While I had been to Ho Chi Minh City before, this is my first trip to Hanoi. We arrived at the airport (close to an hour from the center of the city) at 9:30pm Wednesday night. Most things shut down around 10, plus it's hard to see things in the dark. One of the things that really struck me on our way into the city was the INSANE number of Karaoke places! I don't think I saw a single Karaoke place in HCMC (although I'm sure they were there). From the airport, we must have passed over two dozen neon Karaoke signs!
Hanoi is the capital city which automatically gives it a different feel. There is an increase in police and military presence. There is also clearly a number of people with significant money, based on the number and brands of the cars. In addition to the cost of a car, the tax is often very high, so most people can not afford to have their own.
Hanoi also has more of a colonial feel to it and you can still see more of the french influence in the buildings and culture. The weather is also MUCH different. While HCMC was very warm and (at least during my stay) dry, Hanoi is cool and rainy. I learned that rain tends to keep people inside, even if they have appointments. Part of that is due to the number of motorbikes used for transport.
My hotel, the Melia Hotel, is much bigger than the Rex Hotel in HCMC (22 floors instead of 4). While arriving in a new city late at night makes sight seeing a challenge, it usually means the turn down service has already been done in the room. Funny how something as small as the comforter being folded over and the drapes drawn can make the room feel so cozy!
After a little bit of a rough start Thursday morning (the shower and I are NOT friends right now), the day got better at breakfast. While I was not eating on a garden rooftop, the buffet did include french toast and passion fruit juice :) The rest of the day was devoted to student and agent briefings around town. First stop was at a different hotel, where my local host is staying, The Nikko. I only saw the lobby and a meeting room, but it seems like another nice hotel, with more of a Japanese feel. After a presentation for a group of agents, we took a break for lunch then headed to an office across town. At the first afternoon meeting, we talked with some agents and met with a prospective grad student. Based on the information he shared with us, I don't think JMU is a realistic option for him but I still enjoyed talking with him.
The final stop of the day was at an office in a high rise building occupying much of the former 'Hanoi Hilton' site. There is still a corner section of the prison preserved as a museum. It was a little strange imagining what the area looked like during the war, as most of it is very modern feeling now. On a more positive note, the student I met has great academic credentials and she LOVES JMU. She also asked if she would see me if she ended up on campus. I said that I worked there, so it was certainly a possibility. Turns out, she just wanted to make sure there would be someone around to advise her. I explained that the academic departments had that covered!
When we left that office, my host needed to return to his hotel for a meeting and my hotel was just around the corner, so I took advantage of a break in the rain to walk back. That means I have successfully crossed streets in TWO cities now! Dinner was at a great restaurant, the Green Tangerine. I actually ordered the Vietnamese Menu which was delicious! (Even the two fish items were good!) Then we walked down the block to have a drink at Le Pub. The special of the night was a Baby Woo Woo. Some of you may remember that Cally's in downtown Harrisonburg used to serve a Woo Woo. While the name is very goofy, it is delicious, so I was excited to see if it was the same drink...it was :) And that covers my first day and half in Hanoi!
Friday, March 4, 2011
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
28 hours...
I knew before I left that I was going to spend a very long time up in the air to get from Virginia to Vietnam. I did not, however, do the complete math including travel time and layovers! As I was waiting to board my first plane, I found myself getting hungry. Knowing that the next three (!) meals would be served on a plane, I decided it was ok to grab a snack in the airport. (Thanks to Dan for supporting that decision!)
When I travel by myself, I prefer to have an aisle seat. Somehow, I'd rather be the one getting up for other people than having to ask someone else to move anytime I want to stretch my legs. (If I travel with someone else, I'm all about the window seat!) As my row mates arrived, one of the first things the guy in the middle seat said to me was "So, you're not Korean." Clearly I still stand out in a crowd of Asians (if you know the Japanese zoo story from my childhood, you'll appreciate that). Nathan, from Winchester VA, was also traveling to a family wedding in Ho Chi Minh City. Since he seemed normal and conversation flowed easily, I was excited to have someone to hang out with during the layover in Seoul.
Korean Air has planes with the individual screens at each seat. So much nicer than craning your neck to see a big screen at the front of a section of seats! I was gearing up for a marathon movie session but ended up having more conversation. Not a bad alternative :) I did manage to watch Megamind and The Romantics (two separate movies).
The flight from Dulles to Seoul was a little over 14 hours in length and included lunch and dinner. For lunch I opted for a traditional Korean dish bibimbap...the non-American woman in our row (not sure of her exact ethnicity, but not Korean) was given a card with instructions on how to eat the meal. I'm not sure why Nathan and I were not offered the same card, but she was nice enough to share. The woman across the aisle from me also tried to help. She was very thoughtful, but the way she watched every bite I took made me a bit nervous, especially since I didn't absolutely love the meal! I'm chalking it up to being airplane food and may one day try the dish again. Dinner was much less exotic, but had a delicious piece of chocolate cake for dessert!
