Red River Cruisin'

A close friend from Hanoi invited us on a Red River cruise. Excited by the prospect of a few hours on the water and sightseeing, we awoke at 5:30am. By 7:25am we were joined by our friends and boarded the boat. Our itinerary said we would leave at 7:30am and return to port by 4:30pm - a full day of fun??



Our friends



Du Lich Song Hong (tourboat)

The Red River is a largely commercial, industrial, brown river that courses its way through Hanoi. Any thoughts we had of peaceful blue water, like Lake Michigan, were quickly disspelled. For friends from Detroit...just think of a cruise past Zug island! The rest of you may think "Love Canal"!

River life in Vietnam is a way of life for many hardworking people. Boats become homes and the water is your garden, your yard, your daily bread, so to speak. As we left the city boundaries we saw acres of corn, sugar cane, and assorted vegetables growing on the banks while buffalo and cattle grazed on the wild grasses.

The cruise took us to 3 different historic temples and the famed pottery village of Bat Trang. Each stop required us to disembark on a narrow wooden gangplank to the rocky shoreline. The river is also bordered by very steep banks which we had to climb so we could then begin a hike to each site. Two boats carried a total of approx. 200 tourists, of which only 2 were foreigners!  





The banks of the Red River

  

I took about 140 pictures, so here I'll simply share some highlights. When we return home some of you can enjoy, or endure, the entire show!








onboard

 






Pagoda Cows



in Bat Trang














We were hot, tired, and footsore when we returned to the pier. I don't think Susan will ever be able to sing "Red River Valley" again!

Signs Along the Way

Hanoi is very commercialized. The plethora of signs clamors for your attention and your business. Some even tickle your imagination and deliver subliminal messages that I'm sure the store proprietors never considered. For example:

I'm not really hungry now..




let's not go there!




















please don't whine & where are the old jeans?

for that "new body" experience



they have a collection of men?














what's the difference, silk silk or nice silk?



hopefully not managed by Congress!

 

 

Sing a New Song!

One of the joys of living in Hanoi, (it's a short list) is being able to worship on Sunday at the Hanoi International Fellowship, a place that formally exists to serve all the expats living here. But as we know...where the body is, there HE is also. And that gives a meaning and focus to this body of people living and working in Vietnam. We sing, pray, study, and work with a common vision. And by WE, I mean all the people here who come from at least 20 different countries. Each Sunday we join with friends from North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia/New Zealand - it's truly a picture of what heaven will look like.

Last Sunday we had a special guest speaker and worship leader. Andrew Palau is the son of Luis Palau, a well known man who carries the Word to the far corners of the world. Andrew spoke of growing up as a rebellious young man, and his ultimate "homecoming" to the faith of his father. Before Andrew spoke, we were blessed by the worship time led by a gifted musician, songwriter, singer...Don Moen. Don has written many of the contemporary songs being sung in churches all over the States and indeed, the world. It was like having a refreshing warm shower to be in the midst of our global fellowship, singing such uplifting music.

Afterwards, Don was swamped as folks all gathered to take pictures and chat. He graciously smiled and posed with families well after the service ended. We were no exception, and also got a couple of photos along with our own special little family.

Of course, the photograper is never in the picture, so you just have to trust me...I was there!

Andrew and Don were in Hanoi to hold an open, public meeting for all who might attend. At the last minute, permission was withdrawn. They have already made plans to return this summer and try again. Please keep them in your thoughts as they work hard to overcome obstacles. Our Father is working here and "no gates can stand against him." Easter blessings to all of you! He is alive!

5 PM Gridlock

Last year we did a story about traffic jams on Chua Lang Street. We just have the best bird's eye view from our 3rd floor rooms. So the scene tonight just called out for another traffic report from Hanoi:

"Good evening folks, this is your eye in the sky reporter, Hoang Wei, bringing you live coverage of yet another gridlock situation on Chua Lang, over on Hanoi's southwest side. Looks like all the folks going west decided Chua Lang is a one-way street tonight. All eastbound vehicles are blocked back to the Foreign Trade University as westbound drivers have claimed both lanes as their own."

"At the 3-way intersection near the Diplomatic Academy, sidewalk diners are warned to watch out for motorbikes using the sidewalk as a passing lane! Hold on to your bowls of pho...the bikers are on the move. Pedestrians are also advised not to walk on the roofs of cars as a slip could put you between a car and a bus."

