Brightline train

 As we love trains, when Brightline was launched and advertised that it was going to Orlando, we had to check it out.

But Florida is not the rest of the world. So while traveling on trains normally exposes you to fabulous scenery, Florida is blah .

Luckily they have some nice waterways to break the monotony!

The Brightline ride was flawless and if you want to work on your computer on the trip, it's quiet and clean.

But for sightseeing, nah

Brightline is in a nice terminal at Orlando airport 

On this trip. I discovered how easy and cheap it is get around Orlando on public transport.

I Ride trolley 

First, there is the I ride trolley, their version of hop on hop off. And seniors pay only a quarter per ride. Of course you get value for money, so don't expect any information, not even what the upcoming stop is!😁.

Then the Lynx bus links up with it everywhere.

So we got around easily and cheaply.

Whenever I go to Orlando, Epcot Center is my first pick and it didn't disappoint.

Replica of Key West at Epcot 

A great demonstration in hydroponics 

Morocco, in the places of the world section

My favorite shuttle around Epcot

Disney Springs at nightfall 

Epcot is an scenic, educational and attractive adult playground. The only Disney attraction worth visiting when my granddaughter is not around!☺

The exploiters contender

 The story of Africa has been one of brutality, racism and exploitation. This by rich countries which have vied over the centuries, to steal the wealth of this resource rich continent.

Not much has changed over the centuries except maybe the modus operandi of the vipers and an increase in the number of those who may wish to join the rape.

The most recent entrant into the band of potential pillagers is of course China.

They have not come with the violence of the previous exploiters though, but with apparent kindness.

I only hope African leaders have learnt from the experience of  others though and most recently, the Sri Lankan experience with China. 

They also need to pay close attention to the extreme racism Africans and other blacks are often subjected to in China! (During the pandemic, it was widely reported that several African ambassadors had to write to China’s foreign minister, calling for the “cessation of forceful testing, quarantine and other inhuman treatments meted out to Africans” and Uganda even expelled some Chinese from their country in retaliation!)

Interestingly, Zambia only recently discovered huge emerald reserves. 

That’s why I find this you tube discussion I just got, so interesting: https://youtu.be/EvW18HDsFyw.

It sure stirred up bad vibes!

Hopefully the Zambians have a similar wise warning proverb like ours in Jamaica which is :’tek sleep mark death’.

Trump suffering from dementia!

 If ever there was a ‘Teflon don,’ it’s Donald Trump himself.

You know, a lot of us laughed when he declared in the 2016 campaign for president that he could kill a man on 5th Avenue and get away with it, but history has demonstrated that Trump knows his people. 

For while he has not actually killed anyone (that we know of), he has done just about everything else and gets away with it. 

He has used money that he collected for his foundation for his own use, refused to pay workmen and robbed those who enrolled in his Trump University, been an extreme racist, compromised the country's foreign policy with China after Ivanka received numerous copyrights from that country, used his expensive hotels to house secret service people guarding him at taxpayer's expense, is a super predator who had grabbed random women by their p*****, instigated an insurrection after trying to steal an election, tried to withhold funds from Ukraine unless they assisted him in dirty tricks for the 2020 elections and on and on. 

Name it and Trump has done it, but he retains unshakable support from most Christians and majority whites. 

I am watching this civil rape case brought by E. Jean Carrol with great interest.

Most likely she will not succeed but what has amazed me is how the media has virtually ignored his creeping dementia as revealed in this trial.  

As I said, he is covered in teflon, so while we all recognize that Biden is too old to run again, (Joan, my views: He is just too old! (joan-myviews.blogspot.com)  we often fail to point out that this also applies to Trump, as he is only four years younger than Biden and is far less mentally competent!

Where Trump's dementia surfaced dramatically again for the world to see, was in his deposition for this case. For, after claiming he didn't know his accuser, when he was shown a photo in which both she and he were quite clear, he misidentified his rape victim as his ex-wife Marla. 😅😅😅

In my book, this is clear evidence that his dementia is galloping!

Scammers everywhere!

 Scamming is now so pervasive, that one can be excused if one gets paranoid. 

Really!

