Unexpected Downpour

Today is a free day for the group. I left the hotel around eight a.m. to try to find a notepad. The Old Quarter of Hanoi is much more peaceful in the early morning. I still had to make my way dodging people and motorbikes, but the constant honking was absent and I had room to breath. Then it started to rain. At first it was just a mist, but it quickly turned into a downpour. I had fun running between awnings, carefully planning my next move in an attempt to stay dry. I found a bookshop and bought a notepad, a couple of pens, a Vietnamese-English dictionary (~$1) and a bunch of Vietnamese children's books (~$2). I also found a luggage shop with a decent rolling duffel for about ten dollars. My luggage is nearly full and I can tell I will need the extra space soon.

Know One Teach One
We had dinner two nights ago at KOTO (Know One Teach One), a restaurant near the commercial district of Hanoi. Entering KOTO feels like stepping through the looking glass into a trendy Seattle restaurant. The difference is that all the labor at KOTO is done by street kids. The goal of the restaurant is to provide vocational training for disadvantaged youth and so that they will have the skills to work in high end restaurants anywhere in Vietnam. Look to the end of this post for pictures of our night at KOTO.

Getting the Word Out
Last night after dinner Roger and I spoke briefly about brainstorming ideas for marketing Kids First Vietnam more effectively. I think he would like to tap into the ideas behind open source and social networks. A quick search turned up change.org, a social network focused on improving the world. I will play around with it more when I get home, but it looks promising.

Late Night Musings

So 11 p.m. isn't really all that late unless your jet-lagged brain wants you asleep by eight and awake around three or four. I will try to fight off sleep long enough to share some thoughts from the past two days.

Sustainability
Roger told us more about his efforts to create sustainable funding for Kids First Vietnam through the sale of products. I had already read about their peppercorn/grinder product on their web site, but also learned about a chopstick set and roasted cashews. All the products are sourced and finished in Vietnam, so that a purchase will support not only Kids First Vietnam, but also the local economy. They are also planning on manufacturing and selling wheelchairs and related wheeled mobility aids. The goal of this project is to generate continuous funding for Kids First Vietnam while helping disabled individuals achieve greater self-sufficiency.

Privilege
Why are some of us born into lives with so much opportunity and material wealth and so many others born into lives full of hardship? Should the standards for how one should live their life differ in these scenarios?

Food
The food has been absolutely amazing since we arrived in Hanoi. Fresh flavors and ingredients ranging from sweet to pungent to salty to spicy. Endless variety at emberassing prices. Tomorrow we are taking a cooking class at a restaurant around the corner. We will spend the morning cooking, and the enjoy the fruits of our labor for lunch. Yum! On a totally tangential note, has anyone had good watermelon in Asia? So far the watermelon in China and Vietnam has been consistently poor to mediocre. I don't recall how the watermelon was in Japan, but suspect it was also generally bad. With the long humid summers here I expected that the watermelon would be delicious. Watermelon from Eastern Washington is much better. Not to mention watermelon in the South. Any ideas? Is it losing flavor in transportation and storage? In any case, check below for some pictures of the delicious food we have been eating.

First Day in Hanoi

I met up with my fellow travellers Bob, Carolyn, Harold, and Suzanne at the airport around 10:30 p.m. I could tell right away that they are a fun bunch. I also got to meet the local organizers for Kids First Vietnam, Liz and Erica. It didn't take long before we were on board and taking off for Taipei. The flight was empty enough that I was able to move to a pair of seats against a window and stretch out. I slept most of the way to Hanoi, with the few hours I was awake spent eating and trying to cram in some Vietnamese. We met up with the final rider, Anna Lou, in the Taipei airport before taking the connecting flight to Hanoi. This flight was also uneventful (yay), as was customs and immigration.

The Kids First Vietnam Founder, Roger Ferrell met us at the airport with one of our tour guides and drivers. We drove for about forty five minutes from the airport to Old Quarter of Hanoi, passing through rice fields most of the way. These fields are still farmed the traditional way and we saw many people and oxen working in the fields.

From Kids First Vi...

We checked in to our hotel before heading out for a quick lunch. The picture below is from our hotel lobby. The troupe of riders from left to right includes Suzanne, Bob, Carolyn, Harold, Eden, and Anna Lou. I think we are holding up pretty well for having spent the last 20+ hours couped up in airplanes and airports.

From Kids First Vi...

Lunch was at a restraunt around the corner from our hotel and consisted of a soup appetizer, fried squid rings, fish spring rolls (DIY), and rice with pork curry. It was all delicious and a good sign of food to come.

After lunch we finally tracked down Carolyn's missing bag (it was delivered to the wrong hotel) and took a walk through an outdoor marketplace and around the nearby lake. One thing that really struck me was how many tourists were about. I don't think I saw this many tourists in most parts of Tokyo. I am certain this will change once we head for more rural areas, but after my visit to Shenzen, China last fall, I was surprised by the contrast.

Time for dinner. Expect an update with even more pictures when I find a faster Internet connection.

Big Ol' Jet Airliner

I am about to run out the door to the airport. I can't wait to meet my fellow travelers and just relax into an airline seat for the next 14 hours. Sure, it will be uncomfortable, but I can catch up on sleep, try to learn some Vietnamese, and just relax. I hope to post again shortly after arriving in Hanoi. A big thank you to everyone for your encouragement and support in this project. I can't wait to get back and share stories from my trip with everyone.

Preparations

With only four days left until my flight, I find that my list of things that must get done before I go is shrinking exponentially. Setting up this blog so that I can share some of my experiences on the trip as soon as possible with everyone is one of those critical tasks.

For those of you here by accident, I am leaving in four days for a two week, 300 mile trip through Vietnam. The main purpose of the trip is to raise funds for a group called Kids First Vietnam in support of their efforts to create educational opportunities for disadvantaged children in Central Vietnam. The other purpose of the trip is to allow the fund-raisers (me) to see their projects first hand and learn something about life in Vietnam. In a sense we will become ambassadors for their mission to the world at large.