as advertised!... read more

hello from Hanoi. We've been in Hanoi, the last few days. Hanoi combines the Vietnamese and the French, quite different for us. We're staying in the old quarter, narrow streets,motorbikes, small shops. Like in China, similar shops group together, so there's a shoe street, a lock street and even a street specializing in items for home alters. A fair number of museums and monuments tell how Viet Nam first pushed out the French and then the Americans (what we call the Viet Nam War they call the American War). It's interesting learning about the war from their perspective. Viet Nam's Communist government is letting Capitalism take hold. This is clear at the local, or street, level. They appear to us to be about 10-15 years behind China in opening up their economy and thus things hear ... read more

In just a few short hours, we take off, literally, for Hanoi. Our first leg: northern Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Burma., for about a month Second leg: Greece and Turkey. Third leg: Argentina, Chile, Peru, Bolivia (mountains and rainforest!) Fourth: South Africa and Botswana. Breakfast in Seattle, dinner in Hanoi! Our daughter is happily settled in at her outdoor semester program, our backpacks are finally full, we lunched with cousins. ... read more