I am about to visit South Africa and to be secure, had booked an airport taxi transfer to the city. This was done through an international airport transfer service and it was confirmed giving me driver name etc. 

Just like Lyft or Uber. 

But this morning, I got a WhatsApp  text from what looks like a Chinese area code asking me to confirm my pickup info. So I went to the web page of the company and sent them a secure message. 

Low and behold they do not correspond in that manner! 

It is such a regular thing with scammers sending messages allegedly from companies like Amazon, Netflix etc, hoping you will reply so they can get your info.

It’s really tiresome😡. 

I even had to change from Uber to Lyft some years ago after a man called my number and said they came to pick me up at Ft. Lauderdale airport, but neither his license plate nor name corresponded to what Uber had sent me. 

So I refused to take his service and cancelled Uber.

This constant double check can really get tiresome but in these days of scammers, it is so necessary. 

Damn pests.

I hate socialism!

 It is almost impossible to turn on television these days and not hear some shrill accusation about some politician being a socialist.

 Of course, these charges are being widely thrown at Democrats, who are trying to hold on to the House and Senate in the upcoming mid-term elections.

And the label is sticking, to their detriment.

Every time I hear the accusations, I realize more how ignorant some Americans are. Or maybe they are not as stupid as they pretend to be but are simply hoping  to deceive the uneducated.

For in all the years I have been following politics, I have never heard a sensible leader in the democratic party, claim to be a socialist.

I deliberately said sensible as that immediately eliminates Bernie Sanders who in my book is moving rapidly towards senility.

For Socialism is a system whereby the government controls the economy so market forces do not prevail.

This is what former Prime Minister of Jamaica Michael Manley tried to foist on us, causing me to have to endanger my life and join the fight against socialism there.

For I am totally opposed to a government controlling the so-called “Commanding heights of the economy” as he espoused.😡

That has never worked. Not in Cuba, North Korea, Russia nowhere.

Even China never started to grow until they loosened the reins and allowed market forces to prevail.

So effective has the Repubican propaganda become that I have even heard some ignorant people claiming that Justin Trudeau is a socialist and Canada is a socialist country! 

They had long thrown countries such as Sweden, Finland, Denmark etc. into that bag too!

Pure ignorance.

What these countries which all operate well established market economies have in common, is something called Humanity.

For, they do not believe people should starve and be trampled on, simply because they are poor.

That is what even the US based Social Security System was to prevent.

This was established in 1935 by President Roosevelt during the Great Depression, when poverty rates among senior citizens exceeded 50 percent.

I can just imagine the hullabaloo by the rich in 1935, when that government tried to prevent the poor from starving!

That’s whats so clear about American politics.

Republicans just do not believe in helping the poor in any way, although their supporters benefit from programs designed to alleviate poverty.

What bothers me is that the Democrats do not understand the damage the socialist label does to them, especially among immigrants from countries where they actually had to contend with the evils of socialism.

It is therefore not surprising that the polls are now showing that Latin Americans, many of whom have seen or experienced socialism, have bought into the rhetoric and are moving to the Republican party in droves.

The democrats often utter the phrase “Words matter” but I wonder if they realize how true that is!

Maybe they themselves really don’t know what socialism is, so that is why they are allowing the label to stick.

It is to their detriment.

 Link; 2020 DECISION: SOCIALIM, RACISM OR HAPPINESS?: Williams, Joan, Williams, Joan, Bridgestone, Carol: 9781696578523: Amazon.com: Books

CARRIED IN SUN SENTINEL 7/11/2022

Ukraine is different!

"When elephants fight it is the grass that gets trampled." African proverb

There has never been a truer word, and lest we are inclined to forget, the recent events in Ukraine have brought this wise proverb center page.

Although many of us never heard of Ukraine until February 2022, that country cannot be categorized as an 'elephant,' in world affairs. But, this war is really being fought by the USA, the European Union (EU) and Russia.... real big league!

Anyway, as the African proverb said, its the grass or the less wealthy countries that are suffering the most.

For while the price of energy is skyrocketing because of the war, wealthy countries are better able to deal with such spikes. And since energy costs affect most things, crippling inflation will be on the rise almost everywhere.

Ukraine has also been a very fertile agricultural country, producing significant amounts of sunflower oil, barley, corn and other basic foods.

