Hanoi

This place is noisy and crowded. I feel overwhelmed stepping out the door of the hotel and have to fight the urge to curl up in my bed until we leave. Having said that, I've still had a good time here, thanks to good company and a het life partner who has a lot of patience for my complete lack of any sense of direction! (Seriously, who would put me in charge of navigation???)

Anyway, Hanoi. We've attempted to do the things people should do when they're here. We saw a water puppet show, we walked around Hoan Kiem lake - which was great! It was a Saturday and all of the couples in Hanoi were taking wedding pictures there ( ok, so maybe 7 couples- but it felt like a lot of white dresses!!!). We stopped and chatted to a group of Vietnamese kids who wanted to practice their English. They were sweet and funny and looked soooo young! Anne and I thought they were in Middle School, it turned out they were actually studying at Uni!

We saw Ho Chi Min's Mausoleum, twice. Actually went in- 0 times. The first time we saw it we were in a cab, then when we went with the intention of going in, the line was HUGE! People were lined up around a full city block. We decided to come back super early the next day, the. Later realized the next day would be Monday and the mausoleum would be closed - doh! I offered to draw on a beard and lay very still so Anne could walk past and have that 'walk past what may or may not be HCM's actual body' experience, but she declined.

We went to Hao Lo prison, otherwise known as the 'Hanoi Hilton' and read about the revolutionaries who were imprisoned there during the French colonization of Vietnam, and also read about how amazingly hospitable the Vietnamese were to the POWs kept there during the Vietnam War. We saw John McCain's flight suit - it looked old and comfy.

I had my nails filed and polished, and had a long overdue waxing session. The waxing was.... Interesting. Never thought I'd have a woman blowing on my lady parts!

My favourite part of our time in Hanoi- the restaurant down the street that served Indian food. God, I love naan!!!!!

I'm off to pick up a dress and two skirts today that a lady made for me, then were killing time till we leave on the overnight bus for Hoi An. I'm looking forward to a less busy city and the beautiful countryside there!!