Western New Year Begins
Discovered that my reporter friend had a story in mind when he was asking me about Christmas in America.
The article he wrote is linked here.
For New Years Eve, I was invited to a friends house to have Lau, or "hot-pot" not unlike sukiyaki or fondue. We successively add meats and vegetables to a pot of boiling broth on a table-top gas burner.
After a leisurely Lau with seven friends, we headed back to my place for coffee and champagne to toast in the New Year.
Today finds me in Bangkok, relaxing in the Royal Orchid Lounge. I have a long layover before heading to Los Angeles and eventually Portland and San Francisco.
I'm headed back to the US to celebrate my Grandma Everhart's 90th birthday in Menlo Park. I'll come right back to Hanoi to celebrate Tet or Chinese New Year with my friends. We are driving motorbikes to the port city of Hai Phong, about 100 KM from Hanoi.