Journey with books

We've tried a lot of approaches to transporting books.  We love to support libraries, so we have traveled with library books.  I know, not advised.  Kevin got a kindle specifically for travel, but as I wrote before, it broke a week into our Guatemalan adventure.  Kindle was responsive once we were home & at a stable address, but we were moving around too much within Guatemala to have received a replacement device.  Not so helpful.  Ultimately, we've found it's easiest to purchase used books & leave them at hostals & community centers once we've finished the read.  Good karma.

I don't have all my reading lists, but a few.  Most guidebooks offer some suggested reading.  Also, check out http://www.worldcat.org/ to search books related to your travel destination.

I no longer have my reading list for trips prior to Guatemala, but I do remember reading Confessions of an Economic Hitman & Graham Greene in Panama.

We took the following to Guatemala (pay attention 2014 retreat participants!):

Secrets of the Talking Jaguar by Martin Prechtel
Bitter Fruit by Schlesinger & Kinzer
I, Rigoberta Menchu by Rigoberta Menchu
Men of Maize by Miguel Asturias
The Open Veins of Latin America by Eduardo Galeano

A selection from Vietnam:

Paradise of the Blind by Duong Thu Huong
Shadows and Wind by Robert Templer
Buffalo Afternoon by Susan Fromberg
Dispatches by Michael Herr
A People's History of the Vietnam War by Jonathan Neale
A Wavering Grace by Gavin Young

I found Shadows and Wind dry-- it's a collection of essays on Vietnamese cultural, political, and economic life.  Compelling subject matter but a poor telling.  Buffalo Afternoon & Paradise of the Blind stand out in that grouping, but then again, I love a good novel!

Ecuador & the Galapagos:

Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut
Savages by Joe Kane
Living Poor by Moritz Thomsen
Darwin in Galapagos by Grant and Estes
The Mapmaker's Wife by Robert Whitaker

I would only recommend Living Poor if you head to the Ecuadorian coast.  It's interesting to watch the author's evolving thinking about US-Ecuadorian relationships, but I cringed some on the journey.  If you travel in the Ecuadorian Amazon I think Savages should be required reading.  Don't be thrown off the title-- it questions whether or not that word applies to foreign companies ravaging the rain forest.  Written by a NY Times correspondent it's even-handed and informative.

If you travel from Guayaquil to the Galapagos do what I did & read Vonnegut's Galapagos en route.  The experience truly freaked me out.  Once in the Galapagos we read Darwin in the Galapagos for context.  Good scientific content, but not the best writing.  Floreana was a surprisingly fun account of a German woman who moved to the (almost) uninhabited Galapagos island of Floreana early in the 20th century.  The memoir certainly enriched our visit to said island!

Heading back to the mainland we picked up The Mapmaker's Wife.  The jacket reads like a bodice-ripper, but this is another journalist telling of an historic event, the journey of mapmaker's to measure location of the equator.  If you're a scientist, I'd imagine you'd finding the telling substantive & the history interesting.  Thankfully for the rest of us, there's also love & intrigue to keep us page-turning.

Kevin bought State of Wonder by Anne Patchett on his Kindle while we were away.  I read the book on flights home.  It's set largely in Brazil but delves deep into the Amazon.  The Amazon is surprisingly distinct, depending on where you visit, but doesn't know borders.  After having skirted the border near Tena, the imagery was rich in my mind.  The story is gripping and poses serious moral questions I continue to consider.

Belize:

The Possibility of Everything by Hope Edelman
Satsun by Dr. Rosita Arvigo

All good trips require good books.

Phu Quoc

We took an early ferry from Rach Gia to Phu Quoc.  The ferry was comfortable.  There were reclining seats, air conditioning, and movies.  As we arrived on the dock it began to rain.  We began struggling with our luggage to find a van to take us to Phu Quoc.  Eventually catching a ride, we began the trek from dock to beach.  As we rode through this island known for fish sauce and previously being a penal colony, the skies cleared.  Rich history, beautiful present.

