Just another day in Vietnam
Most Asian people, view food in terms of 'energy' consumed, and hold the belief that if you eat certain animal or its organs, you gain the spirit's attributes of that animal.
If they have no exact explanation as to the benefit of eating a particular animal, they always say that it is a great aphrodisiac, or an 'Immune system builder.'
So...... eating monkey's brain, will make you smart.
Eating snake, makes you fertile and hard... "More better than Viagra!" says the sale person in broken English.
Eating bear's paws (totally illegal, but still done in tacked away restaurants), makes you strong and fearless as a bear... And so on.
Most Vietnamese people are devout Buddhists.
Young and old, they pray to the goddess of mercy, 'Kwan Yin" or to the beloved Buddha.
They erect shrines at home, and at their work place, to show love and gratitude to the giver of good fortune and good health.
Vegetarianism, is considered a virtue in Buddhism, although mostly monks, actually observe it as a committed lifestyle.
Most people believe in reincarnation, and eating the flesh of an animal, may means that you could be eating an incarnation of your mother or sister....
But the love of food, and the cherished belief in gaining the strength of the animal through consuming it, prevents most people from adopting vegetarianism full time.
Eating meat is considered powerful and healthy, while vegetarians are viewed as physically weak.
This conflict of beliefs, is a source of moral confusion and guilt, and so..... Here in Vietnam.....Twice a month.... (Usually on the same days,) EVERYONE goes veggie.
Masses of people frequent the vegetarian restaurants in the city, in their attempt to gain good karma.
Because vegetarian restaurants tend to be cheap and somewhat of a humble places, they do not tend to be on the main drives of many cities, where the real-estate and rental prices are usually very high.
They could be found at the edges of great Buddhist temples, or in small tacked away, busy neighborhoods.
We could easily select vegetarian food from a regular menu, but we make an effort to frequent these places.
Our search for vegetarian restaurants, took us to some colorful neighborhoods on many of our travels.
Unlike in the West, where vegetarian food tend to be bland and often uninspired, the food in these places, is usually superb, and often we can get to eat the traditional local cuisine, made with 'mock meat' and it is..... fingers licking tasty.
A long walk, took us to a neighborhood crowded with REALLY narrow buildings, each with a unique design and color.
Some looked a bit art deco.
I am not talking 'narrow' in jest.
I truly mean apartment buildings that are only three meters wide (nine feet) from exterior wall to exterior wall.
There is a single room on each floor, and the original intention may have been to use them as town homes, spread on levels.
But today, you will see a whole family, living on a single floor, in less than a three meter wide room.
It was obvious that no building codes of any kind are enforced...
As long as the building does not collapse on the people walking down the street, design and execution are a fair game and nobody complains.
Electricity is provided via many dozens of black power lines, that run and intersect together in mad spaghetti clusters. Some hangs dangerously low to the ground.
Less than five minutes into our walk, a young man runs over to us, quickly leans down on his knees and places his hands on Jules' sandals.
"Broken,.... glue.... broken..... glue...." he says as he shows me a small plastic bottle filled with a clear liquid.
And.... He was right.
I have no idea how he saw it form across the street, but the heels of Jules' walking shoes, did need to be glued.
The young entrepreneurial boy, sat on the asphalt, right there... on the busy street, between zooming scooters and vendors carrying poles balanced on both sides with food, fruit and drinks.
Jules took off his sandals, and the young man offered him his own plastic sandals to stand on, so Jules will not have to stand barefoot on the dirty asphalt. (Jules refused the kind offer)
The young man fixed, cleaned, shined and buffed Jules' sandals... And did a great job at it.
Later, we sat in a vegetarian restaurant, refreshing ourselves with cold drinks and delicious food, when another vendor, walked in, offering an array of 'designer sunglasses' for sale.
The Vietnamese are very respectful of one another's efforts to make a living....
Deeply aware of the hardship involved in 'scraping a living', you will rarely see a business owner, asking beggars or vendors, not to bother their customers.
It is very common to eat, while a variety of street vendors and beggars stream in and out, attempting to sell lottery tickets, books, postcards, fruits, sightseeing tours, jewelry, sunglasses, stockings or underwear.
Vietnam is a socialist republic country, with a communist undertone.
It is still a single-party state.
Although it is officially committed to socialism, in practicality, it is embracing capitalism with a relish.
The term used, is similar to China's approach, which is "Ardently Capitalist Communists".
This motto is very evident on the streets of Saigon, where people are very eager to advance, are very entrepreneurial, ambitious and very hard working.
Some sit in doorways of their small businesses, enthusiastically counting their wad of cash, their 'take', every half an hour.
In the Western world, this will be viewed as greed or as narrowly being focused on material goods, but it is hard to blame them or not see their points of view.
So many people fall between the cracks in Eastern Socialist countries, and need to rely on their own ingenuity and wits, to provide for their families.