Just think of our and other poor countries dependence on corn meal as a basic staple! Either it will soon be priced out of our reach or there will be a chronic shortage soon. When corn and other basics are no longer produced by in large quantities by Ukraine, starvation and famine will surely escalate in poor dependent countries.

Let me state up front though that I support the USA and EU getting involved in the Ukraine situation, as the concept of a larger well-armed country invading a neighbor cannot be tolerated in civilized society.

It should never have happened in Iraq in 2003 when the powerful USA, supported by Poland, Great Britain invaded that little country on a false pretext.

It should never have happened in Panama either when the powerful USA invaded to take out their leader Manuel Noreiga who had stopped colluding with the CIA.  Some records say some 15,000 Panamanian were killed in that exercise.

So yes, modern history is replete with stories of big bullies invading less powerful countries on spurious grounds. 

What we are seeing today though is the level of racism existing in many influential media houses in the western world. 

For never before have innocent war victims been so deservedly humanized as have the Ukrainians,  from where the suffering of ordinary people been brought into our homes so graphically and regularly.

Each time I see a report out of Ukraine, I have to ask myself what makes the pain and suffering of the Ukrainian people at the hands of the blood thirsty Putin worse than the pain and suffering of Afghan, Iraqi children in the past at the hands of the USA? 

But they are still just a small sample of the innocent women and children who have been forced to flee their homes daily, often with just the clothes on their backs, in the face of bloodthirsty dictators worldwide..

According to the United Nations High Commission on Refugees, (UNCHR), there are today over twenty million refugees worldwide. Watching western television however, one would never get that impression, as no other race of innocent victims is being humanized anywhere. 

Only the Ukrainians need world sympathy and assistance one could easily conclude!

And are there really more Russian war criminals around than in other countries where innocent civilians are being wiped out ad infinitum?

Quite frankly, the only difference I am seeing every night is that its white Europeans who are suffering in Ukraine whereas in other conflicts it is 'people from shithole countries or as some may say "children of a lesser god."

As to the matter of international justice and punishing war crimes, Russia is one of the 144 countries that are members of the International Court of Justice, (an organ of the United Nations that deals with those matters) but neither the USA nor China are. 

Our forever half full glass

From last year, many of us Jamaicans waited with bated breath, when news leaked out that there would be a cabinet reshuffle. For we had really become fed up with the all too regular scandals, so we hoped that some persons would be removed as far as possible from power.

What was delivered though, was nothing but a big wet squid, best met with a long yawn.

What I found disconcerting too, was the increase in the size of the already too large and mainly ineffective Cabinet, with the addition of the new Ministry, Ministry of Legal and Constitutional Affairs.

OMG. So, if Delroy Chuck has proven to be an ineffective minister, why wasn’t he just fired and someone more competent appointed to replace him?

Well, it’s only taxpayer’s money, so I suppose it’s there to be wasted!

So, here we are with a brand-new bureaucracy, new minister, new permanent secretary, new staff, new office, new furniture and on and on.

I don’t know if Mrs. Malahoo-Forte was reading my mind when she outlined the main task of her new ministry as being to fix the current “chaos” in the legislative process.

Yes, chaos there definitely is, in terms of keeping our laws up to date. But isn’t that the major role of the Ministry of Justice?

They haven’t been doing that at all I agree, so as a result, many Jamaicans can’t get justice anywhere.

Remember what the late great Peter Tosh said decades ago? Without justice there can be no peace.

Is it any wonder that so many turn to violence in our crime-ridden country?

But do you fix that problem by creating a new bureaucracy or just disbanding the current ineffective one or even, more simply, getting rid of the lazy, incompetent people in charge and get effective staff?

While I only mentioned the chaotic one, every other function this new ministry is supposed to deal with, is already a function of the Ministry of Justice. Problem is, they are dysfunctional!

But I guess Chuck is being kept on for the very same reason as so many others like the following are; Mike Henry, Karl Samuda, Horace Chang….…jobs for the old boys.

As to Bobby Montage, he had fast become the Paulwell of the JLP.

