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Post by Tex on Jan 19, 2010 2:24:31 GMT -6
I will write more later, but I thought Vietnam had some poverty until our trip into Cambodia. We went to see Anhkor Wat and the (Tomb Raiders) temples which were unbelievable - they were quite impressive and went on for many square miles, but a side trip down the Mekong with all of its boat dwellers was instructive. Down and out poverty. We spotted a shabby floating school for Vietnamese orphans stranded in Cambodia. I told the boat driver to dock there and made a donation to the school and walked through the class handing each kid ten dollars. I figured that if I handed it to them, there would be a lesser chance of them not getting it. My wife explained in Vietnamese that the money was theirs and don't listen to any bullshit to the contrary. You can't save the children yourselves but I figured to make the day a happy one for them. It seemed to work.
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Post by bigdog8088 on Jan 19, 2010 3:22:47 GMT -6
Wow times have changed.I remember the kids Made Happy with just a can or two of left over C-Rations...or a Pack of Camels....
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Post by ♥ COVID-19♥ on Jan 19, 2010 10:04:11 GMT -6
Tex, you can make deposits directly into my PayPal account. After upgrading my home theater system, any leftover funds will go to the Haitians. Or Cambodians. I haven't quite made up my mind yet.
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Post by Ardbeg... innit on Jan 19, 2010 10:45:43 GMT -6
Tex handing out $$$ in SE Asia may explain this
Jaded Kirk
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Post by Irish Stu on Jan 19, 2010 11:11:17 GMT -6
Any pics to share with us Tex?
Hopeful Kirk
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Post by ♥ COVID-19♥ on Jan 19, 2010 11:28:00 GMT -6
Preferably, pictures from your trip, not just random photos you may have found on the Internet.
-- Disambiguating Kirk
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Post by Ardbeg... innit on Jan 19, 2010 11:52:16 GMT -6
I wonder how many of those little kids got rolled for their $10
A Clockwork Kirk
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Post by ♥ COVID-19♥ on Jan 19, 2010 12:00:59 GMT -6
If you wanted a precise number, I would estimate approximately all of them.
-- Pessimistic Kirk
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Post by Tex on Jan 19, 2010 20:44:55 GMT -6
I will have some pictures. I wouldn't bet on all of those kids losing their money. The Vietnamese orphans can be pretty tough little cookies. At one anchored barge (tourist trap) where we stopped, a kid was paddling around in a washtub with a python with him. He charged a dollar to take his picture with the python (I chumped off and paid the dollar and took the picture).
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Post by Christinko on Jan 19, 2010 23:29:50 GMT -6
I took what was likely a similar river cruise down the Mekong through Laos (luxury cruise from northern Thailand to Luang Prabang) in January 2008. The poverty in the villages we visited was achingly high. I think your generosity, Tex, to the kids will make a difference for them.
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Post by IE on Jan 20, 2010 21:20:35 GMT -6
Same thing along the Amazon in Peru. We stopped twice for pictures with critters - once with a huge ass boa, another time for a little girl with the cutest little three toed sloth. ADORABLE animal, you hold it like it's a small child, it wraps it's long arms around you and moves his head ever so slowly back and forth!!! WELL WORTH the few dollars it cost, which did way more for them than it would for us back home.
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Post by Dan on Feb 2, 2010 0:05:43 GMT -6
I personally have been doing my part to stave off the local suffering here in Norman, Oklahoma. I never realized there were so many starving female OU students desperately trying to make ends meet by pole-dancing after classes. And bless their hearts - they're all returning the favor by studying to be nurses and lawyers. Who'd a thunk it? Such sufferage right here in our own backyards.
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