqi immigrant family back in 2015 when they arrived in Maine. We became Fast Friends when they bought my old van. We had a lot of fun together those 2 years. They needed a lot of help integrating into the States and I needed some joy to pull me through some very dark times back then. It was a win-win for us all including them coming to Thanksgiving at my house with my family AND Nesserine asking me to attend her C-section of their 4th baby because she was nervous (in their culture the husband is not allowed into the delivery room). YES!! I was in!!! Even got to give Baby Amir his 1st bottle that fine day.  ❤️

Sadly, this very hard-working immigrant family really struggled to make ends meet in Maine during those 2 years. They also deeply missed being amongst their own people. So in August of 2017 they relocated to Dearborn, Michigan which I later learned was a suburb of Detroit and a large Iraqi settlement.

This was us on our last visit in 2017 …

And below was all of us yesterday in Detroit!!!! (+1 … 3yo Adam!!)

We had such a special visit!!❤️ Smiles and tears were all over our faces when I arrived. We were all SO HAPPY to see each other again. The boys had grown/changed so much in 6 years that I hardly recognized them. But gratefully, they did remember a lot of our times together in Maine. We laughed at how they looked so much older but how their personalities haven’t changed one bit! Ayed (nicknamed Ayoodi) is under my left arm in yesterday’s group shot …. he always had this playful sparkle in his eyes and some witty stories to tell … he’s still got it!! (God I love that kid)!

And what really shocked and touched me was that Amir (under my right arm in yesterday’s group shot) was only 10 months old when they left Maine, yet he spent this 24 hour visit glued to my hip. And when I arrived yesterday then again when I left this morning, he sobbed for a very long time. I just held him, rubbed his back, told him how much I loved him, how glad I was that I got to meet him as a big boy and promised we would see each other again🥲❤️🤗❤️

The pride on Muhammad’s and Nesserine’s faces was priceless as they showed me what they have accomplished since they’ve arrived in Detroit. Not only are they raising 5 beautiful boys, but they both work (Nesserine at the boys’ school and Mohammad as a night security guard). He also continues to buy+repair then sell used cars+small engines such as lawn mowers and motor boats from his backyard garage. They saved enough money to buy two houses and a plot of land for a yard for the boys. They fixed up one house to live in and rent out the other house as income since they paid cash for all of these properties in 2018 …$1500 for 1st house, $100 for plot of land in backyard and $2500 for 2nd house.

Yes Detroit is a dangerous city but they don’t live downtown, they are literally one street away from Dearborn Heights so are surrounded by Iraqi people, stores and culture. And the real estate is finally affordable for them. Besides, a sense of danger is relative right? Sadly, Muhammad lost his father in a bombing in Iraq in 1995 so although they need to be hypervigilant about keeping their boys safe in Detroit, they feel safe enough and are clearly very very happy there.

I didn’t intend to sleep over last night because they had been working all day, caring for kids and entertaining me in 1000 ways. (They are such gracious hosts!!) I was going to stay for dinner, visit into the evening and then leave but they were having none of that!! So, we had a very sweet sleepover 😍 (I truly slept on the couch, this was just our morning HugFest)

We ended our visit with many congratulations, a few tears, lots of smiles/hugs/kisses and promises to visit again. I drove away wildly blowing/receiving kisses and overflowing with pure joy. I know they were too!

❤️🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗❤️

Before leaving Detroit, there was one more place I wanted to visit. It is called the Heidelberg Project. I had heard about this many many years ago and had hoped to see it one day but never thought I would find myself in Detroit.

The Heidelberg Project was the brainchild of artist Tyree Guyton who had grown up on Heidelberg Street in inner city Detroit in the 50s+60s. He felt that the city had never recovered from the Riot of 1967, especially poor neighborhoods like his. There were and still remain, many decrepit abandoned houses and garbage-filled vacant lots in that area. Tyree created this massive Heidelberg art project as a way to bring joy and hope to the people in these neighborhoods. The project was initially quite controversial because although many people loved what he was doing, there were also those who did not like the look of these massive displays and wanted them removed. All of this uproar seems to be in the past now as he has deservedly received a multitude of Arts and Humanities Awards.

There is a lot to unpack in that last paragraph so I’ll let you look it up if you’d like to know more. Here are the thought-provoking displays I saw on Heidelberg Street today.

Tyree is often out in this street teaching kids to paint even to this day. But today it was raining so the street was quiet. Too bad, what a blast it would have been to meet him!

On my way out of town, I saw another mural that I absolutely loved. It was not done by Tyree but yet one more treasure created for this city by another talented artiste.

Will spend the next several days exploring Michigan and it’s Great Lakes. Also swinging through Chicago to visit my friend Jen from our very first nursing jobs in Boston in 1987-wow is she old!😘

See you down the road my friends.