The JLP had gotten a big mandate, partly based on a commitment to deal effectively with corruption, but they are only continuing along the same road and with even greater intensity. One would therefore have hoped that at the very least, Montague would have been moved as far away from any type of governance as possible.

Again, it’s just jobs for the boys and little or none for the girls, so now the Prime Minister’s office is packed with old boys tripping over each other!

Luckily, I was not holding my breath that this government would have been any better than any other!

Good News

It’s not only bad news that has hit for us early in 2022 though, for we can always depend on our athletes to do us proud and give our spirts a lift.

Once again it is our bobsledders.

For the benefit of the young and uninformed, snow-free Jamaica sent its first bobsled team to winter Olympics way back in 1998. They did not win a medal, but it was so historic and heart-warming, that Disney made a movie about our boys. It was called “Cool Runnings” and it was/still is, a worldwide hit.

 If you have never seen it, go now and if you have, go again.

As usual, no-snow Jamaica was a trend setter in 1998, and since then countries like Trinidad and Nigeria have followed suit, which is great.

We are all excited and proud that once again, our bobsledders have qualified to compete in the upcoming winter Olympics to be held in Beijing next month.

Despite the damn virus, once the Chinese hosts allow the public to attend, I am sure the stands will once again be brightened up with Jamaican colors. For not only do many Jamaicans live in China, but also, Jamaicans from all over the world will be going there to cheer on the athletes who can always be depended on to make our spirits rise, while the politicians pick our pockets and otherwise screw up our lives.

I guess you can therefore say that our glass is half full.

https://youtu.be/Pxt7O4qvjhk

 

Big up the Jamaican experience

I often get so upset about the crime, the rabid corruption in government and other problems in my country, that sometimes I forget to give thanks for the small mercies here.

So today, I will.

One great blessing in my motherland, is how we as women have personal freedoms and our rights are generally respected.

Be clear though, these rights are not given to us by government or the benevolence of the male population, but by virtue of the region and the period in which we were lucky enough to be born.

Let me start with a trivial example of how it is for some women elsewhere.

I will never forget how perturbed I was at a simple scene I saw in Guyana, which has quite a large Muslim population.

It was an exceptionally hot day and there was couple walking in front of me. It was really annoying to me personally, when the man took off his shirt because of the heat of the boiling sun, while the poor woman beside him was covered from head to toe with only eyes showing, and the garment was black to boot!

In situations like this, I have had to remind myself that it is really none of my business.

That example however, is just the tip of the iceberg, for, in some countries, being born female can be a death sentence or an entire life of misery.

Take China. For years the communist government there had a “one child” policy which led to female babies being murdered at birth, as for some strange reason, families there maintained that boy babies were more valuable/desirable than girls.

This policy was only changed this year to one allowing families to have three children. I am prepared to bet my bottom dollar however, that if a family has three girls, all or most won’t make it past their first birthday!

Look at what happens in India where it is such a widespread practice for young girls, some as young as six years old, to be married off to old grey tone men.  The very thought of that practice gives me the shivers, for that must be such terrible fate for the young girls there.

That is nothing but officially sanctioned pedophilia.

Then there is the widespread practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM.

According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), there are the approximately 200 million females in around 30 countries who have had their genital organs partially or totally removed to prevent them from enjoying sex.

Some of the countries in which this primitive cultural practice still exists are; Yemen, Iraq, and Indonesia and in some places in South America such as Colombia, India, Malaysia, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. The practice is also found in pockets of Europe and in Australia and North America.

UNICEF further expounds; "In most of the countries, the majority of girls were cut after the age of five. In Yemen, 85 percent of girls experienced female genital mutilation within their first week of life."

The World Health Organisation (WHO) gives the reasoning behind this evil practice as; “FGM is often motivated by beliefs about what is considered acceptable sexual behaviour. It aims to ensure premarital virginity and marital fidelity. FGM is in many communities believed to reduce a woman's libido and therefore believed to help her resist extramarital sexual acts. When a vaginal opening is covered or narrowed (Type 3), the fear of the pain of opening it, and the fear that this will be found out, is expected to further discourage extramarital sexual intercourse among women with this type of FGM.”

Lord of mercy. Can you believe that girls are still being subjected to this wicked, painful, primitive cultural practice?

