Week 10 - March 30th – April 5th Halong Bay, Hanoi, Siem Reap, Delhi

Saturday March 30 Halong Bay to Hanoi

Today is our last day on the boat and then back to Hanoi for a last evening before we depart for Angkor Wat on Sunday. Our day starts with our activity being a climb up one of the Karst formations – Ti Top - for a view point and then an optional swim in one of the three beaches in Halong Bay where tourists are allowed to enter the water. The climb up is slow as it is really a Conga line of tourists working their way to the top with a number of them insistent on the entire line moving out of their picture frame. Max decided the Violet was more fun and stayed behind to read and listen (upon reflection a wiser choice).

Our drive back is quicker than on the way out and largely uneventful. We get back to the La Siesta by 2PM and are welcomed by the staff like we are old family returning - our same room is ready to move back into for the night. Max decides a bit of quiet time (and work time) in the room is his choice so Lori and I head out for a walk around the lake and back to the Women’s Museum where Lori attempts to purchase every handmade note card for sale. Again, the roads are closed around the lake with locals

Week 10 - March 30th – April 5th Halong Bay, Hanoi, Siem Reap, Delhi

and tourists celebrating the space – I particularly enjoy the kid road race scene.

For the evening, we are meeting Adin and his friend Dakota for dinner and drinks in the Westlake Neighborhood at a roof-top bar at one of Hanoi’s tallest buildings – Lotte Tower.

We cab it back to “our” neighborhood and after a bit of grumbling Max consents to joining us to wander into the nighttime scene. As a lovely treat, we land upon a jazz band playing music on the street with an entrepreneurial family setting up an instant beer bar.

Week 10 - March 30th – April 5th Halong Bay, Hanoi, Siem Reap, Delhi

As a final treat, we do a bit of wandering in the old Quarter enjoying the Saturday evening music and a last dessert at our hotel ordering our usual “every chocolate dessert on the menu.”

Sunday April 1 Siem Reap

This morning we have a few hours to enjoy Hanoi before heading the airport and then onto Cambodia. Day starts with our last wonderful La Siesta breakfast and then a chance to wander about the the town to the “old market” with a partial mission of finding a local Hanoi treat of dried apricots to stock up on as gifts for friends we will see on our next few stops.

Week 10 - March 30th – April 5th Halong Bay, Hanoi, Siem Reap, Delhi

We head to the airport around noon – easy transfer, easy and short flight and easy customs in Cambodia. We had originally planned to fly into Siem Reap and then race to our hotel and then race to a “Sacred Dancers” show that is only scheduled twice a

Week 10 - March 30th – April 5th Halong Bay, Hanoi, Siem Reap, Delhi

week. Our good fortune is we are too late and are forced to enjoy the magical place – Maison Polanka – that will be home for a few days in Siem Reap.

Hard to decide what is most wonderful about Maison Polanka – the wonderful gardens, the lovely evening swim in a cool pool on a warm night, the cicada symphony, the geckos all about (and a discussion of the DARPA program based on gecko biology), the lovely wine list with good (and cheap) bottles or the outdoor patio restaurant in the middle of the garden with a quasi-fixed menu of Cambodian treats, but with a “kids” menu of pasta and chicken.

As an extra bonus, they have a Labrador who greets us – wait for it …… - and the dog’s name is Max.

Week 10 - March 30th – April 5th Halong Bay, Hanoi, Siem Reap, Delhi

Monday April 1 Siem Reap

Early morning sitting in the garden before anybody else is up catching up on a bit of correspondence – just me, the iPad, a strong cup of coffee and the geckos. Our morning plan is to visit Ta Prohm and Angkor Wat with our guide Chan and our Tuk-Tuk driver. I have seen pictures of Angkor Wat, but the real thing is better than anticipated. I did not appreciate that the iconic Angkor Wat is but one of very many sights and depending on taste, perhaps not the most interesting. Our guide is a bit hard to understand due to accent, but incredibly informative on both the sites we are visiting and all things on the local culture. I did not share with our guide what I do for work and at some point he began telling us about various public health issues and programs in Cambodia with wonderful insights and perfect accuracy – explaining that local sanitation lapses in some homes are leading to water issues leading to parasites leading to stunted children – perhaps this fellow should be part of next year’s Gates Foiundation strategy reviews.