"There has been a report that an ambulance trying to turn onto Chua Lang has stopped for dinner instead, and will be handing out bandages to motorbike operators who suffer scraped knees while trapped between vehicles."

This is Hoang Wei signing off in Chopper 1; try walking folks, it's safer and faster...just stay away from Chua Lang Street!"

 

Another Turtle Story!

The picture at the top of our blog is Hoan Kiem Lake.  It is in the center of the Old Quarter of Hanoi, the downtown area that attracts tourists all year round.  There is a legend that goes with the lake and the giant turtle who still lives there - he is somewhere between 80 to 100 years old.

What a surprise tonight when I got on to my home page, CenturyLink and saw the following story: 
Sacred turtle captured for treatment....Hanoi, Vietnam.  Hard to believe the story made news in the U.S. 

We went by the lake on Sunday and saw crowds of people watching and all the boats out on the lake - we knew they were trying to capture the turtle, but never guessed we'd read about it on the intenet on an American site!   Here's the link if you'd like to read the story - click here.

And who could imagine that we would have two turtle stories to tell you about in 1 week!

PS-posted this last night, when I checked Fox news this morning, they actually had a video, click the word LINK to get a glimpse!

How Legends are Born

Ho Hoan Kiem (Hoan Kiem Lake) is a beautiful landmark in Hanoi. Our blog banner photo shows a red bridge reaching across part of the lake to the popular Ngoc Son temple.

Tradition tells of an old legend associated with Ho Hoan Kiem, which means, "the lake of the returned sword". According to the legend, emperor Lê Lợi returned a magic sword called "Heaven's Will" to the Golden Turtle god (Kim Qui) who lived in the lake. The turtle had presented the sword to Le Loi and it brought him victory in his revolt against the Chinese Ming Dynasty. The Tortoise Tower (Thap Rùa) standing on a small island near the center of lake is also linked to the legend.

Tortoise Tower

Nowadays, people go to the lake to relax and exercise. The Vietnamese keep a close eye on the water, hoping to see a turtle, which they believe will bring good luck.

This morning, while baking muffins in the kitchen, Susan was startled by a large object on the floor. She jumped back and called out for me; her first reaction was, "oh no, another rat!" (We've caught two of those this year.) But the mysterious visitor was, in fact, a rather good sized turtle.

Kim  Qui's descendant?

We were puzzled at how a turtle could possibly climb 3 flights of stairs to reach our kitchen. Our best guess is that the students upstairs must have brought him to their floor, and he escaped down the stairs last night.

Our teammates suggested "turtle soup", or a new pet, but I immediately thought of Emperor Le Loi. Befriend a turtle and who knows what good fortune may follow? 

A student friend, Hien, happened to come by for a visit. She was amazed to see her first turtle up close and personal. That's when I knew what we had to do. Hien and I carried the critter downstairs and across Chua Lang Street to  Ho Quanh, the small lake opposite our school. As I hummed the tune "Born Free", Hien released our new pal into the lake.

Born Free!

Back in our room we enjoyed fresh baked blueberry muffins. The grand event was commemorated when we presented Hien with a gift from home. The timing was perfect. She now proudly wears a Petoskey stone turtle necklace. After all, she is the Turtle Queen and heroine of Ho Quanh!
A new legend is born.


The Turtle Queen

   

Around the World at the DAV

We've been fortunate to be able to travel to some fascinating places here in Asia. But last Sunday I took a quick trip around the world without leaving Hanoi! The International Relations students at the DAV hosted a day long excursion/exhibit they called, "Share the World - DAV Culture".

The campus was crowded with students and people from the neighborhood as each booth offered food, games, and information about the "host" nation. Our students really worked hard to make this both educational and entertaining.  Here are a number of photos I took on my travels "around the world".




Howdy, Yall!




Sprechen sie Deutsch?



Viva Italiano!

   


It did seem a bit funny that every country was serving some form of grilled pork and a side of rice. Hey, you just don't find that much Texas style barbeque  or weiner schnitzel in Vietnam!





Xin Chao!

My students from Vietnam get a larger picture - guess their teacher is just proud of them!



making character posters


The Chinese exhibit featured a guest professor who excels in the ancient art of calligraphy of Chinese characters. He made this one for me...Health & Strength!












There was music by a band of kids from school. I heard them rocking out with "Smoke on the Water", a great 60s piece with heavy guitar! I think the last time I heard that was when I was here previously...hmmm.



Good times for all



My "American" hosts.