Hong Kong visiting

Hong Kong is a beautiful city, perched on both an island and a peninsula with breathtaking views of the Red River and the South China Sea. On our first day, we resorted to the tried-and-true tourist approach and purchased a "Big Red Tour Bus" 24-hour ticket. We enjoyed the view as the driver took us around Hong Kong Island, viewing the amazing skyline and the stunning architecture that is the Hong Kong Special Administrative District (HKSAD-motto, "One government, two systems). After an exhausting day on the top of a double-decker bus, we road the Star Ferry across Victoria Harbor to the Kowloon Peninsula, then braved rush-hour MTR (subway) crowds to return home to the Sha Tin, our home away from home in the New Territories.
Here are some photos from our day's adventure.

Hong Kong with dear friends

We have arrived in Hong Kong after a comfortable flight from Ha Noi. Our dear friend Dayle had expertly arranged a driver that whisked us from the airport to their lovely home in the New Territories. It is wonderful to see Art, Maddie and Dayle and we look forward to several days with them before our return back to SF on Friday. We will celebrate a family Thanksgiving with the Smith-Bell family (yes, we're cooking a traditional turkey day dinner) and then face the 15 hour flight back to SFO with happy hearts and very fully bellies. (Dayle just read the blog draft and cautioned me that if the turkey is too big for the oven, then we'll have Chinese take-out or perhaps Peking duck instead!!!)

Here are some views from Art, Dayle and Maddie's apartment. The view is towards Hong Kong Island, tomorrow's destination.

GOODBYE to Ha Noi (for now!)

Wow, it seems incredible that is was 7 days ago that I last updated this post. It has been an amazing, enjoyable and very intense week and it will take several posts to describe the entire experience.
First and foremost, I love the city of Ha Noi and its residents! There is an energy and joy for life that infuses everything in the city, and it is contagious! Just walking around the city is a joyous experience and the sights/sounds/smells that make up Ha Noi are unique and astonishing.

We spent the last 3 days on a boat cruising the beautiful Ha Long Bay. One of the natural wonders of the world, the Bay has been designated a UNESCO Heritage site and is afforded some protection from environmental destruction. How to describe the beauty of this area of water and limestone islands? There are almost 2000 islands, some inhabited by spider monkeys and birds, but only one with humans.

There are several fishing villages comprised of houses on floats, and the communities are rich in culture and liveliness. We visited one family's home and were warmly welcomed by 3 generations of fishermen. We were blessed by a full moon and beautiful weather, so kayaking around the islands and through a succession of limestone caves was tiring but very interesting.


The highlight of the trip was a visit to a tiny Buddhist temple on Ancestor's Day. The entire crew of our ship and the 5 guests (Greg, Harold, Carolyn and Mike) paid homage to our departed but much-loved ancestors by lighting incense and leaving an offering of fruit and money. We were greeted on the beach by 3 sacred cats who accompanied us in our worship. It was beautiful and very meaningful for all of us.

Sunday evening in Ha Noi

Rooftops of Ha Noi

It's been an eventful day (see previous post about my new BFF Bill Clinton) and tomorrow promises to be even more exciting. We will be starting our work with our Vietnamese partners at 8am tomorrow morning at the Vietnamese Academy of Traditional Medicine. I'll facilitate a workshop on "classroom teaching methods" all day Monday, make a presentation on "nutrition for hospitalized patients" on Tuesday afternoon, and participate in an all-day workshop on curriculum development on Wednesday. On Tuesday morning, Dr. DeBourgh, Dr. Crow and I have been invited to attend the graduation of some  new Vietnamese physicians. On Wednesday evening, we'll dine with some of our hosts. I hope to tour Bach Mai Hospital with Dr. Thuc on Thursday. I should have many opportunities to try out my growing Vietnamese vocabulary!
I brought hundreds of business cards and hope that I can represent the USF School of Nursing with humor and expertise. I have certainly added greatly to the Vietnamese economy during my stay in the country so far!!! Holiday spoiler alert: everyone is getting great gifts from Ha Noi this year!

Bill is here!

Typical Ha Noi street scene

Ha Noi is an amazing city, and even Bill Clinton agrees.  We were strolling the streets of the city this morning and were startled by loud sirens and an important-looking motorcade. Who's sitting in the back seat of a big, dark SUV but Billy C! Later that morning, we're standing on the street and hear the same sirens. Bill drives by again, this time waving to us with a big stoogie in his hand! Needless to say, he didn't stop to say "hi" to us.

Ha Noi

Today we enjoyed a full-day tour of the amazing city of Ha Noi. As you can see from this photo, any tour of the city begins with a visit to Bac Ho (Uncle Ho), known to us by his most popular pseudonym Ho Chi Min. Called the Vietnamese "George Washington", he is revered as the father of modern Vietnam.




We toured his mausoleum, then visited the Presidential "Yellow House," finally arriving at his modest house where he lived by himself from 1954 until his death in 1969. Below is a photo of his bomb shelter, built to protect him from the punishing "gifts" delivered by the US Army's B-52 bombers. It was a fascinating day to be an American tourist in Ha Noi.

We're here!

Another uneventful flight (this one only 1.5 hours) and we are in Ha Noi. The drive from the airport at "rush hour" was fascinating......water buffalo grazing in the rice paddies at the side of the road, millions of motorscooters zipping in and our and around, cars making their own lanes. Fortunately, there was enough going on that no one was able to go very fast. Our hotel is in the Old Quarter of Ha Noi and surrounded by beautiful maisons dating from the French presence. We'll take a walk to the lake this evening and then collapse in our beds, preparing for our full day tour tomorrow.

We're almost there!

After a long (14 hours) but uneventful flight from SFO to Hong Kong, we arrived at 7pm on Thursday evening. Our hotel is right at the airport (thanks, Greg!) and after a "comfort food" meal of Caesar salad and mac and cheese, plus a glass of Kenwood Sauvignon Blanc, it was to bed for a very needed 10 hours sleep. We awoke and immediately headed to the airport Starbucks for a terrific soy latte (NOT vanilla soy) and a walk around the airport for breakfast. Now we're off for our last flight on Vietnam Air to Ha Noi, approximately 2 hours of flight time. I've added a photo of Bing and Bob (think the "on the road" series) enjoying a typical British breakfast.