GQNPC Road Trip Leg 4: Hello, Hanoi!

This year, IRRI celebrates its 50th, UPLB its 101st, Manila its 439th anniversaries. All these pale in comparison to that of Thang Long (now Hanoi) as it celebrates its 1000th anniversary. Hanoi is ancient!

(We missed the celebration by a few weeks!)

We arrived at the Noi Bai International Airport as the sun cast a reddish glow over the Song Hong River (the Red River). Along the way to the Royal Gate Hotel (where the delegates from the International Network for Quality Rice and the Grain Quality Lab were staying), we couldn't help but be overwhelmed by the traffic flow. There seemed to be order amid all that chaos because there were no road mishaps despite all the tailgating, the swerving, and the counter-flows we've observed.

More motorcycles
(Here, the motorcycle is king.)

The distance from the airport to the hotel was about 30 km according to the cab driver, and took about an hour via the freeway (Quoc Lo). We were supposed to attend the welcome reception for the International Rice Congress; but since we missed the afternoon shuttle bus to the Vietnam National Convention Centre, we opted to have dinner close to the hotel... in the process, we had our first taste of pedestrian crossing, Hanoi style. 

Motorcycles
(We had to cross streets with these bikes swerving to avoid us... like boats avoiding rock outcroppings in a river. I just didn't have the guts to shoot while in the middle of traffic flow.)

Crossing the street was nothing short of daunting. However, the experience proved to be invaluable as we were planning to go beyond the hotel–convention centre–hotel routine. We wanted to explore this city and no amount of traffic could stop us from walking (and shopping, for some). By the time the conference had ended, I thought everyone got used to it.

Comments

Post a Comment

Thank you for dropping by!

Before moving on, please share your thoughts or comments about the post. :)

Thanks again!

Popular posts from this blog

10 things I learned while driving on Marcos Highway to Baguio City

I went on a day trip to the City of Pines, which was around a 700-km drive from my house. I drove  going up there and then from the city to Victoria, Tarlac. After that, my dad took over the driving duties. It was day trip with Tita Ising and Tito Sibing with us. Anyway, this trip was my first time to go to Baguio City with me behind the wheel. As everyone who drives up knows, there are three main routes to Baguio from the lowlands: Kennon Road, which ascends from Rosario, La Union. It was out of my options because it's too dangerous to use that road in the rainy season. The second route is via Naguilian Road, which makes my trip a lot longer because the beginning of the ascent is in Bauang, La Union (further north). The last route, and the one I took, was the Marcos Highway, now known as the Aspiras-Palispis Highway. This 47-km road starts from Agoo, La Union and is touted as the safest route among the three.  As I drove up and then down (on the same day; we were in Bagu
Read more

How MALDI-TOF-MS makes mycobacterium diagnosis faster and more accurate

The laboratory I work in has plenty of instruments that help us characterise and identify microorganisms causing diseases in patients. One of my current projects is to validate an instrument called "matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometer" (MALDI-TOF-MS) in identifying members of the Mycobacterium  species. Many of these organisms are opportunistic, meaning they only cause illnesses in people whose immune systems are not strong enough to fight infections. Mycobacterium leprae  is known for causing leprosy, but we cannot grow this bacterium in culture media, so we cannot isolate it. Mycobacterium tuberculosis  complex, on the other hand, is a group of several species of Mycobacterium  that causes tuberculosis. Tuberculosis is a disease that killed 1.6 million people in 2021 alone. It is a leading cause of death globally, second only to COVID-19 since the pandemic began. Identifying the Mycobacterium species that has infected a patient is
Read more

a crash course on traditional Filipino houses

Image
On Dr Jose Rizal's birthday this year, I was back in historic Manila with Ate Bing, Ate Mary , and Manuel . But instead of visiting him, we opted to soak up on Philippine culture. Our first stop: the Cultural Center of the Philippines ' (CCP) Museo ng Kalinangang Pilipino .  Aside from the musical instruments, I noticed the dioramas about Filipino homes. Filipinos living by the sea (the 'sea gypsies', Sama Dilaut or Badjao ) have boathouses; those who live in the mountains, like the Bagobos , have developed interconnected houses in the trees; Filipinos who live along the path of the strongest typhoon winds, such as the Ivatans , have developed houses of thick limestone walls; and people who live in calmer conditions used bamboo and nipa to construct their houses, like the lowlanders and the Agtas . Sama Dilaut 'lepa' and houses on stilts (in the background) Ivatan limestone house nipa hut Ifugao 'fale' Maranao '
Read more