We were left at the road & found an access down to the beach.  We began walking along the sand to see what hotel was in our price range.  Eventually, we settled on Hiep Thanh.  For $35 a night we had a beach side bungalow.

This is all we did for the next four days.

 Unfortunately, the ice in all those Vietnamese iced coffees eventually got us.  On our second to last night in Phu Quoc, Kevin became ill.  I got him bagettes, water, and coke-- the simplest food I could find.  This was the only moment when we were homesick!  Late that night I succumbed too.  The following day we lay languidly in the shade, nibbling on fresh ginger and rehydrating.  It's never fun to get sick, but at least we could recuperate in such a beautiful place.

Feeling a bit stronger, we boarded the ferry for Rach Gia, and from Rach Gia, a bus to Ho Chi Minh City.  We had one more night before returning home.

More than I am

I'm growing larger than I am

I'm growing past my strength

This has happened before

It was once strictly physical. The ground drifted further

below my sight. I re-balanced. I became

known as woman, became in relation to

others, to my experiences. This growth is

less visible but I feel it. It feels

tangible. I'm growing more capable of

caring for myself. I'm growing more connected

to the earth below me. 

That steady earth that held me

crawling, toddling, walking, and then gazing past

it. I'm working towards it once more, knowing that

it's relationship is possibly the

most sacred. Feeling myself sculpted, nourished, of and

working back towards. My body will grow stronger. I can

feel that. I can feel that one day I'll balance on my

hands, that my spine will open, that I won't be scared

of exposing myself. 

I can feel that. And then I'll begin to

curl back within. I'll relinquish some of that strength. I'll

give it back, little by little. Eventually, I'll let go

entirely. I'll give back my breath. I'll give back all that's

been given me. I'll go back into the earth. I'll begin that

radical practice of once more growing larger than

I am. Of dissolving into soil, seed, root. Of looking

up into depths of earth. Merging into something more

than I am.

Mekong Delta

When Kevin & I travel independently, we do usually join on a group tour if it allows us access somewhere we simply couldn't reach.  We took a group tour in Halong Bay, to Bac Ha market, and now a two day affair with Sinhbalo tours biking through the Mekong Delta.  I highly reccomend them!  Plus, the cost decreases as more participants sign on.  Tours are expensive if it's just you, or a couple.  If you create or tack onto a group you can pay about what you would traveling independently.  

For the sake of clarity, you can travel independently in the Mekong.  However, without handling logistics ourselves, we were able to quickly get on bikes & experience the farms, factories, and markets of the Mekong.

We spent the first day biking through villages, farms, and small factories.

Bananas waiting to go by boat to the floating market

Hungry hog

Jackfruit

Monkey bridges offer people water crossing

Pepper vines

Salty sampan

This family wove thatch to create roofing material.  Their daughter scampered around, pulling mangoes off the nearby tree.

Workers roasting longon berries

Little girl playing in longon berry factory with her family

Workers shelling longon berries

Kids in the Mekong were so fun!  They play a game where they yell "Hallo!" & wave frantically whenever a tourist passes.  It never got old.

The following morning we visited floating markets.

Boatside breakfast

Eyes to keep evil spirits at bay

A pole to advertise your offerings

Sugar cane

Sinhbalo dropped us in Rach Gia to catch the ferry to Phu Quoc island the following day.  We were debating finishing our trip at the beaches in Phu Quoc or Can Tho.  Can Tho can only be reached by flight from Ho Chi Minh City.  We didn't want to travel north through the Delta when we were already so close to Phu Quoc.  We settled into the final journey of our trip.

Ho Chi Minh City/ Saigon

What to call it?  Vietnamese call it Saigon.  Ho Chi Minh City is where you arrive from an international flight. It's the capital of the country, though all the political power is in Hanoi, in the north.

Infamous Continental Hotel, home to Graham Greene and many other war correspondents.