Xoxo

💗 Sheila+Tonto (my Jeep) too

Greetings from Maine my loyal blog Buddies ❤️ It’s been a really nice September in Maine catching up with family + friends during paddles, dinners, drinks, beachwalks, hiking, birthday celebrations, fishing, disc golf, BBQs, biking etc. What a treat it has been to have these outdoor adventures with many of you!! The weather has been absolutely beautiful hence greatly accomodating for all of that. It appears the sunshine followed me home from Vietnam. You are welcome New England!! 😘

Funny, as I read that above, Sept sounded so busy. But in actuality, spent a lot of time alone too because when you’re single, homeless and unemployed (😘), you have a lot of free time on your hands…. too much actually! Someday when I truly retire (currently on a 2 year self-guided sabbatical), I’ve learned that I need to be doing something meaningful amongst a lot of people and hopefully my new man! Don’t get me wrong, I’m all about having alone- reflective time but this socializer needs a better balance of the two. Hope to meet some new friends on this journey.

This Fri Oct 6th, is move out day from my beach rental. Wrapping up with a few of my people this weekend. Then on Mon, hitting the open road until circling back to Kennebunk for Christmas. Shotgun anyone? The first one to call it, gets it!!

Definitely excited and a bit nervous too but not as nervous as I was prior to leaving the country. The logistics will definitely be easier this time but rather than a blend of Solo and Group Travel, this trip is primarily Solo except of course periodically when I stop to visit family and friends in between the sights (hopefully several National Parks). I will be in touch a few weeks prior to arrival with those I have planned to visit, when I have a better idea as to when I will be ‘in your hood’ so we can work around your schedules to make these visits happen. ❤️

My overall itinerary is very loose because I don’t want to be held captive by a strict schedule- unless of course I’ve made plans to meet someone, then I will be there as planned. 😇

The overall thought is to head West via the northern route, dancing in and out of Canada, as far as either Montana or Seattle depending upon how quickly or slowly my Jeep, his name is Tonto (aka my Cherokee sidekick), carries me down the highway. Then when the weather starts getting colder, I will take a hard left heading Southerly to Colorado, Texas, Florida etc. then finally back up the Eastern Seaboard thru the Carolinas and up to Maine for that White Christmas.

In this cross-country process, I’ll be looking for a place that I’d like to live/work for a few years until my kids settle into their adult nests. This search is also a blend of very exciting and a bit scary thinking about laying the foundation for my next phase.

I will be blogging periodically from the road because I really love having all of you ‘along for the ride’. It’s so much fun to share and just as much fun to connect over your responses. Oh and this time I’ll be able to use my cell phone so I will only be a text, phone call or email away.

If anyone has any places that really resonated with them, please let me know the where and why so I can consider adding that to my plans.

Thanks for your wonderful company! Chat soon and until then, be well.

Aloha, Sheila ❤️🤗❤️

These last few weeks were a lot of fun, squeezing in some final memory-making in Ho Chi Minh. We had wanted to see the inside of the Opera House and what better way to do that than to get tickets to a show? We saw the Vietnamese Bamboo Circus (similar to a small Circ de Soleil) for Liz and Hoana’s last night. Great performance but sad to see my Kiwi+Aussie friends go. We made a pact to meet again in New Zealand, Australia or the USA. 🥳

Then in came a group of 12 college students from Japan with their 3 Japanese professors (well Steven is Canadian but he has spent more than half of his life in Japan so he’s unofficially Japanese now). It was nice to be able to show them the ropes just as the previous volunteers had done for me when I arrived. All was going well until they had a big COVID outbreak. Spent several evenings helping Steven monitor the girls, getting medicine, doing COVID testing on the group and praying that would not be my goodbye gift! Wore a mask, washed my hands and prayers answered…so far so good….then one night we ditched the girls and went to our favorite local rooftop bar🥂

The staff and patients at the hospital have been so wonderful to work with. Those Goodbyes were tough because we had become close working together for the last 12 weeks. This little man below is my favorite in the Pediatric Physical Therapy room. He struggles to focus when we do his core exercises but when I sing to him, it’s like the Pied Piper, he looks into my eyes and follows right along. He lives at the hospital but is very lucky that his grandmother stays with him. His family lives a few hours away. They are poor and need to stay home to work. Grammy is so dedicated and they love each other so much. It really is beautiful to watch them.

Haugh is the director of the Pedi Physical Therapy Dept. Even though the insurance only pays to let the children come down to the physical therapy room once a day for a few hours, she lets them come every morning AND every afternoon because it clearly is the highlight of these kids’ days. She and her staff work wonders with these kids.

As I mentioned earlier, we walked roundtrip to the hospital twice every day M-F. One day we came across this funeral. Tents and tiny chairs/tables were set up in the alley decorated in purple, facing into a tiny chapel that was set up in the family’s entry way. The immediate family wear white headbands … while the pedestrians, motorbikes and cars whiz by.

Also in that alley is a tiny restaurant set up on the sidewalk each day that sells a local delicacy…hard-boiled quail and duck embryos. Manny our coordinator has been begging to take us there for weeks. I promised that we would go on my last week. Manny (in green shirt) was so excited to show us the process. You peel the quail “egg” then dip the fetus in salt, lime + chili sauce then wrap it in a lemongrass leaf. Popped one in my mouth, it was a bit dry in places and had the consistency of a soggy cashew in others.

