back in my kitchen

In truth, last night was not my return to my kitchen.  Friday was, a simple dinner of turkey meatloaf.  And man, was that good to have.  I've since made us a pasta dinner and now a meal of pork tenderloin.  A regular for us on the dinner table.  Lightly braised carrots on the side along with a shaved Brussels sprouts, celery, and mint salad.  Made for a nice midweek meal whilst we kept catching up on Great British Bake Off.  Just the right thing.

I love dining out.  I love being surprised and amazed and awed and even amused by food.  I love being confounded in all the best ways.  But after days of dining out, I am keen to get home and chuck things in a pan and hope for the best.  One makes me appreciate the other, and vice versa. 

kind of a normal weekend at home... kind of

Well, heck, it's 5:37 in the morning, and I've been awake for two hours.  Came home from Van's, I should go downstairs and work out a bit (I will, I will!), but I thought it might be good to dash off a blog entry as a return to real-life blogging.  No luxury hotels or culinary walking tours here.

Yes, we're jetlagged.  I was fading badly through dinner last night and went to bed before 8.  I didn't want to, but I was swooning.  So this will take some time to get back on LA time.  I did make it in to work yesterday (after needing to get roadside assistance to jump the dead battery in my car) for a while, though, and I will be there the rest of this week.  But yeah, things are off.  And it's such the opposite of the trip!  We landed got to our hotel room around midnight in Hanoi when we arrived and got up at a normal time the next morning, and the rest of the trip we were synchronized with the local time and not struggling.  On this end, we got home on Thursday and were in bed at a normal time (10:30ish), but awake by 3:30 the next morning.  It was worse through the weekend with bedtimes and badly needed power naps.  I am dreading setting the clocks back this coming weekend and the effect that will have.

Anyway, we got through the weekend, so how about a weekend report?

Friday, not much to say.  I was heartily tired of eating out so much, and I badly wanted to cook in.  Nothing fancy:  turkey meatloaves.  Goodness, it was a welcome dinner.  Conrad and I watched Great British Bake Off and that was our simple evening.  And it was good.

Conrad slept in on Saturday morning, so we skipped the walk and going out.  I didn't go out all day, in fact.  A lot of unpacking to do, and then there was dinner to make for having Van and Olive over.  Simple pasta, a buttermilk fruit cake that was deliciously boozy.  Conrad went to bed early, I pushed through to get dishes done and the kitchen clean, and then I was wide awake until 1 AM.  Yikes.

Sunday came, and we did a walk then on to Amara for breakfast (and yes, we will make it back to Maestro and Mama M this week). 

In the afternoon we had online happy hour with a Halloween theme.  We did that before in 2024, so I was able to pull from that set of recipes and came up with a few drinks. 

I liked the Corpse Reviver No. 2 best - there's a reason it's a classic. 

The Afterlife was my second favourite,

and then the Skeleton Key. 

We cut short our time on the call, though, and headed to Van's, picking up an easy dinner to heat for the three of us.  Van had an overnight appointment to get to after dinner, so we were going to take care of Olive for the night. 

That was nice, but again, I was awake until too late (after midnight) and not a good and long night of sleep after that.

That was the weekend that was.  Trying to get back to normal, some of the trappings of normal, not yet there.  Two weekends to go before the next one out of town.  Here's hoping that we get back to normal fully in that time! 

final thoughts on the Vietnam tour

I'd wanted to save this reflection until I was home, not while I was in the thick of travel still.  I'm starting this on Friday morning, but I think I will come and go from the draft through the weekend and finally post next week so as to have a little more distance.  Still, in my view, the trip was a success.  Some random thoughts and thank yous below... 

This was a very different trip than the Ireland trip from two years ago.  Not just in terms of destination, no, but in terms of what I had to do and how the meetings went.  In Ireland, I was but one of the group, and I had no responsibilities save for interest, appreciation, and respect.  In Vietnam, though, I had agendas and speaking and writing notes and presenting gifts on top of what I had in Ireland.  I was "on" for multiple days, and that does take its toll.  Worth it, in my opinion, but it was a professional activity through and through.

