A portrait of peace...

(Hoi An, Vietnam)

So I am now in the central region of Vietnam…just miles away from the once official border between “North and South”….it is wonderful to be here at last….I have only tried to imagine what it must have felt like for these people to be have been trapped between their own countrymen, living innocently in a war torn border, just a little over 30 years ago…

I have seen remnants of barracks, airplane hangars , and the occasional army jeep along the barren highways to this now tourist-laden region…but nothing more…just smiles , kind gestures from shop owners, peace signs from the children, and yes, the occasional ‘war souvenir stand’ stocked with camouflaged hats and T-shirts---

I have always found it a bit strange how a war can intrigue and entice people to buy war memorabilia- I respect this intrigue but personally have no interest in this type of souvenir. The stories , pictures and people I have read, seen, and met here have forever changed and deepened my insight of this country….no war memorabilia could ever replace this for me…

This city of Hoi An personifies charm..there are sections of the city where only walkers and bicycles are allowed...there are small narrow coobled stone streets filled with dozens of cafes and art galleries....and plenty of historical museums and homes to satiate any tourist's appetitie...the chinese influence here is also very apparent and a reminder to me of how close I now am to the Chinese border..









I have nicknamed Hoi Anthe “city of lights” as when the sun goes down here, hundreds of latterns scattered throughout this entire city all turn on- all at once, or so it seems…It is an amazing transformation..- like being in a field of fireflies, with lights sparkling in every color of the rainbow that suddenly surround you with every corner you turn….and it is quiet ..so one can really be still and watch and just taken in this amazing feast for the eyes….





I have also been amazed how I have seen just constant coastline of amazing beaches all along the eastern coast of Vietnam…I have now traveled about 1200km up the coast and there has not been a spot yet where I have not seen long stretches of wide white sandy beaches..it is a Vietnam I believe few people know about..but I do believe this is going to quickly change as I do see and feel very clear signs that Vietnam is going to be a huge contender in the tourist market in the very near future..it is both exciting and a bit sad for me to see this..I want to see these people flourish economically yet I am always abit saddened to see so much of our earth’s pristine environment be once again pillaged by cranes and drills and replaced with barren concrete structures…..alas, this is what we call “progress”…and there doesn’t seem to be much stopping of it…





But once again, I am thankful to be here when I am…to be able to see so much beauty from both the environment and its people….I will be forever grateful for the kindness I have been shown and for the insights that I have been shared. Communism is now not such a scary word or concept for me …. for communism and the people who follow this form of governing are not the ‘enemy’…; it is only what people do with power-any sort of power- that is actually dangerous and is what we should really fear…



For people are people......everywhere….all one has to do is look into the eyes of a smiling child or into the peaceful face of a resting man or woman and be reminded of this all too important fact.





and with these encounters of smiling faces comes the sincere and fervent hope of a tomorrow full of tolerance, understanding, and peace.




This is my hope. This is my dream...

Sand dunes, the sun, and smiles..oh my..

(Mui Ne, Vietnam)



I am in heaven again..truly this place is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen or been to in my life. The magnificence of the coastline here literally took my breath away today as I rode about 60 kilometers out to the Giant White Sand dunes known to locals as only Bau Tran, the driest geological “spot” in all of Asia.



my trust "motorbike" that took me along a most beautiful and incredibly windy 120 km ride today ! woohooo !!

My childhood memories of white sand dunes takes me quickly to the sandy shores of Itapoa in Bahia, Brazil. Many a family picnic was had there and it still feels like yesterday that I was lying under a pinetree taking in an afternoon nap (or at least making a weak attempt at one) after a big meal of feijoada (rice and beans) absorbing all I could of the amazing powdery white scenery around me.





a local bride and groom braved the hot desert winds for their wedding photo shoot. Supposedly, these dunes are one of the most photgraphed spots in all of Vietnam and many a fashion and wedding photographer has been here.



So when I arrived today at the dunes, I just felt like a big kid again, only this time there was no nap to be had- just a lot of climbing in the hot desert sun…



I seriously could not stop smiling the entire time I was running up and down these amazing huge mountains of the most powdery white sand I have ever seen. I was determined to also have a go at “sand sledding” since I had read in the guide books that “this was THE thing to do” here….so after driving a hard bargain with a very feisty 10-year-old ‘sled’ salesman (talked him down to a dollar), I had my plastic blue sled in hand and began the long walk up the dunes…Lawrence of Arabia, eat your heart out !…



I cannot really imagine what it must be like for desert dwellers to live in such harsh conditions all their lives..the sun is blinding, the wind never stops howling, and even after only a short time, my sight became a bit blurry as I tried to decipher edges, cliffs, and slopes around me…everything just seemed to blend into one big graceful and most beautiful mountain of…SAND…it was a novelty for me, of course, but I have gained a heightened appreciation for all our fellow human beings who sustain this existence day in and day out for years at a time in the many desert regions around the world.



My sand-sledding experience was short and sweet…one would think that so much momentum would be built on such altitudes but alas, the sand is so incredibly soft here that I think the weight of a ten year old child is probably the maximum weight where one actually can gain some momentum and speed ! Nevertheless, I had a great big laugh as I slowly but surely plodded down my sandy slope…but now am thinking in hindsight, that I should have gone down head first … next time..there is always a next time…


me and my trusty blue sled..I was a kid again !!


a picture of me at the bottom of the dune I just sledded down- just to give you an idea how big these dunes weree !

