Beautiful Ride, Sad History

Today took us from Hoi An to Quang Ngai. We had to do a fair amount of time in the vans because we were on busy highways but the riding we did do, 45 miles, was amazingly beautiful. I wish I had brought my Thesaurus so I could come up with more original adjectives . . . Viet Nam is so beautiful, so interesting, so unbelievable. I can't even think of words to describe what I have seen. Each day I have to remind myself to open my mind and take in each and every detail. Everywhere I look there is something new that I have never seen or experienced before.

After leaving the hotel we were vanned (new word) to a little area just outside the city. From there we loaded onto our bikes and began a ride through the country. For a little while we had to ride in real Viet Nam traffic so I guess I can consider myself a local now. Once we came to the country I saw beautiful children, friendly adults, animals of all sorts and people who work so hard for everything. We had to travel 12 kilometers on a dirt road that was pretty rutted. You really had to mind your P and Q's to avoid falling and bottoming out in some of the larger holes. But the contrast of the rice paddies, the red dirt and the bright colors of the homes were just like stepping into a painting.

We visited the ancient ruins of the temple for the Hindi Gods. That was at the beginning of the day and my mind is a blank about any of it except the pictures I've included.

Before arriving at our hotel we visited the site and museum of the My Lai massacre. My eyes were filled with tears as our guide interpreted the curator's commentary about the events leading up to and the ensuing after affect of the American Army's massacre on the villagers of My Lai. Time does begin to heal the wounds of that terrible time in American history. It was a sobering end to a beautiful day. I will include pictures of the museum tomorrow. I borrowed a camera so I could have pictures.

We are supposedly staying in the least nice of our accommodations but I have to say, it's pretty darn nice. I would include a picture but my battery died out. I need to remember to charge it every night. There is a photo opportunity around every corner. (sorry about the lack of pictures today, not only was my battery dead but it's taking forever for these pictures to upload. I really want to go to be because we have some hills tomorrow and I want to be well rested . . . promise I'll have better stuff tomorrow!!!)