Kelvin's Daughter's 1st Birthday

First birthdays are a huge deal in Korea. 100 days after birth a HUGE party they will never remember is held in their honor. Kelvin, one of the managers at our school, invited us all to his daughter's tol. It was held at a weird hotel/conference center and the food was bomb but no booze. One year olds are dressed in traditional Korean clothes (in her case a "hanbok") and given a tray of objects (money, notebooks, brushes, pencils, etc) which they are meant to select. The object the child selects apparently foretells the child's future. If the child picks up a pencil or book, he/she is destined to be a scholar. If he/she picks up money or rice, she/he will be wealthy; cakes = government official; sword = military commander (I didn't see any sword at ours, I wouldn't really trust a 1-year-old with one).

It was a great party, and Harry's (my little brother!) first night. We went out to Hongdae after and had a blasty.

Last Hanoi

Such a great week. For those of you who got through all those photos, I commend you. It took me a long time to edit, so appreciate you looking. I really debated getting on the airplane to come back to Seoul. I must say, the 50-60F weather sure beats the hell out of -6F which we got today. I've never even dreamed of being so cold. My pipes froze the week I was gone. I washed my iPod as it was in my dirty laundry pile. I miss the coffee. Thanks DMS for having me, it was awesome.

A few last shots from Hanoi.


late night pho



I think this is how you spell "salmonella."


ladies who lunch

Tam Dao

As I mentioned in a previous post, David's friend Duc (journalist turned coffee house/gallery owner) graciously let us stay in his incredible house for New Years Eve. With two taxi vans full of people, we headed 85km north of Hanoi to the mountains. Duc designed and built his house with the help of local craftsmen. Since he has a business in the city, he is usually only there on weekends. The place is a two-parter - the upstairs house is a traditional Vietnamese long house where his mother lives, while the downstairs house is a ultra-modern/stone/glass/open single room with one wall made entirely of glass that overlooks the mountains, trees and fog. My photos don't do it justice but the New York Times did a piece on the place last year. French Elle and Vogue were out photographing the house earlier in the week. Pretty incredible. We ate the most amazing chili that Dave's friend JC made (who knew sundried tomatoes and cinnamon would make for bomb-ass chili?!) and danced to soul music all night. A good way to ring in 2010.

Puku

Another nice coffee shop...if it wasn't for that damn song on repeat for 45minutes. I had to ask them to change it. "This song - no. New song - yes."

Ho Chi Min

is a badass. If you don't know him, he was the revolutionary leader of the Vietnamese Communist Party, president and prime minister of North Vietnam from 1945-1969. The Vietnamese love him as he stood for independence and freedom from any foreign attempts at colonialism of Vietnam.

While Ho was an exceptionally humble man, a huge mausoleum in Hanoi was erected in his honor, against his wishes. Photographs were (for obvious reasons) not allowed, but it was pretty cool/creepy seeing his perfectly maintained body in a glass case fingernails and all, devoid of life for over 40 years.


Presidential Palace

The Cave of Ancient Man

This cave is in Cuc Phuong National Park - the oldest national park in Vietnam, home to some of Asia's rarest species of birds and reptiles and trees. We didn't get a chance to hike around much but we did find this sweet cave where prehistoric tools were found dating back 7500 years. Wicked.

La Rue Viet

Some photographs from the road in between Tam Coc and Coc Phuong National Park.

Photographing on the back of a motorcycle: I assure you, not an easy feat.

Tam Cốc-Bích Động (by day)

good morning.






this makes me dizzy if I look at it for too long.
 



reflections eternal

Tam Cốc-Bích Động (by night)

Dave and I took a three-day motorcycle trip throughout Northern Vietnam. The four-hour journey started on Sunday took us south from Hanoi to Tam Cốc (or "three caves"). We had a rather hilarious night drinking "special water" with some tour bus drivers, a "very important" cop from Ninh Binh and a Dutch bar owner followed by a rather scenic and peaceful day along the Ngo Dong River.

The two-hour rickety boat ride down the Ngo Dong took us through the most incredible landscape dominated by rice fields, massive karst outcrops and through caves (with overhangs only about 2m above the water). Our boat rower, a woman in her early 50s, tried to swindle us into buying some of her embroidery but we had been warned.

I'll let the photos do the talking.


plotting

view from the road



I made a friend while DMS napped.


A "average-sized" Dutchman, a well-known cop who wouldn't stop hitting on me/making me drink, and the people's champion, David Marshall Stout.