A cliffside view of Ha Long Bay, our final stop of the trip. We only got to spend one night on the bay, but with kayaking, swimming and spelunking it will be an experience none of us will soon forget.

The spectacular views and incredible history throughout Ha Long Bay made it the perfect ending point for our journey through Vietnam. The group used the final night to relax, reflect on a successful trip and make plans for quickly completing a great final product.

Sail Ha Long Bay with us at:
http://s582.photobucket.com/albums/ss263/BSUvietnamHLB09/

Alex eagerly poses in front of Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum in Ha Noi. The group toured the grounds of Ho Chi Minh’s estate, which included Uncle Ho’s former royal palace, stilt house, secondary palace and the on-site hospital where Ho Chi Minh spent his final living days. The grand scale of the older buildings on the estate compared to the more modest size of the buildings constructed later in Ho Chi Minh’s life show how he began to favor living the simple life he had lived in central Vietnam earlier in his life.

Get a closer look at:
http://s810.photobucket.com/albums/zz23/bsuvietnamhcm09/

Behold the “City of the Ghosts”. This view of the unbelievable collection of family death temples has most like never been captured, or at least never by a tourist, but we refused to be denied. We traveled to the death city to learn about Vietnamese burial rituals and death traditions. The temples stretched in every direction for miles, a sight that has to be seen to be believed.

Walk with the ghosts at:
http://s953.photobucket.com/albums/ae14/bsuvietnam09cog/

Heather and Vanessa stop for a photo as they walk towards the Thien Mu Pagoda located outside of Hue. The group visited this pagoda and the tomb of Minh Mang, a former Vietnamese king, to learn about and see Vietnamese history first hand. Both sites were filled with immense amounts of history and beauty.

Visit Thien Mu and Minh Mang with us at:
http://s694.photobucket.com/albums/vv308/BSUvietnamPT09/

We visited a family in Hue to learn about extended family household living in Vietnam. We brought a few gifts for the children in the house, including the classic “connect four”. Richard won the first two games but was quickly overtaken by the family’s collective effort in game three.

Members of the group attended a cooking class in Hoi An to learn the secrets of preparing traditional Vietnamese food. The class took the students through the complete cooking process; picking recipes, creating a grocery list, shopping at the food market, preparing ingredients, cooking the food and finally eating their creations.

Take the cooking class through photos at:
http://s624.photobucket.com/albums/tt330/BSUvietnamCC09/

Heather grabs a printout of her chapter’s rough draft from the printer workstation. Group members have spent several hours each day in the hotel dining room writing and editing their chapters. Group members take written notes everywhere they go on what they see, hear, smell, taste and touch, then use that information to add depth and new content to their chapters.

Mimi smiles as her name is announced for an award. On Friday morning we were invited to Mimi’s school’s closing awards ceremony, an experience that showed us the Vietnamese’s appreciation for academic excellence. The ceremony began at 6:30am and lasted until 8:15am. It got hotter and hotter as sun rose higher above us, but the experience was well worth the blazing heat.

See more pics from the ceremony and our earlier school visit at:
http://s565.photobucket.com/albums/ss94/BSUvietnamSV09/

We were invited to Mimi’s grandmother’s house for the half new-year celebration. Miss Thao’s father passed away recently, and when we went in the walls were lined with funerary flowers and banners from friends and family. A large alter faced the entrance of the greeting area, and many of us lit incense to honor him before taking seats at the tables being set up for us. We all knew her family would be hospitable, but we never imagined they would feed us a multi-course meal that they had been up since 4 am preparing. From white rose to spring roles to duck, the meal was easily the most traditional – and most delicious – that we’ve had this whole trip.

They also allowed us to do some filming, and we were able to capture the many generations that had gathered to Mimi’s grandmother’s home. Miss Thao explained a bit in the documentary about the funeral process, while I attempted to gather as many members of the family together as I could for pictures.

The most touching experience of it all for me was when I held Mimi’s grandmother’s hands and thanked her for the meal and for inviting us all on such an intimate family occasion. She doesn’t speak any English, but from the way she smiled and clasped my hand I’m sure she understood everything.

-Vanessa

Here is one of the largest family temples on Go Noi Island. This temple cost more than $80,000 to construct and required donations from hundreds of family members. Honoring the dead is extremely important to the Vietnamese and families will spend much more than they can actually afford to give their dead relatives a proper resting place.