Ho Chi Minh City is hot and fast.  It's fun.  You can walk out of your room at any time of night and find food cooking, music playing, and a friend to join for a game of dominoes.  I think I'm realizing I prefer being outside of most cities.  I was content with a day and a half here.  And, as far as big Vietnamese cities go, I prefer the dark mystery of Hanoi.

Crossing the street in Vietnam is one of the best exercises in meditation.  There are motorbikes everywhere.  Vietnamese people seem to understand the rhythm of movement, but there are no signals to the outsider.  You can't cross at a light or anything that simple!  You have to almost go limp, relax, and move one step at a time as traffic parts.  If you remain calm, pay attention to the Vietnamese crossing-- they're the best guides, you'll watch the motorbikes part around you.  It feels zen.  If it's not terrifying.

Running through the hot humid streets to various museums and attractions is tiring.  We found a rooftop bar to take in the Mekong.  And of course, my favorite, a refreshing glass of Nuc Dy, lime juice, and the inimitable Vietnamese iced coffee!

So let's talk about food.  As I've written before, it's pretty easy to be vegetarian in Vietnam.  As a westerner, it's easier to tell wait staff that you're Buddhist.  Many parts of the world take the word "vegetarian" quite literally, and you might find yourself with exclusively raw vegetables.  Vietnamese understand that Buddhists simply don't eat animal products.  Also, all Vietnamese eat vegetarian at least once a month in recognition for Buddhist belief.

We went to Sen/Lotus Cafe, the best vegetarian restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City.  It doesn't look like anything from the outside.  We walked to the second floor and waited while families seated on floor cushions dined at communal tables.  No one paid attention to us.  Finally, a couple got up and gestured to their area of a table.  It was still full of dishes and glasses.  We eagerly sat down (it smelled great!) and happily watched while people made space for us and the wait staff bussed.  No one spoke any English.  No matter.  Happily, part of the menu was in English!

Our friend, Au, introduced Kevin to avocado milkshakes.  He's a believer.  I still can't get on board with the whole sweet avocado thing, though it is quite common in most of Asia.  I did discover that I love iced lotus tea.  When we arrived in Ho Chi Minh City, our hostal host treated us to iced lotus tea and small candies made from sesame seeds and lemon seeds.  Delicious!  I told you the Vietnamese waste nothing.

While in Halong Bay, we met travelers who suggested we connect with Sinhbalo tours to bike the Mekong Delta.  We paid our fare to travel south.

The Body Responsive

My body responds to place. All bodies do. As I travel, I watch the gradual evolution of human form in environment. In Ecuador, I remember legs. Other people's calves were often at my eye level ascending Andean slopes. I remember being awe-struck by these powerfully formed, strong, wide, tight calves. The Andes would mandate such calves to propel humans up and over such mountains, repeatedly.

The calves were in the jungle too. The Amazon surprised me. It wasn't flat. It was more of an obstacle course. Distance measured as the crow flies is meaningless on the ground. The intricate web of plant and animal life creates its own topography. Water intersected land. Hills and valleys were rendered invisible by endless green. In the jungle I always had my eyes down. It wasn't that I was uninterested in the canopy or the dots of sky. It was a matter of self-preservation to monitor every impending step. There was always another root, possible lurking animal or insect, sinkhole, mud, stone, or pool of water. I watched feet march in single file. If my gaze lifted, it found strong calves pulling deeper into curtains of green.

Bodies were leaner in the Galapagos. There, I lived the life aquatic. My fingers and toes felt perpetually pruned. I was nervously aware of the earth's land to water ratio. Local bodies reflected the ever-present waves in fluid corporeal lines. Bodies made to slide to further depths, to rush through current. Bodies are carved responsively.

When I hear an accent for awhile, unintentionally, I adopt it. It's a bit embarrassing, because I know it can come across as affected. I don't know why I do this nor how it started. My body does it too. If I live somewhere long enough my body shifts to the place. My features. My face! Obviously, my skin tone might grow steadily more pale or conversely more tan, my hair may reflect sun highlights or a dimness, but it's more than that, it's my features. I spent a month in Zambia and I looked different on my return. As I approached my third month in Argentina my facial features became more angular. My diet was different, and my weight reflected this shift, and certainly that had something to do with pronounced cheek bones. But I feel it goes deeper, it's some response to place.

