The McKays

January here in Vietnam brings not only the New Year festivals, but–just as in the United States–the annual rites of wedding planning. We stepped out of our hotel the first afternoon to find the corner lined with beautiful young ladies wearing bridal gowns. Our guide explained that our hotel, the Sofitel Metropole, is considered one of the most desirable locations for wedding portraits here in Hanoi.  Every afternoon, the same ritual repeats itself. Carloads of photographers, hair dressers, giddy brides-to-be, and their grooms arrive outside the hotel. The sidewalk below our room looks like a combination of a dressing room at Davids Bridal and a hair salon.  During the past four days, we noted similar scenes at other scenic locations including Hoam Kiem Lake near the hotel.  We love watching these scenes, and the brides obviously love the attention. Enjoy!

A sidewalk hair salon just below our balcony. The bride-to-be poses for Charlie.

Brides and grooms line the sidewalk waiting for the photographers to set up.

Vietnamese weddings are a two-day affair. This means two dresses!

After all…..a guy can’t be expected to choose between his bride and his ride…so snap a picture of both!

We came upon this couple posing beside Hoam Keim Lake…another beautiful setting.

We have reached the end of our second full day here in Hanoi, and we remain in awe of this city and the people who live here. On one hand, this is the capital of Vietnam….home to government offices, foreign embassies, and a rapidly growing number of corporate headquarters. At the same time, it is a city with deeply rooted traditions that date back hundreds of years. We are staying at the Sofitel Metropole–a lovely hotel built in the early 1900s.  If you walk out the door and turn left, you will find yourself in front of the offices of Citibank. Walk a half block further, and a local woman will be roasting corn on the sidewalk while another woman wearing the traditional conical hat balances a bamboo pole across her shoulders bearing fruits and vegetables at both ends. The elderly still practice Thai Chi in the parks, and you’ll find locals playing badminton on the sidewalks after 4pm.  People in the old French Quarter of the city live in three-story homes with the ground floor housing the family business…..shoe makers, tailors, silks, toys, etc.  The local cuisine runs the gamut from the ladies roasting the corn on the sidewalk to French gourmet.  Farmers and fishermen transport their goods into town on bicycles and cycles or, in many cases, on their backs.  The streets are packed with bicycles, cyclos, minibikes, and automobiles from the Kia to Mercedes.  Crossing the streets here in Hanoi takes a courage, faith, and a heartfelt prayer–especially the first 10 times.  There is a constant flow of traffic from both-and sometimes all four–directions. We were advised to wait for a “break” , then proceed slowly into the street holding up your hand, palm facing out. They slow up….but they don’t stop. Cars, bikes, motorbikes–you name it–horns blowing, and you’re right in the middle of the street with little hope that you’ll be as lucky as the proverbial chicken who made it to the other side. When you reach the other side, look up, and you’ll stand in total amazement at the electric/telephone grid that criss-crosses the city. It’s a mesmerizing tangle of wires that conjoin in a massive tangle atop very fragile-looking wooden poles.  At the end of each block, you’ll notice a pole with a loud-speaker that still blares the local news twice a day.  We’re told this continues for the benefit of the many street vendors and their patrons.  The most amazing aspect of all of this is that it actually seems to work. No one seems to be overly worried about safety, liability, or convenience for that matter. You don’t hear a lot of shouting or angry voices, and if those drivers are making obscene gestures, we haven’t recognized them. Everyone just seems to coexist, and for the most part, they seem pretty chipper about it all.  We thought we would share a few snapshots from life here in Hanoi. Just wish we could share the aroma of fresh corn and chicken frying ……..

French Quarter Market Vendors

Presentation is everything!

Grocery shopping Hanoi-style! Never complain about “trunk space” again….

The locals unwind with a game of badminton on the sidewalks.

Getting it there the hard way. We couldn’t believe this one!

Step off the curb slowly and proceed into traffic with hand out, palm up…REALLY????

Doubt this would pass ‘codes’ in the US, but it seems to work just fine.

If you need a haircut on the way to work…you’re in luck!

Well, now I can say it….”Good Morning, Vietnam!”  After calling it a day at 8pm last night, we awakened per our usual schedule—4am. Room service has already been summoned for coffee, and we’re looking forward to our first full day of exploring this exciting city.

