Thanksgiving Dinner, Hanoi (November 27, 2025)
In my 52 years on this earth, this is only the second time I’ve been away from family on Thanksgiving Day. I am truly grateful for that fact. The first time I was in London as part of my exchange program and when I realized that nowhere in England was there a “Thanksgiving-equivilent,” I bought myself a sad turkey sandwich from a convenience store and convinced myself it was just another day — not all that important to celebrate.
Which is why I was thrilled to have a dinner party with Nguyen Thu Hue, who goes by Ms. Hue. She’s a coach who works with other amazing coaches and was gracious enough to bring us all together.
Giving thanks to be sharing a wonderful meal with amazing humans: Duc, Dao Giang, Nguyen Thu Hue, and Le Minh Anh
You know how some people are just humble by nature? Ms. Hue is one of those people. Former President Obama selected her as one of twenty global fellows for the Obama foundation. She sat next to Obama at a table not that much bigger than the one where we connected.
Her close personal friend, Dao Giang (sitting to her right) met with both Bill and Hillary Clinton separately. Bill Clinton when he was president and Hillary Clinton when she was Secretary of State.
To her left is Le Minh Anh who was quietly absorbing much of the conversation, and when she decided to speak it was clear how brilliant she is and little doubt that she’s driving the next generation of leaders here in Vietnam.
To my left is a coach who goes by Duc. He has coached several Ping Pong players and is pivoting to Pickleball because of the explosive growth happening here in Vietnam.
Quick side note on the restaurant, Luk Lak … WOW. I’ve been loving the food here in Vietnam. The street food is incredible. In fact, I walk outside and anywhere I choose to eat is a culinary delight. And so you can imagine the competition and what a Michelin rated (2024 & 2025) restaurant must be like. And yes, it was that incredible.
After dinner, we went on a walking tour. So many great places to see and things to do, but first, you’ll want to see me do an impromptu dance routine with the locals in Hanoi (see below). What happened? It turns out that the locals welcome anyone interested to join their dance party. They especially love to see foreigners (like me) give it a shot. So Ms. Hue encouraged me to “jump in,” and you KNOW you don’t have to tell me twice to dance. I’m ALWAYS ready to break out and dance:
And, now that the locals know I’m serious and willing to learn, they pick another song and give me another opportunity to join them in a slightly more complex dance number. This time, my host, Ms. Hue, joins me for the dance part and we do it together. Let’s GO!
What a fun way to spend my Thanksgiving. I’m giving thanks for being here in Hanoi, Vietnam. I’m grateful to have such great people in my life who not only want to have dinner with me, but are willing to go for a walk afterwards, encourage me to dance and even grab a video of me doing it. So cool. After that, we kept walking and checking out the sights — so beautiful at night.
And yes, Santa, Christmas and even “Black Friday” are fully visible here. While the Vietnamese don’t celebrate Thanksgiving, they can certainly get behind the Friday afterwards for big sales before the holidays.
Once we were done with our walk, Le Minh Anh offered to give me a ride on her scooter and shared that she didn’t have an extra helmet. Duc to the rescue because he DID have an extra one for me. And I must say, I look really good in a green and white helmet ;-)
My borrowed helmet from Duc so I can ride on the back of a scooter
In case you were wondering, Ms. Anh is a wonderful driver and I felt safe at all times. As a motorcycle rider for the better part of twenty years, it felt good to be back (even if I wasn’t driving).
And I was eternally grateful for the ride as I have an early day tomorrow as I head out to Ha Long Bay for another epic day trip. I’ll slow down this weekend, but for now I’m hitting all the sights while I can and I’m this close.
