This seems like a dream. Am I really in a foreign country? It is amazing how one can adjust to a new country, but where can I get a bagel with cream cheese? I can get spaghetti. I can get pizza. Can I get about pancakes? Anyone have any hummus?
Everybody wants me to be their friend, to offer me a ride on their motorbai. If I turn them down, the next thing to do is to try to make conversation. "Where are you from," they ask. "From far away," I answer. Some pick up on the fact that I'm American. Most don't know that I am American because I speak so fast. So the hard sell continues. They open their small notebooks and present testimonials that their former customers have written.
The tesimonial begins with "I really had a good time with Mr. ___" (really?) and then continues with, "he was very safe." The testimonial also says, "Mr. ___ and I became fast friends." (you did?) And then the testimonial typically ends with a strange advertisement for one of Mr. ___ services (probably written by Mr. ___), like "Don't forget to visit the snake village. Very Good."
View from the top of my hotel.
The War Museum
Miscellaneous Communist Building
The Ho Chi Minh Masoleum. Closed for Repairs.
No this not a really small person. It's actually a guy with an axe checking manholes. The pole in the background just happens to be really big.
The lake at the Ho Chi Minh Compound. Clap your hands for Catfish.
House on stilts. I want one!
The buildings are narrow and tall. Everybody tries to build theirs higher. Typical heights 4 to 5 stories.
Visiting Ho Hoan Kiem Lake, I was harassed by the book sellers. A young girl said she hadn't sold any books all morning long and it was now mid afternoon. She said that I was mean for not buying a book.
Pagoda on Ho Hoan Kiem lake.
Hello Comrade Lenin. Comrade, Lenin? What?
Entrance to Den Ngoc Son Pagoda.
St. Joe's
Traffic in a calm Hanoi intersection. Look for the guy crossing the street using his bike to carry a large painting (or glass) in a cardboard covering.
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