Going Home for the Holidays

Friends, I am flying to Singapore today, then flying from Singapore to Los Angeles on Tuesday, December 14. From LA, it's a short 1-hour flight to Phoenix. The flight from Singapore to LA takes a total of about 18 hours, including an hour stopover in Tokyo.
I look forward to seeing friends and family again but the most important part of this trip is attending my daughter, Cynthia's graduation.
I will be back in Hanoi at the end of the year.
I will take a break from updating this blog so I am leaving you with some random pictures that I took while walking around Hanoi.


A proud Socialist Republic of Vietnam flag flying at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum








Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum, about a 15-minute walk from my apartment. I often run here in the morning.
On the weekends, you may have to wait as long as 4 hours in line to get into the Mausoleum.





A popular past time around the lake - men playing Chinese chess









A vendor selling sugar cane juice. She passes the sugar cane between two rollers, which squeeze out the juice. Costs about 40 cents a glass. Tastes great in the summer.







Mother and daughter selling dessert (called che) on the street in the Old Quarters. The desserts are made from green beans, red beans, lotus seed, rice, coconut milk, etc. She will add combination of the ingredients depending on what you like.






Inside a big shopping center selling clothes, toiletries, souvenirs, electronics, etc. It sells mostly low-quality goods.








A typical shop selling household goods.








I was surprised to come across a mosque in the Old Quarters.










Inside a temple, which are very similar to Chinese temples in other Asian countries.

A Family Gathering

I have been very fortunate in being accepted by my colleagues here in Vietnam. Most of them are young - late 20s' and early 30s'. I am as old as their parents but they treat me like I am the same age as them. I am always included in their coffee breaks, lunches, outings, and in this case, a big family gathering.
My friend, Trong's family had a memorial for his grandfather, who passed away about 2 years ago. Trong is pronounced as "chop" with an almost non-discernible "n" sound. In Vietnamese, "tr" is pronounced "ch"
About a dozen friends from the office were invited. There were many of Trong's family friends and relatives from the village as well. Trong lives in a village about 40 minutes outside of Hanoi.
Below are pictures of the party.


A group picture at the end of the party. All the friends grew up in Hanoi except Alan (2nd from the right) and I. Alan grew up in Australia.










This looks like a jug of ice-tea but it's really moonshine, made from sticky rice. It's about 80 proof or 40% alcohol. They kept pouring and toasting.










Mot-Hai-Ba-Jo! or 1-2-3-Jo (which kind of means Go!). This is the Vietnamese version of bottoms-up.












Trong is second from the left.













Not only was there a lot of alcohol, there was a lot of food too. It's all traditional Vietnamese food.

Tropical Fruits

One of the things I love about living in tropical Asia is the variety of fruits. There is such a variety and because it's warm all year round, you get fruits all the time. Not only that, they are very cheap.
I've been lucky to get the maid who cleans my apartment, to buy and cut up fruits for me everyday. The Vietnamese usually serve fruits as the last course of the meal, whether it's at a restaurant or at home. It's their dessert.



On the left are pomeloes, which is like a bigger version of a grapefruit. Some people call it Chinese grapefruit. You can grow this in Arizona. The pomeloes in Vietnam are much sweeter.







Here is a fruit cart selling mangoes, pineapples, sugar cane, papayas, and water melons







Shelling coconut husks so they will be ready to be sold.
The next picture shows what they look like after they've been shelled.








The vendor cuts the top off and put a straw into the coconut. After you drank the coconut juice, you can cut it open and use a spoon to scrape the coconut flesh. The juice tastes great on a hot day. Costs about $1 a coconut.








I don't know what this fruit is called. I haven't had it for a long time. The inside has white flesh like mangosteen.








Persimmons, which also grows very well in California. I was surprised many Americans have never tasted persimmons. The ripes ones are very sweet. They are usually in season around October-November.







You find durians everywhere. Not all Vietnamese like durians. They don't grow them in northern part of Vietnam.






Guava. They can be white or pink on the inside.









A fruit stand selling all kinds of fruits. In the foreground is mangosteen.

Rambutan. It has hairy skin. You twist open the skin and inside is a fruit that looks a little like a lychee.

Dragon Fruit. It is usually grey inside. Not as sweet as other fruits.

Mangoes. You see mango trees everywhere. There are many varieties in Asia and some are imported into Vietnam. The best mangoes are from India. Next time you go to an Indian restaurant, ask for a mango lassi. It's like a mango smoothie.

Longans. You break the skin and eat the translucent flesh. It has a seed inside.

A woman vendor selling pineapples. The pineapples here are small and very sweet. Unlike pineapples in the supermarket in the US that were picked way before they are ripe and have to ship over long distances, these pineapples are grown locally and are ripe when you buy them.

Melons and green-skin oranges. I don't know what kind of melons these are but they taste like cantaloupes. The oranges are surprisingly quite sweet.

Singaporeans call this fruit chiku. It has brown color flesh and is very sweet.