That said, there was plenty of time for tourism.  I have, in the past, felt a little odd about the tourism aspect, as if we should not participate in any because this is a professional activity.  But the tourist activities provide context for the libraries to some extent, and that is a good thing to have.  There was an emphasis on post-colonial and post-war memorializing in the sites we visited, and I think more than one of us wished we had seen other things.  I think, for example, it would have been interesting to see a museum that celebrates contemporary Vietnamese art and craft.  I might have enjoyed some form of entertainment that has the past as its foundation but looks forward.  That aspect was missing from the tour, in my opinion, and I think it would have enriched our experience.

I really did like Vietnam, though.  It was so very different from any place I'd ever been to, and it was less western-feeling than Thailand.  There was great disparity between the gleaming towers of Ho Chi Minh City and seeing folks in the outskirts or rural areas in homes that seemed more to be shelters than houses.  The food was very good and interesting to me.  The chaos of Hanoi's traffic was so fascinating - as I said to someone, they aren't bad drivers, they have to be very good drivers to enter into and thrive in the churn of scooters and more.  I don't foresee a trip to SE Asia soon, but were I to go back, I'd be interested in seeing more of Vietnam than of Thailand at this point.

You never know what sort of a group you will get with tours.  Who will the others be, and will everyone fit well together.  I feel that yes, we did, happily!  There was a nice range of skills, knowledge, and experiences across the team, and that seemed to me to make the discussions with our Vietnamese colleagues richer.  I really enjoyed being with the group all week there, and I hope to see all of them again on future library tours.  So let me thank them one by one: 

Amy.  I did not know Amy until we met on the Zoom call before the tour and then in person, and I have to say, she was a delight.  She has years of experience and is at a level in the field that shows that.  I was so glad to have her knowledge to call on, and I really appreciated her questions that we all could benefit from.  Plus, Trina Turk!  I was so glad she came.

Ann.  Ann, too, was new to me, and she was a wonderful addition to the cohort.  I found her such easy company to be with, for one thing, and I loved her style as well.  Ann's area of expertise was in cataloguing and acquisitions, and that came up multiple times across all of the meetings.  I was so grateful that I could turn to her, and she would respond so well.

Denelle.  I adore Denelle!  We met on the Ireland trip, and since then she has gone on to be elected into a governance role in ALA, so you know that I'm really thrilled about that.  Denelle is so terrific to spend time with, and I learned even more about her on this trip, which I'm glad for.  Denelle was deeply engaged in multiple of the discussions because of her great knowledge of staff development, something that came up at library after library.  Such an awesome person and a real asset to the cohort.

Linda.  Linda was one of the two other community college participants in the tour, and I have to say, what a treat it was to have her there.  It's always good when you have colleagues from within the same system so that we could reinforce each other in the meetings.  Linda knows the OER worlds, and that was of interest to folks in the meetings.  But Linda also had some experience of traveling in Asia, and that insight was terrific, too.  Very good company to have.

Milena.  Milena comes from the California Community Colleges as well, so take what I said about Linda and being from the colleges and apply here.  But Milena, like me, was not brought up in the US, so she has some outsider, non-American eyes that she could apply to the experience.  I liked her humour, and I appreciate how she was able to speak to staff development as well.

Prue.  Prue was another of the Ireland gang who made it on this trip, and I was so thrilled that she did.  Prue is such a lovely person, very thoughtful and empathetic.  I enjoyed spending time with her in Ireland, and it was no different this time.  What Prue also contributed to the cohort was her perspective coming from public libraries, and although most of the libraries we visited were in higher education, as Prue pointed out, public libraries are dealing with many of the same issues.  I'm so glad I got to have another trip with her.

Our guests.  I mean, Conrad, for starters.  I suggested Vietnam to Nanda because Conrad had spoken so highly of visiting Hanoi years ago, and I wanted him to get to go back with me along with him.  I love spending time with Conrad - I don't tire of it at all - and seeing Vietnam together was so awesome.  But there were other guests as well.  Amy's partner, Robin, whom I wish I had chatted with more because I enjoyed it when I did.  I can say the same of Milena's husband, Nasser.  He was always so warm and friendly, and we mostly only got time to talk at breakfast because the four of us were the early risers.  And then there is Peter, Prue's husband.  Peter is a big personality, and I love that.  I also love that he and Conrad got on like gangbusters (Conrad got on with all of the guests, to be fair).  I got to know Peter in Ireland, and I was delighted for another trip with him.