I don’t think anything else done to the female surpasses this in wickedness, for many children die or are maimed for life as a result of the insanitary means under which it done.

It was watching a recent demonstration in far-away Afghanistan that really put me on this path of giving thanks for my beautiful country and its civilized cultural practices.

In that newsclip, it showed a small group of women being beaten for simply staging a demonstration to protest the new rules which prohibit girls from going to school and women from returning to work, since the Taliban took back that country.

While the press would have us believe that the Taliban are extreme zealots who are acting against the will of the majority, I beg to differ. For if they didn’t have the support of the masses, how could a group of an estimated 20,000 fighters take over a country of almost 40 million people so easily and without serious resistance?

So maybe in that country, it is just those small groups of demonstrators who pop up from time to time who have a problem with women there being treated as less than equal there, while to the majority, that is how it should be!

Culture can really be deadly.

While I can never endorse some of the disgraceful things that are happening in my country in the name of governance, as a woman, I certainly have to stop and give thanks occasionally, for where I was fortunate enough to have been born.

 

https://youtu.be/I1E9rtbEYMA

Return to Epcot

The first time I went to Disney's Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, (Epcot), I think it was the one in California, was probably more than 35 years ago, but I had always wanted to go back. The problem was, each time I went to a Disney theme park, it was always with kids who loved superheroes, exciting rides, princesses, and cartoon characters. No one wanted to go to the Epcot theme park as either they complained they did not have enough time, they were tired or it just was not exciting enough. So it was always a Disney vacation minus Epcot. 

Well out of evil cometh good, for as I saw that they had a soft opening in Orlando after the long lock-down due to coronavirus, I thought I should take it in before it became too crowded. And it wasn't in September 2020.

When my granddaughter informed me that she wanted to visit me in December and go to Disney, I knew I had to move up my decision for I knew once we got there, Epcot would be out. To avoid any crowd, I decided to go right after the schools opened in Florida. It was the perfect decision and I am so happy I returned,  for it is really a fascinating and educational experience, far better than I remembered. 

Every attraction was a slam dunk except when I went to do the ride through the Alps to see the set of 'Frozen.' Then there was quite a line. It wasn't all that long but you have to remember the 6 feet apart system. So it wasn't that long a line, but it took the longest to get it.  It was worth the wait though, as was every exhibit in fact. Luckily I had checked the weather before I drove up to Orlando and took my plastic mac in my backpack, so when the heavy showers came down, I just strolled in the rain, feeling like a kid again. 

As there was a celebration of wine and food that week, many countries participated showcasing the best of their foods and attractions. I liked the China and Canadian displays the best and loved the Mexican mariachi band. I was fascinated by the exhibit on our relationship with the land, scientific advances in agriculture, soaring through the world, (a bit scary at first), spaceship earth, and in fact, just everything. It was so fascinating and interesting, that only when I was leaving that I realized I had been there from 11 am to 5pm.

As usual, I forgot where I parked and it was a bit scary for a while as I kept going around in circles for about 20 minutes before finding my car.😓

Leaving, I wondered how I had stayed away so long and resolved to go back again soon.

                                                OTHER PHOTOS FROM EPCOT

                            Elsa from Frozen rides in her carriage

Out of evil comes good

Being a positive person, I always like to take the position that all things happen for the greater good.

Corona caused me to miss, probably a once in a lifetime trip to Kenya in April 2020 and an upcoming trip to St. Augustine, Florida in May 2020 and I am still trying to figure out the greater good, but time will reveal all!

In the meantime, I must meditate on these wise words written by the late, great Bob Marley; 
There's a natural mystic
Blowing through the air
If you listen carefully now you will hear
This could be the first trumpet
Might as well be the last
Many more will have to suffer
Many more will have to die
Don't ask me why
Things are not the way they used to be
I won't tell no lie
One and all got to face reality now

Get the drift?

As far as the planet which I now occupy is concerned, having an invisible virus which has taught many powerful people that they are not all-powerful, is wonderful for all who they sought to rule or influence.

You also need to read the essay called Quiet China written by a Chinese pastor to a brother who lives in Istanbul for some of his views have really made me stop to appreciate some really good aspects of this virus.

