Meet the President

The President held a meet and greet with all the local staff while he was in Hanoi for APEC. Dung got in and shook hands with the prez and Secretary Rice and took some pictures; I got there on time but they held the event early and I got shut out by Secret Service. So no chance to grab a shot of Dung and the President together, but maybe we'll see something from the White House photog who was there. The whole time in Hanoi I only saw the President once when he was doing a group picture with the other APEC leaders. Close as I got. I did get to hitch a ride in the presidential motorcade heading back to the hotel, the fastest we've ever moved through Vietnam. All the streets were closed and we had police cars with sirens blaring leading the way. Fun!

APEC

Yes, we're both at APEC in Hanoi for the week. We signed up to be TDY volunteers as we both speak Vietnamese, we're familiar with the country (if not Hanoi, necessarily) and we only need one hotel room which should save the government a thousand bucks at least. I'm working as control officer for our friends from USTR, Dung's working motorcade for the Secretary who showed up at 0200 last night (or early this morning depending on your perspective). So far no horrors, everything's moving along, but who knows what's going on inside all those meetings. We're just supporting, making sure all the trains run on time. And so far they are. President comes soon! Then the real fun begins.

A night in Pyongyang

Friday night Dung and I headed out for Bangkok's finest North Korean cuisine, at probably the only North Korean restaurant in town. Six Korean girls with Kim Il Sung badges provided the entertainment, belting out Korean songs and accompanying on guitar and accordion. I couldn't tell which dishes were North Korean specialties, but the barbecue was just fine. Not up to our favorite Korean place on Soi 12, but good nevertheless. On the way out the manager gave me a VIP card for 10 percent off, valid at "all branches."