Although a new state constitution was approved in Vietnam, a Human Rights Practices organization, characterized Vietnam's human rights record as "poor".
According to some reports, the government has imposed restrictions on freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, and of association.
But as in many places around Asia, the government plays a very small role in many people's daily lives.
The majority of people who do their business on the streets, pay no taxes, have no voice in political elections and act as if they are see-through ghosts.
This invisibility, allows them to work, change careers at the drop of a hat, move back to their original village of birth, start anew, if they get into trouble.
Maybe it is the circumstances of their lives, or maybe it is the TRUE nature of human being, before they get distracted by the emotional intrigue that dominate our daily lives, and we lose our ways,..... but the Vietnamese are VERY friendly and communal.
I walk the hot streets and I take DEEP breaths in....
I pull back my shoulders, erect my spine and expand my ribs... I want to take in the spirit of this place...
To let the molecules of this place integrate into my lungs...into my body and into my being....
I want to remember how it is to be so human... So gentle... So simple.... To laugh so easily and to love with so much care.....
I am not trying to look at their culture with rose glasses, while looking at my own culture with harsh and critical eyes.
I can see the madness in the traffic, that will drive me insane if I lived here...
I can see the scooters falling down at the intersections like tired flies, and I know that it is a crazy and hard city to live in.
I see the families in the markets, sitting on low stools with their children, feeding them rice with chicken... Smiling and laughing and happy..... And I KNOW that if parents had so little means in my countries, they will be bitter and try to contrive of ways to get government help, feel frustrated and disadvantaged.... instead of trying to sell plastic sandals, and key chains or helmets or lime-chilly sprinkled Pomelo or anything else they can sell to make a living.
Human life is complex, everywhere on this planet.
The farmers do not have a blissful life, nor do the suite clad businessmen in corner offices.
Buddhist monasteries, which educate young boys that were sent to live there, NOT because they have an inclination for monastic life, or have an inner calling to search for the truth, end up being a hotbed of gossip and intrigue, and NOT the serene isolated temples we imagine them to be.
But life that is lived from the inside out, carries with it the greatest rewards.
If we are able to cultivate joy and contentment in whatever life we've created, we are able to reap the rewards and see the blessings.
Some people do not believe in the pursuit of happiness.
They view life as a riddle to explore, or they get inspired by controversy and are driven by life's challenges.
There is no right or wrong in the ways you choose to live your life.
Each path has its own blessing and downfalls.
Life on earth is a playground....
Make it the way you want it...... and take responsibility for your life.... It is your GAME.... Play your cards well.
If they have no exact explanation as to the benefit of eating a particular animal, they always say that it is a great aphrodisiac, or an 'Immune system builder.'
So...... eating monkey's brain, will make you smart.
Eating snake, makes you fertile and hard... "More better than Viagra!" says the sale person in broken English.
Eating bear's paws (totally illegal, but still done in tacked away restaurants), makes you strong and fearless as a bear... And so on.
Most Vietnamese people are devout Buddhists.
Young and old, they pray to the goddess of mercy, 'Kwan Yin" or to the beloved Buddha.
They erect shrines at home, and at their work place, to show love and gratitude to the giver of good fortune and good health.
Vegetarianism, is considered a virtue in Buddhism, although mostly monks, actually observe it as a committed lifestyle.
Most people believe in reincarnation, and eating the flesh of an animal, may means that you could be eating an incarnation of your mother or sister....
But the love of food, and the cherished belief in gaining the strength of the animal through consuming it, prevents most people from adopting vegetarianism full time.
Eating meat is considered powerful and healthy, while vegetarians are viewed as physically weak.
This conflict of beliefs, is a source of moral confusion and guilt, and so..... Here in Vietnam.....Twice a month.... (Usually on the same days,) EVERYONE goes veggie.
Masses of people frequent the vegetarian restaurants in the city, in their attempt to gain good karma.
Because vegetarian restaurants tend to be cheap and somewhat of a humble places, they do not tend to be on the main drives of many cities, where the real-estate and rental prices are usually very high.
They could be found at the edges of great Buddhist temples, or in small tacked away, busy neighborhoods.
We could easily select vegetarian food from a regular menu, but we make an effort to frequent these places.
Our search for vegetarian restaurants, took us to some colorful neighborhoods on many of our travels.
Unlike in the West, where vegetarian food tend to be bland and often uninspired, the food in these places, is usually superb, and often we can get to eat the traditional local cuisine, made with 'mock meat' and it is..... fingers licking tasty.
A long walk, took us to a neighborhood crowded with REALLY narrow buildings, each with a unique design and color.
Some looked a bit art deco.
I am not talking 'narrow' in jest.
I truly mean apartment buildings that are only three meters wide (nine feet) from exterior wall to exterior wall.
There is a single room on each floor, and the original intention may have been to use them as town homes, spread on levels.
But today, you will see a whole family, living on a single floor, in less than a three meter wide room.
