Diary Prequel Package — page 133

donesia. Stay at Had a reception-dinner that night at the home of Amb. Patricia Haslach. Oct. 13, 2005 - Spent day in Vientiane meeting with a variety of Ministers. Met with Minister of Public Health Dr. Ponemek Daraloy. He is a good person, well-regarded in health circles in SE Asia. He is an old Pathet Lao. Visited Mahoset Hospital and then visited the Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs.. Signed MOU. Met with Dr. Siene Saphangthong and then in mid-afternoon flew from Wattaya International airport to Hanoi, Viet Nam.. Arrived at Hanoi Noi Bai Airport. Motorcade from airport to downtown Hanoi was fascinating as we passed a bustling suburb with extremely interesting "vertical" architecture of homes and offices. Checked into the Hanoi Hilton Opera Hotel. Oct. 14, 2005 - Met with Minister of Health Tran Thi Tring Chien. Then went to National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology and met with its Director Dr. Nguyen Tran Hien. He is a terrific person and I sent him a signed copy of Harrison's after I returned home. Also met with the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat. Also, met with Prime Minister Phan Van Khai in a very elaborate Government Palace at 1 Bach Thao Street, Ba Dinh District with an enormous bust of Ho Chi Minh. The Prime Minister was extremely impressive. He spoke on all of the issues without notes. He was well-versed and clearly knowledgeable about specific issues. Had dinner hosted by the MOH. Oct. 15, 2005 - Great experience. Visited the "wet markets" in Hanoi and got an great feel for the bustling nature of this vibrant city. Drove 2 hours 15 minutes to Haiphong and visited Provincial Health Department. We had lunch at Van Tue Restaurant for Government Officials and then went to Viet Tiep Hospital to visit their Clinics. It was in this region that the cluster of cases occurred. MOL visited with the family who got sick and who were featured on CNN a few weeks ago. Big difference between Haiphong and Hanoi in that Haiphong is clearly more dreary and less vibrant. Oct. 16, 2005 - Flew to Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Jakarta, Indonesia. Stay at Four Seasons Hotel Jakarta. Oct. 17, 2005 - Visited NAMRU-2. Was apparently a problem in that the Indonesian government was threatening to cut off dealings with NAMRU-2 because they thought that NAMRU-2 was being critical of them. We finally sorted it out and at the end of the day got the president of Indonesia to endorse NAMRU-2. We met with Coordinating Minister of people's Welfare and Coordinating Minister of the Economy. There are issues in Indonesia of difficulty in transparency related to the diffuseness of the country. 17,000 islands with a population of 220 million (4th largest country by population). Met with President Yudhoyono. He was very impressive and knowledgeable. Flew from Jakarta to Tokyo on PM of Oct. 17 and arrived in Tokyo on Oct. 18