This week we are in Hanoi, Viet Nam working with Patagonia on their 2011 Alpine Climbing outerwear program. The factory is encapsulated by its own botanical gardens. With beautiful modern buildings and floor to ceiling glass on all sides. They even have a massive bird sanctuary full of exotic bipedals... A sweat shop? I think not.
Jef Stokes is a man with a vision, and a real piece of work.
Best coffee in Hanoi: Cafe Mai
Traditional Vietnamese coffee is some of the best in the world. Very smooth, and a unique sweet flavor unlike any other bean I've had..
Scooter madness! Hanoi has a population around 8million. Every day, the rush hour commute includes -at least- 5,000,000 scooters weaving and dodging through traffic. It's common to see entire families of four or five people on one scooter. Cargo can include anything; trees, lumber, produce, an engine block... anything you can imagine that can be strapped to a scooter. Good to go.
This guy knows how to roll.
TR