SE Asia - Post One - The Real Vietnam

We have all arrived in Hanoi, Vietnam safe and sound, and after a short day and a half of adjustment we have wasted no time in getting right into the thick of things here. Our few few days have been hectic to say the least, and this this entry will be brief since it is already 11:30pm and we have another 6:00am wake up call to look forward to tomorrow.

In our first act of official business we took a taxi to the outskirts of town to meet our contact in Vietnam, Dr. Sanh, who is the Director of the Department of Water Buffalo Research at the National Institute of Animal Husbandry. A very nice man, but also a very busy one and thus we have not gotten to spend much time with him save our initial meeting. In his stead, we have been travelling with our faithful guides Quan and Chien (that last one is pronouced closer to Chin than the french "dog", but I can't exactly work out the Vietnamese keyboard in order to input the correct accents), both of whom are grad students working under Dr. Sahn.

We have spent the last two days visiting various farms and research stations in the Bavi district, which is about 60km North of Hanoi. The main focus has been on the water buffalo, but we have also seen many cattle, pigs, goats, sheep, chickens, ostriches and more. The areas we've been travelling in require us to have a special government permit, which thankfully has been arranged in advance by Dr. Sanh, but none the less, we've still had to have a couple quick meetings in the offices of various local government officials. Adorned in red and featuring the mandatory photos/busts of Ho Chi Minh (and even Lenin and Marx in one case) the offices where these meeting take place are really just a venue for getting a few forms filled out and drinking lots of tea.

Getting out of the city, and travelling with a local guide has been great. The local farmers have been extremely generous in inviting us into their homes, entertaining our endless questions and serving bottomless cups of tea . We've managed to do some physical exams on a couple buffalo and investigated what seemed to be a severe case of mastitis on a cattle, but so far the project has not been as hands on as we would have liked. That being said, we are still learning lots and are anxious to continue our work.

Today was a day of "rest" in Hanoi, but ended up being just as action-packed as the last couple days in Bavi. We met up with Quan and some of his friends this morning and spent the day touring Hanoi on the backs of their motor bikes. We checked out a beautiful ceramics market near Bat Trang, and then toured the Hanoi University of Agriculture and a nearby centre for the breeding and training of work dogs, such as those that are used by the police and military.

Now that it's almost midnight, it's time to head back to the hotel and prepare for the long journey ahead. Tomorrow we leave for Ha Giang Province, which is about 300km North of Hanoi, very near the Chinese border. This is one of the poorest areas in the country and we are hoping that we will be able to contribute to the community as well as being able to take in the amazing highlands. The area is a little remote so I will most likely be away from the internet for about 5 days, but will endeavour to update you and post more pictures as soon as we get back.

Mike
(on behalf of Laetitia and Jessica)

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