Shiv.  Shiv works with Nanda (and other companies) on tours in Asia.  Based in India, he flew in and was with us the whole time, making sure that arrangements went smoothly.  And they did.  We teased him about karaoke and more, and we liked hearing about his life outside of tour groups as a peanut farmer with a young family.  We liked him a lot, and I kind of hope we might do another library tour that he can be part of.

Dr. Hien.  Dr. Hien is not a librarian but part of the faculty of public health at Phenikaa University.   In addition, though, she worked with Nanda (and has worked with others) to set up contacts at libraries and make the meetings happen.  She also accompanied us to every meeting, translating where necessary.  I enjoyed sitting with her at lunch a couple of times.  I also wanted to make sure that we did right by her.  I hope we did.  I am so grateful for all she did to make this tour happen.

Richie and Anne.  Richie and Anne were out local guides in Vietnam.  As I understand it, tours in Vietnam must employ local guides.  What is more, local guides operate locally - Richie could not stick with us and come to Ho Chi Minh City.  A shame - he was a nice guy, and I appreciated him telling us a bit about his family.  Anne was our guide for the second half of the trip, and she was a bright and fun personality.  I was very glad when she joined us for our last dinner (and sorry that Richie never ate with us)(and also sorry the last dinner wasn't better since that was the only one Anne joined us for).  We had good guides in Vietnam, and that helped make the trip a success.

Nanda.  It has been a good relationship with Nanda.  As expected, there was a flurry of stuff at the last minute, but the planning was all in place, and the trip went smoothly for us all, so far as I know.  I look forward to continuing touring with them, leading the library tours.  Thank you to Nicola and Debra for all that they did.

Vietnam is behind us.  My gosh, it's over two weeks now since Conrad and I traveled to Thailand.  Wow.  Next up for library tours will be Colombia in October of 2027.  With luck, some or all of the Vietnam folks will return, and with luck, we'll have additional people joining us, making for another very good tour.

final thoughts on Thailand

I don't think it's fair to compare Thailand to Vietnam in the context of this trip.  The two halves of the trip were very different with the second half being purely vacation and the first half being professional leave to visit libraries and be part of a group.  Apples and pomelos.  Something like that.  I'll take care of the Vietnam tour reflection in the next day or two, but some final, randomly-ordered thoughts on Vietnam.

It struck me in Sattahip, near the resort city of Pattaya, just how many old(er) white men there were there.  White women?  Not many, never alone and always with other white men or white women.  The older white men?  Alone or in clusters or with younger Thai women.  There was something about it all that felt like viewing sexual tourism on its down time.  I don't know, y'all.  There is probably a lot more intelligent that can be written about the racial and sexual dynamics at play, about tourism and economics and colonialism.  It just felt, well, icky to me while there.  Interestingly, I didn't see this nearly as much in Chiang Mai or in Bangkok.  Chiang Mai was very touristy in the city center, and in Bangkok we were probably very removed from where a lot of tourists stay.

I loved the food, but I may have liked the food in Vietnam more.  Having to navigate a menu with Conrad was sometimes a challenge - he just has so little tolerance for chiles and heat (and Van has even less!!).  Vietnam presented fewer such challenges, and I felt like there was more of an emphasis on fresh herbs in the Vietnamese food we encountered.  Restaurant POTONG was the best meal we had all trip, though, and there wasn't a dud the day we did the walking tour.  All in all, however, I could do without eating coconut, rice, bananas, curry, and shrimp for a little while!  

We packed for rainy season and saw very little rain.  This was driven in part by reports of flooding all around Bangkok in September.  But no.  One day with rain in Sattahip, two mornings in Bangkok with quick, intense showers.  Chiang Mai weather was pretty idyllic, though.  Maybe we were used to the heat and humidity by that point in the trip as well.  Funny thing?  I packed three pairs of shorts and wore one pair once.

