Back in America

Vietnamese takeout with Mom and Dad in Wichita, Kansas

Viet Nam, Part One

These are the first of four sets of photos. They represent the experiences of the first week of our trip.

You can reach Part Two at www.kimallen2.blogspot.com,
Part Three at www.kimallen3.blogspot.com, and
Part Four (suprise, surprise) at www.kimallen4.blogspot.com.

PART ONE:
* HANOI
* NINH BINH PROVINCE SOUTH OF HANOI
* THE NORTHWEST MOUNTAINS OF SAPA AND ETHNIC MINORITY PEOPLE

PART TWO:
* TRAIN TO HANOI
* CENTRAL VIET NAM, INCLUDING
THE IMPERIAL CITY OF HUE AND THE HISTORIC PORT OF HOI AN

PART THREE:
* RELIEF WORK IN QUANG NGAI PROVINCE
* SITE OF THE MY LAI MASSACRE

PART FOUR:
* HO CHI MINH CITY
* LAYOVER IN SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA

Hanoi, Part One

We spent our first few Vietnamese days in the stifling heat of Hanoi. We learned to rise at 5 and go to bed early. The excrutiating tropical humidity was offset by an instant appreciation for the city, and for the good friends we made while we were there. We would return to Hanoi three times before finally flying south to Hue.

The layover in Seoul, South Korea.

Like VIPs, we were met at the airport by our acquaintance Hoang's family in Hanoi when we touched down on July 5 after about 24 hours of travel. Hoang was an exchange student in Wichita, Kansas, our hometown, and he graciously extended his family's hospitality to us, even while he was still in the USA. His family came to be dear friends.

Our first stop after the airport was the bia hoa, a "fresh beer" hall, where we imbibed in the local brew and had pho soup served to us from a street stand outside

Hien and Thuy, Hoang's parents

Thuy, Hoang's mother, and Huong, his aunt

Thuy brought food for us to the beer hall

A tourist moment that makes me groan

Kevin and our new friend Do during our first morning in Hanoi. We had an intense, three-hour conversation about our nations, about the wars, and about the future. Do would arrange our later trip to Quang Ngai province

Kim and Do (we would return for an extra day in Hanoi in part so we could see him again -- truly a remarkable man)

Memory and ancestors hold great importance in Hanoi

Ly Thai Tho holds forth in a square for his name. He was the medieval founder of Hanoi. You'll later see an aerobics workout on this square

A Buddhist shrine on a back alley

We saw badminton players throughout Hanoi

Father and son in Hanoi

Badminton everywhere

Elderly man earns a living with a scale

Kevin at the lake

The market

The entrance to the Temple of Literature, nearly a thousand years old. Motorbikes are always available in Vietnamese cities. A Honda-om taxi ride will cost you about a dollar, maybe less.

Tradition has it that stroking these turtles will bring good luck in one's studies

Hoping for good exam results

Two photographers compare notes. He later introduced us to Mr. Ba, who was standing in the Temple of Literature

This photographer took the pictures of me with the incense

The central area of the Temple of Literature, Viet Nam's first "university," a Confucian institution that trained mandarins

Lighting incense for the altar

Asking for good results in the exams

I lit incense in the Confucian tradition...

For myself, for my family, for the world...

Tombstone engraver

Our "chauffeurs" for the meal that night -- and our first motorbike ride. Here are brother and sister, Hien and Huong

I rode with Huong, and we bought fruit for the family meal

My first motorbike ride ended up in the rain

Thuy quietly presided over her home. This was the first of two splendid meals she prepared for us

Thuy and Kim, who is receiving a cooking lesson. Thuy was offended when she discovered I wanted to go to a cooking school in Hoi An, so we arrived early for her gracious instruction

Making spring rolls

Kevin receives far greater accolades than I for his handiwork

Mr. Hien, who came to represent the heart and soul of Our Viet Nam. He had sent his son to Kansas as an exhange student, yet he had fought long ago in a war with the United States. Deeply serious, he also had a most hearty laugh

Thuy, who taught me how to make Vietnamese spring rolls. I later took over, somehow managing to turn all those in hot oil with chopsticks

Kevin had no idea how much he would be doing this on our trip

Our first family meal

Thuy and her niece

The fruits of our labor

Dessert included watermelon and breadfruit

Huong and her daughter Mieu

At Miss Huong's suggestion, we got up with the sun the next day and went searching for tai chi. We found... Vietnamese disco

We rose at five in the morning to see this...

Yes, the masses do aerobics. Kevin would be on the filmmaker war path from then on, searching for some authentic spiritual exercise in the morning. Too much toasting with glasses of beer rendered this goal elusive. We had to make do with a few old folks doing tai chi by the lake. On the other hand, this disco music was Vietnamese "new wave, " very evocative of Kevin's childhood with his Viet Kieu friends

Doing Tai Chi early in the morning by the lake in Hanoi

Kim on a motorbike