Mui Ne is also the capital of wind-surfing and kite-surfing in all of Asia so every morning and afternoon I am welcomed on the beach by a cornucopia of bright colored sails and well-toned surfers in their state-of-the-art equipment scattered both in the sand and sea. It is amazing to me still to watch what man is capable of doing in and above the water; what one must feel when he/she is defying gravity is a feeling I can only imagine right now by watching these most agile and talented athletes. It is also nice to see all this water activity going on around me again as it does remind me a great deal of being back in Hawaii..a nice feeling to have as I near the end of my r month trip (4 ½ weeks to go…)…


this is the view right outside of where I am staying..a most beautiful spectacle indeed !




me and my new found friend Didier, who travels the world teaching kite-surfing- something he loves to do with great passion!

My plans right now are to stay here for a few more days, get my classes taught and get caught up on some school work…I also want to visit a nearby orphanage and will probably help out there for at least a couple of days playing with the children and bringing what supplies are needed such as notebooks and toys….I am realizing more and more on this trip how much joy being around children brings me and can see me integrating time with children much more in my future travels… their smiles and laughter have been given to me so freely these past few weeks…this has been by far the greatest gift I have received while being on this journey…




a local cemetary I passed on my ride..the symbols on the graves ar enot swastikas but are of Hindu origins..



hope you enjoy the pics of this most magical and marvelous place on Vietnam…it has opened up my eyes to so much more natural beauty that I just did not know existed here in this part of the world. I sincerely hope you can make it out here one day as well. Just look for me in the sand dunes..I’ll be the one perfecting her sand-sledding going head down first ..:)


me and a couple of new found freinds, one from London, the other from Scotland..we "shared" a 6 hour bus ride form Saigon to hear and were instant freinds !


sorry, but I had to include this pic that I saw during my ride today ! I guess times are tough for poor Britney Spears ! She is now here in Vietnam making 5 bucks an hour doing massage..
(funniest darn sign I have seen in a long time !! and if you look closely, the girl above her is blowing a Mac apple ! hmmm..can we say copyright infringement anyone ?!!)




hope you are well….

melina ☺

Saigon smiles...and tears..

I spent a very brief time in Saigon…just a couple of nights and a full day as I made my way enroute from the westernmost island of Phu Quoc to the eastern shores of Mui Ne. However, in such a short time, I experienced so much…it was a day full of much contrast.


My morning began with an hour walk through the city on my way to the 'War Remnant's museum. I left my hotel already in a bit of a somber mood, knowing full well that I was going to see pictures and read stories from the Vietnam War that would most likely move me to many tears.


But what a wonderful surprise I stumbled upon enroute…As I was walking through the center park of the city, I began to hear children singing and playing in the distance. Little did I know what I was about to walk into- a MASSIVE celebration of “national woman’s day” with hundreds of little girls all dressed up in costume singing, dancing, playing, and just being little girls.


Families were also there picnicking, playing with children, and dozens of what looked like boy scout and girls scout troops were also scattered throughout the park, playing music and an assortment of games. I could not stop smiling the entire time I was there,watching all these most beautiful children just beaming with energy throughout this wondefully green and lush park. I was mesmerized…and could not believe I was the only non-Vietnamese in the whole darn park ! (how could I be so darn lucky ?!)…



what a spectacular moment it was to just be the observer and be completely smitten by all the playfulness and joy these children were showing….we as adults should all be so wonderfully reminded on a daily basis to play with such abandonment of worries…

The shock of me walking into the War Museeum an hour later came, of course, as even more of a shock for me after having just been in the midst of so many smiling Vietnamese children and families ….and to walk immediatley into the museum and literally be blasted with some of the most devastating shots of Vietnamese children affected by Agent Orange (and other war atrocities) literally just moved me to uncontrollable tears within the first minute of my being there.





Of course, it didn’t stop there..the museum presented a most gripping and thorough account of so many moments during the Vietnam war, including actual stories and pictures from many of the soldiers and journalists who died there in battle. Without saying much more, it was a day that forever changed my life and firmly cemented my belief that anyone who is either fighting or living in the midst of a war experiences a true living hell on earth.

to see this infamous picture in its original state stopped me in my tracks...


This is a 1974 picture of Hawaii war protesters..shot taken in Honollulu...amazing feeling to be seeing a picture of "home" all the way here..


one of many "peace posters" displayed in the museum..this one was from Australia...


images of Ho Chi Minh (the leader of the Communicst Viet Cong) were still seen everywhere in Saigon, making me of course wonder if there was still a great deal of Communist supporters in the city..



And as I sat in a bar on a Saigon street corner later that night, I could not help but think what it must have been like just a little over 35 years ago to be here and seeing all the American GI’s roaming the very same streets , perhaps sitting in this very same street corner, and seeing a very different look in the faces of the Vietnamese people around them. It seemed almost surreal to me as I sat and watch this peaceful street scene, knowing full well that so much of this city and country was under constant fire for so many years (I have read that a bomb dropped in Vietnam every 8 minutes throughout the war )

But the Vietnames seem to live in peace now or so it seems. I am not quite sure who really won the war as it still seems very unclear not only to me but to many I spoke to around me as well. But one thing seems to be for sure… The Vietnamese people have moved on and seem to be now carrying on with great determination and focus in their daily lives…









Once again, the amazing perseverance of the human spirit is evidenced… and I am , once again, most definitely humbled…



keep praying for peace.....