12 Months in Hanoi: Train kept a-rollin' ...

I can't believe the movie The Sandlot is 20 years old (http://entertainment.time.com/2013/04/09/20-things-we-learned-about-the-sandlot-after-talking-with-scotty-smalls/) ...

... if you've never seen the movie, GO RENT IMMEDIATELY. Trust me. You'll love me FOR-EH-VVVVVVER (http://youtu.be/r0H6R7xRytk).

Um - some of these kids are now in their 30's. That's crazy.

The great Hambino.

I digress (but it truly is a GREAT movie!!) ...

Can't believe I'm typing this, but this project might actually be approved. October 31st deadline. Positive feedback coming from the GVN and USAID as of this morning. Holy sh*t - this really might happen! Ask me in a month how I feel about that - can't process today.

In non-work related news ...

Van Chai Resort
3 weeks ago, Dar and I headed 3.5 hours Southeast of Hanoi to the Van Chai Resort ... advertised as a beachfront resort, but ... not quite. There WAS a lovely pool and nice waves crashing along the sea wall and beer ... so we were good to go! It was really nice just to get away from the hustle and bustle of Hanoi - you don't realize how loud it is here until you're far enough away from the motorbikes, cars, squawking loudspeakers, festival music and random karaoke performers. Heavenly!

Top floor was all ours ... talk about a home away from home!

... daisies ... in the toilet ...
Fancy.

Resort's main building ... super cool architecture (though not
the best picture demonstrating said super cool architecture).

Many hours were spent in this pool. HEAVEN.

Fishing boat build in progress

Fishing boat

Waves crashing on the seawall.

One of 3 pig-by-motorbike transports we saw on the way home.
The REALLY grotesque part ... every time this dude hit a bump,
the pig's mouth and hooves would flail. Seriously disturbing.
You're welcome for that image.

Royal City!
Last weekend, we packed up as a group and went to Royal City, a brand-new mall they've opened in Hanoi. That's right - we took a day-trip excursion to a shopping mall.

But not just any shopping mall! This place was EPIC. It's similar to the other shopping malls you'd find in the major cities of Southeast Asia (I've seen places like this in Bangkok), but it's one-of-a-kind when compared with the other offerings in Hanoi. There's a water park, bowling alley, ginormous movie theater (with a VIP section thankyouverymuch), and an ice skating rink. Oh, and did I mention the Carl's Junior (for you east coasters, think Hardee's) and a Baskin Robbins? Um ... really??? Yup - it's AWESOME.

Plus - it beats hanging out in the Old Quarter in 97 degree heat. Just sayin' ...

Check out the last line of the pic, straight from
Royal City's website.
#1 selling point, clearly.

Daraca and Damien enjoying their first Carl's Junior experience

Ice skating in IN THE SHOPPING MALL!

Lamont and Nat loving Carl's Junior

Water park IN THE SHOPPING MALL!!

Chicks trying to bring business into this restaurant were wearing daisy dukes
under their chaps. You know - the standard outfit sported
by women in the Wild West.

Note Damien trying to put his face in one of those
cardboard cutout cowboy things ... he's about 2 feet too tall.
Amazing.

Best find of the day ...

... Monae agreed with me

Wonder who their target clientele is?

General Vo Nguyen Diap

A few of you have mentioned that the US news covered the death of General Vo Nguyen Diap, military mastermind behind the Dien Bien Phu battle against the French and the Tet Offensive against the US. He was 103.

Being in a place like Vietnam for a culturally significant event is ... quite simply ... amazing. While I didn't know anything about the General, and I'm guessing - had I grown up during the Vietnam War and did know the name of the General - I wouldn't have thought fondly of him ... it was amazing to see the turn-out and the mourning of the average Vietnamese citizen. The grief-stricken showed up at his house the minute the death was announced. People lined the trip between his home (downtown Hanoi) and the airport (45 minutes-ish away) to pay their final respects. Evidently, too, this was a time when the average Vietnamese could share their personal thoughts and feelings about the current regime without fear of punishment - comparing the leadership now vs. the old stalwarts like the General.

All "entertainment" was cancelled from 12 p.m. Friday through 12 p.m. Sunday - the "mourning period" for the General. A festival we were supposed to attend on Saturday was cancelled ... a French festival in the city scheduled for Saturday was cancelled ... and all cable TV considered to be "entertaining" was blacked out out of respect for the General. The only channel we got during that period was CNN - and if CNN was doing a cover story on an entertainment figure (i.e. Marie Osmond), the broadcast was blacked out for that segment until it returned to the news. Marie Osmond story was true, BTW.

John McCain wrote an interesting article about General Diap in the Wall Street Journal: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304626104579119221395534220.html

Hmmmm ... what else ...

Saigon-bound, baby!!! Daraca, Damien and I are heading to Ho Chi Minh City Friday night for the weekend. Super pumped!
The following weekend, Daraca's mum arrives from the UK and we're heading to Ninh Binh and the spa: http://www.emeraldaresort.com/
November 9th ... there's a chance Nat and I (and maybe Dar? And maybe the boys? - TBD) will be heading to the Marine Corps Ball ... men in uniform? Check. Halls of Montezuma? Check. Shores of Tripoli? Check. Am I pumped? Check.
I got a bike! Went for a lovely bike ride around the lake Monday morning ... and woke up Tuesday to a flat tire ... and that was last week ... need to get that fixed ... but the news here is - I got a bike! Love it ... planning on bringing it back to the US with me if I can figure out how to dis/re-assemble it!

Isn't it cute?? Dig the seat.

Lamont at the bike shop - that's right - the bike
shop doubles as a bar. And yes, Lamont and I enjoyed
our own Oktoberfest while getting our bikes
repaired. Because the two OBVIOUSLY
go hand in hand.

Nat, Dar and I went to a Vietnamese craft fair on Saturday, JUST as it was closing (of course). Didn't stop me, though, from spending a solid $75 (ish) ... but I got (dig this) - 7 vases of all sizes, shapes and colors, a lacquer tray, a wood carving, and a seriously obnoxious piggy bank. Money well spent.