Didn’t love it, didn’t hate it AND didn’t need to try the duck fetus (called Balut) which was 10x bigger than what I just sampled. I did however have fun dissecting the balut-duck fetus. If you can’t make out the head/ eye/ beak in the first picture, I circled it for you in the 2nd photo. Care to try? 😇🤢

I much preferred the shrimp Pho at the “Lunch Lady’s” stand across town!! She is a local celebrity who runs an outdoor restaurant downtown. She only makes one dish each day and that is what you get-costs is about $6.00 including the bottled water. She even got a Michelin award if that means anything to you Foodies?

I had spent the last month working with Doctors in the Internal Medicine Department. We had so much fun together and enjoyed discussing the patients that we rounded on from both the Vietnamese and the American Medical Models. I had also spent a good amount of time teaching them and their colleagues Medical English. Since I wasn’t able to do much hands on here in Vietnam, we figured that was something that was very helpful to them.

Most of the Doctors on this floor were females, as was their Department Head which I thought was very exciting! These 3 below were my favorites…(L to R) Bac Si Thach, Bac Si Duong (she is SO tiny and SO feisty aka we were dangerous together🤣) and Bac Si Tuc. Yes Bac Si= Doctor in Vietnamese.

On my last day, my friend Tuyen helped Me make a big fruit basket and flowers for them because fruit is a greatly appreciated thank you gift here.

They also very graciously showered Me with many local treats to bring home, spring roll lunches and a night out at a really fun Rock Club. We had so much fun and got in very late that night but thankfully all the patients on the Internal Med floor were well-behaved the next morning because we were all so tired😇

Tuyen has been my right hand girl in my volunteer program. She has been such a wonderful friend, so helpful and so entertaining. Every Saturday when I wasn’t traveling, if she was working, we would go out for coffee. Wow can she drive her scooter down the narrowest of alleys-side mirrors are inches from the walls!

The little gesture she is doing is very common here – you cross your thumb and pointer finger which means that you are holding a heart.

She is a married mother of 2 young kids, works 6 long days a week as one of our volunteer coordinators and helps care for her elderly in-laws. Yet you could always count on her for a BIG smile and her infectious giggle.

I saw this outside of the American Embassy – it reminded me of her, “Tuyen, Vietnam’s Rosie the Riveter”.

On my final morning, here was the view from my hotel. What a wonderful sight to cap off this amazing trip.😍

I leave satisfied that I was able to accomplish what I had sought to do here. Although I wasn’t able to do the Hands-On medical care that I had hoped, that did in fact create a pivot into a lot of consulting work with the Docs and teaching medical English to the Medical Staff. But equally as importantly, I had a lot of time to focus on my second objective which was to continue to help repair the post war relationship between Vietnam and the United States. Because of all of the enriching relationships that we were able to forge and because of all of the positive interactions that I was fortunate to have had with so many wonderful people here, I am certain that objective too was met.

Along the lines of reparation, one final story. I was delayed a day leaving because of some flight connection snafus so I unexpectedly had breakfast with Tazu one of the Japanese professors on Sun morning. We chatted a bit about our experiences here from her Japanese perspective and from my American perspective. We had both felt very graciously treated by the Vietnamese. We talked about the Asian beliefs in respect for others, understanding + forgiveness and how grateful we were that we had both seen that practiced here towards us.

Then I went out on a limb because I knew Tazu but I didn’t know her really really well … I told her about my father being in the Navy in World War II fighting against the Japanese and that right up until the end of his life he was so traumatized by the war that he disliked all Japanese in spite of my sister and I trying to help him grow past that. Tazu and I talked about the sorrows and atrocities of war for soldiers on all sides and how there were some older soldiers in her country that felt the same about Americans. We both understood.

Then I looked at her and I said, “Isn’t it incredible that one generation later, that American soldier’s daughter is sitting here in Vietnam having breakfast with her Japanese friend because our generation has chosen to move forward?”.

I slowly looked up to see her reaction, to my relief what I saw was her wiping tears from her eyes. When we made eye contact we were both crying, hugging and saying how grateful we were for our new friend in this new world.

Ironically, my flight out was rescheduled from Seoul Korea to Tokyo Japan. I promised her I would spread some love over Japan on behalf of my family during my brief trip there…and I did! Someday Tazu and I hope to meet again in Japan or in the United States to further this friendship and share our wonderful countries.

My final flight is leaving DC to Boston very shortly and after 36 hours on the road, I’m really looking forward to being home.

I’d like to close with one of my favorite pictures of Vietnam in order to pay tribute to this beautiful country and it’s friendly, hard-working wonderful people😍

Goodnight Vietnam. I will carry you always closely in my heart. Cam On ….yes, Thank You for everything!!!

❤️Sheila

Departure day has arrived. With a multitude of new friends from Vietnam+around the world, along with numerous amazing experiences, now it’s time to go home and start the next chapter of my life. Aka I need to “get a life” 😘 … but only in the sense of finding a new home / new job somewhere in the United States … this last year of these overseas adventures has made my life so incredibly rewarding in so many ways!!

