MLK, Jr. and the Vietnam War

Below is a link to an excellent piece done by Democracy Now for MLK day.  This show reminds Americans of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s courageous anti-war stance during the Vietnam War.  His powerful message resonates even more strongly while listening to it in southern Vietnam. 

Click here:  http://www.democracynow.org/2010/1/18/dr_martin_luther_king_jr_1929

It's interesting to note that:

On July 26, 1948, President Harry S. Truman signed Executive Order 9981 integrating the military and mandating equality of treatment and opportunity. It also made it illegal, per military law, to make a racist remark. Desegregation of the military was not complete for several years, all-black Army units persisted well into the Korean War. (source: Wikipedia)

The Vietnam War was the first US conflict were American troops were fully racially integrated.

-Thanks Dan Morton for tuning me onto Democracy Now

expat tennis in saigon

Just when you think that you found a good deal from a 24 hour fitness club membership back home that offers a complimentary towel per visit, well check out all the trimmings from this Southeast Asia tennis lesson.

The other night Daniel, my expat friend, came home from work to go to his first tennis lesson in Vietnam (I am currently staying with him, his wife and two children in their beautiful home which has privileges to a tennis court, fitness center and near Olympic size swimming pool).  Back in the day, Daniel used to be an excellent player.  He hasn't played in years due to his interests in other sports (kite surfing being his weekend mistress), and he felt that he needed to work on his fundamentals a bit.  At work, his Vietnamese tennis-playing colleague referred him to a Vietnamese instructor who would come over to his court for an hour of instruction.

The lesson was scheduled for 7:30pm, and at around 7:45pm we heard a couple scooters arriving outside his door.  Two men rode the motorbikes. One of the men was rather short, thin and reserved. A chubby jovial fella handled the other scooter.  One Honda carried a second passenger, a young portly Vietnamese women who began to speak to us in perfect English.  She apologized for their tardiness due to difficulties finding the place.  This is the norm in Vietnam since no one owns or knows how to read a map.  As we walked towards the tennis court she explained that the thin gentleman was the tennis instructor and the overweight man was his assistant.  She on the other hand would be serving as the translator (it turns out she was Vietnamese-American and raised in Portland, Oregon).

Once on the court, and with the warm-up underway, the translator asked if my friend had a ball boy.  He replied that he did not.  There were already three attendants helping out with the lesson! Wouldn't a fourth make the court a bit too crowded?  They made Daniel aware that in Vietnam it is customary to have a ball boy.  My friend responded that in the US it was customary to fetch balls as part of the workout.

Under the floodlights, the lesson began. The assistant stood on the same side of the court as the teacher and took care of any balls that would come his way.  This allowed for an intense exchange between them and my friend.  Who needs a ball machine?

The quality of the instruction was very good, and my friend was impressed with how quickly the instructor had diagnosed his backhand problems.  I think the whole gang will re-unite next week for another lesson.  However, will Daniel succumb to having a ball boy or will he choose to continue picking balls.  To be continued...

motorbike madness

A flowing river of urban life. How else can this phenomena be summarized?

With the millions (yes, millions) of zipping scooters moving lawlessly throughout the alleys, sidewalks, streets, rond-points and intersections of Saigon there is an incredible ease and nonchalance that is felt. Everything just seems to flow as an uninterrupted buzzing stream. It's all about maintaining this current and its continuity.  Anything that joins in or breaks away without interrupting progress is welcome. Conversely, an awkward movement, or clumsy manoeuvre by anyone will disrupt and create waves of resistance. The former and latter are quite rare, and made me feel quite self-conscious about my rusty motorbike skills.

What rules? There's no panic on any rider's face as scooters zoom past in the opposite direction (against the flow of traffic). Beautiful girls speeding by gracefully with Ayrton Senna driving skills, a family of four embraced on a new Honda, a newborn infant ensconced between her young mother and proud father, a deliveryman carrying a mountain of product delicately balanced and pressed against his back. All of this multiplied by thousand's as a huge black Mercedes 4x4 muscles in and imposes the law of the jungle. Why aren't there visibly more accidents or cries of frustration? Everything seems to just click and fall into place tranquilly somehow. It's truly amazing and the following thought comes to mind: This would never be possible in any western country. The Germans would feel dutifully inclined to stop and remind you the rules while the Italians would be gesticulating to the wind and cussing every second.

However, things are not entirely rosy. There are an alarming number of accidents per day. If we're to believe the numbers that I received from an acquaintance in Saigon (while sipping a sweet Vietnamese coffee one fine morning), it would be about 14,000 deaths per year for the entire population of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)- population 10 million. I was also told that there were about 6 million scooters registered in HCMC. This is all to be verified....

Yet, thankful, there are helmet laws and most adults seem to comply. However, no manufacture has started to make protective headgear for infants. Also, the quality and effectiveness of the helmets leave something to be desired since most of them can be purchased for less than $10 dollars. It's like wearing a padded plastic cereal bowl with a strap.

the elixir of life

One of my latest finds in Vietnam has been the greenish drink called Rau Ma. Found in every marketplace and sold by street vendors throughout the country this health drink (when served without sugar) is not incredibly delicious but is truly blessed with properties that cure many ailments (Thank you Google for access to all of this info). Known in the anglo world as pennywort this weed has been heralded for centuries in India, Indochina and China. GOTA KOLÁ, as it is known to the Chinese, energizes and rejuvenates the brain and body. With the belief that “two leaves a day will keep old age away” this tiny leafed, low-growing plant, has been called the “Elixir or Life". 

The breuvage is made from the blending of the Rau Ma leaves with water and ice. It is then served in a glass on the spot or in a small plastic bag with a straw for take-way.

Centella asiatica benefits: 
* skin conditions
* rejuvenation

* increasing brain power

* extra vitality

* increased concentration

* poor circulation

* rheumatism and arthritis

* lowering blood sugar levels

* varicose veins

* health of veins

Today, I went down to the neighborhood market to get my daily morning Rau Ma and the vendor's blender was not functioning. Rather than go without, I bought a kilo of fresh Centella asiatica (which cost me 20 cents) and headed back to my place of residence to blend my own concoction. Mmm....I can definitely feel the extra brain power.

saigon says....

Build, build, build. There is an incredibly frenetic need to create a modern city here. Besides the necessities for modern infrastructure, the rapid build up is mostly to the detriment of taste and long term vision. The practical and pragmatic are taking over any sort of historic heritage that could be used to make this a truly interesting atmosphere for tourists. Charming french colonial buildings built from 1870 to 1954 are being torn down and replaced by towering skyline apartment/office buildings in an attempt to copy Singapore and Shanghai. Shopping malls are taking precedent over culture and history. Is this really necessary? How many centers of modern highrise living and air-conditioned shopping can a tourist really wish to take in?

These photos represent the many colonial style city blocks that are being replaced by modern souless towers.