Viet Nam with Kim and Kevin

From July 4 to 27, my brother Kevin and I travelled in Viet Nam, peering closely at the country through our respective lenses of filmmaker and historian. Here is the first installment, my first internet photos, and my first fitful start at using technology for sharing what I have learned.

19 August 2005

Back in America

Vietnamese takeout with Mom and Dad in Wichita, Kansas

15 August 2005

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