I leave Vietnam with mixed emotions, excited to go home to family and friends but sad to leave some wonderful new friends behind that I may or may not ever see again? But leaving Vietnam is not as heart-wrenching as it was leaving Ghana because my friends here do not struggle in the ways my friends in Ghana do in that 3rd world country. Although this country has further to climb to reach the economic level of the 1st world countries, the average person here has far more stability than I had witnessed in Africa.

It’s been a really busy, fun and reflective week wrapping up loose ends and having several goodbye nights out in the city with the staff of our volunteer program, the Vietnamese Doctors I worked with and the other volunteers who were also heading home.

Can’t wait to share more but my flight is boarding to Japan. I have a heck of a layover there so will have plenty of time to fill you in then. Chat soon.

Tam Biet and Cam On Vietnam!! (that’s goodbye and thank you in Vietnamese) ❤️❤️❤️

Je t’aime my Asian friends. I am forever grateful for your kindness.

Xoxo Sheila

Finally have time to resolve the cliffhanger in Da Nang. But before I do, I want to share a beautiful human interest story that I had with a former South Vietnamese soldier on the morning of my return.

During breakfast on Tuesday morning I was watching a Vietnamese man at the next table who was about my age joyfully playing with an infant boy in a stroller while the mother ate. It was so sweet to watch. As I headed to work, I told them what a lucky baby they had. The man asked me how I knew that so I said, “because you clearly love him so much.” The man lit up and said in perfect English, “Oh yes I do!!!”

The next morning, there they were again at breakfast. We were all excited to see one other. This time, he asked me where I was from and why I was in Vietnam so I told him my medical volunteering update as well as my desire to continue to improve the post-war relationship between the Vietnamese and American people. He lit up again with gratitude then told Me his captivating story.

Du Hua has lived in the United States for 40+ years since escaping Vietnam as a child on his 11th attempt after Saigon fell in 1975. He needed to leave because his family in the South had fought with the Americans hence the Viet Cong from the North were punishing ‘traitors’ like them.

I learned Du fought in the US Navy as a young man until an injury rendered him disabled. Always the survivor, Du went back to school and got his Doctorate in Pharmacy so now works as a pharmacist in Texas. He is now here in Vietnam to bring his new wife and infant son back to the United States with him. They were overjoyed to tell me that his wife + baby’s Visas had just been approved so they were all leaving together for the USA Wed night!! Amazing!!

After we celebrated that wonderful news, I told them about all the books I have read about the Vietnam War from a variety of perspectives (American POWs, North Vietnamese soldiers/civilians who fought against the Americans, South Vietnamese soldiers/civilians who fought with the Americans). To this day, although the Vietnamese people have been EXTREMELY gracious to this American, I have heard many times things such as, “my uncle, my mother or my grandparents hate Americans for what they did to us”. (I understand that because my father fought in the Navy in World War II and I’m sad to say that he disliked Japanese people until the day he died due to what he had lived through trying to survive as a sailor in that deadly global war).

Du immediately told me not to believe the Communist propaganda from the North about the war because there were many people back then here in the South who were not interested in Communism. I agreed with him that I had heard plenty of that propaganda here but that our Government also had delivered their fair share of the opposite kind of propaganda. So I believe that the truth of the reasons behind and the events during this tragic war, appears to be somewhere in the middle.

Then Du told me that he wrote a book about his escapes which I downloaded immediately from Amazon. We both wished that we could have talked about the book after I read it. His email is in the book so we will certainly have that conversation someday soon… or better yet, during my cross country trip this fall, I will be visiting my father’s battleship the USS Texas in Galveston, Texas. I haven’t been on that ship since I was about 6 years old when it docked in Boston Harbor and my father toured our family through it. 🇺🇲

Below is the ship along with the Navy Sailor who is nearest and dearest to my heart.

It occured to Me today, perhaps while in Texas, that Du and his family can meet Me to discuss his book in person over a ‘Welcome to the United States Family Dinner’ !?!

Here is Du’s book-

The relationships made during these trips are even more fulfilling than the beautiful sights. I am anxious to learn more about Du’s history because I’m so interested in the stories of the people in this country, all of whom were profoundly affected by the colonizations/invasions/wars with Portugal, the Netherlands, France, China, Japan and finally the United States. Dating back to the year 618 AD, Vietnam has only resumed full independence and hence peace since 1975! That is hard to wrap your heart+head around.

Every time I see someone my age or older, I can’t help but wonder what stories they have to tell? What did they go through as a result of what is often refered to here as ‘The American War’? What do they know that I couldn’t possibly ever know not having survived this brutal war on their own soil as they did? How have they managed to forgive and move forward? And in only 50 years, how have they developed an impoverished 3rd World Country into what I see today?

While digesting all of that, at long last, back to Da Nang! (Coincidentally, that is where the United States Marines came ashore as the first wave of U.S. combat troops into South Vietnam).

This beautiful port city is only a 30min drive from Hoi An and has a population of approximately 1.3 million. It is the 5th largest city in Vietnam but markedly smaller than Ho Chi Minh with it’s population of 9.3 million. If I were to move to Vietnam (but I’m not) I think Da Nang is where I would settle. It is on the coast, it is close to the mountains, it is quite beautiful and very reasonably priced for Westerners just like so many Southeast Asian countries.

