More traffic.  (3.4 MB.)  Check out the double-parked BMW. 

Still more traffic.  (4.5 MB.)  This is actually a quiet street. 

An intersection.  (6.4 MB.)  This is typical.  Note the tourists. 

Schoolchildren marching before school.  (15.2 MB.)  Tourists and proud parents watch. 

Joe on a moto.  (4.2 MB.)  Don't ask. 

Airport checkpoint security in Hanoi and Taipei isn't nearly as uptight and fussy as it is in America.  Abroad, I just put my stuff on the conveyor belt and walk through the metal detector.  None of this taking off my jacket, belt, and shoes; emptying of pockets; taking the laptop out and putting it in its own tray; etc. 

If your shoes are at all scuffed, definitely get them shined before touching down in Hanoi.  If you don't, you'll have shoe-shine boys following you all over the city all day, pointing at your feet and saying, "Make pretty!  Oh la la!" 

I have an idea for a business: Hanoi guidebooks, but with tear-out cards for destinations--museums, parks, monuments, restaurants, attractions, etc.--with names and addresses written in English and Vietnamese, and maps on the back.  You tear out the card and hand it to someone--the cabbie, your host, whoever.  There would be a lot less mutual gesticulating and pointing at quidebook entries. 

To-go: I don't know if the notion of to-go food and drink has yet really permeated Hanoi.  Every time I asked for an espresso or latte to go, I got it in a cheap, clear-plastic cup that proceeded to melt in my hands as I struggled to chug the drink. 

I saw the same thing when I was a Peace Corp Volunteer in Costa Rica (1982-84): people are so proud of taking care of their families, increasing their standard of living, and acquiring consumer goods, that often the labels are left on the consumer good!  The refrigerator keeps the manufacturer's label on the doors, people watch television while the sticker covers the entire upper left corner of the screen, sticker-price labels are left on car windows, etc. 

Every meeting room (that we were in, anyway) has a bust of Ho Chi Minh. 

Guys are the same everywhere!  At this café owned and frequented by French expats, a guy comes in in full moto gear--leather jacket, boots, scarf--but also carrying a bright pink Hello Kitty helmet.  His buddies at the café burst into raucous laughter and pointing.  I didn't need to know a lot of French to know they were ruthlessly mocking him. 

Techniques we use as pedestrians to cross heavily trafficked streets and intersections. 

• Always look both ways, even (particularly!) on one-way streets.  (The first day, John Moeschler got creamed by a little old lady on a bicycle, pedaling the wrong way.) 
• Face and look at the oncoming traffic--in a Zen-like way, it will flow around you like water by a stone.  Walk slowly and maintain a predictable vector so the traffic can anticipate and maneuver around you. 
• Find the rare intersection where riders/drivers heed red-green lights/walk-don't walk signs. 
• Take cover behind a turning bus or other large vehicle. 
• Use an also-crossing pedestrian as a shield.  Favorites are a food vendor and your own companion. 

I saw many more luxury cars--BMWs, Lexuses, Mercedes--this year than last.  Their drivers are in the thick of the insane traffic like any other vehicle, and the drivers are as impassive--almost serene--as any other driver.  Even were I to choose to drive my 100+ USD ride in this traffic, I don't think I could be so calm about it—I'd be freaking out about scratches, crashes, dings, etc. 

SUVs are in Hanoi--I saw more this year than last, definitely--new Lexuses, Blazers, Range Rovers, Toyotas.  Given the traffic and folks' driving sensibilities, it's going to get hairy, I predict. 

It worked really well, in that a senior clinician posed a reasonably complex, real-world question, and Pamela stepwised her way through it, with everyone (including the residents) watching and participating. 

Here's an indication that the trip was a success: currently, the library is open just 8:00-11:30 and 2:00-4:00, Monday-Friday.  A couple of the residents asked me to let Dr. Lily know they'd like it open more! 

In the evening, the still-in-town team members had our final dinner of the trip.  The menu included assorted fish dishes, spring rolls, soups, and hot pots (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_pot ).  In our hot pots, we put noodles, squid, lobster, chicken, beef, and greens.  Great meal! 

• how narrow the street is. 
• That there's a Mercedes parked there, without a care in the world, with the expectation that traffic and humanity will just flow around it. 

Here's a shot of that same alley from the balcony of my hotel room--that's a street vendor selling vegetables. 

There are always vendors passing up and down the streets and paths, selling everything imaginable--produce, meats, fish, plastic goods, lottery tickets, candy, cigarettes, office supplies, sodas and juices, whatever.  The vendors push carts, ride bicycles, are on foot, and carry baskets at the end of split bamboo. 

Every night around 5:00 or 6:00, the trash guy pushes his cart down the alley, stops under my balcony (but I'm on the fourth floor), and bangs a gong.  All the nearby residents come out and dump their rubbish in his cart.