I am leaving this morning for an extended trip to Asia.
So long as I have Internet access, I will read your comments and share important news. I will write about what I see.
I am flying to Los Angeles, then to Hong Kong, then to Saigon (now called Ho Chi Minh City). I had the opportunity to visit Vietnam about 20 years ago, when I was in Hong Kong, but I didn’t want to. There was too much American blood in the soil. I couldn’t do it.
Enough time has passed, enough time for reconciliation (as a Jew I couldn’t bring myself to visit Germany until 1984 and have visited again many times, with great pleasure.) I will be with friends (all retired) on a cruise ship on the Mekong River. We will see Saigon, take a sidetrip to Angkor Wat, see the Cambodian killing fields, end up in Hanoi. Then a few days in Shanghai.
I watched the Ken Burns series on the war in Vietnam. It convinced me that our country picked up the colonial role of the French, who left Vietnam after their humiliating defeat at Dienbienphu. Our leaders warned us about the Domino Theory. We now know they were wrong. So many died. No dominoes.
While I am traveling, I will repost some golden oldies from the Blog every day, posts that I thought were significant and bear re-reading. I will also stay up to the date as th3 ship has Internet service. I won’t be far away, except physically.
Have a wonderful trip.
Bon voyage! I hope you have a wonderful trip.
A safe and exciting journey to you!!!
Have a wonderful trip.
I did want to ask if you had had a chance to see my comment on the About page. I am reposting here just in case. Your help in promoting this would be greatly appreciated.
On behalf of the Washington BATs, I wondered if you would be able to share information about the Justice for Children Rally we are hosting on 15 Jan in Olympia, WA. I can send you a .jpg of our flyer and the link to the Facebook event is https://www.facebook.com/events/283711025488703/?active_tab=about
I can be reached at shannon.ergun@hotmail.com. I serve as WEA Caucus BATs Treasurer and as the NEA Caucus BATs Treasurer.
Dear Diane, have fun. Happy new year, Bob and Carole
On Mon, Jan 8, 2018 at 2:01 PM, Diane Ravitch’s blog wrote:
> dianeravitch posted: “I am leaving this morning for an extended trip to > Asia. So long as I have Internet access, I will read your comments and > share important news. I will write about what I see. I am flying to Los > Angeles, then to Hong Kong, then to Saigon (now called H” >
Have a great trip. Post pictures when you can. I spent two weeks in Thailand and Bali in October. Memorable time.
Have a great, happy and safe trip/adventure! I have no idea how you could have posted all these articles and also prepare for such a big trip. Talk about multi-tasking!
Have a great trip. My first experience with Vietnam was as a young war reporter for the AP and Chicago Sun Times. Now, I have had the opportunity to work with our embassy and USAID in developing education partnerships between Vietnam and the US. If you need places to visit, let me know.One of the places you must visit is breakfast on the rooftop of the Rex Hotel, the location of the five o clock folliws during the war. The Vietnamese people are wonderful and have a great trip. My next trip is scheduled for late February, our current awful state of our State Department, notwithstanding. Happy travels.
Another version of why we were in Vietnam: to keep the golden triangle of heroin production open for CIA export to fund its off-the-books covert activity around the world. When it was shut down after the US left Vietnam, it moved to Afghanistan, where the US is still engaging in heroin production for the world.
Have a great trip!
Right you are, Kim. However, Diane, I was a bit perturbed by your comments: I am flying to Los Angeles, then to Hong Kong, then to Saigon (now called Ho Chi Minh City). I had the opportunity to visit Vietnam about 20 years ago, when I was in Hong Kong, but I didn’t want to. There was too much American blood in the soil. I couldn’t do it.”
Please keep in mind that US military forces (along with allies) killed upwards of some two million Vietnamese. So, their blood stains the soil, too, within their own country. In addition, the US may killed almost a million more human beings during our brutal and barbaric bombing of Laos and Cambodia. We should never forget what our presidents and Congresses did to the people of Southeast Asia.
I hope your trip is delightful and enlightening and educational as well. Paz.
Have a wonderful trip!
Pat
Bon voyage!
Sent from my iPhone
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Are you going with friends or alone? Let me know later if it’s easy to get around in those places. (I fall a lot if I’m careless, but I am lucky to have strong bones.)
