Vietnam & Cambodia April 12 2014
April 12, 2014 at 11:57 AM
Saturday April 12th - Ho Chi Minh City Orphanage Project a day with the children
Everyone can travel, but when you get to travel and experience the real life of a country then you have really traveled. As photographers we appreciate the beauty of different locations and the importance of getting to know your surroundings. Today we had that experience as we met up with my Vietnamese friend Xuan Nguyen and visited an orphanage that is dear to her heart. Xuan had just completed her studies and life took her to dividing her time between the hospital and the orphanage visiting and helping the children read and write and spend time playing with them. She is a natural and the children love here.
We first stopped at a local grocery store and pick-up treats we could take to the children, and arrived to many shy faces. It did not take long for the children to warm up to us and we spent the next few hours playing with them and getting to know them. We were treated to the talents of a couple of the children, including two you ladies playing for us. The first gal played the traditional Vietnamese single stringed instrument Dan Bau and the second the piano. The young lady that played the piano has been blind from birth and is now 12 years old. She took up playing the piano 6 months ago playing by ear and brought tears to this photographers eyes. It was an amazing experience to hear her play. It was a great few hours and we all came away richer for the opportunity to spend time with the children. Thanks again Xuan and your friends for helping out today. It was also great to visit one of your favourite coffee shops today too.
This evening we boarded the Bonsai River Cruise for an evening of dinner and entertainment. It is also a great way to see the city skyline.
Tomorrow we fly from Ho Chi Minh City to Cambodia to start the final leg of our tour. The temples of Angkor Wat and Thom awaits.
Below are a few images from today, good night from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Dan settling in as we are introduced to some of the children.
One of the children and some of the volunteer friends of Xuan. Thanks for your help today.
Joyce holding one of the youngest residents who is only nine months old. He is blind but we were told that opportunity has come up to fly him to the US for eye surgery that can hopefully restore his sight.
James and his new friend Bi and some of the other children in the background. This Bi had us write our name on a Canada flag I gave him then he would point out each of us that matched the name.
Xuan doing what she does best. Giving of her time and love to the children.
Canada flags all around today. You can see where we wrote our names on his flag.
Now for the music portion of our program. This little gal is playing the Dan Bau.
Nhi plays the piano for us. Not a single lesson, she is an amazing 12 year old. God has given her a great talent. Nhi is also an amazing singer.
Nhi with Xuan. She knows Xuan by her voice and was very excited to be with her today.
After our visit, we stopped at one of Xuan's favourite coffee shops. Always a photo somewhere!
Some brightly coloured shutters just outside the cafe.
Joyce becomes the queen this evening as we are met by the royal court by our cruise ship.
A little something for each of the ladies from the king!
Ho Chi Minh City skyline from our boat.
The dragon brightly lit on the front of the ship.
Another skyline shot, this one shows the new and fast growing business district.
One of the other ships on the river.
This one looks like a fish!
Three of the friendly staff onboard our cruise tonight. Thanks for the great service girls.
That's it for this evening, time to go pack for our flight to Cambodia tomorrow. It has been a great day of experiences and I'm pleased to have shared it with everyone tonight. Good night from James and the Photo Tour Trekkers in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
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