Tourist in Hanoi (Ron)

I thought I would add some pictures and comments from the tourist sites that I've visited in Hanoi. Most of these I saw a few weeks ago but some were just this past weekend.


This Hoan Kiem Lake, one of the multiple lakes in Hanoi but the most popular being right in the center of downtown.


A refurbished section of Hoa Lo prison. Originally constructed as a prison to hold Vietnamese political prisoners fighting against French occupation it is commonly known as the famous prison where US Soldiers were held during the "American War" as it's known here.


The Temple of Literature is the first "university" of Vietnam established in 1076. It has stone tablets with the names of its doctoral graduates.


I enjoy the Night market better in Hanoi than in other places. It's more of a gathering place for a nice walk than the Ben Thanh market in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) where you are treated as a walking wallet.


Speaking of "Uncle Ho" here is his final resting place and Ba Dinh square. The sheer size of this open area is hard to describe. In one of the most crowded cities I have seen, this large open area is just stunning.

My project is coming along fine. Two months just isn't a lot of time to get even basic research done in my mind, but I think what I'll collect will be helpful to ACS and hopefully to the organizations here.

This upcoming weekend I'm going to travel to Sapa which is a nothern mountainous region where many ethnic minorities live. Hiking along the rice paddies from village to village sounds like a great way to spend my weekend in attempt to get away from city life.

A short 26 hours later...... (Ron)

and I arrive in Hanoi.

That was a long flight, but I think it will be worth it.

The Vietnamese people are very nice people. On the plane I met a woman who organizes Vietnamese students to study abroad and she offered me a weekend job teaching English. She also spent a little time teaching me Vietnamese, which lead to a conversation with the older gentleman behind me telling me to get married in the country. :)

Two women who work at VINACOSH (my worksite) picked me up at the airport and helped me settle my apartment. It's just perfect for me with internet and all utilities already set up.



It's a nice little place that I will call home for the next 10 weeks.

OH BOY the time change. Hanoi is 11 hours ahead of Atlanta so I attempted to reduce my jet lag by staying up late 2-4am and sleeping in late a couple days before my flight. I followed the plan well except for the sleep in late part. Consequently spending 26 hours on a plane or in an airport and already being sleep deprived from before, I've already taken two naps and I'm getting ready for bed. It worked somewhat well because I'm tired at nighttime and hopefully won't be tired tomorrow morning.

Tomorrow I am meeting more people from VINACOSH and buying a plane ticket to Ho Chi Minh city (Saigon) to meet the ACS project consultant this weekend.

Wish everyone well this summer.