I didn’t have a good night so I decided I needed to see a doctor. Mai called to get me an appointment but they were booked up for the day, so she sent us to the emergency room. She organized a taxi to take us there. It was very efficient and we got in quickly. Everyone at the reception area spoke English. The doctor was French but like the others also spoke good English. I had already tested negative for covid the night before so the doctor ordered tests for the flu and dengue fever. Both were negative. They sent me home with antibiotics and cough medicine. We were there for about 3 hours and the whole thing cost about $300. If only that was the case in the US!
We got back to the hotel and I spent the whole day in the room sleeping.
We had missed the orientation walk and the trip to the women’s museum while we are at the hospital. That afternoon there was an orientation meeting that Rick went to that talked about the logics of the trip. Then they went to the welcome dinner by cyclo-rickshaw through the old quarter.
They went to a restaurant called KOTO. The following is from the KOTO website:
KOTO stands for Know One, Teach One – learning should be passed on; knowledge is meant to be shared. This is the essential idea of KOTO’s Vietnamese-Australian founder, Jimmy Pham.
In 1999, Mr Jimmy opened a hospitality training centre in Hanoi, giving at-risk and disadvantaged youth the opportunity to break the poverty cycle by forging a better future for themselves, their families and their communities.
Twenty-two years later, our over 1,200 graduates now include executive and sous chefs, hotel and resort general managers, business owners as well as university graduates. All are contributing to their families and society.
KOTO continues to be acknowledged as a leading unique not-for-profit social enterprise, not only in Vietnam but also internationally. Today, KOTO provides over 100 at-risk and disadvantaged youth per year in Vietnam an opportunity to undertake our 24-month holistic hospitality training program to end the cycle of poverty and truly empower our trainees to realize their dreams.”
The food was delicious, the service was impecable and the students were a pleasure to interact with!