It was obvious that no building codes of any kind are enforced...
As long as the building does not collapse on the people walking down the street, design and execution are a fair game and nobody complains.
Electricity is provided via many dozens of black power lines, that run and intersect together in mad spaghetti clusters. Some hangs dangerously low to the ground.
Less than five minutes into our walk, a young man runs over to us, quickly leans down on his knees and places his hands on Jules' sandals.
"Broken,.... glue.... broken..... glue...." he says as he shows me a small plastic bottle filled with a clear liquid.
And.... He was right.
I have no idea how he saw it form across the street, but the heels of Jules' walking shoes, did need to be glued.
The young entrepreneurial boy, sat on the asphalt, right there... on the busy street, between zooming scooters and vendors carrying poles balanced on both sides with food, fruit and drinks.
Jules took off his sandals, and the young man offered him his own plastic sandals to stand on, so Jules will not have to stand barefoot on the dirty asphalt. (Jules refused the kind offer)
The young man fixed, cleaned, shined and buffed Jules' sandals... And did a great job at it.
Later, we sat in a vegetarian restaurant, refreshing ourselves with cold drinks and delicious food, when another vendor, walked in, offering an array of 'designer sunglasses' for sale.
The Vietnamese are very respectful of one another's efforts to make a living....
Deeply aware of the hardship involved in 'scraping a living', you will rarely see a business owner, asking beggars or vendors, not to bother their customers.
It is very common to eat, while a variety of street vendors and beggars stream in and out, attempting to sell lottery tickets, books, postcards, fruits, sightseeing tours, jewelry, sunglasses, stockings or underwear.
Vietnam is a socialist republic country, with a communist undertone.
It is still a single-party state.
Although it is officially committed to socialism, in practicality, it is embracing capitalism with a relish.
The term used, is similar to China's approach, which is "Ardently Capitalist Communists".
This motto is very evident on the streets of Saigon, where people are very eager to advance, are very entrepreneurial, ambitious and very hard working.
Some sit in doorways of their small businesses, enthusiastically counting their wad of cash, their 'take', every half an hour.
In the Western world, this will be viewed as greed or as narrowly being focused on material goods, but it is hard to blame them or not see their points of view.
So many people fall between the cracks in Eastern Socialist countries, and need to rely on their own ingenuity and wits, to provide for their families.
Although a new state constitution was approved in Vietnam, a Human Rights Practices organization, characterized Vietnam's human rights record as "poor".
According to some reports, the government has imposed restrictions on freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, and of association.
But as in many places around Asia, the government plays a very small role in many people's daily lives.
The majority of people who do their business on the streets, pay no taxes, have no voice in political elections and act as if they are see-through ghosts.
This invisibility, allows them to work, change careers at the drop of a hat, move back to their original village of birth, start anew, if they get into trouble.
Maybe it is the circumstances of their lives, or maybe it is the TRUE nature of human being, before they get distracted by the emotional intrigue that dominate our daily lives, and we lose our ways,..... but the Vietnamese are VERY friendly and communal.
I walk the hot streets and I take DEEP breaths in....
I pull back my shoulders, erect my spine and expand my ribs... I want to take in the spirit of this place...
To let the molecules of this place integrate into my lungs...into my body and into my being....
I want to remember how it is to be so human... So gentle... So simple.... To laugh so easily and to love with so much care.....
I am not trying to look at their culture with rose glasses, while looking at my own culture with harsh and critical eyes.
I can see the madness in the traffic, that will drive me insane if I lived here...
I can see the scooters falling down at the intersections like tired flies, and I know that it is a crazy and hard city to live in.
I see the families in the markets, sitting on low stools with their children, feeding them rice with chicken... Smiling and laughing and happy..... And I KNOW that if parents had so little means in my countries, they will be bitter and try to contrive of ways to get government help, feel frustrated and disadvantaged.... instead of trying to sell plastic sandals, and key chains or helmets or lime-chilly sprinkled Pomelo or anything else they can sell to make a living.
Human life is complex, everywhere on this planet.
The farmers do not have a blissful life, nor do the suite clad businessmen in corner offices.
Buddhist monasteries, which educate young boys that were sent to live there, NOT because they have an inclination for monastic life, or have an inner calling to search for the truth, end up being a hotbed of gossip and intrigue, and NOT the serene isolated temples we imagine them to be.
But life that is lived from the inside out, carries with it the greatest rewards.
If we are able to cultivate joy and contentment in whatever life we've created, we are able to reap the rewards and see the blessings.
Some people do not believe in the pursuit of happiness.
They view life as a riddle to explore, or they get inspired by controversy and are driven by life's challenges.
There is no right or wrong in the ways you choose to live your life.
Each path has its own blessing and downfalls.
Life on earth is a playground....
Make it the way you want it...... and take responsibility for your life.... It is your GAME.... Play your cards well.
