Tripping in Vietnam

As promised I’ll be sharing here some shots of recent trips in South East Asia. Besides the superb natural landscapes, I also focus on alive issues that reflect the people’s life and culture.
Today I leave you in Vietnam, back in Christmas of 2001.
Enjoy the ride!


And when you give, you receive… - Hue’, Vietnam – Dec.2001


Halong Bay, Vietnam – Dec. 2001


A bridge in Hanoi, Vietnam – Dec. 2001


Vietnam Reflections – Hanoi, Vietnam – Dec. 2001


Mobile Market – Hue’ – Vietnam – Dec. 2001


Aquatic Market – Mekong river, Vietnam – Dec. 2001


Static Market – Hue’, Vietnam – Dec. 2001


"We deliver!" – Hue’, Vietnam – Dec. 2001


Policing Hanoi, Vietnam – Dec. 2001


Guarding Hanoi, Vietnam – Dec. 2001

Viajeans = On the road in jeans

I’ve been in 42 countries of planet Earth but I believe I haven't seen a tinny little part of this magnificent and diverse world!

Alphabetic order: Algeria, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Cambodia, Canada, Czech Republic, China, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Laos, Luxembourg, Macau, Malaysia, Morocco, Monaco, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, Philippines, Portugal, Scotland, Serbia (former Yugoslavia); Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, Taiwan, Turkey, Tunisia, USA, Vatican and Vietnam.

Life for sharing

I haven’t ever really found a place that I call home
I never stick around quite long enough to make it
I apologize that once again I’m not in love
But it’s not as if I mind that your heart ain’t exactly breaking
It’s just a thought, only a thought

But if my life is for rent I don’t learn to buy
Well I deserve nothing more than I get
Cos nothing I have is truly mine

I've always thought that I would love to live by the sea
to travel the world alone and live more simply
I have no idea what's happened to that dream
(…)
life to rent – Dido Armstrong and Rollo Armstrong

Dido doesn't know what happened to her dream but I do know what happened to mine: it's here and now!
To a certain extent I relate to Dido's words, her dream is my reality.
I might never stay long enough in the same place but i do manage to call it home, before i leave it!I am enjoying the ride!
I also think that nothing I have is truly mine and to give and share is the most rewarding experience in our lives.
My life is not for rent, my life is for sharing!


Hue, Vietnam - Christmas 2001

We are reaching the end of another year, usually the time to reflect on the achievements of the past and plans for the future. The time to put order in messes and mess up orders. A time to look back, position yourself where you are and project yourself where you want to be.
For the next few days I will be sharing with you some flashes of my tripping experiences in South East Asia, since 2001, the year I went digital.

As the city awakes...

... I enjoy the view and fall asleep!

The view from my room - Hong Kong

Tripping in Tokyo

Green Tainan

The tropical weather covers Tainan with a green coat, all year around. What changes is the color of the flowers, which decorate the coat.

O clima tropical cobre Tainan com um manto verde, durante o ano inteiro. O que muda e’ o floreado do padrao.

Tainan’s Temples

In spite of some architectural handicaps like the one posted here yesterday, Tainan is still renown for its temples.
In my neighborhood, right besides the little Japanese house and opposite to the kitsch creation, both posted yesterday, there is a very nice little temple – the reason the house remains abandoned:


It’s not luck the fact that I have a temple right at my door step, in fact you can see temples literally all over Tainan and they come in all shapes and forms.
I leave just a few examples of the much more you can find in Tainan, all within a few hundred meters radius from where i live:

Evolução Arquitectonta

Almost everything has its times and eventually gets replaced by improved versions! Although I am an apologist for progress and development, I find it essential to maintain as much as possible the past alive. It helps the new generations understand where they came from and who they are.
But unfortunately this does not happen all the time.
The recovery of old patrimony and the natural evolution of modern architecture are sometimes destroyed and replaced by an ignorant need of exhibitionism of undefined kitsch.
This tends to happen more often in developing countries, immediately after emerging from a black period in their history, characterized by oppression at many levels.
When economies start to grow, sometimes money comes faster and easier than education and as to mark these days of economical prosperity, urban landscapes get marked forever – the nouveau rich est arrive’ confused, tasteless, and kitsch as ever.