Week 10 - March 30th – April 5th Halong Bay, Hanoi, Siem Reap, Delhi

Week 10 - March 30th – April 5th Halong Bay, Hanoi, Siem Reap, Delhi

And now to Angor Wat

Week 10 - March 30th – April 5th Halong Bay, Hanoi, Siem Reap, Delhi

We take a mid-day break back at the hotel to hide in the pool from the peak heat. Lori and I do a short bike ride around Siem Reap just to make sure it is not too comfortable. Late in the afternoon we depart for a visit to Angkor Thom.

Although we had some interest in exploring the town, the combination of pool, wine, great food, beautiful garden and a menu that Max loved proved too strong an attraction and we settle back into Maison Polanka for the evening.

Tuesday April 2 Siem Reap

Tuesday morning is scheduled for a 6AM start and a drive to one of the more remote sites that is part of the Angor Wat National Park to beat the crowds and heat. This proves to be a great strategy - as we arrive; we are almost alone to wander the grounds with our guide. As I have adjusted more and more to Chan’s strong accent, I realize that I was missing a good deal of what he was saying on the first day and recognize in spite of being difficult to understand he has an extremely broad and sophisticated English vocabulary and is sharing increasingly interesting commentary from what I gather from him is largely self-education beyond basic secondary school and a 5 month international tour guide training. I recently saw a Peter the Tweeter (aka @PeterASinger ) tweet on education and opportunity in developing countries which resonates strongly as I tune in better and better to Chan’s accent and wisdom.

Week 10 - March 30th – April 5th Halong Bay, Hanoi, Siem Reap, Delhi

With our early start we have planned to have no plans for Tuesday afternoon and evening, but instead catch up on blogs and correspondence, a bit of work now required for my job and relaxing and pool time including for me an extensive bike tour of Siem Reap as the afternoon heat grows. Our natural inclination – both Lori and I – is to take advantage of every minute when we are somewhere new to explore, but we have never traveled more than 2 weeks (ok, in 1990 we did a 3-week trip when I finished my PhD). We are learning that with the longer travel, and in particular for Max we need to start building in more down days where we do just what we might do on a Sunday afternoon at home.

For the evening, we are going to the local Phare Circus - and then a bit of late night wandering in Siem Reap.

On the second picture if you look closely you will see a fellow doing a flip in the air near the roof.

The travel experience has been an interesting change for me from my finely tuned and perfected business travel pattern for work supported by business class, preferred airlines, preferred check-in queues and foundation travel support to what is a more normal travel experience for most of the world. A bit of a shocker, but not all airlines let you take normal carry-on luggage on the plane with you. With that said, without the incredible time pressure of work travel, it is a fine experience traveling without all of the extra perks. We have had only two significant mal-functions. We missed our plane in Denver to Seattle at the end of Leg 1 which in and of itself would be a small thing, but it resulted in two of our duffel bags being stolen. And now we learn that at the last minute our connecting flight from Bangkok to New Delhi has been cancelled requiring last minute adjustments. After a bit of juggling, our best option is to take our planned flight from Siem Reap to New Delhi, but now spend the night at Bangkok airport hotel and take morning flight into Delhi. This of course creates the opportunity for trading sleep for a wild night in Bangkok ….

Week 10 - March 30th – April 5th Halong Bay, Hanoi, Siem Reap, Delhi

Wednesday April 3 Siem Reap to Bangkok

Wednesday morning is reserved for a few calls back to Seattle following up on calls from Tuesday and then relaxing by the pool and catching up on homeschooling. Max’s math agenda includes linear equations, fractions and compound interest. To make this more interesting we are doing this working on problems of currency exchange rates, bond prices and currency future contracts. Our general approach is for me to teach Max something and then we have him a day later teach it to Lori. I always think of it as a Feynman quote, about never truly learning something until you can teach it, but it does seem to be having a good effect on Max.

Flight from Siem Reap to Bangkok is short and easy, airport hotel is convenient and common sense prevails and instead of heading into Bangkok at 6PM to be back for starting a day of travel at 5:15AM we opt for dinner at the hotel and watching a couple of “Great Courses” as part of the homeschool program and a relatively early bedtime.

