Nothing too exciting.... except everything!!!

Today was our first day in Hanoi without any official business. We played it pretty casual. We began our day with a long walk around the lake again, this time doing a full loop and visiting the Ngoc Son pagoda and the Bridge of the Rising Sun. Because it was so hot and humid again, by the time we were done our long walk, we were the definition of fat, sweaty Americans. :)

We got back to the hotel and within a minute got a call from our friends Lisa, Shaun and Quan, who reminded us of the hotel's free shuttle on Thursdays to the Big-C, Vietnam's version of super-Target. So, we quickly loaded up and headed out again, arriving in the lobby just in time for the shuttle with some other folks also looking to do a little shopping. On the way, we got to see something very rare and interesting - a Vietnamese funeral procession. We were on a small side-road and the procession was walking. We saw the casket in the back of a van decorated with flowers and the family holding a picture and walking right behind it. All of the people in the procession were dressed in traditional garb. Out of respect, we did not take any pictures.

The Big-C was relatively uneventful - we picked up an inexpensive stroller to have with us here and to use in the airports on the way home, some baby food, throw-away sneaks, etc. Like I said, nothing too major. But, we would recommend the easy trip to any new families coming to Hanoi, because it is a place where you can pick up whatever you might need while here.

Later that day, Zachary met his first "relative"! Alyssa's uncle's girlfriend's brother! In other words, Neil's girlfriend Kimmie's brother, Dr. Kim, who happens to be a doctor in, of all places, Hanoi. Before we left the U.S., Kimmie let him know we were coming here, and we contacted him when we arrived. We spoke with him in the morning and he agreed to meet us at our hotel in the evening. Dr. Kim is an amazing man - he runs a medical clinic in a very poor and rural part of Hanoi, about an hour from where we are staying. He said that he treats people with many ailments, and even travels at times with his staff to the most isolated villages to treat people that are unable to get to his clinic. He told us he had a long day, so we were unable to visit with him that long, but we excitedly made plans to hopefully visit with him at his clinic later during our trip.

For dinner, we met up with John, Jillian and Savannah Weiss, one of the three families leaving this weekend. They brought us to a restaurant they enjoyed and gave us some last minute tips for the rest of our stay. We enjoy them (also, you may recognize Savannah from an earlier post when they were both at Ba Vi).