Got a corner room in a nice hotel right in the middle of it all on the Han River for $62 a night. It was up on the 16th floor overlooking downtown and the Dragon Bridge where they do their famous Fire+Water Show every weekend night. Check out the view from my bathroom! With the lights off, I could open the window and shower in what felt like a private outdoor shower up on the roof!! It was heavenly, as was the view from my bed.

The Dragon Bridge (shown below during the day and at night) was so impressive. The Show was neat and finished with a much appreciated spraying of water. Well I appreciated it anyways but many people ran for cover.

Another night, just a little further down the river, the 377 foot high ferris wheel also gave some amazing city views. It took 15 minutes to go around once. Rode that puppy 3 times from dusk to dark.

It was equally as beautiful during the day in Da Nang. A bit difficult to squeeze in all that it had to offer into the few days I had there. But gave it the old College try and it worked out quite well.

Lady Buddah, also referred to as Quan Yin is 220 feet high and is the largest Buddhist statue in Vietnam. She watches over the fisherman in the harbor from her Shrine up on the hill.

The Am Phu (Vietnamese word meaning Hell) Cave inside Water Mountain, houses a 400 year old Buddhist Pagoda, Tam Thai. It contains natural 50 foot arches. The depictions inside relate to the Buddhist belief in karma-one’s actions in this life will dictate one’s fate in future lives. Therefore, one must strive to lead a moral life to avoid the scenes from hell shown in this cave. Sounds scary but it was fascinating and gorgeous.

But the crown jewel of this part of Vietnam is the Golden Hands Bridge. It opened in 2018 and was ranked by Time Magazine as one of the World’s Top 100 Greatest Places. It is about 45 minutes outside of Da Nang, within a French-inspired Theme Park (similar to Epcot but far more impressive) high atop the Ba Na Hills. The park consists of a beautiful Parisian Village replica, gardens, meditation temples, Pagodas and of course ‘the famous bridge’. This all spans several mountain peaks which are accessed by a network of gondolas. Hard to imagine? Agreed but hopefully these photos will clarify.

And on the way down, this little guy paid a visit with the reminder that even though life looks a bit different here than it does at home, we are all one big family on this Earth who are more alike than we are different. ❤️

Big Love from Vietnam to America….and beyond❤️

August 26th is rapidly approaching so I wanted to do one final big excursion to the Center of Vietnam before I head back to the other side of the globe.

We live/volunteer in Ho Chi Minh in the South and have done the Ha Giang motorcycle tour in the North near the Chinese border. But the center of Vietnam has gone largely unexplored to date on my journey.

I had heard/read a variety of wonderful feedback about the peacefulness and beauty of Hoi An + Da Nang. So… picked up my cell, clicked “Reserve Now” and off I went for 5 days. (OK honestly it took about 5 hours to book this trip because nothing is simple when you’re overseas😘) Well worth the effort though because this trip was everything I had hoped for and more!!

First stop was Hoi An. This town was designated a World Heritage site in 1999 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) because it is an exceptionally well-preserved Southeast Asian trading port dating from the 15th-19th Centuries. The stunning architecture is strongly influenced by the Vietnamese, Japanese, Chinese and French who traded (and sometimes invaded) there. These vendors primarily traded silk, porcelain, cinnamon, pepper and medicinal plants along the Thu Bon River which flows alongside these well-preserved Historic sites.

Once again, I took about a thousand pictures so I’m going to narrow it down to “a few” favorites to try to capture the essence of this magical place.

It was hard to decide where to go next because it was all SO beautiful. Beautiful and HOT!! I only had one day / one night in Hoi An and didn’t want to miss anything due to the ‘feels like 120°’ heat. So for the first time in my life, I carried a parasol…. and it actually helped immensely.

Stopped into a silk vendor for 2 reasons: #1- I am genuinely interested in how that process works. AND #2-they had great air conditioning!! (I have secretly mastered the art of feigning interest in things in order to dwell under a store’s airconditioner/fan a bit longer)🤣…but I truly was interested in the silkworms/spinning process too.

Below are the silk nymphs feasting on their diet of mulberry leaves, then the silk worms 7-10 days old, then the yellow cocoons they spin and finally the silk that is spun/harvested from the cocoons to yield a beautiful silk fabric.

70% of the cocoons are put in water to drown the moths inside them before they hatch. This is done because if the moth burrows out of the cocoon, the continuous silk thread of the cocoon is broken and therefore cannot be spun. 30% of the cocoons however are allowed to hatch so that the moths can lay more eggs and the silk process continues. (As you can see, I was paying attention this time aka no feigning AND enjoying the air conditioning!!) Fun fact- silkworm moths can’t fly. Not sure why they have wings but perhaps an ostrich can answer that for us???