One observation that he made which I overwhelmingly want to associate myself with is;

"The 'wild animals' that were once held by humans in cages finally managed to put humans in cages'. 

This is clearly in reference to the fact that the virus came from a wild animal that was infected by bats at a live market in China.

If this virus can deter the Chinese from killing and eating wild animals, especially exotic and endangered ones, it will be a great gift to mankind, especially future generations. For this craving of theirs to eat rare tigers and other exotic animals; kill elephants because of some so-called medicinal effect they say they get from the ground tusks, thus depleting numerous endangered species, has also cost many countries in Africa and Asia, dearly. 

Affected African and Asian countries have had to spend billions in scarce resources to keep away poachers and save the species so future generations can enjoy these wonderful animals.

Let's hope the habit of putting wild animals that were once held by humans in cages, will be broken forever, even after the virus takes us, humans, out of our cages'

The planet rejoices

Another observation he made in his essay was;

'The air is getting fresher...the haze is gone...the sky is getting bluer.'

While his essay was specifically about what was happening in China, because almost every country has now had to restrict human activity because of this invisible virus, worldwide the air, sea, and sky will start to become cleaner and the planet will heal.

Already, in Italy, one of the countries most badly affected, a miracle is taking place. The news is that the waters around Venice have actually started to become blue and fish and even dolphins can now be seen swimming around happily.

I have been to Venice more than once and never ever imagined those waters could become blue!

Another way the virus is forcing us to stop destroying our planet is that it has reduced traffic as millions are being forced to park their cars instead of going to offices and schools.

Production has not stopped in most cases though simply because millions are now operating/teaching just as effectively from their homes. This has also cut into the heavy use of air condition in the vast concrete structures. For as you know, HFC used in air conditions, is a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming.

There is absolutely no reason why after this virus teaches us that many workers including teachers can be just as effective working from homes, this should not NOW become the new norm.

In my book, anything that helps to heal this planet and fight climate change is good. So by forcing us to change the way we do things, the corona is doing mankind a great good.

As to forcing us to become more hygienic! By the time this is over, the measures we have been forced to take,  should (I hope) become a habit. For good hygiene will not only fight corona and other viruses but also regular germs which are also hazardous to our health.

Importantly too, by forcing us to spend more time with our families, that can only be good for the welfare of most children. 

In his final sentence in the essay referred to above, the pastor declared; 'THE VIRUS REMINDED US THERE IS AN ALMIGHTY AND HUMANS ARE JUST HUMANS.'

Need I say more?

It always helps too, when we, like Dietrich Bonhoeffer, remember that 'Gratitude changes the pangs of memory into a tranquil joy.' 

So let's give thanks for small mercies.

https://youtu.be/HUTn8cmBi9c

Impressions of Vietnam

Vietnam was never on my bucket list but when a planned trip to Kenya fell through, I said "what the heck, why not visit my friend's
courageous daughter Gabby in Vietnam. She had gone off to that country to teach English a year ago, although she never knew anyone in the region or a word of the Vietnamese language.

It was with some trepidation that I took the decision as I am quite a foodie and had often heard that they ate things that I would never consider digesting, like cats and dogs! "As I don't know the language, how will I know if I get my pets to eat?" I worried as I packed my bags with all sorts of junk food including barbecued pork rind!

Sadly, some beautiful scenery is barely visible because of the heavy pollution

I needn't have worried though, as when I finally expressed my fears to Gabby, she assured me that cats and dogs are delicacies there, so I would never get them to eat by mistake.

 I was even pleasantly surprised when during my visit I did notice that some people had pet dogs on leashes and even on their bikes, indicating that the trend to eat those animals was probably slowly, very slowly receding. During that same period when I was there, however, I only saw what could be considered, one pet cat, as it had a collar. I saw no stray cats.

The destination was far better than I expected in most ways but far worse in a few.

My biggest disappointment was the high level of pollution in the capital city, even following us to the beautiful countryside. One often hears about the terrible pollution in India and China but had never heard of it in Vietnam, so it came as quite a shock to see almost everyone wearing masks in Hanoi. I got one, but it didn't help much since the immediate effect was the severe stinging of my eyes.

