Vietnamese cooking class in Saigon

Our Vietnamese chef cooking instructor

Saturday, February 24                                                                        Vietnam

Mike and I had a cooking class in Saigon this morning at the Hua Toc Restaurant's Saigon Cooking Class.

They were ready for our group of 10 with everything pre-prepared and every thing layed out for  us.  We made 3 dishes: Fresh spring rolls with pork, prawns and rice noodles, Green mango salad with char grilled chicken, and Lotus fried rice in lotus leaf.

Great time cooking – we ate each dish after we prepared it.  Each one was tastier than the last.  Mike was the star - he made the pretties lotus fried rice in a perfect lotus leaf.

All prepared and waiting for the novice cooks

Old Vietnamese saying:  The couple that cooks together grows old and fat together 

My spring rolls with pork and prawns and a peanut chili sauce

Trying our hands at the woks for our stir fried rice

Mike's lotus fried rice in lotus leaf package was the most beautiful of the class

More views of Everest and arrival in Vietnam

Another amazing view of Mt. Everest

Friday,  February  23                                                             Bhutan to Vietnam

Today we left  Bhutan at 7:30.  Mike bought a tile of the 4 friends and I bought a painted stone from the hotel's gift shop - painted by local artisans.  

The flight path to takeoff from Paro was incredibly steep, with an extra tight circle to climb even higher. We were asked that we sit on same side as we flew out on, so others could see Himalayas as we retraced our flight path to Kathmandu.  I sat next to Marji and Ken Smith from St. Louis – neurosurgeon and former chair of the department.  I could see Everest and the other peaks clearly from the aisle seat, but Marji was kind enough to take photos for me with my iPhone from the window seat.

We landed late in Kathmandu due to fog and air traffic.  A zoo in the airport again – so interesting.  We left about 11:30 for Vietnam on our private jet, which has been in New Dehli while we were in Bhutan.

Leaving Paro, Bhutan - you can see the rice fields (winter now, so grey) which are planted
on both sides of the Paro Chhu River

Steep (!) ascent to leave the Paro Valley - only about a dozen pilots are allowed to fly here

Second viewing of Everest on the way back to Kathmandu from Bhutan.

Our flight was a welcome respite from the chaos at the Kathmandu airport. We were served mint lemonade as we left for our next destination!  Lunch was tomato bisque soup and a cold plate of chicken and veggies – good enough.  We had an airplane lecture by Carroll on Vietnam – much of it focusing on the Vietnam war. She noted that a great deal of emotional reaction still occurs on this topic.  We flew over India, Bangladesh  Myanmar, Thailand, and Cambodia.  We saw Everest for the last time – and soon flew over the Mekong River in Cambodia and Vietnam.

Everest's peak is a dark triangle, which was very distinctive once pointed out.  We never really saw Lhotse, which is just to the right of Everest - it was behind the clouds blowing off from Everest

On board lecture from Carroll Dunham on history and culture of Vietnam - complex subject for us from USA

We're very pampered on our private jet - the food has been outstanding  

Our arrival in Vietnam at about 5 PM was  quite special. Ho Chi Minh City is huge – and 95 degrees  today– but we weren’t out in the heat.  We were welcomed at the airport with a red carpet and bouquets of lotus buds.  So beautiful.  Very emotional to be here – complex time in many of our lives.

Our welcome to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) included lotus bud bouquets and a red carpet

Wonderful people traveling with us on this trip - many new friends with interesting backgrounds

We drove about 40 minutes to downtown and the Park Hyatt hotel.  By the time we arrived, the evening dusk had turned to night.  As promised, there were lots and lots of scooters.

The main streets were lined with special lighting decorations  for the New Year (Tet).  

                   

Lotus flower buds

Our local guide providing information about Saigon and Vietnam on the way to the hotel

Saigon was decorated for Tet (Lunar New Year) - beautiful light displays on all the main streets

Our room in the Saigon Park Hyatt Hotel

Gift from Vietnam - porcelain stand

Paro Rinpong Dzong – “Fortress of the Heap of Jewels”

Chorten in courtyard of the Paro Rinpong Dzong

Thursday,  February  23                                                                             Bhutan

Yesterday we visited the Paro Rinpong Dzong, a combination fort and monastery and official administrative center for the region. The district administrative offices are on the left side of the building, and the monastic functions are toward the right and front.  It's architecture is typical of Bhutanese style, with white walls and wood carvings painted red and many other colors.  It was built in the 1600's on the foundation of a monastery built by Guru Rinpoche (credited with bringing Buddhism to Bhutan). The valley  community used the fort to protect itself from invasions by Tibet.

