In January and February of 2020, my mom, sister and myself had the opportunity to travel through Vietnam and Thailand. This trip was a trip of a lifetime, and had been planned for almost a year.  The day before wee left, the news book that there was a mystery illness in China, and not much else was known.  We arrived on Chinese New Years in Hanoi Vietnam, with the colors, offerings, flowers and incense surrounding the landscape and temples.  Because of the Chinese New Year and the fact that China had just restricted travel, our experience traveling to these magical places was almost surreal, with limited tourists and wide open spaces in the often visited landmarks. On our Ginger cruise through less travelled Lan Ha Bay in southern Vietnam, there were only 20 passengers and 14 staff members, and the experience was one of traveling back in time both literally and metaphorically was a magical experience for all of us.  The lack of lines, tourists and crowds was virtually unheard of in recent years and this was like going back in time 50 years.  

Lan Ha Bay has multi layers of translucent colors, flowers, with buddhist symbols and cultural references through a truly magical place and culture.  The layers in this painting are filled with meaning, of lotus flowers, spiritual mantras and landscape drawings inspired by the beautiful ancient cultures.