Missed Saigon

Due to a little hiccup with our Vietnam Visa, our 20 hours in Ho Chi Minh City turned into 20 hours at the Ho Chi Minh City airport. It was a good time nonetheless. Here's a picture of Pallavi sleeping in the transit lounge. The real highlight of the experience was an unexpected guest appearance by our friends from Minneapolis, Jim and Amy Wilson, who were on their way back to the US after spending two weeks in Vietnam. Here is a picture of Jim and me. If you look carefully, there are Vietnamese waiters in the background as 'proof' that this picture was taken in Vietnam.

Good Morning Vietnam (Hallo from Hanoi)!

Our jaunt through Southeast Asia continued with a three-day trip to Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. After spending three weeks in India, Hanoi (which has a population of ~6 million) felt like a peaceful, mid-size city. At times, it even felt a bit like Minneapolis, mainly due to all the lakes in the city.......there are, however, slightly more Vietnamese people in Hanoi than in Minneapolis.

We spent the three days doing a little sightseeing, a little street shopping, and of course taking in a water puppet show. This is apparently one of Vietnam's ancient art forms. I would describe it as a very, very poor man's version of Cirque de Soleil's 'O'.......a homeless man's version. It was good fun nonetheless.

Here are a few pictures -- the two of us with Hoan Kiem Lake behind us, the two of us at the Temple of Literature (this was the first University in Vietnam.....Pallavi was really in her element!), and Pallavi protecting herself from the pollution.