Day at Westlake

Hanoi has many beautiful lakes and parks situated throughout the city. We took the opportunity to visit Westlake with our friends - Matt & Amanda and their daughter Kate. The lake is gorgeous and provides an interesting juxtopisition of the old vs new Vietnam. Development around the lake is coming like it does to all beautiful places. New hotels and residences are beginning to rise along the edges of the lake on top of the old shacks and small fishing outposts. The lake has one of the fun Hanoi pasttimes of paddle boats in the shape of large geese. We went out on one and had a lot of fun before Chris' legs could no longer take the peddling on an apparatus made for legs 6-12 inches shorter.

I must say some of the development here is beautiful. The form must follow function and the only function I can imagine is staying cool and taking up what little land there is as much as possible. All of the buildings are made of concrete and are typically 3-4 stories tall. They are one room wide and maybe two normal rooms deep in most cases. The front and rear of the dwelling usually has large windows, doors, and patios on various levels while the sides are typically devoid of any openings or adornments at all. Some of the newer designs are painted in vibrant colors and look like something that would fit perfectly in Malibu.

We walked around one side of the lake looking at the sites including a beautiful pagoda. We also walked on side streets that obviously had not been visited by westerners in some time. After about a 1 mile walk, we ended up at a great coffee shop near the Sheraton that seemed to cater to travelers from around the world. It was lined with maps and most horizontal surfaces were covered with travel magazines and books. We also found a small shop that had water wings for Chloe which she has put to good use since.

Quynh remains very closely attached (every minute of the day it seems) to Heidi though she is starting to warm up to Chris a little. Chloe remains a fun playmate, but Mom is really who it is all about. Quynh must realize at some level that Heidi can be totally trusted and that she fell in love with her before she ever made it in person to Vietnam. As a family we are settling in to the normal rituals as we have had a couple of days with very little need for paperwork, etc., as we wait for Quynh's Vietnamese passport. The property is great and the pool is a hit with Chloe where she keeps trying out all of the new floaties that she is picking up along the way.