We’re fortunate to be here in Vietnam during Tet Festival, or New Year as we know it.  The city is awash in flowers, and there is an air of excitement all around. Yesterday marked the Kitchen God Festival. Each year, the gods send a Kitchen God to watch over homes and meal preparations. At the end of the year, the Vietnamese pay homage to the Kitchen God with a special meal which includes rice cakes and, believe it or not, gold fish. As we toured the market area yesterday, we noticed that every vendor had a bowl of live gold fish for sale along with some truly amazing seafood and fish offerings. We were told that each home will prepare special rice cakes molded in the shape of a flower. Three gold fish will be placed on top and served as an offering to the Kitchen God in thanks for the previous year.  A new Kitchen God will be welcomed with the New Year.

Floral delivery Hanoi-style!

Rice cakes for celebrating the Kitchen God

Well….I had intended to title this one, “Good Morning, Vietnam, but Korean Airlines and Mother Nature had other plans in store. We actually enjoyed a very comfortable flight from Atlanta to Seoul….15 hours….followed by a five hour flight from Seoul to Hanoi. Vietnamese immigration was quick and painless, and I swear, Charlie’s bag was the first off the belt. Then we waited 20 minutes while luggage of every description made the trip around the baggage island…..every bag except mine.  After enlisting the aid of a Korean Air baggage official, I finally spotted my bag…..on a cart with 5 other bags. Not sure why it was there, but I grabbed it and ran like a scalded rabbit…..a very happy scalded bunny I might add.  We proceeded on toward the exit when we noticed a huge crowd of Vietnamese folks waiving large floral bouquets. In the middle of the mayhem, we were greeted by our local guide, Chung. He explained that there are large numbers of friends and family returning to Hanoi for the upcoming New Year (Tet) celebration. Chung is a delightful young gentleman who kept us entertained, and awake, for the 45 minute drive from the airport to the hotel, The Sofitel Metropole. By the time we checked in, it was past 1 am here. We had now been up for over 36 hours. It didn’t occur to either of us to leave a wake up call……so we awoke at 2pm this afternoon. This was a stunning for two people who routinely get up at 4am.  Ah, the joys of jet lag!  Despite the late start, we still managed to take in a very enjoyable walking tour of Hanoi, including the “old city” and the market area. We ended up at the City Cafe where we enjoyed the view of the city as well as some of the local cuisine. Stuffed and tired, we are spending a quiet evening at our hotel.  What little energy we have left is focused on organizing for  the days ahead. As Scarlett O’Hara was so fond of saying, “Tomorrow is another day!.” Hopefully, we will greet it with a bit more energy and organization. Meanwhile, here are a few highlights from today!

Vietnam prepares to celebrate the New Year 2012

Hello to all!  We are just hours away from taking off for Southeast Asia. The alarm is set for 3am…ugh. We depart Nashville at 6:30 am, and after a brief layover in Atlanta, we board the 15 hour flight to Seoul on Korean Airlines. After another brief layover, we take off for Hanoi and are scheduled to arrive there around 10:30 pm Sunday (Jan 15) Hanoi Time. For those of you in the Eastern and Central Time zones, there is approximately a 12  hour time difference. For once in my life, I will be ahead of you:-) No photos posted today……the house is a disaster area, and the cats are distressed and hiding in various corners. Barney, however, is happily living the good life in North Carolina with his grandparents. For the moment, I rest in the assurance that two members of the family are sleeping peacefully…..Barney…..and Charlie.  My OCD is in overdrive, so I’m another hour away from thinking about sleep….. Here’s a wish for safe travels and reliable internet connections ahead!

Welcome back, Everyone!

As you may recall, we kicked off our blog last year in London.  Well, it worked just great until we boarded the ship to Norway, and there our problems began. Onboard wireless was sketchy, and when it worked, it was unbelievably expensive. It took forever to upload a single photo, and the process often left your’s truly in a less-than-cheerful mood. The same issues plagued us for the remainder of the trip, and by the time we disembarked in Venice, we had given up in favor of Charlie’s daily emails.

Next week, we will leave for our long-awaited trip to Indochina. We hope to arrive in Hanoi Sunday, January 15th to begin a three-week journey southward through Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand. We’re told that internet service outside Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City is  about as reliable as that we found at sea (or in the fjords) last year, so the posts may not show up daily, but we hope you’ll check in from time to time.

For now, we’re grappling with how to pack two laptops, two iPads, two external hard drives, two cameras, and battery chargers into one carry-on bag. Yeah…..we’ll let you know how that works.