Marie Conners:  

March 2009 - Andy and I traveled to Bangkok for some closure for me and to Vietnam for Andy's closure. BANGKOK: Wow - had Bangkok changed. I had been warned and it was so very true. We did the tourist thing while here, visited Wat's, Weekend Market, had some clothes made, ate Thai food on the "economy" and I visited Johny's Gems where I had worked for a summer in 1962. It had not changed one bit at least the store. Johny had passed away and his son Samart was running the store now. Samart was 2 years old and running around the store in diapers when I worked there - he is 50 now with a family. I shopped of course and got the "employee" discount. Great memories of this place. I looked for my house on Soi 2 Sukimvit but it was not there. The Atlanta Hotel which was right down the soi however was still there and it had not changed - 48 years and it had not changed - unbelievable. Headed to Soi 15 to see the old campus. So much building going on around it that it just did not look the same - understandable after so many years. Did I get closure? No, it made me want to travel to Asia more. Love the people and the beauty of the country. We will return!! VIETNAM: Our entire trip to Vietnam was based around pictures of a little girl (Suzie) and a mother (Mama San Lynn) that Andy had taken in 1968 during the Vietnam War. He did not know their real names or what village they were from. He only knew that they were very nice to him for the three months he was in this area - around Da Nang - living in tents on Hill 60. The Marines used to play ball with the kids and the mom came to camp and sold them coca cola while others sold candles etc. On March 7, 2009, a car and driver we hired came to pick us up at our hotel at 7 a.m. The driver was supposed to speak English and spoke very little and understood even less. Not a good thing when we want to ask questions etc. We headed out and our mission was to go up Highway 1 from Da Nang to Hai Van Pass and to Phu Bai and then to Hue for lunch. Andy had hoped to see some areas he remembered from the war. When we got to the peak of Hai Van Pass we stopped where there were about 6 little outdoor shops (picture poor Vietnam and how they live). The first shop was covered and they had jewelry and served Vietnamese coffee which we love so we sat for a cup. Thang, the young man who owned the shop spoke great English and when he asked what brought us to Vietnam, the flood gates opened and Andy showed the photos of the mother and her children and began explaining that he did not have info on the village etc etc. Several others joined the conversation and after lots of questions about the area and a few phone calls, it was determined that we should stop on our way back from Hue and they might be able to help. Thang had heard many stories about the war from his grandfather and because of those conversations was very knowledgeable about the war and the area. After about 4 hours driving to and around Hue and having lunch, we headed back up Hai Van Pass and when we arrived back at the coffee shop, we visited a bit more. Yes, they thought they might be able to get us in the area of Hill 60. We all got on and into our transportation and down the mountain we went, following Thang and his friend Boa, on their motor scooters and stopping along the way so they could point out landmarks that Andy had discussed remembering. We ended up in a small village where the dirt streets were so narrow we could not get the car down one of them. We got out and Thang (the one who spoke English) showed the pictures we had, asking the villagers in the market if anyone recognized these people. Crowds were gathering and conversations were flying in Vietnamese - no one recognized them but because they were catholic, they might live in another village about 6k from where we were. Another woman took us just up the street to her home that sat on Hill 60, where Andy was living in tents during this time. Andy got a sense of familiarity about the area and because this was Hill 60 - we knew we were in the general area we needed to be. So, we continue to the catholic village - now remember these villages are very, very small. We get to the Catholic Church which is quite large and 350 years old. These two Vietnamese guys are doing all the talking along the way and having a great time with this adventure. A young nun comes out and tells us that we will need to speak with some of the older villagers so she calls for the older nun who does not recognize the person in the picture but who tak...Expand for more