Walking around Tainan city, we come across with a range of different house styles, some that truly marked a part of Taiwan’s history and from which we can still learn a lot today:

A bungalow made out of 100% natural materials, palm trees and bamboo – The typical aboriginal’s housing during many centuries in this island.


A town house built during the Japanese occupation (first half of the 20th century).
Today is abandoned right in the heart of the city (my front neighbor). I often ask my friends why they don’t take the opportunity and transform it in a residence or a nice lounge restaurant. The answer is first its old and people here prefer the new and then second it’s next to a temple where typically there are many ghosts.


And finally a house (my neighbor next door) built during the latest Tawian economic boom (late 20th century), whose architect (if I can call that person such name) was tripping big time on his 10 days-10 countries trip to Europe!


If I had the opportunity to influence progress here, I would not allow such kind of cultural terrorism in this beautiful ancient town and would restore the old charming houses even if we had to share them with the ghosts next door. After all, they are very friendly and share with us their beautiful temples!

Os deuses deviam estar loucos...

...ontem na cidade de Tainan. Parecia que todos os dragoes e personagens da mitologia chinesa tinham marcado encontro aqui nesta velha cidade. Por toda a parte, junto aos templos, assistia-se ao farnesim das dancas dos dragoes ao som dos tambores e musica que fazia lembrar opera chinesa. A cidade foi transformada num autentico palco de mitologia chinesa, coberta de uma neblina com cheiro a polvora proveniente dos efeitos pirotecnicos que rebentavam por todos os cantos, enchendo os ceus de floreados eufemeros.

"Dragon Lion's Legs", resting in between dances - Confusius Temple - Tainan - 21 Nov. 04

And at the end, nature will override man...

East section of the old town’s wall at "National Cheng Kung University's campus.

time and nature erases vestiges - Tainan - November 2004


and at the end, nature will override man... - Tainan - November 2004

Be the best...

Walking around in the "National Cheng Kung University's" campus, I came across with this setting, that at a first glance looked to me as if it was an altar:


Looking closer and I realized it was only a way to tell young people that they can be the best by following the instructions:

It underpins that you are the best when you are militarily superior.
I wonder where they got this idea from!!!

Make love not war!

Still my favorite tree...

“Banyan Tree” at the "National Cheng Kung University" - Tainan City - 21/11/04

How about if god was all of us?

There innumerous religions and believes, innumerous images and concepts of what god is.
Some adore it, some fear it, some kill for it and some couldn’t give a damn for it.
How about if god was one of us? Some kind of energy distributed evenly among each human being. That could well explain why often we hear that god is everywhere, that he created everything, he can hear and see everthing, that nothing in nature is created but everything is transformed.
This energy became matter and the matter evolved into what we are today and its evolution path is infinite. If we get out of our silly selfish boxes and realize this, we might have a great furure, if not, we might tear apart this great energy that we all form.
Looking back on how man kind has been dealing with the concept of god for the past 5 millenniums, I find it quite silly to follow blindly a man’s point of view, knowing that no one man is perfect and that his visions and interpretations of reality are 3 or 4 thousands years old.
By being blind and not questioning ourselves, humanity removed from itself some freedom for evolution. Humanity framed itself in paradigms with little space for a healthy evolution of the interpretation of reason of its existence.
We wasted millenniums in fighting and killing in the name of a man’s view of what god was for him. If this man said that god was all of us and only if we all contribute to the well being of those surrounding us, then god will be happy and we will be at peace today – the energy will be greatly positive. But instead this man said that only some are the chosen ones and he said that we have to fight the enemy and that it is why we are not at peace today – the energy is greatly negative.
Let us just suppose for a moment that this concept is a fact, then it is obvious that when we bring negative inputs to humanity, god (all of us) is not happy and when we bring positive inputs, god (all of us) is obviously happy.
The day that humanity will be able to live in peace, acceptance and respect, god (all of us) will be happy.
In the name of god (all of us), if you are fighting in the name of god, just remember that god might be all of us, including those you fight and if you do so you are killing part of your god.

PS.
Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrive hier soir!
I have to admit that I do not have this kind of reflections very often, but last night after a few glasses of Beaujolais Nouveau, my mind was illuminated by these thoughts! Was it the wine? If yes, my dear friends, this year the Beaujolais Nouveau is a special one!
‘A votre sante’!
Have a great weekend and be good to god, i mean to all of us!

illustrations adapted from here.