Day 11.. Flying is for Wimps

Day 11.....Flying is for Wimps
Robert Kalachian of Giving It Back to Kids says that most who come to distribute wheel chairs complain about the length of travel involved. We, on the other hand relish the opportunity to observe the culture and people of the country from a closer perspective. Sometimes that means about a micro millimeter of separation between our vehicle and a bus jammed to the gunnel's careening down the road with horn blaring.In essence, you must stay awake because any momentary drop of your guard calls for a startlingly loud wake up call courtesy of some of the loudest horns I have ever heard.
I got up early to explore the beach and grounds of the Wellness resort. The spa is about 100 yards up through the jungle reached via a winding path. Each of the massage huts are remotely set into the jungle for privacy. The platforms are open to the ocean. Each has a massage table and a bamboo soaking tub at the foot of the table. The steam bath is built into the rocks and looks like a little cave. They also have another form of steam bath where you are covered with hot sand. I wanted the four-handed Vietnamese massage in the worst way but time was short.
I then went down to the shore and watched the fishermen bring their catch in and ready it to take to the market place. At night we watched the lobster hunters exploring the ocean floor for lobsters. They go under water with a long breathing hose and a strong light. I watched them for at least an hour and never saw them come to the surface.
I could have stayed for a month but we needed to hit the road at 8 to get to another distribution in the Tuy Phuoc District of the Binh Dinh Provence. This district was very remote and we traveled down a narrow road to the distribution site.
This was a distribution of about 75 chairs. The area is pretty rural so we were clearly getting these chairs to the very poor. The District head said that Tuy Phuoc was the scene of a lot of fighting during the war and there were many people left disabled from the fighting.
We were greeted very warmly by the attendees. After brief remarks we walked down to talk to the recipients. We are getting stories compiled on many of the people receiving wheel chairs. I can't wait to connect the stories to the pictures and video that we have taken.
One young lady was very crippled. Her arms and legs were very very thin and deformed. Although her body had failed her...her mind was bright and alert and she sat as straight and erect as she could while we talked to her. She simply exuded dignity. She said that she had been attending school but her family could no longer afford for her to go. Another young man had been attending college and was the pride of the family. However he contracted polio and now is unable to manage for himself. The wheelchair will now ease the burden for the family that must care for him entirely.
We spent quite a bit of time with the recipients. I was pleased that we didn't have to rush away. We had stopped at a small shop on the way and bought a fresh batch of suckers and candy to give to the kids. We found out that the elders really liked the suckers. Most of them were without teeth. We would unwrap them and hand them out. They would really work those suckers over. Most were placed on the back of scooters and whisked away sucking away on those suckers with a passion. I got some great pictures and video of this distribution.
After the distribution, we traveled even further into the country for lunch. We went to a very,very small village along the coast. This would be a real test of our gastro-intestinal fortitude. The restaurant was spartan to say the least. Fresh shrimp and squid recently plucked from the sea and assorted sea based soups. A bottle of vodka was produced for the obligatory toasts. Fortunately, it was early in the day and our hosts went easy on us since we had a very long drive ahead of us.
The drive back was a nail biter. We passed a head on collision between a van and a bus. The bus won and I'm sure there were many injuries. I'm surprised that we didn't see more accidents.
The Vietnamese seem to be doing a good job with education. We passed any number of schools that were filled with children dressed in dark blue trousers or skirt, a white shirt and red kerchief. As school let out it seemed like thousands of the kids piled out of the school. They all jumped on old fashioned single gear bicycles and hit the road peddling feverishly onto the road. Dodging these kids was a chore since most of the bicycles were way to large for their riders. We had one close call when one small kid lost his balance and nearly fell into our path. A pure adrenalin rush for us.
The bathroom stops were a challenge for the girls but hey didn't complain. We of course were lucky as we just walked a few yards into the woods.
Once back to the hotel we let out a holler of relief and lauded our driver profusely. Needless to say we toggled it down for the evening and I was finally able to break through the hotel Internet code with the help of Mario. When I finally checked my watch it was 1 AM and I was toast.
Day 11 was in the books!!!!