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We’re starting to get a complex. The Secretary of State seems to be following us. First she showed up in Seoul on our one day there. Then she followed us to Beijing a few days later. Now she’s mysteriously shown up in Hanoi at precisely the same time we have. Condi, we dig you, but this has got to stop. Her boss, President Bush, arrives tomorrow to play his part in the APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation) Forum, and since he’s going to make a mess of the already nutty traffic scene here, we’re skipping town for a 3-day cruise of Halong Bay.

The current abundance of international dignitaries in Hanoi is yet another testament to the perils of planning a trip of this magnitude. It wasn’t until a few weeks ago we discovered that Vietnam was hosting the APEC Forum, which much to our surprise, is a huge deal here. Vietnam is slated by year’s end to be the newest member of the World Trade Organization, and the forum is being touted as the country’s economic “coming out party.” Though we won’t be attending any high level meetings, the ripple effect of the forum for us is that once again we have arrived in a city at the absolute worst time for finding a hotel. The participants have filled up all the high-end hotels, pushing tour groups and tourists of the two-week vacation variety down to the middle tier hotels. The stinky places still have rooms, but even though I love hostels (if they’re clean), I have a stinky aversion. We spent the better part of a day scouring the town for two rooms at a non-stinky place but to no avail. The owner of one finally took pity on us and coughed up a single room when some pre-arranged guests didn’t show up by the appointed check-in hour. (They got walked to another hotel, I hope not a stinky one, when they finally made it.) We felt a little guilty when we begged her this morning to let us stay one more night, but when another hotel confirmed she could walk someone else tonight, she was more than happy to accommodate us. It’s a brutal, dog-eat-dog world for Hanoi hotelseekers this week and we’ve fallen into the fray. We booked our Halong Bay boat trip now in the hopes that when we return and the forum has ended, we can enjoy our room at the lovely little Golden Sun Hotel without remorse. That is, if we don’t get walked.

Difficulties aside, our first 24 hours in Hanoi have been a kick. Tom and I are smitten with this city. (The kids are just happy there’s English language TV in the hotel room.) There is a crazy kinetic energy here that literally crackles through the streets. Thousands of motorbikes zip to and fro, carrying families, cargo, and drivers engrossed in cell phone conversations. Defying all the laws of physics and probability, they effortlessly weave their way around intrepid pedestrians who brave the purely decorative crosswalks. Food stalls and street kitchens line the sidewalks pumping out a steady stream of mouthwatering soups and stir fries while friendly, smiling women ply the avenues, carefully balancing baskets of exotic fruits and Hanoi’s famous breads. Like a giant college dorm, everybody here is living together, eating together, walking together, hanging out together. At night, they put on their pajamas but continue to chill in front of their buildings, which quite often seem to double as their businesses. People are busy, cheerful, and every bit as surprised to see a Western family with four kids as are the Chinese.

We can’t accept this new, exciting Vietnam, however, without reconciling our countries’ controversial and violent past together. We plan on visiting the state history and military museums when we get back next week and the DMZ a little later. To start treading this difficult territory today, we visited the notorious Hanoi Hilton, the prison where Senator John McCain and other American POWs were held during the Vietnam War, or as they call it here, the American War. The brunt of the museum is dedicated to documenting its use by the French during their colonial rule to punish Vietnamese nationalists and communists, with a scant two rooms devoted to its use by post-colonial Vietnamese jailers. There was an old rusty guillotine the French used to behead unlucky prisoners (yuck), but the highlight for us was McCain’s flight suit and gear. Our mood was heavy as the guys posed next to what might one day be a critical piece of an American president’s past (wishful thinking for 2008?). The portrait the Vietnamese paint of a comfortable, caring facility where pilots amused themselves “raising poultry, growing flowers, and playing with the pets” is not overly convincing. With our country’s own recent prison fiascos, we are in no position to throw stones. All we can attest to is that the remains of the prison are a bleak reminder of the horrors of war, regardless of the identity of its participants.

