January 1, 2009 Tra Vinh to Saigon

Waiting for the bus back to the hotel.

In another part of the park was a wedding.

We bought wall hangings and painted rocks from this man. I have no idea what they say but he said they were all nice things!

Lanterns first on a boat and then floating on the water. Quite beautiful.

Sticky rice balls.

Thuy Chicago.

Maddy & Kevin

TH, Thuy Chicago, Teresa & Huong

Warren

Harriet & Warren

At the entrance of the outdoor park buffet restaurant!















The children drinking powdered milk.

When he finished eating his little gel snack, he put his garbage in the waste basket.

Pictures of the children at Father John's orphanage.

I sat down and the kids sat on my legs.

MH and friend

Showing off their martial arts skills!

Father John standing with the children.

At the orphanage with the beautiful children.

A store on the way to Father John's Orphanage for HIV+ children.

Back to Saigon

Mote, hai, ba - yo! Happy New Year!

She is selling sticky rice - but she sure does not look happy.

Leaving Tra Vinh.

Our fearless driver.

Final pictures before loading the bus. TH with her bags.

Bicycle helmest - only about $2 USD but so many people do not wear them. Particularly children do not wear them.

A streetside place to eat - they are everywhere.

Motor bike with child seat. Yikes!

Some sights from a quick trip to the market in Tra Vinh.

Again, I am continually amazed by the loads people regularly carry - on their backs and their bikes.

Tam in the hotel lobby.
















Marcia out by one of the vans outside the hotel in Tra Vinh.

Breakfast at the hotel on New Year's Day.

View from our hotel in Tra Vinh

Today we traveled from Tra Vinh to Saigon, by bus. We toasted the New Year on the East Coast (of the US), the Midwest, and the West Coast - oh yes, and in Australia. When we got to Saigon we checked into the hotel Lan Lan and then some of us went to Father John's Orphanage for children who are HIV positive. We drove in the van with Marcia and Rad and Tam but had to walk the last couple of blocks as the van could not get down the streets. Father John is a Catholic Priest who has dedicated his life to caring for HIV positive orphans. Although the government of Vietnam does not recognize the Catholic Church, the hospitals (run by the government) call Father John when they have an HIV positive baby. His most recent child is 4 days old. He is being forced to move from his current building as the owner wants the building. The building is several stories high and is actually an accident waiting to happen with all of the stairs and small children. He is hoping to get some land outside of the city which would provide a yard for the children. Although a few children were shy, they were all loving and playful and crawling all over us. All of the workers seemed very kind and caring. I wish I could bring the children home with me. I also really wished that I could speak Vietnamese so that I could talk to the children. Monghang brought some toys that she left for Father John to give the children. Father John is very kind and working so hard to care for the children. He speaks great English so we were able to talk with him about the children. Typically they are abandoned in the hospital. He does try to find the mothers and tries to help them get treatment.

We went back to the hotel and then everyone went out for dinner. We had an incredible dinner at this outdoor park with the most amazing buffet. There was food stand after food stand, traditional music, activities for children, floating lanterns - and then attached to other parks and restaurants. Amazing! And all you could eat. I tried all sorts of new things. What a wonderful evening and New Year's Day.