In Cuba my cheeks softened. I didn't gain weight, I did gain sun, I ate food available to me in Cuba.

My skin is still stained with equatorial sun. It's so sad to know that will fade away. I'll be recast in my body as it lives here, in New Jersey. There's nothing wrong with that but I do gain a fondness for each place's imprint. Returning from Guatemala my skin was so dry. I was tan & thirsty. I drank plenty of water while away but some quality was different. I remember watching scorched grass climbing volcanoes over Lake Atitlan. My body felt harvest-ready, at the end of a season.

I've been learning about the dynamism of plants and soil. Plants have remarkable capabilities. Certain plants, if diseased, can release chemicals to draw towards them medicinal insects or animals. Other plants can draw predators to problematic insects. Plants can create environments to entice beneficial species into their fold. Whole micro-climates can live and breathe within the periphery of a fir. Space photos show the Amazon breathe.

Land and plants are dynamic. They shift, shape, respond, and create their environments. They create me. Continually. After so many years of believing the natural world to be inert, and humans to be in control and manipulation of the natural world, I'm rethinking. Humans certainly interfere in profound and horrifically dangerous ways. But I find human power to be increasingly fallible. I don't know how much we, as humans, watch our environments manipulate and control us. I'm watching my appearance shift in response to place. That's surface level.

Close my eyes. Grateful. Grateful to be held by earth. Gaze inward. Release. Steadily, stumbling, releasing control. Releasing the illusion of control. Watching.

"They hate Americans there"

In Vietnam, we were learning so much about resilience, resourcefulness, and history.  Nearly everyone I told about our plans for independent travel in Vietnam assumed the Vietnamese would hate us.  I learned a few things about the US-Vietnam war:
War means more to the side that lost.
We are not all associated with our home government.
War recovery is critical and governments rarely offer what is needed to rebuild.
Vietnamese people rebuilt despite their government.

I've also traveled in Cuba, where it was assumed Cubans wouldn't like Americans.  Cubans, Vietnamese, and many other people have good reason to not like Americans or to not like American foreign policy, and desire Americans to put more pressure on our government to change policy.  I understand the possibility for hostility.  I've also rarely experienced it.

(I also rarely refer to myself or any US citizens as "Americans."  I'm using that word here for expediency.  Here's my objection: the Americas cover two continents and many countries.  Adopting "American" as the short-hand for a US citizen seems to assume domination or superiority over those other countries and identities.  It would be more innocuous if US foreign policy didn't often reflect that same domination.)

I don't necessarily identify with the US government.  I want to be careful in my thoughts here.  I've been active against the war in Iraq & Afghanistan since 9/11.  I've been a long-time member of the movement against mass incarceration, which is a challenge to US domestic policy.  I do feel it's my responsibility to challenge the US government, especially because I live in the US and have more access to it than many people in the world.  I also pay taxes, which means I'm not innocent.  And I benefit from being a US citizen-- I have an access to the world denied many people of other nationalities (not even considering race privilege and class).  If Vietnamese people were resentful towards me because of US war crimes, I would understand it.  Interestingly, they never seemed to be.  If anything, Vietnamese attention was mainly directed at China, and sometimes France.

I also learned more about war resisters within Vietnam.  Many of those who didn't, or couldn't, go to Canada defected within Vietnam.  There's also a large population of conscientious objectors in Japan.

There are certainly parts of the world where I wouldn't travel due to danger or hostilities towards Americans.  However, the more I travel the more I realize that if you are respectful, aware, and engaged in learning, you'll rarely encounter hate.

Kevin wearing a Muhammad Ali shirt in Vietnam.  People we met did remember Ali's act of solidarity by stating in 1966, "No VietCong ever called me Ni**er!"