For the time being, we’ll leave the heaviness and the hubbub of Hanoi behind to experience Vietnam in its natural splendor. Condi, in case you’re thinking about a cruise yourself, I hear the Carribean’s lovely this time of year.

Technorati Tags: APEC, Condoleeza Rice, Family travel, Hanoi, Hanoi Hilton, John McCain, Round the world, Round-the-world, RTW, Vietnam

China was a revelation to us. We were surprised both by the good and the bad. We never expected the people to be so friendly nor the air to be so dirty. The country is racing headlong into the 21st century, trying to make up for centuries of isolation and decades of communism. As a result, the people do not share many of the customs of the developed world and the landscape is suffering from the effects of rapid, rampant industrialization. It took us a while to get used to the constant spitting and smoking and the grime, but we’d never let them stand in the way of discovering all this fascinating country has to offer. Here are the top 6 things we learned while traveling the country:

1. A big family is a happy family. It must be because the first thing all the Chinese people say to us, after establishing that all four children actually belong to us, is “What a happy family.”

2. Breathing is good. We are much happier and healthier when we get to. Too bad the Chinese don’t very often given the smog levels and dedication to smoking.

3. Do not travel between cities on Saturdays or Sundays, also known to the Chinese as holidays. Cabs won’t pick you up and if they do, only for an inflated rate. Train stations, bus stations, and city streets are packed with people and everything is more difficult.

4. As if there were any doubt in our minds already, public spitting, nose blowing, and loogie hawking is disgusting. (Almost EVERYONE does it.)

5. Hostels can be fun and only sometimes are disgusting. Even when they are, the other travelers you meet help diminish the pain and prove a valuable source of information.

6. If you’re going to ride a city bus, wear your crummy pants, because they might well get razored.

Technorati Tags: China, Family travel, hostels, Pollution, Round the world, Round-the-world, RTW, Smoking, Spitting

We ate like pigs in China. The food is cheap, plentiful and tasty and far superior to anything we’ve gotten in Chinese restaurants at home. By the time we got to Yangshou, the younger kids were ready for some Western food and went back to their old favorites of pizza and lasagna. Dax could eat Chinese all day everyday, and with the exception of needing a good steak every now and then, dispense with Western food completely. I was happy I could eat order three entrees for $4 and Tom was in culinary heaven. (See his Getting Fat in Beijing post for more details.) Here are our favorite foods from our month in the land of Mao.

1. Asher — Pizza at the China Cafe, Yangshou
2. Kieran — Lasagna at the China Cafe, Yangshou
3. McKane — Sweet and Sour Pork
4. Dax — Fried Rice
5. Anne — Sesame Balls
6. Tom — Szechuan Hot Pot or maybe sauteed pork and eggplant, or maybe tea roasted duck, or maybe Kung Pao chicken, or maybe spare ribs

Technorati Tags: China, Family travel, food, Round the world, Round-the-world, RTW

China was a major surprise for us. We went in fearing coldness and rigidity and instead found only warmth and flexibility. We were overwhelmed by the affection the Chinese people showed us and don’t doubt much of it was because we are a family, or as the Chinese like to say “big, happy family.” This led to some parenting problems since any time we tried to discipline the kids, for example, scolding Asher for dancing on the table at a restaurant, the Chinese would intervene and tell us it was ok. There was so much to see and do it seemed a travesty of travel justice to spend only one month in the country. We made the best of our 30 days though, and here are our favorite things to do:

1. Asher — Dance with fauxhawk wearing fancy guys outside discos (because you’re too young to actually go inside)
2. Kieran — Visit pandas in Chengdu and walk on the Big Buddha at Leshan
3. McKane — Master the art of negotiating with vendors at the Silk Market in Beijing
4. Dax — Hike the Great Wall from Jintanling to Simatai
5. Anne –Teach English to sweet, beautiful kids in Yangshou
6. Tom — Marvel at the scenery in Jiuzhaigou and eat, eat, eat!

Technorati Tags: Beijing, Chengdu, China, Family travel, Great Wall, Juizhaigou, Leshan, Round the world, Round-the-world, RTW, Volunteering, Yangshou