Upon arrival in Seoul, we had about two hours to fill before boarding our next flight. A really neat feature of Incheon are the Korean Traditional Cultural Facilities. They were part store, part stage and part arts and crafts. We arrived at one of them just as a music performer was finishing. At the end they passed out drums to the audience to join in- very cool! Then, if you were not Korean, you could make one of the crafts for free. We opted for the Korean prints created from Korean paper, water, fans, brushes and ink blotters. Nathan and I probably do not have professional futures in this activity, but we had fun trying!
We also saw a bit of theater in the terminal with a group of men and women dressed in traditional Korean garb....as best I could tell, there was a King and Queen and either members of a royal court or servants of some kind. It was neat to see the tradition. I tried to get a picture and will post it if it turned out!
Another bonus to making a plane friend...he will be returning to the US on the same flight! Since I will be coming from Hanoi not HCMC, we will meet up in Seoul (and maybe try another craft!). It's nice not to be completely alone in a crowd!
The flight from Seoul to HCMC was close to five hours. We had dinner again, my highlight being the strawberry cheesecake ice cream. I also chose to accept the glass of wine with this meal (having turned it down during the previous 2). I'm not sure what kind of Reisling it was, but it had a nice flavor. In honor of the Oscars, which I knew I would miss seeing, I watched The King's Speech and Black Swan. Now I feel almost caught up in the world of pop culture!
There was a driver from the hotel waiting outside the airport to pick me up. The drive to the Rex took about 20 minutes and there were numerous times I thought things looked familiar- pretty sure I was wrong every single time! Check in went quickly and there was even a note from my local contact (he's South African but has lived here for the last 9 months after going to school in the US and working in the US and Europe. There was a bit of a translation error when he left the message (what I received said he wished me a good life...as if he wouldn't be meeting up with me the next day...made me nervous for a moment, but at that point I was too tired to worry too much!). Turns out he had a rugby injury from the weekend and had taken a painkiller prior to phoning the hotel. We're not sure if the translation error was due to language or the meds, but we shared a good laugh over it :)
We're off to lunch and another meeting before flying to Hanoi...I'm sure there will be more adventures to share from there!
Erin
When I travel by myself, I prefer to have an aisle seat. Somehow, I'd rather be the one getting up for other people than having to ask someone else to move anytime I want to stretch my legs. (If I travel with someone else, I'm all about the window seat!) As my row mates arrived, one of the first things the guy in the middle seat said to me was "So, you're not Korean." Clearly I still stand out in a crowd of Asians (if you know the Japanese zoo story from my childhood, you'll appreciate that). Nathan, from Winchester VA, was also traveling to a family wedding in Ho Chi Minh City. Since he seemed normal and conversation flowed easily, I was excited to have someone to hang out with during the layover in Seoul.
Korean Air has planes with the individual screens at each seat. So much nicer than craning your neck to see a big screen at the front of a section of seats! I was gearing up for a marathon movie session but ended up having more conversation. Not a bad alternative :) I did manage to watch Megamind and The Romantics (two separate movies).
The flight from Dulles to Seoul was a little over 14 hours in length and included lunch and dinner. For lunch I opted for a traditional Korean dish bibimbap...the non-American woman in our row (not sure of her exact ethnicity, but not Korean) was given a card with instructions on how to eat the meal. I'm not sure why Nathan and I were not offered the same card, but she was nice enough to share. The woman across the aisle from me also tried to help. She was very thoughtful, but the way she watched every bite I took made me a bit nervous, especially since I didn't absolutely love the meal! I'm chalking it up to being airplane food and may one day try the dish again. Dinner was much less exotic, but had a delicious piece of chocolate cake for dessert!
Upon arrival in Seoul, we had about two hours to fill before boarding our next flight. A really neat feature of Incheon are the Korean Traditional Cultural Facilities. They were part store, part stage and part arts and crafts. We arrived at one of them just as a music performer was finishing. At the end they passed out drums to the audience to join in- very cool! Then, if you were not Korean, you could make one of the crafts for free. We opted for the Korean prints created from Korean paper, water, fans, brushes and ink blotters. Nathan and I probably do not have professional futures in this activity, but we had fun trying!
We also saw a bit of theater in the terminal with a group of men and women dressed in traditional Korean garb....as best I could tell, there was a King and Queen and either members of a royal court or servants of some kind. It was neat to see the tradition. I tried to get a picture and will post it if it turned out!
Another bonus to making a plane friend...he will be returning to the US on the same flight! Since I will be coming from Hanoi not HCMC, we will meet up in Seoul (and maybe try another craft!). It's nice not to be completely alone in a crowd!
The flight from Seoul to HCMC was close to five hours. We had dinner again, my highlight being the strawberry cheesecake ice cream. I also chose to accept the glass of wine with this meal (having turned it down during the previous 2). I'm not sure what kind of Reisling it was, but it had a nice flavor. In honor of the Oscars, which I knew I would miss seeing, I watched The King's Speech and Black Swan. Now I feel almost caught up in the world of pop culture!