I personally have never seen such a high level of pollution anywhere. It even blots out the sun completely many days. This is caused by the extremely highly developed manufacturing industry which apparently operates without any form of regulations.

My next shock was the absolute chaos in traffic in Hanoi.

That capital city has a population of some seven million people but it is rumored that there are six million motor scooters of all shapes and sizes.
(This of course makes it impossible to judge ones status or wealth by their mode of transportation as just about everyone in the city use bikes to get around.)

Many roads n the city have bike lanes, but very few riders use them. I have never seen such anarchy on the roads in my life. In fact, I would describe what I felt on the first few days as total culture shock as I saw riders, some even texting on their phones,  ride out in front of bikes, cars or trucks without appearing to look at all. It was not unusual either to see a bike with up to six persons on board, most being children and while the adults usually wore helmets, the children are never provided with any.

I must admit that after about three days, when I did drum up the courage to take a bike taxi with a Grab, rider (Grab is the Asian equivalent of UBER and they have both bike and car taxis,) I was pleasantly surprised to be supplied with a helmet.

The ride was not as scary I expected,  but on reaching my destination, my driver who was traveling behind a truck was nearly crushed as the truck driver stopped suddenly, then started reversing without checking if there was anyone behind him!

 My poor rider, he nearly had a heart attack.

What I found interesting too was the total absence of police or soldiers on the streets or anywhere, in a so-called communist state with an amazingly low crime rate.

This is a fairly clear sidewalk!

With the chaos on the roads,  I had expected to see regular, terrible accidents but amazingly, never saw one during the time I was there.  On one occasion, I did see one policeman trying to direct traffic during peak hour, (all day looks like rush hour anyway!) only to observe in amusement that the bike riders simply ignored him and did their thing while a few drivers obeyed his signals. However I hear that just about every car you see in the city, has a dent on the side and every rider has a muffler burn amusingly, dubbed the Hanoi kiss!

As to the treatment of pedestrians, Oh lord....they are of no value at all to those on wheels as no one pays any attention to any pedestrian crossing or traffic lights. In fact, I dare say, trying to cross a road in Hanoi appeared to me at first to be the ultimate challenge and almost like making a date with death! And where the sidewalks are in good shape  (not full of holes and broken slabs) they are captured by merchants or used as parking lots for the bikes.  So it's on to the streets for walkers.

Newlyweds pose in the street for photos

 I could not believe my eyes too when I saw sections of several sidewalks, both in and outside of Hanoi, with long beautifully decorated tents installed as reception halls for weddings. The Vietnamese seem to be great lovers as there are streets lined with nothing but flower shops and ever-present, are women with bicycles loaded with bunches of flowers which they sell on the streets and around the lakeside.

A dedicated bleacher!

 Although Vietnam describes itself as being socialist, it is among the most capitalist cities I have ever seen with every type of small business, especially food businesses. I am really surprised how slim everyone is!

And whereas one would expect a socialist society to be somewhat ordered, when it comes to town planning, the word that springs to mind immediately is anarchy. So it is not unusual to see the most fabulous building on the first few floors and literal shacks on their tops.

 Really weird.

Another practice I found culturally shocking was the widespread use of bleaching creams by Vietnamese women. It is as every woman there wants to be white.

 At first, when I saw women fully covered from head to foot as they rode their scooters, stupidly I thought they covered themselves up so if they fell, they would minimize the bruises. I was quickly disabused of this thought when it was explained to me that they remain fully clothed from head to foot in the boiling sun in temperatures in excess of 80 degrees because they fear the sun darkening their skin. It was uncanny, as uncanny as the habit of most young men growing the nails on their left hand to extraordinary lengths.

When I find out what's behind this practice, I will certainly let you know.

With bleaching being so prevelant, I should really not be surprised at the level of racism in the country, but I was, for this is 2018 and I had no idea racism could be so open in any country of the world still.

Shrine at Ho Chi Minh museum complex

Let me make it clear, I personally never experienced any form of racism and in fact, found everyone I encountered, extremely nice and helpful. But it is a well-known fact that visitors and residents never have the same experiences.

