Hoi An, Vietnam

I was thrilled that we were going to Vietnam. But I had to laugh as I heard myself telling people we were going to Vietnam for the weekend.

We arrived at Danang International Airport after a 2 1/2 flight from Singapore. Airport a bit dingy, but customs was a breeze. In advance, we obtained Visas from the Embassy located in Singapore. A 30 min. bus ride, passing China Beach (Outpost during the war), to the Victoria - Hoi An, our hotel (pic.).

Our first day in Hoi An, we hired "Cyclones" - two persons riding, on guy bicycling - and a guide to show us the city. A highlight was the Japanese Bridge - one of the oldest in Hoi An. It was originally built around 1600 by Japanese traders who also created a Japanese quarter on one side of the bridge - a place to stay when traveling here. The bridge was later restored and maintained by the Chinese who settled Hoi An and lived on the other side of the bridge. We visited a House of Commerce where the kids learned how to play dominoes. There was an adorable puppy at the house that would not leave Nathan's side. He was following him so closely that he even knocked Nathan down! Hilarious.

The second day we drove an hour to My Son ("Mee Son"), the site of ruins from the ancient Cham civilization of Vietnam. It is a good showing of Hindu architecture in the 4th century and has been designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. Unfortunately, the site was heavily bombed during the war as US intelligence believed the Viet Cong were hiding among the ruins. Bombing was stopped in 1969 after strong public protest. We saw shell craters created by the bombs. The kids were really patient on a really hot day. Nathan, newly potty trained, bravely turned to nature when he had to go, as the Hindu did not build in a public toilet. My only concern is that Elie may have left an empty pretzel bag somewhere in one of the inside chambers.

Marc took the following video of the down while riding on the cyclone. It is a bit bumpy but worth having a look:

We had great babysitting and a "Kids Club" at the hotel. We put the kids to bed each night and got to explore the town and have a more "adventuresome" dinner. In the afternoons during nap, Marc and I rode bikes back to town to have lunch and shop.

Elie Learns to Swim

After a couple of months of swim lessons, Elie has promoted to the next class level. Here is just a little showing of what she can do!

Marc's Business Trip to China

I had a major milestone this week when I took my first trip to China (Shanghai). From a professional point of view, the opportunity to learn and work ‘on the ground’ (versus the Wall Street Journal) and to help Dell crack the Chinese market by spending time with our teams is one of the most important things I want to get out of the next couple of years. I don’t think I’ve ever been so excited about going on a business trip since perhaps my first trip fresh out of college to Chicago when I worked for Bain & Co (someone besides my parents paid for me to get on a plane and travel!>!>!)

I SAW VERY FEW SIGNS OF COMMUNISM IN CHINA – they are hopping with the latest cars, cell phones and capitalist aggression that you’d see in a New York stock pit. If India (Bangalore, Dehli, Mumbai, Hyderabad) is a Motel 6, then Shanghai is the Ritz. When you get out onto the street, there are the vendors selling knock offs like you might hear about (I bought some $4 Tiffany cuff links and some $1 toys for the kids – no, Jane doesn’t need more purses – my mom takes care of that in San Antonio). You can buy CDs, DVDs, etc all for ~$2 and all the cigarettes and Olympics items you’d ever need.


The city is massive – the tallest buildings in the world for miles and miles (30M people live there). It isn’t like there is a downtown, it’s just massive and tall everywhere, but not in a depressing way like I expected (“Ants Marching” as Dave Matthews might say), just a Chicago type downtown for as far as you can image. One afternoon I walked home from the Dell office to the hotel with Rudy (a colleague in Singapore from Indonesia) and Gavin (a Shanghai employee who is originally from California but has decided to move back to his parent’s native land). You can see them on this video in he beginning on the sidewalk.

Another fun part that I took some picture of was the stop in Hong Kong. Jane and I flew though HK when we came over, but it was always at odd times. Flying onto to the island during the day was a beautiful sight as the airport is surrounded by mountains. The airport itself has incredible shopping and the business lounge has an incredible restaurant and supply of beer.

Overall a great trip and I hope to go back soon if work requires it.

Elie Meets Cinderella

Today the American Club hosted its annual "Princess Party". Elie arrived dressed in her best princess outfit, high heels and jewelry. Trumpets sounded and the party room doors flew open to reveal a long red carpet leading to a giant painted styrofoam castle! After another loud trumpet blast, all six princess's arrived - beautifully floating down the red carpet! Dancing, crafts, a chocolate fountain, and even a manicure station. Definitely, the best day of Elie's life thus far. In her picture with Cinderella, note that her nails are not yet dry from her manicure!