There was a driver from the hotel waiting outside the airport to pick me up. The drive to the Rex took about 20 minutes and there were numerous times I thought things looked familiar- pretty sure I was wrong every single time! Check in went quickly and there was even a note from my local contact (he's South African but has lived here for the last 9 months after going to school in the US and working in the US and Europe. There was a bit of a translation error when he left the message (what I received said he wished me a good life...as if he wouldn't be meeting up with me the next day...made me nervous for a moment, but at that point I was too tired to worry too much!). Turns out he had a rugby injury from the weekend and had taken a painkiller prior to phoning the hotel. We're not sure if the translation error was due to language or the meds, but we shared a good laugh over it :)
We're off to lunch and another meeting before flying to Hanoi...I'm sure there will be more adventures to share from there!
Erin
Vietnam Take 2!
I spent most of my 2008 trip saying things like "How many times is a girl going to be in South Korea/Thailand/Taiwan/China/Vietnam?" Turns out the answer to that last country is at least twice!
I left my house around 7 am on Saturday February 26...28 hours later, I walked into my hotel suite in the Rex Hotel. The local time when I arrived was 11 pm on Sunday. I spent most of Monday getting settled and exploring the actual hotel. It has a lot of war-time history, although I am staying in a newer wing. Monday evening I had my first presentation to a group of local students and parents. Although much of the content is the same as my usual presentations, working with an interpreter was an odd feeling. My local contact, Sean, then took me to a Vietnamese restaurant for dinner. We had a LOT of food, most of it delicious.
Breakfast each day has been buffet style, with seating in a rooftop garden. Yes, I know that's a tough way to start the day :) One thing I find interesting about breakfast here is the combination of foods they serve. There are plenty of fruit and pastry options, but they also serve soup, dumplings, rice and other dishes I would expect at lunch or dinner. There's also a nice selection of juices including watermelon, guava, apple and orange.
Tuesday morning I explored outside my hotel a little more. Crossing streets in Vietnam is pretty intense so I was pretty excited to have done it successfully. (Someone on facebook referred to me as 'little frogger' which is a VERY accurate description!) There is a statue of Ho Chi Minh right outside my hotel, the Opera House and the People's Committee building. We are in District 1 (there are 10 districts, but the geographic placement does not make a lot of sense), which is where most of the important buildings in the city can be found.
After surviving the streets, it was time for lunch! Another buffet (very common), thist time with some of the other college reps attending the IIE fair. This was followed by a country briefing and review of the visa application process. The actual fair began at 3 and went until 6. This was very different from my last visit when we only met with educational agents in a VERY organized manner. I am proud to say that the JMU table had people there almost the entire time. It really is nice to be a well-thought of school. The coolest moment had to be when the Consul General stopped by our table and shared that his oldest daughter was a JMU grad and his youngest was just admitted! Perfect example of the JMU small world quality we all know and love.
Today I have a few presentations with groups of agents then we fly to Hanoi. I'm excited to add another city to my list of places I've been!
Erin
I left my house around 7 am on Saturday February 26...28 hours later, I walked into my hotel suite in the Rex Hotel. The local time when I arrived was 11 pm on Sunday. I spent most of Monday getting settled and exploring the actual hotel. It has a lot of war-time history, although I am staying in a newer wing. Monday evening I had my first presentation to a group of local students and parents. Although much of the content is the same as my usual presentations, working with an interpreter was an odd feeling. My local contact, Sean, then took me to a Vietnamese restaurant for dinner. We had a LOT of food, most of it delicious.
Breakfast each day has been buffet style, with seating in a rooftop garden. Yes, I know that's a tough way to start the day :) One thing I find interesting about breakfast here is the combination of foods they serve. There are plenty of fruit and pastry options, but they also serve soup, dumplings, rice and other dishes I would expect at lunch or dinner. There's also a nice selection of juices including watermelon, guava, apple and orange.
Tuesday morning I explored outside my hotel a little more. Crossing streets in Vietnam is pretty intense so I was pretty excited to have done it successfully. (Someone on facebook referred to me as 'little frogger' which is a VERY accurate description!) There is a statue of Ho Chi Minh right outside my hotel, the Opera House and the People's Committee building. We are in District 1 (there are 10 districts, but the geographic placement does not make a lot of sense), which is where most of the important buildings in the city can be found.
After surviving the streets, it was time for lunch! Another buffet (very common), thist time with some of the other college reps attending the IIE fair. This was followed by a country briefing and review of the visa application process. The actual fair began at 3 and went until 6. This was very different from my last visit when we only met with educational agents in a VERY organized manner. I am proud to say that the JMU table had people there almost the entire time. It really is nice to be a well-thought of school. The coolest moment had to be when the Consul General stopped by our table and shared that his oldest daughter was a JMU grad and his youngest was just admitted! Perfect example of the JMU small world quality we all know and love.
Today I have a few presentations with groups of agents then we fly to Hanoi. I'm excited to add another city to my list of places I've been!
Erin
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