When darkness fell, it cooled to a balmy ‘feels like’ 100° but no more use for a parasol. The river and town streets lit up with thousands of Chinese lanterns and guided gondola-like boats. Stunning!! 😍

Stopped in and had a Banh Mi sandwich in one of the shops in Hoi An that one of the Doctors I work with in Ho Chi Minh had recommended. Anthony Bourdain brought Obama here in 2013 for this “Best sandwich in the World”. If it’s good enough for those guys then it’s good enough for me! I don’t normally like this popular sandwich in Ho Chi Minh but according to Anthony, “it’s all in the sauce” here. Well, he was right, quite delicious!

So after a wonderful visit in Hoi An, it was off to Da Nang for 4 more days. My flight is taking off now for Ho Chi….stay tuned for Part 2…Cliffhanger in Da Nang!

Hello everyone-I hope this post finds you well. Firstly, sorry for the re-post last night of July’s motorcycle mountain tour. That’s what happens when you have a few drinks on a dinner cruise and aren’t wearing your glasses!

Once in a while, I like to do a general post of some interesting fun facts/sights here so let the magic begin….

Last Monday I came back from Thailand to learn that 4 women in their mid to late 50s had arrived while I was away!!! 🥳🥳🥳🥳 They are from Australia and the UK. We’ve had a lot of fun together already which included a dinner cruise last night up the Saigon River looking at the electric Ho Chi Minh skyline. (We brought Tobi and Caiden along for their good company).

A few days ago Liz, James and I went downtown to District 1 to watch the US Women’s World Cup game against Sweden⚽️. Liz is an Aussie, James a Brit but they were “proper mates”. Unfortunately, the outcome of that game wasn’t so ‘proper’ and as many of you probably know, the USA Women’s Team went home. 😭 Now I’ll be doing reciprocal cheering for Australia and England while secretly thinking “boooooo this”.

I saw a fancy fanny on my walk to the hospital this morning.
This big chunky Corgi was marching around with a 1 inch high heart shaved into its behiney🤣

I’ve been seeing a lot about an extended heatwave in the United States on BBC News. Sorry for that! Fun fact – it’s 94° here today with a ‘feels like” temp of 112° farenheit due to the high humidity. But no one here bats an eye because … you may call it a “heatwave” in the States but here we call it “Wednesday”!!! 😳🔥😘

There are dragons everywhere here. Loved this one and wanted to share.

Had coffee with our coordinator Tuyen last weekend. While we were sipping our java, they gave us a cold glass of tea. Tuyen said that she loves this tea and it’s very healthy for you. I took a small sip. Although the taste was familiar, I couldn’t put my finger on what it was. Turns out it is green/red/black/white BEANS + rice tea??? Tea??? You know when you steam green beans and when you are done there is some light green water at the bottom of the pot? Well, that’s what this tasted like (presumably that is since I never actually drank green bean water cuz that ain’t no tea to Me!!).😇

Now I wouldn’t come all the way to Vietnam and not attend a Buddhist prayer ceremony at a Pagoda. Ryan invited Tobi, Caiden and Moi to join him at this service he had attended for the last few evenings.

We got stuck in traffic and arrived 10 minutes late. Thank God (and Buddah) for that because we literally did this repetitive/continuous chanting process of standing with hands in prayer, bowing, lowering forehead to floor, back to standing with prayer hands, bowing, pausing for 2 seconds then repeat, repeat, repeat 240 times for 50 minutes!!!! (without air-conditioning). Oh my Jesus it was hot. I was behind the 3 guys on my mat (cuz it was closer to the fan). They were so sweaty, they looked like they had fallen into a swimming pool with their clothes on…I wasn’t much better off.

When it was over, Ryan asked if we had been able to reach our Zen state. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that I spent the last 20 minutes contemplating sitting out the rest of the ceremony because I’m 58 and these guys are 21!! But I dug deep into my Girl Power and finished with them. I asked Tobi if he heard me repeatedly say “shit”every time the chant restarted after each 2 second pause once we were 30min into this. That’s where my mind was!!!🤣🤣🤣

Oh and the people who got there on time did 300 repetitions. Again, Thank God we were late!!

And on a serious note, at the end of our evening, I lit this incense in the upper left to say thank you to God, Buddha, my parents, his liver donor+her family and anyone else that helped my brother Steve survive his liver transplant.

He is home, thriving and looked / sounded better in our video chat last week then I have seen him for a few years now. Namaste Steve. Keep up the good fight. You’ve got this!!

❤️🙏🏻❤️

Greeting friends! ❤️ Weekends for all of us are for fun right? Well this last one was a doozy!! Hope yours was enjoyable too.

Maddy, Noah, Harika and I went on a 5 day trip to North Vietnam just below the Chinese Border for this adventure. We took a 2-hour flight to Hanoi. Then after lunch, caught a 5 hour Sleeper Bus to the Jasmine Hostel in Ha Giang (pronounced Hi Shing).

I’ve never been on a sleeper bus before but I thought it was fantastic! You get your own little sleeping compartment with: privacy curtain, bed, blanket, pillow, air conditioning, Wi-Fi and a big window to the outside for great views (or a nice blind if you prefer to sleep). Honestly, I didn’t sleep much because the driver honked the horn a lot like they all do here. I called it the ‘Beeper not Sleeper Bus’. And when he hit the brakes, of course you would slide in your bed. But all that said, it was very very comfortable and a really unique experience-the best bus ride I’ve ever taken!

