The People

We've had wonderful opportunities for people watching here.  The Vietnamese are a very beautiful people!

The bakery - with the most incredible sweet bread!!

Two beautiful local women outside the Catholic cathedral that we stumbled upon.

A little girl with a "smile" for us!

A young friend encountered in the Ho Chi Minh Museum

Thuy, a very young-looking 36 year old from Ha Noi, and Rick and Julie - two travelers who just arrived from Switzerland.  We had to try out the local seating!

More to come . . .

-Kayce

What a place!

Vibrant, intoxicating, exotic.  All these words could be used to describe Hanoi, yet none of them seems completely adequate.  The place is rich and alive in ways that are difficult to capture.  We've had several intense days of meetings, walking about the city, great experiences with our fellow students, the sites (and sights) of the city, and the people that we've travelled to meet.  And as of mid-day Wednesday, we're just half through.  Among the cultural sites we've seen are the Ho Chi Minh Museum, the Temple of Literature (a monument of Confucian teaching), and the exterior of the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum.

The photo is of the Stellae of the Doctors at the Temple of Literature.  More to come as we have time...

--John K

More Hanoi Sights

Here are a couple more photos of Hanoi sights:

The Hanoi Opera House

A dragon from flowers, along the lake

More to come - heading off to the U.S. Embassy today...

--Jeff

Night in Hanoi

First night in Hanoi . . . a whole different city at night.  City is alive and bustling with motorbikes, cars, bikes, etc., but settles down very quickly after 10pm.  Beautiful colors around the lake - well worth the walk!

-Kayce

Welcome to Hanoi

The last five of us arrived more or less together late last night.  We spent today getting oriented to the market district within a few kilometers of the hotel.  Hanoi is amazing.  The traffic is bustling and we're already seeing the most interesting things.  And we're doing our part for the local economy by making purchases:  pearls seem to be very popular among the team.

Had to take a snapshot of the Vietnamese version of Reddi Kilowatt. This fellow is posted near a distribution transformer.  He's not nearly as friendly as Reddi, but he clearly conveys the point in any language...

More later, the whole team is assembling for dinner.

---John K

Hoan Kiem Lake

We posed in front of Hoan Kiem Lake yesterday during our orientation tour of old town Hanoi.  We saw well over 30-40 couples getting their wedding photos at the lake and government buildings that surround the lake.

We toured some of the Old Quarter - twisty streets brimming with merchandise and food.  Scooters are everywhere and drive where there is room - sidewalks, streets, parks.  I didn't see any collisions, though, so  everyone seems to accept the chaos.

After a few hours of shopping, the jet lag started to hit me and I needed to drink some water and rest.  The rest of our class should all be here tomorrow and ready to hit the ground running (well, at least upright...).

--Jeff

Welcome to Hanoi

Good morning from Hanoi!  We arrived at the airport about 11 PM local time and found our ride waiting for us.  Good driver and minimal traffic had me hitting the pillow at midnight.

This morning is looking good.  Start off the morning with pho (noodle soup) and a quick tour of the Old Quarter.

Here's the view from the lobby of the Army Hotel.

--Jeff