Enjoy the sights and sounds of Asia as well as the balmier climate.
Happy trails!
Enjoy !
Sent from my iPad
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Have a happy and safe trip!
Have a great trip Diane.
I too was greatly impressed by the 10 segment Ken Burns’ documentary. I’d thought I’d followed the Vietnam War fairly closely during my 1963-1969 Williams College/Oxford University days, but there was not a single segment of Burns’ documentary that did not leave me agast and humbled by what I did not know.
Were it not for those very dim lights high overhead in Ocford’s Bodlian Library, which seriously impaired my eyesight, I’d have most surely been drafted during the height of “Nixon’s War” in the spring of 1970, when I was teaching at the Tower Hill School in Wilmington Delaware.
I must have made my politics fairly clear to my initial class of 10th graders, however,, as I’ve recently reconnected with a number of them, discovering to my great satisfaction that most are as active in the Resistence as I am myself. So perhaps one legacy of Vietnam will be a decreased tolerance for lies and hypocrisy from our political leaders. We shall see.
Do have a great trip, and send us your impressions as you go.
I also hesitated visiting Germany, and have returned many times; with many discussions with Germans about their past …. the Germans of today are baffled and guilty about their past …. now, in the age of Trump, the rise of Hitler in an apparently thriving democracy is clearer in my mind …
Enjoy! Jill Lepore is a national treasure.
Have a very safe and enjoyable trip!
Among the many things you may want to see:
The recently erected statue to the Buddhist monk Thich Quan Duc, in HCM City/SaiGon, on the site of his self-immolation in 1963. (your guide should know where it is). Related to that, in a monastery in the old imperial capital of Hue (if you get up that far) is his 1956 Austin, an almost eerie representation of a tragic event that preceded even greater tragedy.
Enjoy the trip .
Have a great time, Diane, and safe travels!
Have a wonderful trip, Diane! You deserve this! We look forward to hearing tidbits when you have time. Enjoy!
I recommend completely disconnecting.
Have a relaxing, safe, and educational trip, Diane! I really appreciate how much you help me in my job as an educator!
Diane, my daughter and her husband were in Angkor Wat in October, on R&R from their State Department positions in Kabul. Here are her recommendations:
1) Dinner reservations at Cuisine Wat Damnak – she suggests making an online reservation right away.
2) Ta Prohm temple
3) An evening circus, called Phare. The money they raise goes to teaching young people.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g297390-d3864861-Reviews-Phare_The_Cambodian_Circus-Siem_Reap_Siem_Reap_Province.html
4) Senteurs d’Angkor – a shop which sells local products such as candles, soap, teas and spices. They make it a point to employ women. There’s a shop in town and also on the way to the airport.
Have a wonderful time!
Thank you, Christine!
Since I’m on a tour, I may not have discretion but if I do those are great suggestions
Have a wonderful and safe trip!
😎
Safe and happy journey, Diane! Take lots of pictures. 🙂
Thanks. I will tweet pictures.
Enjoy! You certainly deserve it.
Have a great time! My husband and I did a similar trip several years ago..
Bon Voyage!
I wish I could fit into your carry on luggage. Please do update us on your culinary adventures and try to include some pictures. Pretentious foodies demand vicarious experiences of taste, smells, textures and eye tests! Wishing you the greatest trip ever! 🇻🇳🇰🇭
Thanks, Greg. I know how to put photos on Twitter but have never learned how to put them on the blog. Too busy writing.
Safe travels! I’m looking forward to reading about your trip when you return.
Rest assured that we, here, will continue persisting & resisting! 1/20/18–Women’s March; 1/21/18–Resist March, Chicago, Trump Hotel & Tower (&, I would guess, other cities, as well).
Godspeed!
I hope you have a great time!
Have a wonderful trip!
I have many friends who served in Nam. Some didn’t return. Those who did bore the pain. It was a waste of so many lives on both sides of the conflict. We inherited it from the French. And the domino theory was just that: a theory that proved to be corrupt.
Have a safe and enjoyable trip, Diane.
Yeah for YOU, Diane. I am so happy for you. Take care and be safe…always. ALOHA!
I will be in touch!