One final note about our driver…apparently his wife is big and mean and she beats him with the ubiquitous broom made from a coconut tree. He asked me if I wanted to purchase such a broom and I declined. Instead I found some beautiful red coral earrings at the bathroom/tourist gift shop along the way. I probably overpaid for them but they are a really unique, beautiful design.

We caught a 6:15 AM flight out of Shanghai which required us to get up “in the threes”, 3:15 AM to be exact. I was in a daze on the way to and at the airport. Around boarding time, I started to notice many of the male passengers dressed in Arab attire. Their presence caused me to think about my partially adopted, media-induced stereotypes I was trying to remove with this trip. I also hoped to remove some of my ignorance of the Arab culture.

Before I continue on with a description of the remainder of our tour, let me take a step back and explain what the tunnels of Cu Chi supposedly are. Andy was very aware of them, but I had not heard of them. Basically the tunnel system was reportedly used by the Viet Cong to house 16,000 people at one time or another during the Vietnam War. Since the area is near Saigon and relatively close to the Ho Chi Minh Trail through Laos and Cambodia, the tunnels were dug in order to hide from the French originally and then the later the Americans and South Vietnamese military. The trail system was multiple levels deep and housed everything from strategic war rooms to kitchens to places where weapons could be manufactured (actually remanufactured taking the left-over shells from the Americans.) As a side note, the reason I say “supposedly” is because the guide mentioned they are really not sure if these are the tunnels used by the Viet Cong or if the government dug them for tourist reasons. It is conceivable that they are real, but nobody knew the whole system, only small parts of it, so nobody will avouched for their authenticity.

Eighty-five percent of the 4.7M people on the island live in government-owned high rise apartments. They purchase them from the government and virtually everyone is ensured a roof over their heads. If someone is poor, they have apartments that cost $30 – $50 a month to rent. There are no unemployment checks for the 1.5% who are unemployed but the government will find jobs for those who are able to work. The government does not give out free money but instead will give those in need cheap rent or food. Rent in Singapore is the seventh highest in the world. Every five years, the government paints and renovates the flats so almost no buildings in Singapore appear run down. Most Singaporeans do not eat at home and prefer to eat out. Their kitchen is more of a showcase than having any sort of practical use.

As we motored down the river to the lake we were boarded by some kids in a small boat. They were selling sodas. After we said we did not want any, they jumped back into their little boat and went off to sell to other tourists. We passed a floating school on the way out to the lake. David explained that half the money we pay goes to the school. We finally made it to the lake. It was rather impressive because you could not see the other side. There were also many floating “homes” lined up near the shore. We went up and down the rows and finally ended up at a floating restaurant/gift shop. David said he wanted us to see the crocodiles. As soon as we got off a little girl came up to us with a python draped over her neck. She kept saying “one dollar”, “one dollar”. Alecia was a little freaked by the situation. We made our way over to the crocodile area and took a couple pictures. On the way back to the car we saw a lot of school kids who were commuting back to their floating homes in small little boats.

The dinner finally arrived. It was the usual Chinese meal. Shrimp and vegetables in oil, vegetables in oil, chicken in some sauce, steamed fish, mushrooms, and other food I could not recognize that was also in oil. The waiters also brought out bottles of REEB brand beer (yes that is beer spelled backwards). It is the tradition to do a lot of toasting at these annual events. Each table toasts each other, the big bosses toast everybody, and then all of your local engineers want to come and “drink with you.” We have been told it is offensive to them if you turn them down for a drink. And it is very upsetting for somebody to lose face.

So trying to save everybody’s “face” at the party means that the next day you will probably wake up with a headache.

While you could tell that at one time it was a farming village (these terraced farm plots date back to to the Yuan dynasty…about 800 years ago), the village has clearly been transformed into a tourist village today. It was disappointing but I guess you cannot blame them. Winding along the path to the village was a plethora of shops to buy goods “made in the area.” Many of the village homes are now hotels complete with air conditioning and Internet access.

Vernazza was the second town we went to and like all of the Cinque Terre towns, and Genoa and other towns in the area for that matter, there were some amazing homes built right next to and on top of one another (see picture of Riomaggiore above). The thing that I think is unique about the Cinque Terre is that until recently, their livelihood was farming (now it is mostly tourism.) But the farming is done up on these super steep mountains so they have to build up terraces to hold in the soil and crops.

We were supposed to go to a co-workers play on Friday night, but Tiffany and I got stuck in traffic (the guys’ taxi made it through) so we missed the beginning of the play (Our Town) and the guys told us that it would have been too intimate of a setting to walk into late. Andy said it would have been like we were walking up onto the stage. So, instead, we all stood outside in this back alley where a band was playing inside an adjacent warehouse and drank a beer (except pregnant Tiffany). That is where the KFC picture above was taken.

In a couple of my International Business classes, when they brought up culture they said that one of the ways we teach culture and values is through songs and stories that we tell to children when they are young. If you think back to the children’s stories and songs you know, I think you will find this to be true. So upon immediately understanding the translation of this song, it made perfect since to me why I and my fellow expats get stared at so incessantly. People are taught from a young age that to be different is “very strange.” And clearing staring at something that is very strange is not rude in the Chinese culture, so two and two now makes four.