There are many university students from Turkmenistan in both Saigon and Hanoi. They are studying at the local universities. They live in the dorms owned by Horizon.  They are eating their breakfast now

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Saturday night I got to try cha ca in Hanoi with the Fulbrighters and my friend, Jason Vu.  This was the first time I tried cha ca and I was quite impressed.  I got a new favorite dish now.

Since I was so busy, I forgot to take pictures.  I will on my next trip to Hanoi.

(Vietnam Airlines’ SKYTEAM Boeing 777 at Saigon’s Tan Son Nhat International Airport)

(Cha ca with Fulbrighters)

(cha ca)

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(Alleyway in front of VIP Bikes)

(VIP Bikes)

(Nice workshop)

(Andrew  and his mechanics)

(New rear tire 80X100)

(Close hot, really nice rear tire)

(New front tire – 80X90)

(Bigger tires make the Nouvo LX look stronger)

Fact Sheet: VIP Bikes

Most children and youth working on Hanoi’s streets are economic migrants who have travelled from rural areas of Vietnam in search of a better future. However, street work inevitably means dropping out of school, thereby compounding poverty, and street children are highly vulnerable to many dangers in addition to arrest, such as prostitution and drugs.

Vocational training opportunities are largely inaccessible to street children. By their very nature, street children are usually poor, and cannot afford to pay the fees. Even more importantly, when street children can afford the fees, they may not be able to afford to take time off from their work. Pressing needs such as food and accommodation must take priority over the desire for training and a good career!

Street children enrolled in regular vocational training courses also struggle to ‘fit in’ and may even be ostracised by their teachers and other students.

With these problems in mind, Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation established VIP Bikes as a social enterprise in April 2008. Our goal is simple: to create high-quality training and employment opportunities for disadvantaged youth in Hanoi.

How VIP Bikes helps…

VIP Bikes trains disadvantaged youth in a range of practical skills associated with operating a motorbike rental business. This includes motorbike mechanics, marketing, accounting, sales and administration. Related skills, such as welding and spray painting, are taught on demand.

Training opportunities are in the context of a real business: they are hands-on and authentic, with full support from qualified staff.

VIP Bikes staff are not only expert in their industry; they also understand disadvantaged youth and the difficulties they face.

How VIP Bikes works…

VIP Bikes operates as a ‘high-end’ motorbike rental and repair company. As a business, our goal is to lead the market in quality of service and customer satisfaction. While the scooters we rent out on monthly contracts are the same that other businesses rent out, we differentiate ourselves by providing free monthly services overseen by an expatriate mechanic, and a consistently high standard of care.

Our business model operates in tandem with training for disadvantaged youth. Trainees learn by watching, assisting and finally doing for themselves, while also learning the basic theory and workshop practices.

Once the trainees have mastered key competencies, Blue Dragon staff then support them to apply for jobs and start down the road to independence.

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[youtube width="333" height="250"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsLNoujC5hk[/youtube]

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(Perfume River boat ride to the Perfume Pagoda)

View more of my trip to the Perfume Pagoda at this link:

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Below are pictures of Hanoi and the Red River from the hotel I stayed at, the Trung Nam Hotel.

(Red River in the distance)

The Trung Nam Hotel was nice.  I actually got the air conditioner cold so I could sleep with a blanket.  Since the window was small and covered, I was able to sleep in until about 10:30 AM.

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