Vinh Son Orphanage

The highlight of our trip, and the main reason each of us embarked on this journey, involved visiting the orphanages in the Central Highlands. We landed in Pleiku which is the area where my dad and some of the other men on our trip were stationed during the war. How blessed I am that I was able to visit these locations and here from them about their time during the war. The Chaix clan on the trip consisted of my parents, my uncle Gary and aunt Bonnie, my aunt (and champion roommate for the trip) Jan, and myself. The mountain in the center of the skyline behind my family was where the army base was located during the war.

The orphanages we work with are Catholic orphanages, the first and largest one is behind a beautiful old wooden church. This is the orphanage that Friends of Vinh Son have been working with the longest. It was amazing to see the projects I have heard my dad talk about over the years: dormitories being built, kitchens being repaired after a fire so the kids could have baked bread to take to school, and a small barn to house pigs that are raised for food and to sell as income for the orphanage. The kids sang songs for us, held our hands as we toured the facilities, and laughed and played with us until we had to part ways. Many of them know basic English including "hi", "how are you?", "what's your name?", and "where you from?". It was so sweet to hear them talk, laugh, and sing.


My mom looking in on a pair of 10 day old twins whose lives were saved because the nuns brought these little ones into their care.

A group of the kids in front of the boys dormitory just before they escorted us through for a tour. It was amazing how clean and well kept it was and how proud they were to show each of us their beds where they stayed.

Singing for us during our visit.

Up next: more from the orphanages!

Good Morning Vietnam!

After our time in Laos, our group headed to Vietnam for the remainder of our trip. We started in Hanoi but weren't there long before heading to Halong Bay. We were able to see the embalmed Ho Chi Minh and a couple historic locations before loading the bus for the bay. I would say our time in Halong Bay was one of my favorite parts of my trip for two reasons: 1) the location is so amazing and unique 2) our rigorous schedule up until then was suspended since we were forced to relax on a boat for 24 hours.

Our Vietnam guide "Tano". My dad has been fortunate to have Tano as a guide on most of his trips to Vietnam and has been able to meet his family and even visit Tano when he came to the US. He truly made our trip the best it could be. This is Tano in front of one of our many tour buses with our "Vinh Son Orphanage, Dave Chaix, 4th Infantry Division" sign.

Overhead view of an intersection in Hanoi. There aren't really traffic "laws" but there are suggestions. Right-of-way goes to buses, trucks, cars, motor bikes, bikes, and pedestrians... in that order. So to cross the street you just have to jump out there and slowly work your way through traffic as dozens of motor bikes weave around you. The picture below is during a time of minimal traffic. Wait until you see what it was like in Saigon!

In Halong Bay, our junk boat housed our entire group and crew of around 10 for 24 hours. We were able to eat some amazing seafood, relax, and take in the gorgeous view.

Halong Bay is truly an amazing place. It is currently trying to achieve the New 7 Wonders of the World award. If you ever get a chance to visit I highly recommend taking the time to travel from Hanoi and staying the night on a junk boat. Such a wonderful experience.

Here we are on the roof of our junk boat enjoying the view and each other's company.

Next: off to the orphanages!

The Journey Begins... Laos

As promised, this starts a series of blogs walking you through my recent trip to Laos and Vietnam. For those who don't know, my dad started a non-profit with some friends years ago to raise support for a few orphanages in an area they were in during the Vietnam War. Over the years they have been able to help improve the conditions for so many children who live in the orphanages. It has been truly great to be a part of and makes me so proud of my dad and the group he works with. This year a group of 24 involved with the non-profit traveled for 2 weeks to visit the orphanage and tour Vietnam and Laos. These are some snapshots and captions from along the way. Please don't let reading these updates replace a chance for us to catch up personally. I just hope to be able to share some pictures and small notes, broken into small digestible portions for those who aren't brave (or unfortunate) enough to endure looking through an hour of photos like Keith had to.

Let the fun begin.

First, let me introduce my parents, Dave and Elaine. Aren't they cute? :) You will see plenty of them through the photo journey. This is day 1 in Laos before our baggage had even arrived. Lesson learned: always pack a spare outfit in your carry-on!

Giving alms to the monks at 6am, a daily part of the culture in Laos.

Long-tailed boats on the Mekong River, which we took to see one of many temples and pagodas while in Laos.

Tuk Tuks, our means of transportation while in Laos. It took 4 to cart around our crew.

A view from our tuk tuk of a typical street in Laung Prabang, Laos. Tourism is still getting going in this area so it is far less crowded and modern than what you will see in Vietnam. Laos really took our group by surprise. Since we were only spending 2 days there I didn't spend much time thinking about this portion of our trip before we left. I was blessed by the culture in Laos, the amazing people and food, and the beautiful scenery. A wonderful place to check out yourself if you ever get a chance.

Up Next... Hanoi and Halong Bay, Vietnam.

*Special thanks to the many Vietnam travelers for the photos used during my photo essays.