Our first-choice hotel (Viet Anh) picked us up promptly from the back-up one (Lucky Stare) at 6:30 a.m.  We woke up early for some reason.  Waiting for our room to be put together for us we walked to and sat up in a layer-cake building of cafes overlooking Hoan Keim Lake in the Old Quarter of Hanoi.  There are many lakes here like in Madison.  There are more and they are smaller.

After our check in we made arrangements at he front desk to fly to Hue (in the middle of the country) on Tuesday a.m.  Every one here is a travel agent.  The girl at the desk (Lai) was over helpful.  She spends most of her day doing damage control to undo what the night desk "joker-boys" mess up. 

We went back to the layer-cake cafe and had dinner on another level.  Heide tried the lasagna.  I always error on the Vietnamese food - noodles, beef, and fried rice etc.  Note to self: always go Vietnamese food in Vietnam. 

The weather here is very hot and humid, however it changes abruptly.  A big rain storm swept in and it got cool and windy.  We got soaked on our way back to the hotel.  You can buy little rain plastic pull-overs for a 25 cents.  I had a feeling I should have brought the one from last year, but they are everywhere here.  It is too late to use them once you are soaked. 

It is less hectic here than Saigon.  The business day starts later and the people are not so frenzied.  Hanoi is smaller.

I have met no Americans yet.  Rumor is there is B-52 at the bottom of the big lake. As before no one seems to hate us because we are Americans.  As with my last trips, we are looked at as a part of a big commodity group of foreigners that need to be harvested one dollar at a time.  If anyone hates me they hide it well. Most don't even ask where I am from and if they do they always smile when I say "Chicago, USA."  To say "Janesville, Wisconsin" just confuses everyone. 

Our mission today - find rain gear.

Observations:

1.  Accumulating this observation from past connections with Americans here.  The Vietnamese seem to appreciate that we Americans smile and wait. It is a myth that we are a nation of rude people. The Europeans and peoples from other Asian nations seem to cut in line, complain ad nauseam, and perennially pout.  We are in a Third World county for god's sakes! They have limitations on service offered.

2.  The Vietnamese watch your facial expressions and often act on that rather than your words. They want your stay to be a happy one. 

3.  The markets here are stunning and hectic - the street shops are layered and spill right out into the sidewalks.  It leads one to ask, "who are the real capitalists anyway?"  There is grassroots capitalism everywhere here.  They work long hours and everyone seems to work more than one gig, often at once.

4.  Sandals are a must.  Socks and anything white is a lost cause.  There is much grime and heat.

5. It is easy to forget the outside world here. I have not watched TV yet.  I hope you are all still there.

6.  When crossing the street just keep walking.  The hoard of scooters will adjust to you, do not stop or you are screwed. There is a guy from Cleveland that has been stuck in a street intersection in Saigon for years.

7.  The Vietnamese love to have pets in there midst.  There are cats, dogs, birds in many lobbies and foyers everywhere.  They often have their cats on leashes. 

8.  I am impressed at how quick our stuff dried out - we do have a blow dryer in the room.  This will not happen in Laos - I learned last year that once things get wet there they stay wet. 

9.  Things about this country remind me of the 1960s - light switches are often on the floor on cords.  There is a smattering of 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s stuff and technology mixed up everywhere.  It has a eclectic timbre here then.