So once we arrived, it was a 3-day motorcycles trip in several mountain ranges in an area renowned as one of Southeast Asia’s most remarkable overland journeys-the Ha Giang Loop. This loop included an area called Heaven’s Gate which is the perfect name for that stunning view. These mountains felt like a cross between the Rocky Mountains and the Alps if they were situated in Ireland and Iceland!! It was like nothing I’d ever seen before and really difficult to describe so rather than bombard you with synonyms for extraordinary, I’ll just share “a few” of the multitudes of pictures that I snapped from the back of that bike as we zigzaged up, down and around these jagged/lush mountains (very few guardrails added to the thrill!). We got off frequently to explore caves, climb cliffs and dine in places that felt like we were on top of the world!!! 😍

This was the map of the loop. We stayed in a different hostel every night because it’s such a long trip (218 miles). The hostels were pretty nice and the food was delicious… but I sure did sleep a whole lot better when I got back to my hotel in Ho Chi Minh last night since I was no longer sleeping next to 8 to 14 people😇

Now, let the magical sites begin as Noah, Maddy, Harika and I joined 10 other riders from around the world for a trip of a lifetime…..

Maddy+her driver had a 3 day contest with Me and my driver (Thai) which was instigated by Moi of course as to who was the fastest so hence who would lead the pack. Thai and I would pass and taunt them on the downhills but then get lost by them on the uphills as they had a much more powerful bike.😇

I couldn’t stop snapping pictures on these rides!! Every ridge we crested had as beautiful of a view ahead as we had just seen behind.

In the middle of day two we made it up to the border of China. We walked about 10 minutes to this little sign. It was the only written warning we saw but our guides were emphatic that to go any further meant you risked the electric fence up ahead in the distance and possibly getting shot at by a border guard. No need to test that theory! If you squint between these corn stalks just above the S in STOP, you can see the Chinese red flag at the border.

We got off the bikes every hour or so. These were necessary breaks and also really interesting. Sometimes we were in cafes on top of the world and other times in villages deep in the valleys.

The people in this region primarily farm and rely on tourism to sell their goods. The crops appeared to be mostly rice and corn which were often terraced up very steep slopes such as these below. (the camera can’t capture the 120° angle of these inclines).

The ethnic dress here is a beautiful, colorful outfit similar to what you would see in Nepal.

But my very favorite stops were the adventure stops! We rode a boat through a Gorge to swim in a waterfall and hiked up to a Ledge several hundred feet above the valley floor for some amazing adrenaline pics💖

Then a few of us from our group continued up the ledge to Summit the Peak. 4 of us made it to the top!!! (no we didn’t lose 10 people off the ledge, but the sane climbers stopped!! 🤣)

How exhilarating!!! Then down we climbed back to the bikes to wrap up our final day of riding.

At the end of each day of riding, we would arrive at a new hostel and have a nice shower then dinner together complete with shots of happy water…. this was some kind of fermented rice or corn drink which was 40% alcohol aka Vietnamese moonshine!!

Back to work today at our Hospital teaching the Medical Director of Anesthesiology and his medical students some medical terminology in English. They were a joy to work with. Then capped off my day back in the Pediatric Physical Therapy Room- still my favorite Department in the hospital!

It’s nice to be settled back in to my routine again but I will cherish this trip to the Ha Giang Loop for the rest of my life.

Thank you Vietnam for allowing me to share in the beauty of your kind people and your stunning landscapes.❤️

Happy Day / Good Evening my friends. Just back from 5 days in Chiang Mai, Thailand. It was beautiful, serene and historical in Old Chiang Mai where I stayed … but as promised … let’s start with those wonderful elephants! ❤️

There is a huge movement in Thailand to save the elephants from many unethical/abusive practices that they have endured for far too long: hauling for the logging industry, performing tricks in the circus, giving rides to tourists etc. As you can imagine, making a wild animal as large as this “behave” means that there has been and still is a good deal of pain and physical/emotional abuse.

There are numerous ethical elephant sanctuaries now in Thailand but you need to do your homework because there are still elephants working in ‘sanctuaries’ that are owned and operated by the tourism industry which allow riding and mistreatment. I had wanted to visit the same elephant sanctuary that my sister Cheryl and her son Brandon did a few years back because that one is run by one of the Premiere Elephant Advocates, Lek Saengduean Chailert (you may have seen the documentary about her program called “Love and Bananas, An Elephant Story”). But that sanctuary did not have any 1 night options.  Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to spend a week or more with the elephants so I couldn’t go there but I did find a nice alternative sanctuary.

The place I went was called the Elephant Jungle Sanctuary. They have 4 elephants at this location ranging in age from 4 years old (that guy was born at this sanctuary) to 75 years old. They have another 5 elephants at their other location further in the jungle. All were rescued from the industries mentioned above.

We spent the first day feeding bananas to our large new friends (sometimes via their trunks and other times directly into their mouths), bathing them in the river, giving them a mud bath, taking walks and just observing these magnificent creatures.

