Bamboo Bar

I wish I could take

the Bamboo Bar home with me,

wicker, wool and all.

Uncle Ho's Mausoleum

in a chilly crypt,

the old man lies in state, like

pheasant under glass

Apsara

Apsara: spirit

of clouds, goddess of water,

celestial maiden.

Siem Reap, Cambodia

I step off the plane

and smell jasmine rice.

Lily pads float in a pond

near the baggage claim.

Even the idling tour buses

in the airport parking lot

can't eclipse

the resonant buzz of cicadas

and the scent of crushed leaves.

Jet Lag

Let me backtrack a moment here, since I just jumped right into Vietnam without any explanation. David and I are in Hanoi for Japan Diamond Forum, an event for Amway Japan's top distributors who will be launching XS Energy in that market in the spring of next year. He's meeting with distributors and corporate people, speaking at a gala dinner event, and hosting a few XS cocktail receptions (I'm hearing murmurings about a hot new drink called the Osaka Slammer--stay tuned).

I didn't really know what to expect in coming here. Like most Americans, I suppose, when I think of Vietnam, I think of the war, and its tragic effects on both our countries. Also, I recall images from the gorgeous film "Indochine," which depicts the end of the French colonial era here. So I was curious to see this place for myself. And: wow! Though I've only been here a day, I get the sense that Hanoi is an energetic, vibrant city full of thousands upon thousands of motorbikes (more on that later) and entrepreneurs--almost everyone is selling something, whether bread off the back of a bike, flowers from carts, or food, just out on the sidewalk. Not what I expected from a communist country. And the food itself--just wonderful. What a place.

But this afternoon I was hit by such a wave of jet lag that I felt really strange, and was almost too tired to take a nap, if that makes any sense at all.

With my eyes open

I see stars, and blink a lot

but when I close them,

it's worse. I try to sleep but

things rush at me from

behind closed eyelids.

A moped tire becomes a

crescent moon that starts

to spin, and turns into a

ferris wheel from my childhood.

Good Morning, Vietnam!

A perfect breakfast:

Savory pho, strong coffee

and--oh! French pastries!

4 AM

the thing I dislike

most about going to the

airport isn't just

the getting up; it's that I'm

so nervous about

not getting up and missing

my flight that I can't

actually fall asleep

in the first place (yawn)

Hanoi, here i come