Speaking of clothes and packing, we did pick up a few casual items in Thailand including these pants that get tied up that I bought in the hotel shop in Chiang Mai the first day and lived in in our hotel rooms after that.  I should have packed a few more casual tshirts, and I was glad to go to a regular store in Pattaya (like a Target, with groceries and household goods and clothing) and buy a couple of inexpensive tops to wear all around.  Buying clothes in SE Asia is a real blow to the ego, by the way.  I have gained a lot of weight in recent years, I know, but putting on a tshirt at a cool souvenir shop in Chiang Mai and realizing that XXXL referred more to length than to girth was a wounding experience.

Thailand is a more developed country than Vietnam, and there was a lot about it that would be familiar to westerners visiting.  Where in Vietnam there seemed to be a real prevalence of police or military guards, in Thailand there were images of the royal family all over.  It was interesting to see that contrast.  We talked with a few people about the royal family because our understanding comes from the British one, and that was illuminating.  A lot of reverence for the current kings father, a lot of respect for the current king and hope for how his rein will continue to go, and even sorrow for the death of his eldest daughter earlier this year.

It is not a priority for us to go back to SE Asia much as J-J and Vanda would doutbless welcome us.  Van was over last night, and we were showing him photos of some of the trip, and he asked which country we found more interesting.  He agreed with my assessment that Vietnam was the one simply because it felt the more foreign, the more different from my surroundings here.  That's not to say I didn't find Thailand uninteresting.  But I also didn't find it so compelling that I think, Gosh!  I want to go back.  It was a good trip, a good visit, and I hope that I have shown through the blog entries that I appreciated so much.  Still, there are other places I would visit for the first time or return to before I consider Thailand again.

I'll end there.  One more entry to right related to the trip, and then it's time to get on to life here, work, the travel ahead for the rest of the year.  Thanks for coming on the journey this far! 

river procession

The last day in Bangkok, a last post about Bangkok.  At least I'm not too many days behind, right?  Big sigh of relief on that.

Our Wednesday in Bangkom started off easily enough.  I was up early, Conrad was not.  No matter - we intended on a late breakfast anyway, and so it was.  After breakfast,

we had time to go bob around in the pool, and then go and make ourselves pretty for an afternoon out with J-J and Vanda. 

They had driven up from Sattahip to take us to a late lunch and to see a spectacle.  We were really curious about what we would see.

We ended up at a restaurant on the west side of the river, a place owned by an actress from White Lotus. 

Honestly?  The location is what makes it.  The food was fine, it was food.  I liked it enough, but it wasn't anything unusual compared to what we had been having.  And I know, it doesn't have to be - I guess it's the Thai equivalent of a place here that serves American classics.  It was fine.  The mai tai was, well, I don't know what it was.  And in a plastic cup.  So weird.  We eventually had a very modest NZ white, and there were glasses for that, so serving cocktails in plastic cups was a jarring choice.

We ate, then collected along the front of the riverside deck along with everyone else.  It was after 3:00, and the show was underway.  The show?  A dress rehearsal in full uniform and costume for a river procession to be carried out by the royal family early next month.  But even for this, there were crowds watching on bridges and along the river.  I can see why.  Pageantry like this is always fascinating - why were all the men at the front of the boats in pink, what was the singing/chanting saying (or was it just to keep the strokes in time?), were there women involved?  We saw two or three dozen boats go by, taking lots of shots but eventually just watching.

Once that was done, it was time to head off.  So much traffic!  Vanda had had to park blocks away at a hotel, so we had the walk there to contend with.  At least there were some nice sights to see! 

We invited them to come back to the hotel for a drink, and they accepted.  That was a nice little last hurrah with them.  They were lovely hosts while we were there.

Conrad and I had the evening to ourselves and no plans.  We didn't want to shower and wander far afield - we really weren't that hungry.  So we took ourselves back downstairs to La Scala for a light meal of burrata and pizza with truffles.  A cocktail each, a glass of wine as well.  It was a nice and easy way to end the trip.  The staff were so lovely.

So yes, our last full day in Thailand featured very average Thai food and then Italian food at dinner.  Funny how that works out.  But it's ok.  We had a great day of it no matter what, and spending it with friends watching something very Thai (and that happens only rarely) was a cool way to go.