I must admit, not rallying to visit Bangkok is proof I am either getting old or more considerate of Max’s preference or perhaps a bit of both.

Thursday April 4 Bangkok to New Delhi

For our early start this morning we head back to BKK airport and off to Delhi. We have had to cancel our tour guide for Thursday so Lori and Max will likely now be stuck with me as Delhi tour guide at least for Thursday. We have also made a priority of visiting with people in Delhi instead of places.

Week 10 - March 30th – April 5th Halong Bay, Hanoi, Siem Reap, Delhi

We arrive at the Oberoi in New Delhi to the over-the-top welcome that is customary though I think even more-so for this visit. I have probably stayed more than three dozen times at this hotel and with my trip organizing shared with the Oberoi travel specialists that this was the first and long over-due visit where I was bringing my family. Flowers, bindi dot, welcome drink, cool towels and more welcomes us to the hotel.

I find myself showing them around the place as if it were a bit of a second home – espresso shop in the basement, wine bar on the roof – and Lori is suspecting that my travels over the years have been a bit excessive in creature comforts – which they have thanks to the generosity of the Gates Foundation.

We get a bit of lunch, a hot day, but we head off for a “Steve” tour of Delhi. An UBER to Humayan’s Tomb, a tuk-tuk to Khan market and then back to the hotel for a bit of cooling off in the pool. I have seen and done these things on past visits, but only sporadically and briefly and doing them now with my family without jet lag and with the leisure of time makes Delhi seem new to me – more beautiful, more interesting than I remember. The ride back from Khan Market is with “my Tuk-Tuk” driver – an interesting old man who works Khan Market and remembers me from year to year.

Week 10 - March 30th – April 5th Halong Bay, Hanoi, Siem Reap, Delhi

Our evening plan is to visit one of my all-time favorites, the Bukhara – reported to be both one of New Delhi’s best restaurants and worst tourist traps and in some sense both are true. It is tandoor cooked food from the Northwest of India – a unique

Week 10 - March 30th – April 5th Halong Bay, Hanoi, Siem Reap, Delhi

carnivore festival for India (think Indian Rodizio). It is true there is no such thing as Indian food, but instead a multitude of cuisines from different parts of India and this type of food is one of my favorites. The Bukhara tradition is to get served sharing platters while wearing a bib and eating with your hands – what more could one ask. Max, who started this leg of trip sure there would be no food he would like in India is finding all sorts of treats that he enjoys, and in particular is loving Bukhara.

Week 10 - March 30th – April 5th Halong Bay, Hanoi, Siem Reap, Delhi

Friday April 5 New Delhi

Early start this morning with a guide, driver and car (instead of Steve, UBERs and Tuk-Tuks) with plans for the Red Fort, Chandni Chowk, Spice Market and other classic sites. As we start tour of the Red Fort Max is feeling a bit queasy (a.k.a Delhi Belly) so I head back to hotel with him and Lori continues with the tour.

Week 10 - March 30th – April 5th Halong Bay, Hanoi, Siem Reap, Delhi

It turns out it was a bit of false alarm for Max which is good and for Max, he shares with me his two most important things today are the visit to Red Fort and the visit later in the day to friends at BIRAC so this break in plans is OK with him.

In the afternoon we head over to the BIRAC offices and the Shirshendu and the Grand Challenges India team give Lori and Max a briefing on our shared work, this time with a bit more of a personal flavor which gives me new color and insight to my work friends.

Week 10 - March 30th – April 5th Halong Bay, Hanoi, Siem Reap, Delhi

In the evening we have the privilege of having dinner with Sukriti, Ifran and other friends at Sukriti and Ifran’s new home. Max is particularly intrigued by getting to meet Dr. Vir Chauhan – as was I many years ago when I first met him. It is these sorts of meetings that form the real heart of the unique home-schooling opportunity that Max is enjoying.

We finish the evening with a glass of wine on the roof of the Oberoi where the hotel staff first apologizes that the roof bar menu does not include desserts and then deliver complimentary chocolate cake a few minutes later.