The dzong is built on a steep hillside, with a courtyard for the administrative section, a central tower that is 5 stories high, and a courtyard for the monastic section.  It includes offices, temples, training areas for the monks, monks quarters, etc.

There are currently about 200 monks who live here.  Below the fort, there is a wooden covered bridge that crosses the Paro Chhu river.  The bridge has been reconstructed, as it was washed away in a flood in 1969.  In times of war, the bridge could be removed to protect the fort and inhibit invaders from crossing the river.

This fort, with it's 5 story central tower, served to protect the valley - at the hilltop is a 7 sided watch tower

Our guide, Dorji, demonstrates how men should wear their scarf - you can tell what job 
a man has by the color of his scarf.

Central courtyard (dochey), with a 5 story central tower (utze)

In the evening, we heard a great talk on how Bhutan is working to protect it's remaining wild tigers

Prayer wheels line the walls of the central tower (itze)

Stairway from the higher courtyard in the administrative section, to the lower courtyard in the monastic section

Well worn stairs in the monastic living quarters section

View to the west from fort's ramparts.  House in left foreground belongs to current King's grandmother

View to east from fort's ramparts - covered bridge across the Paro Chhu River

Covered bridge

Buddhist wheel of life with 6 levels of exhistance

Paintings over Buddhist monks quarter - letters on wood blocks signify "Om" according to our guide

About 200 monks live in these quarters in this section of the dzong

Representation of the Four Friends (Rooster, Rabbit, Monkey and Elephant) - need all four to cooperate together to have a healthy tree of life

Close up view of cantilevered covered bridge - rebuilt after flood in 1960's

Contributing to the Gross National Happiness at the Zhiwa Ling Hotel in Bhutan

Chorten in the central courtyard of the Zhiwa Ling Hotel

Thursday, February  22                                                      Bhutan

Today was a quiet day.  Unfortunately, I was up all night with a bad GI bug, so I decided not to do any sightseeing, but to stay close to "home".  Michael decided to stay with me, although today is the day that most of our group was hiking up to see the Takhsang Monastery. I loaded up on Imodium and chewable electrolytes.

Mike and I had a lovely day at the hotel. Once everyone left the hotel, the internet worked pretty well and I got 6 posts uploaded.  Mike went for a hike, with a hotel employee (Shyam Kumar) as a guide, in the surrounding hills.  He also had a massage at the spa - lucky guy.

Tonight we had 2 lectures from two guest experts -- one on Gross National Happiness - Bhutan's measure of riches - and one on preserving the tigers that remain in Bhutan.  

The Zhiwa Ling Hotel is one of the National Geographic Lodges of the World and we greatly enjoyed it.  Here’s what Nat Geo says about it:

"Nestled in the hills outside Paro, Zhiwa Ling is an architectural gem that unites Bhutanese culture and heritage with 21^st-century comforts. Its main lodge and cottages—each hand-decorated with intricate carvings—are set in a lush landscape of weeping willows and fruit trees. This is the first five-star Bhutanese-owned hotel, and its 45 beautifully appointed suites look out over the emerald foothills of the Himalaya.

Zhiwa Ling is a work of art, painstakingly constructed, carved, and painted by Bhutanese artisans over five years. It is not an old hotel—it first opened its doors in 2005 and is equipped with all the modern amenities you’d expect—yet the stunning architecture conveys an atmosphere of timeless tradition that fits right into Bhutan’s cultural landscape. The hotel’s temple exemplifies this emphasis on the authentic: it was built using 450-year-old wood from the original Gangtey Goemba monastery, one of Bhutan’s most cherished sites.

Many of us have heard of the country’s unique notion of Gross National Happiness, but the management at Zhiwa Ling has actually worked it into their business plan, making it a priority to inspire and empower their mostly Bhutanese staff. The result is top-of-the-line customer service and a well-trained, motivated, and friendly staff."

Restful and quiet, inviting reflective hikes - but you felt  the climb at 7500 ft.

The manager told us local woodworkers have created all the reproductions of Bhutan carvings, with great accuracy - they still maintain an active woodcarving workshop.

The Tiger's Nest Monastery can be seen over the ridge from up at the spa and meditation house

Mike was inspired to sign up for a massage after his mountain hike.

Bhutanese style painting of fierce deities reproduced in the hotel

He's a protector, not a demon destroyer

Four story central courtyard of hotel - beautiful carvings and paintings

Another fierce deity

View of the central hotel building from our front balcony

Bedroom has heated wood and slate floors, front and back balcony, sitting areas and a desk

View from our back balcony

The spa, with babbling brook, for optimal relaxing

Mike's local hiking guide from the hotel staff, Shyam Kumar 

Painting representing what's necessary for a long and happy life

Many animals are featured in the wood carvings