ABUELOS VISIT XAVIER

We have been part of Xavier's life since his birth 16 months ago. Bud and Linds keep us posted during our weekly phone calls and we Skype often. But there's nothing like a visit. We held him in our arms, enjoyed his belly laughs when we tickled him, and understood most of his attempts to communicate with us. We think he recognized us, and he certainly re-bonded with us. When they dropped us off at the train station on our way to the airport, he burst out crying inconsolably as we said goodbye to him. First time that's ever happened. His cry felt painful in our souls, but it was his way of reassuring us we all had a good time. We'll see you next month when you visit us Xavi, and we'll make sure very soon after that. JIR

SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA-LAST CHAPTER OF OUR JOURNEY

Our journey concluded in Siem Reap and surrounding areas, home to about 290 temples, all built between the 8th and 10th centuries. The rulers who built these vacillated between  Hinduism and Buddhism, finally committing to Buddhism towards the end of the era. In the mid-1400's the people who lived and prayed in these temples abandoned them. Historians are not clear on the reasons why, but it appears that it may have been due to a combination of factors, including persistent invasions by various groups and inability to grow enough food to sustain the population. Restoration of the temples has been ongoing for many years, and mostly funded by international groups and NGO's.We visited 7 temples, a small fraction of the total 

 The entrance to our hotel, the Sofitel Angkor Pookeethra

Angkor Wat, largest temple in the world and jewel of Cambodia. The silhouette of this temple makes up the Cambodian national flag

 Climbing up to the highest tower through a very steep stairway

 Happy face shortly after we found a quiet corner on the highest tower and renewed our wedding vows

 Remember, no electricity or power tools back then, all hand-carved. Angkor Wat took 35 years to build

 Traditional dance show at the hotel

 Thousands of elephants inhabited this area, but now only a handful survive and are used to give rides to tourists

 Smiling Buddhas adorned this temple

 Beautiful Cambodian children

 The Sofitel proved to be an excellent hotel

 Perhaps our favorite temple has been left wild, meaning the trees that engulfed this temple have not been touched. We toured the temple to the symphony of hundreds of song birds who populate the trees, whose gargantuan roots are everywhere

 The oldest temple we visited, unique because of the reddish color of the stone

Mr Khet, our excellent Tour Director, born and raised in Siem Reap

 Thousands of Cambodians were killed or maimed by land mines planted by the Khmer Rouge. Many of them have been taught to play traditional musical instruments. This group plays for donations at the exit of one of the temples

 Cambodia is a very poor country. This is particularly evident in the rural areas. We stopped at this tiny agricultural village. Above is a traditional home on stilts with a one-large room and no walls, where several generations live

 This beautiful Cambodian adolescent gladly posed for photos

WINTER GARDENS

 Our outside garden is beautiful and colorful except in the winter, when it is dormant and, as it is now, covered with lots of snow, so... 

our African Violets inside make up for it.

 Here are just 4 of the ones filling us with winter colors: Moon Child

 Optical Illusion

 Strawberry Kiss

California Victory

VIETNAM-PEOPLE

It has been 2 weeks since we returned from this unforgettable journey. These photos will continue to keep our memory alive. Friendly, industrious, hard-working, and happy are some of the adjectives that seem appropriate to describe the people of Vietnam. They honor their ancestors by displaying photos of them near

the altars they have in their homes. They value friendships and enjoy gathering for food and drink.

We sensed no ill feelings or grudges against us Americans, despite the destruction we caused to their homeland.

 She posed for photos in the river town of Hoi An, and took a dollar in return

 Linda could not pass up taking a photo of this seamstress, sewing in the open porch of her home

 An elderly woman did not hesitate to pose for a photo with me

 Hair salon and gathering place for the women of this agricultural village

 The kids are gorgeous

 Puffing rice

 Cam, our Study Leader. Came to the US in 1995 and has advanced degrees in Vietnamese literature

Quang, our absolutely wonderful Tour Director, who lives in Saigon with his wife and 2 teenage daughters