The most stressful part of the trip was the drive from our farm in Sherwood to Portland Airport. This is normally routine, but Portland had experienced a snowstorm that came in three waves, followed by a freezing rain event that coated the snow covered roads with ice. I left the farm at 8:30am in our Ford F250. I arrived at PSU at 10:00am, where I got my business cards (school had been closed). I reached the airport in time to make the 11:00am rendezvous. I don't think I have ever been so relieved to make it to the airport!
The flight to Narita Airport in Japan was pleasant. We stayed overnight in Japan, where we enjoyed a nice dinner and awoke to a beautiful snowstorm (a theme?). We also experienced a minor earthquake in Japan. The building rocked gracefully for several seconds in the early morning hours.
On Tuesday, February 11 we flew from Japan to Vietnam. The ride from the airport was fascinating. I had seen pictures of water buffalo, rice patties, and urban Vietnam, but I had not seen the juxtaposition of all of these elements at once. I did not get any pictures of the drive in, but all these elements are present on that drive.
After we arrived, I went for a walk around the neighborhood. Here is our hotel:
The street was quite busy and thriving.
For me one of the most fascinating elements was the traffic flow. I was so amazed at the traffic that I shot a video of an intersection. The driving style is very fluid. Everyone moves in a continuous, fluid manner, and expects others to respect the flow. This includes pedestrians.
After my orientation walk, we met for an orientation meeting in the hotel lobby:
We then walked to a wonderful (and cheap!) dinner:
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