Well, so far, it's been a fantastic trip. I'm healthy. We got our work done in Hanoi and I had the pleasure of experiencing the unique culture of Vietnam.
I won't lie; this leg of my mission was mostly work. We ran a review course for the East Asia Pacific colleagues. It went well and we're in the midst of managing a potential situation in Thailand. That made our work here in Hanoi even more relevant.
But, like all of my missions thus far, we did manage to have some fun along the way. Our nights were filled with Vietnamese food, and Bia Hanoi (Hanoi Beer). The local beer is like so many other local beers I've tasted – it's a light beer with not much flavor, but it tastes good nonetheless -- particularly in the 90+ degree temperatures we faced. Being from Washington and having lived in the Caribbean, I would say I'm used to some humidity – not as it exists in this part of the world. To paint a picture for you, my colleague Chris and I traveled to the Old Quarter of Hanoi this morning at 6 a.m. to take some pictures of the capital. Our camera lenses immediately fogged up and remained that way for about 10 minutes while we walked around the lake.
We didn't have a lot of opportunities to go downtown during the daytime, but this morning was a special treat. I had "window" shopped at night on the previous days, but today I had an opportunity to buy some gifts and mementos. I also had an opportunity to witness how the city woke up.
I only know a little of the history of Vietnam, but it was evident that the French had quite an influence on the architecture in Hanoi (and probably elsewhere in Vietnam). The Old Quarter was an interesting mix of French and Asian designs. In addition, we saw elements of communist and socialist architecture – very plain, non-descript buildings – clearly built for their utilitarian purposes.
The people were quite friendly in most places, and English was not spoken very frequently (or that well). We had to use our best communication skills (besides talking). What was most interesting this morning, was watching the city wake up. Before we even left our hotel we saw groups of Vietnamese men and women exercising in front of the building. As we took the 15 minute taxi ride into the Old Quarter, we saw similar assemblies. But, we had no idea of the magnitude, until we got to the Old Quarter and saw the multitudes partaking in, what we guessed was, state-sponsored exercise. It was as if the government told its citizens that everyone was to exercise at precisely the same time, that they could exercise in anyway they liked, but that they would exercise. We didn't understand the words coming from the government megaphones attached to street light poles and buildings throughout the city, but we were almost sure that it was tied in with the exercising. I plan to ask my Vietnamese colleagues more about this next time we talk.
Okay, that's it from me about Hanoi. I would definitely come back here some day. I'm en route to Jakarta, Indonesia via Singapore. We've got a few days in Jakarta, then it's off to Bangkok and finally onto another time zone – Nepal!
I won't lie; this leg of my mission was mostly work. We ran a review course for the East Asia Pacific colleagues. It went well and we're in the midst of managing a potential situation in Thailand. That made our work here in Hanoi even more relevant.
But, like all of my missions thus far, we did manage to have some fun along the way. Our nights were filled with Vietnamese food, and Bia Hanoi (Hanoi Beer). The local beer is like so many other local beers I've tasted – it's a light beer with not much flavor, but it tastes good nonetheless -- particularly in the 90+ degree temperatures we faced. Being from Washington and having lived in the Caribbean, I would say I'm used to some humidity – not as it exists in this part of the world. To paint a picture for you, my colleague Chris and I traveled to the Old Quarter of Hanoi this morning at 6 a.m. to take some pictures of the capital. Our camera lenses immediately fogged up and remained that way for about 10 minutes while we walked around the lake.
We didn't have a lot of opportunities to go downtown during the daytime, but this morning was a special treat. I had "window" shopped at night on the previous days, but today I had an opportunity to buy some gifts and mementos. I also had an opportunity to witness how the city woke up.
I only know a little of the history of Vietnam, but it was evident that the French had quite an influence on the architecture in Hanoi (and probably elsewhere in Vietnam). The Old Quarter was an interesting mix of French and Asian designs. In addition, we saw elements of communist and socialist architecture – very plain, non-descript buildings – clearly built for their utilitarian purposes.
The people were quite friendly in most places, and English was not spoken very frequently (or that well). We had to use our best communication skills (besides talking). What was most interesting this morning, was watching the city wake up. Before we even left our hotel we saw groups of Vietnamese men and women exercising in front of the building. As we took the 15 minute taxi ride into the Old Quarter, we saw similar assemblies. But, we had no idea of the magnitude, until we got to the Old Quarter and saw the multitudes partaking in, what we guessed was, state-sponsored exercise. It was as if the government told its citizens that everyone was to exercise at precisely the same time, that they could exercise in anyway they liked, but that they would exercise. We didn't understand the words coming from the government megaphones attached to street light poles and buildings throughout the city, but we were almost sure that it was tied in with the exercising. I plan to ask my Vietnamese colleagues more about this next time we talk.
Okay, that's it from me about Hanoi. I would definitely come back here some day. I'm en route to Jakarta, Indonesia via Singapore. We've got a few days in Jakarta, then it's off to Bangkok and finally onto another time zone – Nepal! 
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