The elephants are very calm and friendly. It’s like hanging out with your favorite (VERY BIG) dogs but there is no physical coercion allowed.

We followed the elephant’s lead, they didn’t follow ours. If the elephants enjoyed what we were doing then they stayed with us. If they had enough, then they walked away, usually as a pack. It was cute to see them interact with the staff because they clearly love one another as they have all been together for many years. This was Dell our guide rubbing the tongue of his 75-year-old ‘baby girl’.

And after the elephants were satisfied with their river baths, they just got up and walked away together. So we had a giant water fight. Midway through, my flip flop got stuck in the thick mud and I tripped so I had a nice float instead while they finished the splashfest.

Since we were already wet, next it was off to the mud pond to finish Pachyderm Spa Day. Admittedly, they were enticed to join us by offering bananas. After their mud baths, they also enjoyed picking up sand and grass with their trunks then throwing it all over themselves. This is a good sunblock and cools them off a bit.

That evening, we had a nice dinner and a very peaceful night in their jungle lodge (only 4 of us stayed overnight and coincidentally we were all Americans!). Then the following morning, apres coffee + breakfast, it was off to see their other 5 elephants at their jungle site. Took a short ride then hiked 2 hours through the jungle, across some beautiful rice patties and swam in a small waterfall.

We didn’t think we’d be able to top our elephant experience from the prior day but we were very wrong! This site had a 4 month old BABY BOY!!! He was absolutely adorable and so playful!! They don’t allow any touching of the babies before 6 months of age in order to protect them from any possible germs. So it was No Touchy for us but still a huge treat to observe all of his antics around his very patient Mother!

After all of this play time on a hot sunny day, just like all babies, it was time to nurse and take a long nap in the shade.

OMG, how I wish I could have climbed through that fence and snuggled with this sweet baby!!

Shifting gears now. After 2 wonderful days in the jungle, it was back to historical Old Chiang Mai for the next 2 days to do some sightseeing, Thai food sampling and shopping at a local massive Sunday night Street Market.

Here was the view from my hotel room. The architecture was exquisite.

This 1.5 square mile old city within the larger city of Chiang Mai is completely surrounded by the ruins of a brick and mortar fortress. It reminded me a lot of Old Quebec.

Old Chiang Mai was established by King Mangrai in 1296 to be the economic, political, social and cultural center of the Thai people. It was called Lanna Kingdom meaning kingdom of a million rice fields. (That’s for darn sure!). Of course there was a lot of political turmoil back in the day which is why it was surrounded by the square fortress with one gate facing in each direction-North, S, E and W. Here is the famous Phae Gate on the South wall.

Once inside the gate, there is a beautiful village feel to Old Chiang Mai with historical landmarks scattered throughout. One of my favorites of these sites was the Buddhist Temple Wat Chedi Luang seen here both at night and in the sunlight.

Construction began in the mid- 14th century but was not completed for almost 100 years likely due to the political instability at the time. Below is a replica of what the temple looked like in its entirety, standing 270 feet high. Only about 1/2 of the structure remains today which is still about the height of a 14-story building. It is absolutely massive but you cannot appreciate that in these pictures.

As you walk around the temple’s giant square base, there is an entrance on all four sides, each containing some version of a giant gold Buddha statue like this one below- not the clearest of pictures because I had to zoom in so much to get the shot but you get the idea.

Just when I thought I was starting to read a little bit of Vietnamese, I land in Thailand where the lettering looks like wavy Chinese symbols. I could not read any of the signs at these beautiful sites and my Vietnamese SIM card didn’t work there hence no Google Translate… so please excuse the lack of descriptions but hope you enjoy the pictures 😇 …

Today it was back to the hospital after a very invigorating visit to Thailand. I’ll be working in Internal Medicine for the next few weeks. Today was my first day there and it was great. There are 3 female Doctors that work together beautifully and run that Department. They gave me a lot of information about the patients and often asked my opinion about the case.😁 Once a week, ALL of the Doctors round together on ALL of the patients in this Department. I had never seen that in the USA. I’ve only seen our Doctors rounding on their own patients. What I saw today appeared to be a wonderful collaboration that enhanced patient care. Proving again that we all have something to learn from one another. Go Vietnam!

After changing out of my scrubs to head ‘home’, while walking down the hallway I heard a cheerful grunt behind me. I turned around to see one of my favorite patients from the Pediatric Physical Therapy room gleefully clapping at Me. She is nonverbal but when we see each other in the hospital, she loves to make eye contact, give a big smile and make her hands into a heart. Her happy grunts are her way of making sure that I see her so we can exchange hand hearts as we pass. This afternoon, we made our hand heart together! ❤️

Since this post started with elephants I’d like to finish with them too. It was magical meeting some of the rescued Asian elephants of Thailand. This 75 year old female mentioned earlier in this post is such a sweet and gentle giant. She was rescued from the logging industry a few years back. What a treat it was to work with her. Wishing our elder girl a happy, peaceful next few decades as she could live to be 100+ years old. Namaste my beautiful, wise friend.