Twelve Feet, Six Continents, One Year

Eons ago (another decade, in fact) on another continent, several people who heard we were going to Vietnam responded with the same exclamation: "Ninh Binh!" So when our Hanoi tour guide asked if there was anything else we wanted to do with the remainder of our time in Vietnam, the answer was obvious.  Our advisors were right, this is a spectacular place. Our guide, having just led us to Halong Bay, told us to expect "Halong Bay of the Land" and he was also vindicated. A two-hour bus ride brought us to our first stop, a temple dedicated to an early (the first?) emperor of Vietnam. A mural at the entrance depicted his ascent, mainly as a very young leader of an army/militia that united the region's factions/kingdoms. Ninh Binh was his home and he made it the capital, which remained for about fifty years (968-1009) until one of his successors moved it to Hanoi. The pinnacles/buttes that dot the landscape, much as they did in Halong Bay, provide...

The influence of Chinese culture has grown as we've moved north through Vietnam, as we were told it would. Upon arrival, we were told it was an auspicious day: The eighth day of the lunar calendar, the first day of the month of March and a Sunday. As we drove in from the airport, we saw cars - even those traveling on the highway - festooned with flowers. And I mean hundreds of flowers in elaborate patterns! When we went for a walk around the nearby lake (a novelty in the middle of this crowded part of a crowded city), everywhere we saw people dressed as if for prom, or a wedding but really just for the eighth/first; I haven't yet found out why but the dressed up people were almost all wearing black and white. I'm sorry I took no pictures of this but here are some shots from our walk. We passed this about three-quarters of our way through the one mile loop around the lake. Henry was very eager to reach it. Lily's "12 on 6" face was inspired by ...