Friday, August 7, 2009 at 10:29AM 
I bumped into these young ladies as they were coming out of the forest outside of A. Luoi in Central Vietnam. Their beautiful rattan baskets are full of Licuala palm leaves that are used to weave those traditional Vietnamese conical hats. The hats are known locally as non la; so is this palm. [NOTE: They said, i.e. they told Dr. Ban, that they had walked about an hour into the forest to collect the leaves].
Wednesday, August 5, 2009 at 10:35AM I got stuck in rush hour traffic in the Old Quarter of Hanoi this afternoon. So vibrant and we were moving so slowly. The driver was continually honking the horn. I was continually smiling and filming. Look closely. The girl with the ladder, the lady in the dress shop, the vegetable sellers, the kids running down the sidewalk, the variety of different helmets and face masks. There are a million stories here. [NOTE: Music by Esbjörn Svensson Trio].
Tuesday, August 4, 2009 at 7:55PM I arrived in Hanoi yesterday afternoon and was thrashed after 16 hours of flying. I fell asleep immediately after arriving to the hotel, but was awakened by a phone call from Dr. Ninh Khac Ban with an invitation for dinner. I struggled out of bed, splashed some water on my face, and stumbled down to the lobby. Dr. Ban was there waiting for me with a motorcycle helmet. I was fully awake in about 30 seconds. [NOTE: Dinner was delicious; Dr Ban, from the Vietnamese Academy of Science and Technology, is the local coordinator of the rattan project that I am conducting here].