 I was really very appalled when my friend who works there, revealed that many employers will tell you up front that the salary scale for black people and whites are not the same. Blacks must, therefore, accept considerably less pay for doing the same job!

She also had the terrible experience of persons refusing to serve her in their establishments or telling her to leave because she is black. Yes in Hanoi in 2018.

Another shock I got, was the seeing the easy availability of all drugs, prescription and otherwise, by  simply going into the pharmacy and asking for it. I have no idea if Vietnam has a serious drug abuse problem, but I am sure the American druggists who are widely reported to be killing themselves with overdoses of prescription drugs, would have a ball in Vietnam where everything is so easily available!

Shrine at a local pagoda

As someone who loves to travel, I often find myself having to make it clear up front that when I write about a trek of mine, I pay more attention to the natural beauty of a country, rather than cultural practices or the type of government.

This is where I move from the negatives to the absolute beauty of what I saw in Vietnam.

 Despite being a communist country which long imposed on restrictions on religion, the government does not appear to prevent religious adherence, so pagodas (temples) with the most beautiful shrines are all over. I was really taken in by the way their elaborate shrines are cherished and protected.

Nowhere are they more cherished and on display than at the Bia Dinh Pagoda, in Ninh Binh province which was the ancient capital of Vietnam during the 10-11th century.

This sacred area which has both old and new temples, covers over 500 hectares in the mountains and forest, is a treasure trove of absolute beauty and great pride to the Vietnamese people.

(These photos cannot really depict the breathtaking beauty there but nevertheless, I must share them.)

Apart from the temples and pagodas, Vietnam has a proliferation of lakes which the government uses to establish fantastic recreation areas for the people. It is so pleasant to walk around these lakes and see people fishing or just hanging around with their kids.

Pollution in that country is really severe though and it affects the lakes as much as anything else. Unfortunately, therefore, while those lakes provide visual pleasure, I saw no one crazy enough to be swimming in any.

I am somewhat of a waterbird so always go on the tours involving the sea. Ha Long Bay was quite a hit for me.

This is  is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Gulf of Tangkia, which is approximately 175 km from Hanoi.

I found this area so beautiful that I dedicated an entire blog with photos to it elsewhere. (https://joan-myviews.blogspot.com/2018/10/unforgettable-beautyha-long-bay.html)

Another spectacular UNESCO protected area just minutes from Bia Dinh is Trang An in the Red River Delta. This area is said to have provided shelter for humans for 32,000 years and it is  where one of the King Kong movies was filmed!

"Awesome" was the word which kept springing to mind as we wended our way slowly past huge kast formations and under fabulous caves, in a canoe propelled by a lady no less.

With the immense beauty of their land and their rich history,  the Vietnamese people have a lot to be proud of and this pride is on display in the three museums I had the opportunity to visit in Hanoi.  My favorite was, of course, the Woman's museum for very view nations revere their women to the extent that they dedicate an entire great museum to them.

The similarity to craft in Latin America is striking

Here we learnt a great deal about the 78 tribes that make up the population, naturally, quite a few being matriarchal.

 As I observed their dress and traditions, I could not but be struck by the similarities between women in this region to those in Latin America. This reinforced in my mind, the long-held theory that the so-called new world was populated by people from south-east Asia, long before Europeans even thought about world travel.

I think it is the high level of respect with which women in Vietnam are awarded, that accounts for their extremely low crime level!

Ho Chi Minh

Naturally, there is an elaborate museum dedicated to Ho Chi Minh, and deservedly so. He is greatly revered in the country as demonstrated by the hundreds of students you see studying his life and works there, all of which are on full display in the museum dedicated to him.

 He was indeed a great hero. 

The third museum I visited was the History Museum and that too proudly displays the history and achievements of the people.

 Another brief, informative and entertaining aspect of the story of Vietnam, is depicted through world-class dance, music, and art at the show, the Quintessence of Tonkin.

Uniformed students pour into the Ho Chi Minh museum

This show is staged close to Duong Lam village which has a history of over 1200 years. This was really world-class choreography and state of the art technology and is performed entirely by the local people from the village.

My first visit to Vietnam may have been brief and while I have highlighted some culturally offensive aspects of life there, that beautiful country is now high on my bucket list for more intensive exploration.
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