First Impressions

The telephone woke me up at 11:00 am.  Who knows me in Vietnam?  The hotel attendant told me that check-out time was 12:00 (noon).  A few minutes later, the phone rang again.  The attendant then said that I had been given another night, so I did not have to feel so rushed getting things together quickly.  My university contacts had made the arrangements for me.  Sweet.  So, I ate lunch at a local restuarant - a plateful of shrimp, vegetables, and rice all for $3 US dollars.  I'm starting to really like this place.  But if you visit, be prepared for some extreme culture shock.  Hanoi is crowded and dirty, with lots of street noise / traffic.  It is not a place for the faint-hearted.

After lunch, I decided to do some exploring on my own.  Everything was going fine, until I got lost.  Hey, don't laugh, every street looks the same, and it is hard to distinguish one shop from another - all of which are connected.  So, landmarks are difficult.  Of course, it would help if I could read Vietnamese!  Mid-afternoon I hailed a bike taxi (way cool form of transportation) and he returned me to the hotel safely.  After checking my email, I got really, really tired, so I decided to take a nap.  Three hours later I woke up and went to get some more food.  The restaurant was crowded, so a Vietnamese guy sat with me at the same table.  He could speak English - no problem.  I asked what he was having and he said from the buffet.  I did not see a buffet, so when the waitress came, I just said I'll have what he is having.  She had a sheepish look on her face, so something was up.  As it turned out, the buffet was only for the locals, not tourists.  So, I benefitted once again, and of course, it was very cheap.  When I arrived back at my hotel and turned on the light, I saw a small lizard scurrying across the floor.  Welcome to Hanoi.