Home sweet home!

Its 2:00pm in Vancouver but 3:30 am in Hanoi. I should be asleep right now, that is what my body is telling me. The race to catch up on not only sleep but all of my assignments has begun however,  I can't seem to focus; all I can think about is the previous 12 days. For a third year university student I consider myself impressively lucky to have been a part of the CBT VietNam project not just once but twice over the past year and a half. It has been an honour to participate in this project and I wish to take this time to express my deepest thanks to all the amazing organizations involved:

• Capilano University
• Hanoi Open University
• PATA Foundation
• Sofitel Metropole Hanoi
• Buffalo Tours
• Footprint Vietnam
• RTC Vietnam
• and Handspan

Thank you all for your contributions. This has been the most significant career building exercise of my life and with out all the above noted it never would have happened. Also I would wish to thank Stephanie Wells, Chris Carnovale, Jen Reilly and Chris Bottrill for their dedication to this project and the to students of Capilano University.

Lastly there are the villagers to thank. The Red Dao and H'Mong communities invited us into their homes and dedicated their time to learning and participating in our project. These people have touched the hearts of all involved and I can only hope to see them all again.

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Many Thanks to our Friends in Hanoi!

Two days of meetings have been highly productive in the Hanoi Old Quarter for our CBT group. Ta Phin entrepreneurs have met with numerous private tour operators. We would like to take this opportunity to express our deepest thanks to following companies that have hosted us over the past two days:

• Buffalo Tours
• The Responsible Travel Club of Vietnam
• Hanoi Backpacker Hostel

Tonight the women will be participating in a Cultural Night hosted by the Sofitel Metropole. Then tomorrow the meetings will continue as we meet with the Hanoi chapter of Handspan.

The women are learning about the expectations and clientele of the tour operators. The experience has been valuable and enlightening to the Ta Phin entrepreneurs, whom as a group are ready to entertain the idea of packaged tourism to the villages.

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